Alchemy

Alchemy (錬金術) is a branch of magic, traditionally associated with turning base metals such as lead into gold and creating an elixir of immortality, with the true goal of simulating the world.

A practitioner of alchemy is called an alchemist (錬金術師), the only known ones appearing in the series so far being Aureolus Izzard and Good Old Mary.

Principles
With it simply being a sub-branch of magic, naturally it involves several applications and theories that are present in magic such as the teachings of, which the Golden Dawn advocates. One of these teachings is that alchemy is not only that of turning lead into gold, but also a process in which one can make a natural body into perfection, the process being called or Ars Magna - put another way, that humans are incomplete gods and through training and making one complete, humans can become gods.

According to Stiyl Magnus alchemy is an unrefined knowledge, and a magician is referred to as an alchemist if they deal with subject matter closely related to it, if they are untalented enough for other roles. Stiyl also pointed out several times that as the goal of Alchemy is to simulate the entire world, any result that they happen to get before reaching the ultimate objective would, or should be seen as useless by the alchemist.

One of the alchemists known to have made significant progress is, who developed a number of concepts which were incorporated into the field and other forms of magic.

Substances and Entities
The field of alchemy is traditionally held to involve numerous substances and their manipulation through various means to produce other substances.

There are a number of legendary substances which are spoken of and pursued by alchemists; these include the elixir of life, a drug which is said to convey immortality upon its drinkers, the ', said to aid in the production of the elixir and enable the transmutation of base metal into gold, and ', a cure-all medicine. Some of these substances also feature in Rosicrucianism, with one of the three main Rosicrucian texts involving the four stage cycle involved in creating the philosopher's stone.

One core concept which various alchemical concepts were developed around is the, which were identified by humanity in prehistoric times and the only ones known prior to the discovery of in the 13th century. Associated with the seven known celestial bodies among other things, the seven metals were (Sun, ☉),  (Moon, ☽),  (Mercury, ☿),  (Venus, ♀︎),  (Mars, ♂︎),  (Jupiter, ♃) and  (Saturn, ♄).

Another important concept, developed by Paracelsus, was the (also known as the tria prima or 'three primes') - salt (body or base matter, 🜔), sulfur (soul, 🜍) and mercury (mind, ☿) (not to be confused with the more mundane substances of the same name), and the relationship between them.

There are also a number of entities associated with alchemy and alchemical concepts. Paracelsus associated spirits with each of the four elements, known as, - such as Gnomes (Earth) and Salamanders (サラマンダー) (Fire). Another being featured in writings attributed to Paracelsus is an artificial humanoid known as a Homunkurusu (ホムンクルス).

Processes
There are various processes and procedures involved in the field of alchemy.

The most notable of these is the four-stage cycle said to be involved in the, be it for the creation of the philosopher's stone,  the attainment of wisdom,  or the refining of one's being. In order, the four stages are ', ', Kitorinitasu and .

There are other operations, some of which are an expansion of the four stages and others that are separate from them. Some of these have been assigned numbers which sometimes differ between sources. One example is 'separation', described as the eighth operation when utilized by Anna Sprengel.

Tools and Instruments
Whether an alchemist is seeking to create the philosopher's stone, a panacea or elixir of immortality, pure control over the elements or to rearrange the universe, they need to have the necessary tools at their disposal in order to progress in their research, and if a necessary tool doesn't exist, they will need to invent it.

There are numerous alchemical instruments which exist to these ends, invented for both general and specific purposes. Three examples, attributed to the alchemist Mary, are the Hoon nabe (Banmari), Kanryū Sōchi (Kerotakisu) and Jōryū-ki (Toribikosu), described by the Transcendent bearing that name (who utilized gigantic versions of them), as basic tools necessary to create and contain a universe. Another tool spoken of in alchemical texts is the Philosopher's Egg (哲学者の卵), a egg-shaped glass crucible during the process of sublimation and in the creation of the philosopher's stone.

Ars Magna
Ars Magna is Latin for "Great Art". It is the spell in which alchemist would achieve their goal of simulation of the world inside the mind. With Ars Magna, they can bring out thoughts into the real world, essentially making those who can accurately simulate or mold the real world able to control it.

