+- Alchemy Discussion Forum (https://www.alchemywebsite.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Alchemy Discussion Forum (https://www.alchemywebsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Articles on alchemy (https://www.alchemywebsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=9)
+--- Thread: The mysterious punning language of alchemy (/showthread.php?tid=3273)
The mysterious punning language of alchemy - Paul Ferguson - 06-15-2026
"Of all the texts that comprise the Western esoteric “canon,” however, the ones most inaccessible to modern readers are those of alchemy. The alchemical authors did not need to resort to voces magicae in order to encode their work: they wrote in the vernacular. Yet the language of alchemical texts is deliberately obscure, meant to be understood only by those who presumably already know their secrets. They are texts that, at first glance, seem to be intended to deceive and confuse. Like the patter of such comedians as the American “Professor” Irwin Corey and the Mexican actor Cantinflas, they use recognizable words with appropriate syntax and grammar, but the result is meaningless speech that only sounds real but which, upon closer inspection, seems devoid of any real content."
https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/twilight-language-an-appreciation?highlight=WyJyZXBvcnQiLCJ5b3UiXQ==