The Alchemist Flashcards
Author
Paulo Coehlo
Book opens with the alchemist finding a story in a book from someone in the caravan about
Narcissus, a boy who knelt by the pond admiring his own reflection and reflection. Narcissus fell in and drown and a flower, the Narcissus was born. The fresh water became salty tears the lake replied to the fairies. The lake saw its own beauty reflected.
The shepherd boy name was
Santiago who had been travelling with sheep for two years
Santiago first slept in a
an abandoned church where he made sure no sheep could get out. used book as pillow. needed thicker book to last longer and make better pillow
what did santiago talk to the sheep about
the last few days about a girl the daughter of a merchant
what is a typical andalusian (in Spain) girl
flowing black hair and eyes that vaguely recalled the Moorish conquerers; she made him to desire to live in one place
the only things that concerned sheep
food and water
define zenith
…
santiago did what until he was 16
attended the seminary to elevate his farming family status but it was more important for him to learn about the world than learn God and others sins; he wanted to travel and so became a shepherd the father gave him 3 coins to buy a flock and his blessing
what makes life worth living
the possibility of having a dream come true; in Tarifa there was a person who could interpret dreams
his dream was
children played with sheep, he got transported to egyptian pyramids and was told that there was a hidden treasure; she didn’t charge him but she said she wanted 1/10 of the treasure when he found it
what else did she say
its the simple things in life that are most extraordinary; only wise men know this
the old man
could read; said the book was irritating because it said the same thing all books do tat people have an inability to choose their own legends and that we all believe the same lie – that are lives are controlled by fate and we lose control; he called himself the king of salem Melchizedek - he did a reading and knew anything
when you really want something
it is because the desire originated in the soul of the universe; the sol of the world is nourished by people’s happiness
in the long run what people thin about bakers and shepherds
becomes more important than their own personal legends
the miner found
an emerald
if you promise to give what you do not have yet
you will lose your desire to work at getting it
Egypt is in
…
Moors
had come from Levant at the eastern end of the Meditteranean; people called the wind the levanter
People fail to recognize
the good things that happen in their lives everyday that the sun rises
principle of favorability
aka beginner’s luck whets your appetite with a taste of success
the old man wore
a breast plate of heavy gold covered with precious stones
Black and white
Uri and Thummim, yes and no, always ask an objective question TRY TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS
the secret of happiness
is to see all the marvels of the world and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon; a shepherd map want to travel but should never forget about his sheep
what distracted him in the market in Tangier
a sword encrusted with precious stones in an Arab open market
learn to recognize omens
and follow them
he traveled how many hours by ship to the new place
two hours
there must be a language that doesn’t depend on words
he with sheep/ Spanish with Arabic then he could learn to understand the world - all things are one as the old man said
merchants he met
day one: candy day two: crystal
he cleaned the crystal in order
to earn food but the Koran requires one to feed a hungry person
five obligation of Koran
believe on one true God, pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan and be charitable to the poor. Fifth obligation is a pilgrimage to Mecca. That is why he started the shop
Egypt dream was replaced with a dream
to go home and buy more sheep maybe double; he could now also do business with the Arabs as he knew their language; he stayed at the crystal shop for a year
pipe used by Arabs
called a hookah
every blessing ignored becomes a
curse said the crystal shop owner; maktub - it is written, sometimes there is no way to hold back the river and so the crystal tea shop;
sheep couldn’t teach him
arabic
language of enthusiasm
things accomplished with love and purpose and as part of a something believed in and desired
THe Englishman had studied
Esperanto,then the world’s religions ,and now it was alchemy (was intriqued by any one who can change any metal into gold?)
when someone makes a decision
he is really diving into a strong current that will carry hi to places he had never dreamed of when he made the decision
luck and coincidence
those words that the universal language is written
define caprcious
…
who went on the desert caravan
200 people 400 animals women children men with swords, Englishmen with books, each with their own God. the caravan leader answered to Allah. In the desert disobedience means death. THe boy swore to Jesus Christ. THE Englishmen to nothing.
the most important text in the literature of alchemy
contained only a few lines and was inscribed on the surface of an emerald it’s the emerald tablet
the liquid part of the Master WOrj
Elixir of life anf cured all illnesses; kept alchemist from growing old
solid part
small sliver of stone can transform large quantities of metal into gold; Philosopher’s stone; purifiying metal purify self
Year written or copyrighted?
