Situating ciphers among alchemical techniques of secrecy

Abstract

This paper offers a contextual framework for the historical analysis of alchemical ciphers. It argues that they differ from other ciphers due to their unique context: the alchemical tradition embodies a performative culture of secrecy, which employs a variety of techniques to achieve this performance. This paper contends that the distinction between ‘secret as content’ versus ‘secrecy as practice’ presents a useful framework for understanding alchemical rhetorics of secrecy and their relationship to alchemical cryptography. Additionally, it demonstrates how these principles can be applied in interpreting several examples.