This past week on March 22nd, folks in the know celebrated World Water Day, an international holiday. Never heard of it? You can check it out here!
The aim of World Water Day is to raise awareness of issues surrounding safe drinking water and sustainability. As the official website points out, two billion people live without access to clean water–so it’s definitely not something to take for granted.
And yet we do, right? It’s so easy–for most of us, we just turn on the tap. In fact for a lot of people, water is so mundane that they don’t even enjoy drinking it; they’ve moved beyond that. Even I, I must admit, struggle to drink as much water as I should. 😉
And so, when I realized that World Water Day was this month, I was curious: would my collection of alchemical texts and resources even mention it?
Turns out, yes! Here’s a few of the fun facts I found:
- Early Greek philosophers believed that rain condensed out of thin air, and that therefore, water was actually a form of air.
- Other ancient beliefs, particularly Hindu legends, recognized water as “the solvent of all things,” present in all humans and animals.
- Alchemical texts sometimes connected water and mercury, and would use the term “Water” (capitalized because it’s Important) to refer to secret elixirs or symbolic tonics.
This year, the theme for World Water Day was groundwater–“making the invisible visible.” (You can read & download an official fact sheet about it here). I thought that slogan was very fitting, and am glad for a chance to share it! Go forth and drink more water–but be sure to appreciate it while you do. (And if you want to do more, check out the resource page here and be sure to mark your calendars for World Water Day 2023.) 🙂
Selected Sources
Stanislas, Klossowski, and De Rola. The Arcane Doctrine of Alchemy. Thames & Hudson, London: 2013.
Thompson, C.J.S. Alchemy and Alchemists. Dover Publications, NY: 2002.