?
the caravan stopped what
fires to avoid raids
don’t live in past or future
concentrate only on present; life will be a party;life is the moment we are living right now
Englishman said that maybe god created the desert so that man
could appreciate the date trees
neutral territories
oases were places of refuge and contained many women and children
in pursuit of dream shepherd was
constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, not impatient. If he pushed forward he would fail to see the signs
married women at the oasis
dress in black
where did the shepherd meet the girl with the dark eyes and the veil named Fatima
at the well; here was the omen he had looked for all along; the pure language of the world just as the universe needs none; everything under the sun has been written by one hand. the hand that evokes love; maktub (so it is written)
the war seemed a curse but was a blessing
because it brought the shepherd to Fatima
desert men vs shep
married shepherds had a difficult time convincing to go to distant fields; the desert takes men and they do not always return
the boy sitting at the palm trees had a vision of
an army attacking the oasis
what is a seer
?
the seer in the desert that the camel driver visited used what to see the past or future or know the present
he would through twigs; he said that he guessed at the future based on the omens of the present; that only god knew the future;
the camel driver told the shepherd to go see who about his vision
the tribal chieftans
define bade…
?
define habituated….
?
second vision
horsemen falcon turban white horse curved sword
define prognostications….
?
define scabbard…
?
the alcehmist said quality most essential to understand the language of the world
courage; love the desert but never trust in completely; it challenges every step and kills those who become distracted
define scimitars
…
why did the tribesmen violate the tradition
because they were starving and hungry and needed to prepare to return to war
how did they kill the one they captured
hung him from a dead palm tree
what did the alchemist feed the shepherd
the hawks that the shepherd saw the day before
sell the camel buy a
horse
remember that wherever your heart is
you will find your treasure
life attracts life - what animal did the horse find in te desert
a cobra
THE ALCHEMIST SAYS TO allow him to take him to the pyramids or understand
that the omens will abandon him in the fourth year because he didn’t listen and then it will be too late
Fatima used to look at the desert with longing but now she looked with
hope
IF what one finds is of pure matter
it will never spoil and on e can always come back
the camel driver was a teacher
without realizing it
the alchemist rode with what bird on his shoulder
a falcon
there is only one way to learn said the alchemist
through action
what was on the emerald tablet
a direct path to the soul of the world; this world is a copy of paradise; what was written could not be understand by reason alone
what did he mean by action
the existence of the world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that through its visible objects men could understand the spiritual teaching and the marvels of wisdom.
Listen to your heart
it knows all things because it came from the soul of the world and it will one day return there. wherever your heart is that is where you find your treasure.
define treasoness…
?
people don’t pursue their most important dreams
because they feel they don’t deserve them or they are unable to achieve them; fear of suffering is worse than suffering itself; aa heart that has suffered when it goes in search of its dreams – every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.
all people who are happy
have God within them; happiness can be found in a grain of sand because sand is a moment of creation
before a dream is realized
the soul of the world tests everything that was learned along the way. it does this not because it is evil but so that we can in addition to realizing our dreams master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream
Every search begins with beginner’s luck and ends with
the victor being severely tested; the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn
define philosopher…
?
define elixir
?
when you possess great treasures within you ad try to tell others of them
seldom are you believed
the boy’s strongest qualitiies
courage to give up sheep and live out his Personal Legend, and enthusiaism during the time he had worked in the crystal shop
his heart helped him
by taking away father’s gun and falling asleep in field avoiding murder- the heart does what it can
your eyes show
the strength of your soul
everything in the universe evolved. for wise men gold is the metal that evolved the furthest.
