Today, I began work on chapter three. Having finished the first two chapters with relative ease, I expected this chapter to be just as simple. Unfortunately, I seem to have reached a region of the world where the history of alchemy is complicated and all tied up in religion, and no one can be sure where exactly the traditions originally stemmed from.

To my future readers: a teaser for chapter three - This complicated region of the world is the Middle East!

There is just so much to learn about alchemy...I didn't realize how much I would be learning about the world in general. But it seems I will come out of this experience with much more knowledge about the eastern cultures than I ever thought to have! Good thing its more fun than studying for exams in a class on the subject....