Philosopher's stone in the context of "Magnum opus (alchemy)"

A panacea (/pænəˈsiːə/) is any supposed remedy that is claimed (for example) to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely. Named after the Greek goddess of universal remedy Panacea, it was in the past sought by alchemists in connection with the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, a mythical substance that would enable the transmutation of common metals into gold.Through the 18th and 19th centuries, many "patent medicines" were claimed to be panaceas, and they became very big business.The term "panacea" is used in a negative way to describe the overuse of any one solution to solve many different problems, especially in medicine. The word has acquired connotations of snake oil and quackery.

A panacea (or panaceum) is also a literary term to represent any solution to solve all problems related to a particular issue.

Hennig Brand (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛnɪç bʁant]; c. 1630 – c. 1692 or c. 1710) was a German alchemist who lived and worked in Hamburg. In 1669, Brand accidentally discovered the chemical element phosphorus while searching for the "philosopher's stone", a substance which was believed to transmute base metals into gold.

Cleopatra the Alchemist (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα; fl. c. 3rd century AD) was born and raised in Alexandria Egypt. She was an Egyptian alchemist, writer, and philosopher. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists who could produce the philosopher's stone. Some writers consider her to be the inventor of the alembic, a distillation apparatus.

Cleopatra the Alchemist appears to have been active in Alexandria in the 3rd century or 4th century A.D. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by Mary the Jewess and Comarius. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation.

In alchemy and philosophy, prima materia, materia prima, or first matter, is the ubiquitous starting material required for the alchemical magnum opus and the creation of the philosopher's stone. It is the primitive formless base of all matter similar to chaos, the quintessence or aether. Esoteric alchemists describe the prima materia using simile, and compare it to concepts like the anima mundi.

In alchemy, nigredo, or blackness, means putrefaction or decomposition. Many alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone, all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter.

In analytical psychology, the term became a metaphor for "the dark night of the soul, when an individual confronts the shadow within."

Rubedo is a Latin word meaning "redness" that was adopted by alchemists to define the fourth and final major stage in their magnum opus. Both gold and the philosopher's stone were associated with the color red, as rubedo signaled alchemical success, and the end of the great work. Rubedo is also known by the Greek word iosis.

Atalanta Fugiens or Atalanta Fleeing is an emblem book with an alchemical theme by Michael Maier (1568–1622), published by Johann Theodor de Bry in Oppenheim in 1617 (2nd edition 1618). It consists of 50 discourses with illustrations by Matthias Merian, each of which is accompanied by an epigrammatic verse, prose and a musical fugue. It may therefore be considered an early example of multimedia.

The fugues were arranged in three voices symbolizing the philosopher's stone, the pursuing adept, and obstacles in his way.