Alchemy was often shrouded in secrecy and mysticism, and its practitioners used symbols, rituals, and metaphors to convey their knowledge. Although modern science has discredited many of the claims of alchemy , its legacy can still be seen in the fields of chemistry, medicine, and psychology, and it remains a subject of fascination and study for ... Alchemy definition: a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life.. If your favorite but perpetually losing team picks up a couple of new players and the result is suddenly an unbeatable combo, that's alchemy — any seemingly magical act involving the combining of elements into something new.