Johann Isaac Hollandus

The Three Elixirs of Alchemy Johann Isaac Hollandus

Johann Isaac Hollandus, much like Hermes or Flamel, is a figure shrouded in some degree of mystery. Living in the 16th century, some works ascribed to the same may have in fact been penned by latter authors and merely ascribed to Hollandus, if indeed such a figure existed. Others suggest that these same works may be part of a tradition revolving around a figure which was never alive at all. The workings of alchemy in this compiled work include the creation of the stone of urine, the crafting of alchemical elixir, and a strange, apparently less valuable substance referred to as "Ixir"- these workings rely upon repeated distillation, purification, and mixing, and of course the use of potentially dangerous substances. The workings contained here, as in other alchemical manuscripts, would later form the basis of what became what we now refer to as chemistry, along with influencing philosophy and medicine.