Where did "alchemy" first appear? - no one can say for sure. What is "alchemy"? - no European gives us a literal translation of this word. It is believed that this word has an Oriental origin, but this is also not proven. The most viable is the assumption of the ancient Egyptian origin of magic, alchemy, hermeticism. Alchemy has two main directions - transformation and transmutation. Representatives of practical alchemy are very contemptuous of mystical alchemy, considering them useless theorists. So transmutation is exactly what we used to understand by the word "alchemy" - it is working with physical objects - metals, minerals, etc. This is material alchemy, a kind of esoteric chemistry. Representatives of this direction are sure that all matter, as a whole, consists of particles, where, by means of additions, substitutions, it is possible to adjust the structure of a cheaper metal to the structure of a more expensive one. All the alchemy of the East developed in this way and their treatises were collections of very precise recipes for obtaining the philosopher's stone. Even such a great scientist as Newton understood that ordinary chemical reactions affect only the outer layers, without essentially changing the core, that is, it is theoretically possible to turn one substance into an absolutely different one. The existence of the Philosopher's stone was also recognized by him. Based on such prospects, attempts and all kinds of experiments are being carried out today, but they do not give results as such, from the point of view of liquidity. In the 20th century, a nuclear reaction was carried out, as a result of which it was possible to obtain gold. But the costs were too high and did not pay off in the end. That is, modern science admits and does not exclude that, when exposed to a certain catalyst, it is possible to convert, for example, lead into gold. But no one has been able to develop an effective method even remotely resembling the "great work" yet, and the so-called "philosopher's stone" is considered not a scientific fiction. Nevertheless, any chemist will confirm the thesis that coal and diamond are practically the same thing, based on the fact that the molecules of both have an almost identical structure. the second alchemical direction is transformation. It is this direction of alchemy that is considered difficult to understand and many authors of books for themselves cannot understand what it is in practice. Reducing everything to an esoteric-mystical experience that occurs, first of all, inside a person. This is an attempt to expand our perception in the universes of sleep and imagination. This will be the first step in mystical alchemy. This can be described as internal changes. Achieving absolute health, immortality, materialization of objects from dreams and visions is an incomplete list of what is the result and goal of practitioners of this direction. The main purpose of alchemy is revealed only in the process of relentless search and constant practical work. Even if we have a goal in front of us - to turn coal into diamond, lead into gold - we should not rush and buy laboratories for ourselves. Because the question arises and it is very logical and appropriate: "what are we actually going to do?" And this question will be relevant and its relevance will haunt us throughout the practice, because we do not know which primary material we will work on. There are an infinite number of books in the alchemical literature that interpret the concept of "primordial matter" in different ways. All this is done because the alchemist, in the process of searching and permanent practice, must himself determine in the end what it is. It should be borne in mind that it is very difficult to practice practical alchemy now. Many ingredients today are absolutely substandard. This is due to the fact that natural conditions are changing, mainly due to human fault (radioactivity, thermal films above the ground). The planetary influence with such introductions has ceased to be due in many places - and this is a key factor influencing the alchemical transformation and underlying alchemical theurgy. It is the endless stream of difficulties that makes alchemy very exciting, but in fact fruitless. In the same witchcraft, the process of planetary influence is much simpler - the Moon and moonlight are mainly used, on which the human factor has no influence to this day, and is unlikely to be in the future.