The Forge and the Crucible


The Forge and the Crucible is a 1956 book by the Romanian historian of religion Mircea Eliade. It traces historical rites and symbols associated with mines, smiths and other metal workers. An English translation by Stephen Corrin was published in 1962. A second edition, with an updated appendix and the subtitle "The Origins and Structure of Alchemy," was published in 1979.

Contents

The book contains the following chapters:
  1. Meteorites and Metallurgy
  2. Mythology of the Iron Age
  3. The World Sexualized
  4. Terra Mater. Petra Genitrix
  5. Rites and Mysteries in Metallurgy
  6. Human Sacrifices to the Furnace
  7. Babylonian Symbolisms and Metallurgical Rituals
  8. 'Masters of Fire'
  9. Divine Smiths and Civilizing Heroes
  10. Smiths, Warriors, Masters of Initiation
  11. Chinese Alchemy
  12. Indian Alchemy
  13. Alchemy and Initiation
  14. Arcana Artis
  15. Alchemy and Temporality

Reception

Kirkus Reviews wrote in 1962: "This book, translated from the French, is well documented. Any serious student of man will be well rewarded for the effort expended, and demanded, by this solid exposition of an unusual subject." Florian G. Calian, historian of religion, summarises the book as offering "a theoretical background for understanding alchemy from the perspective of the history of religion. Alchemy is a spiritual technique and can be understood not as an important moment in the history of science but rather as a kind of religious phenomenon with its own particular rules."