Alchemy was the attempt to make gold out of base metals, mostly lead. The word alchemy comes from Greek khemeioa, possibly referring to Egypt as the land of black earth, or from Greek khymatos “that which is poured out,” from khein “to pour”.
Even at the height of the quest for gold, alchemy involved the transformation of the alchemists’ soul at the same time as the substances they were working with, and metaphorical imagery abounded.
The journey of the alchemist was represented by several stages of the Great Work, which could also be represented by birds.
Two birds fighting represent the dual nature of Mercurius (the philosophical ercury); this is also depicted by birds flying up and down.
Each stage of the Alchemical process was depicted by a bird, as follows:
| BIRD | STAGE | OTHER SYMBOLS | MEANING |
| Black Crow or Raven | Nigredo (Blackening) or Solutio | Death’s head; Alchemist dying in a flask | Burning away of dross; dying to the outer world |
| White Swan | Albedo (Whitening) or Calcinatio | A swan swimming on the surface of a lake; a bright white light | Interface of the spiritual realm with the physical |
| Peacock | Peacock’s Tail | Turning point | Inner experience of the astral realm |
| Pelican | Yellowing or Coagulatio | Pelican stabbing its breast to feed its young on its own blood. | Sacrifice of the ego to feed the developing higher self. |
| Phoenix | Rubedo (Reddening) or Sublimatio | The phoenix on its nest and funeral pyre, reborn from the flames. | Alchemist no longer needs the physical as foundation of ego. Now a spiritual being. |
These correspondences were not particularly esoteric, but were widespread in medieval symbolism. Dante referred to Christ as ‘nostro Pellicano’, and similar bird imagery was used in heraldry. What is unique about the use of bird symbolism in alchemy is its reference to inner spiritual processes, as well as outer transformations of matter in the Great Work.
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