QUOTE : Alchemy was (and is) considerably more<br />than the attempt to turn base metals into gold. To an alchemist, all material things ripen toward perfection unless something gets in the way. The alchemist's mission is to remove the obstacles that keep material things from attaining their perfection. For metals, that perfection is gold; for the human body, health; for the human spirit, union with<br />the divine-and all these and many more are<br />appropriate goals for alchemical work.