![Alchemist's Laboratory, painted by Hans Vredman de Vries](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Amphitheatrum_sapientiae_aeternae_-_Alchemist%27s_Laboratory.jpg/300px-Amphitheatrum_sapientiae_aeternae_-_Alchemist%27s_Laboratory.jpg)
In the history of science, alchemy refers to both an early form of the investigation of nature and an early philosophical and spiritual discipline, both combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism, and art.