Athenor, o Athanor, is a word used in alchemy and refers to the oven used for the “alchemical digestion”. The word comes from the Arab “at-tannūr (التنور)” and from the Hebrew “tanur” which means “oven”. According to the Alchemical Doctrine “Athenor” comes from the Greek “Α-Θάνατος (Thánatos)”. It means “Death” but with the letter “A” before it means “without-death”, just to specify the power of the oven to work endlessly.

The Athenor is not just an ordinary oven to cook metals, it is the human spirit where the “combustions” really take place and where the “Secret Fire” burns. The oven shape with its shells, areas and levels are just a simplified metaphor referring to all the human mental, spiritual and physical qualities which allowed people to get the Philosopher’s Stone.

The alchemist reflected the spirit of the athenor: as the athenor had to be able to “burn” all the impurities of an impure metal like lead and let it become gold, the alchemist had to be able to free himself from his sins and become light and master alchemist.

The athenor and the laboratory represented a microcosm, the simplification of the universe where the athenor represents the sun, The Eternal Fire. (Italian Wikipedia).