but gold instead of being seen as a symbol of evolution became the basis of conflict
true alchemists locked themselves in their lab and tried to evolve as gold had and th found the philosophers stone
because they understood that when something evolves everything around that thing evolves as well
anyone who interferes with the personal legend of another thing
never will discover his own
the tribesmen were
dressed in blue with black rings surrounding their turbans; blue veils, their eyes spoke of death
brave men
despise cowards
did the tribe put them in prison
no they just confiscated their horses
what did the alchemist do with the tea
pour it over the boy’s wrists
don’t give in to your fears
or you wont be able to talk to your heart
there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to fear
the fear of failure
the world
is the visible aspect of god
alchemy
does bring the spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane
the boy talk to the desrt
about the loved person he is holding and the chain between the falcon and the game and the human and ho it is love
the desert
gave the by sand and said to talk to the wind
the wind knew of the talk with the desert
the wind there is called the sirocco in his homeland it was the levanter - the iwnd came from no place at all and goes to no place at all therefore it is stronger than the desert
he had inside him
the winds the deserts the oceans the stars and everything created in the universe ALL MADE BY THE SAME HAND
the wind told him to talk to heaven
the boy said yes bought asked for a sandstorm so that he could look to heaven. THe men called is a simum
the boy talked to the desert and then the wind and then the sun the sun says that the greatest problem until now
is that only minerals and vegetables understand that all things are one - all things would be at peace if the hand stopped on the fifith day; the sixth day was the problem
alchemsits
show that when we strive to become better than we are everything around us becomes betters to.
love is not
static like desert, roaming like wind, or see everything from distance
when the boy showed the suns limitations
the wind blew harder
only GOd can perform miracles
but he saw that the soul of god was his own soul and that he could perform miracles
who smiled after the storm
the alchemist because he found the pefect disciple and the chief because the disciple had nderstood the glory of god
they were escorted to a monastery three hours from the pyramid where he went
to the kitchen and took a sliver from the yellow egg he carried along with lead; making a disk of gold. HE gave a quarter to the monk, ang gave some to though eboy and o part the alchemist kept. THen he gave the last quarter for te monk to hold in case the boy ever needs it because he lost his savings twice…everything that happens twice wil surely appen a third time
story about EMperoro TIberius
two sons – a poet and military; dream that the words of one of his sons would be repeated throughout the world - the story was about the military son who was looking for the son of God to cure a servant “ I am ntworthy that you should come under my roof but only speak a word and my servant shall be healed”
no matter what he does
eveyr person on earth plays a central role in th ehistory of the world and normally he doesn’t know it
define avidly..
?
be aware of the place where you are brought to tears
that is where I am and that is where your treasure is
who tdid the boy meet
a king, a merchant, an Englishman and an alchemist and a woman wo told him that love would never kept aman from his personal legend
where the boys tears had fallen
a scarab beetle scuttled through the sand – in Egypt they are a symbol of GOd
what happened when he started to dig?
he found nothing, gotten beaten up and then someone told hi he had the same dream only it was go to Spain to a sacristy at the roots of a sycampre; now he knew where his treasure was
define abraded
?
what did he find under the tree
a chest of Spanish gold coins, mask, stones
when did he use Urim and Thumim
only once in a marketplace
Life is generous
to those who pursue their personal legends; he had to get to tarfa to give 1/10 to the gypsy wman
how would the next book start
wit ajounrey to Fatima who sent him perfume and a first kiss on the wind
theme of the book
follow your dream; you will make mistakes but eventually you will get there
In the end the book is not justa oval but also maybe a
fable
what stops us frm our dreams per the intro to te book
everyone tells us it is ipossible, then fear prejudice and guilt; then we need to accept love as a stimulus
intense unexpected suffering passes more quickly than
suffering that is apparently bearable; without our noticing it eats away at our soul until one day we are no longer able o free ourselves rom the bitterness and it stays with us the rest of our lives
when a personal calling is within reach why do so many people commit mistakes not to reach it
our soul fills with guilt and we see others that did ot get what they want and feelthat we do not deserve either. we forget about te obstacles we overcame and all the suffering we ndured all the things that we had to give up to get this far
if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get
you become an instrument of God, you help the soul of the world and you understand why you are here.