However, according to Stiyl, since alchemy is an unrefined knowledge, modeling the entirety of the world and its laws into a chant takes centuries, even with the assistance of descendants and removing of unnecessary lines. Kamijou Touma deducted that this why the prospect of actual existing vampires are sought after by the magic side, by both alchemists and normal magicians, since one could finish the chants of the level of Ars Magna if one was able to figure out vampire's immortality. Hence forth, no one has yet to achieve Ars Magna under the above means.

Aureolus Izzard is the only person who has managed to achieve Ars Magna. By utilizing the Gregorian Chant Replica to chant the spell simultaneously, he was able to bypass the time required to chant the spell in only a mere seven days as well as increasing its effects 120 times. In his use, the Ars Magna distorts reality through his thoughts, and requires a vast amount of concentration to accurately model a thought into reality with it.

Limen Magna
Limen Magna is a type of Alchemy that was used by Aureolus Dummy and possibly Aureolus himself who could use it if he so desired. In normal conditions, the basic procedures for the alchemy of turning lead into gold are very bothersome and quite expensive - this makes it so that the actual cost and effort employed in the task is such that the produced Gold is of little reward when compared to the annoyance of the process. When used by the Aureolus Dummy, Limen Magna collects and condenses "natural mana" from the building, and creates the "turn into gold" process in an instant. Even though it's not nearly as impressive as Ars Magna, the pinnacle of alchemy, Stiyl commended the versatility of Limen Magna as still something beyond the current limits of modern alchemy, even thought it's just doing something that's being done in a new manner.

Background
The exact origins of alchemy are unknown but one of the earliest surviving texts from the 4th century concerning it mentions. Said to have lived in at some point between the 1st century and the 3rd century at the latest,  she was credited with the invention of fundamental experimental tools, such as the Bain-marie, the Kerotakis and the Tribikos,  as well as various alchemical operations and precepts.

One of the most famous alchemists (and one of the few known to have made significant progress with their studies) is, a 15-16th century Swiss alchemist of the. He developed a number of concepts incorporated into alchemy and other forms of magic, including the (also known as the tria prima or 'three primes') and the  associated with four elements.

According to Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, William Wynn Westcott 'brought alchemy back at the end of the 19th century'.

Deep Blood Arc
The concept of alchemy was prominently featured only in the Deep Blood Arc but was introduced earlier. It is also referenced much later, usually in the company with eerily similar concepts such as the teachings of Kabbalah and Thelema as well as Esper powers. Touma even thought that the basic principles of alchemy were similar to those of espers.

La Regina del Mare Adriatico Arc
While not present in the actual story in any form, Biagio Busoni mentioned that the spell that empowered the self destruction of the Queen's fleet was reinforced with Alchemy.

Coronzon Arc
Aleister Crowley referred to the relationship between in alchemy, during his explanation of the Lady of the Masquerade Ball's Taphthartharath. Mina Mathers later referred to the, specifically silver, when detecting Coronzon's imminent attack.

Christmas Eve Arc
Neoka Norito made use of the seven metals, utilizing their association with the planets and from that the Sephirah, for the magic he had acquired from R&C Occultics.

Christmas Day Arc
During the initial stage of her clash with Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki, Anna Sprengel made use of her Pneuma-less Shell, made from an intentional distortion of the Philosopher's Egg and while invoking it, referred to the red stone which she did not seek.

Los Angeles Arc
A Rosicrucian interpretation of Citrinitas played a major role in the events that occurred in Los Angeles on December 26th, with Citrinitas being the title of the magician protecting R&C Occultics HQ and the basis of the magic they used to trapped the city's population in sand.

Post-Handcuffs Arc
One of the magicians in the group centered around Alice Anotherbible was an alchemist referred to as good, old Mary, who according to her story took on the name of the to hide her identity, and apparently had alchemical skill that could produce miracles on the same level as the real one.

New Year's Eve Arc
On December 31st, besides Mary's resurrection techniques, Anna Sprengel made use of the eighth operation 'separation' in a chemical mine, in a thwarted attempt to kill a reanimated Anna Kingsford.

New Year's Arc
During a battle with Trismegistus on January 3rd, Good Old Mary invoked her own gigantic Tribikos, and mentioned her connection to the alchemical tool's foundation, mentioning the Kerotakis and Bain-marie alongside it.

Trivia

 * Stiyl commented that alchemists are like scientists of the magic side, who are constantly researching subjects, looking for a basis or rule for them.
 * Stiyl also mentioned that, besides, no alchemist has really done significant progress with their studies and thus "wasn't strong". This, however, was a statement made before he could experience Ars Magna first hand.