Alchemy is an ancient path of spiritual purification and transformation; the expansion of consciousness and the development of insight and intuition through images. Alchemy is steeped in mysticism and mystery. It presents to the initiate a system of eternal, dreamlike, esoteric symbols that have the power to alter consciousness and connect the human soul to the Divine.

Alchemy is part of the mystical and mystery traditions of both East and West. In the West, it dates to ancient Egypt, where adepts first developed it as an early form of chemistry and metallurgy. Egyptians alchemists used their art to make alloys, dyes, perfumes and cosmetic J*welry, and to embalm the dead.

The early Arabs made significant contributions to alchemy, such as by emphasizing the mysticism of numbers (quantities and lengths of time for processes). The Arabs also gave us the term 'alchemy', from the Arabic term 'alchimia', which loosely translated means 'the Egyptian art'.

During medieval and Renaissance times, alchemy spread through the Western world, and was further developed by Kabbalists, Rosicrucians, astrologers and other occultists. It functioned on two levels: mundane and spiritual. On a mundane level, alchemists sought to find a physical process to convert base metals such as lead into gold. On a spiritual level, alchemists worked to purify themselves by eliminating the "base" material of the self and achieving the 'gold' of enlightenment.

By Renaissance times, many alchemists believed that the spiritual purification was necessary in order to achieve the mundane transformations of metals.

The alchemists relied heavily upon their dreams, inspirations and visions for guidance in perfecting their art. In order to protect their secrets, they recorded diaries filled with mysterious symbols rather than text. These symbols remain exceptionally potent for changing states of consciousness.

More on Alchemy at www.crystalinks.com/alchemy.html (http://www.crystalinks.com/alchemy.html)

The Philosophers' Stone is a visual symbol combining the four principle Concepts of ancient philosophy.
members.ozemail.com.au/~clauspat/stone.htm (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~clauspat/stone.htm)

It is not an ordinary stone. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~clauspat/stone00.jpg
The word 'stone' in the name 'The Philosophers' Stone' reinforces the fixed, universal, unmovable nature of the four Concepts.
In this sense the word 'stone' has the same connotation as the stone tables of the Ten Commandments which Abraham brought down from Mount Sinai.

The Philosophers' Stone was first used around 3000 BC in the ancient philosophy of Hermetic Alchemy, where it symbolised the transformation from base metal (the 'worldly') to gold ('spiritual fulfilment').
This philosophy was suppressed and lost during the reign of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine (300 AD).

The Philosophers' Stone reemerged in the 17th Century when its principles were readily spread through the newly discovered technique of book printing.

The general view of alchemy among new agers is that it was a metaphoric language for the process of using magical discipline to "transform" the inner self. There is a postive book about alchemy by Julius Evola, which explains much of the hocus pocus, called
The Hermetic Tradition: Symbols and Teachings of the Royal Art
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...5562639-7208769 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0892814519/104-5562639-7208769)

I think Evola says somewhere in his works that many of the common themes of Qaballah and Masonry go back to the Ars Regia.