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Mercury (Alchemy): Difference between revisions
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In the ancient art of alchemy, mercury, sulfur, and salt were the Earth's three principle substances.Each civilization had its own legends about mercury, and it was used as everything from a medicine to a talisman. Mercury's chemical symbol, Hg, comes from the Greek "hydrargyrum" meaning liquid silver. Mercury is also known as "quicksilver," a reference to its mobility and used as the phscyual sympbol to represent the [[Azoth]] in ancient alchemy. Speed and mobility were characteristics of the Greek-Roman god, [[Mercury (Hermes)]], who served as a messenger of knowledge to all the other gods and shares his name with the planet nearest the sun. The symbol for the planet was used by the alchemists to identify mercury before it was given its more modern chemical notation. | |||