Principe traces the evolution of alchemy across five major Western epochs:

During the Islamic Golden Age, scholars like Jabir ibn Hayyan expanded Aristotelian theories, introducing the mercury-sulfur theory of metals.

The era of "chymistry" (a term Principe uses for the period before alchemy and chemistry split), where figures like Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton actively practiced alchemical research.

Roots in Hellenistic Egypt, where metallurgical techniques mixed with Greek philosophical theories.