Derived from the Arabic root "kimia", from the Coptic "khem" (referring to the fertile black soil of the Nile delta), the word "alchemy" alludes to the dark mystery of the primordial or First Matter (the Khem). The discovery of this elusive original matter, from which all others are deemed simply polluted variants (the purist being Gold), is considered the alchemist's central goal — along with the
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