Chrysopoeia

Ouroboros illustration from the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra

In alchemy, the term chrysopoeia means transmutation into gold (from the Greek χρυσός khrusos, "gold," and ποιεῖν poiēin, "to make"). It is symbolically used to indicate the creation of the philosopher's stone and the completion of the Great Work.

The word was used in the title of an alchemical papyrus, the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra, which was written in the first centuries of the Christian era. The papyrus features the idea of "one the all" (en to pan), a concept that is related to ouroboros and to hermetic wisdom. Stephen of Alexandria wrote a De Chrysopoeia.^[1] Chrysopoeia is also a 1515 poem by Giovanni Augurello.

See also

• Synthesis of precious metals

References

1. Stanton J. Linden. The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. 2003. p.54