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The illustration is the ancient symbol for the alchemic material soapstone.Alchemy is generally known to be the practice of turning metal into gold.This obviously yields comparison with the recent album The Gold Experience (along with the NPG's Goldnigga and the track 3 chains O Gold from the 0(+> album).The books introductory text on the origins of alchemy features the following:
"In the Dark Ages the practice of alchemy was under ban. The church opposed it as a black and satanic art. Rulers suppressed it since they feared that the power of individuals to manufacture an unlimited supply of gold would undermine the fundamentals of their absolutistic reign."
The idea of people in power suppressing the creativity of individuals is something that 0(+> would identify with ,mirroring the "restraint of trade" argument he touted to anyone who would listen during 1994/5.
The introduction also says that in the early days of alchemy,the astronomical signs of planets were also used as alchemical symbols.The symbol that we all thought Prince derived his new name from was basically a combination of the biological symbols for male/female gender.These symbols themselves are taken from the astronomical signs for the planets Mars (0->) and Venus (0+).Amongst other things ,this has the immediate connotation to one trained in occult studies of representing androgyny,a mixture of male/female forces,which lies at the very heart of alchemy.Androgyny is something Prince has always embraced,presenting himself as a gender-crossing,unstereotypical star since day one.
Alchemy in modern times has more to it than just the medieval get-rich-quick connotations people might assume.Turning metals to gold was just a practical aspect of the ancient art.In a more general sense it encompassed the ideal of perfectionism,the desire to transmute base into noble in every sense.It could mean the wish for an ordinary man to become a Prince ,(a Prince to become a God?),the equating of the baser human sexual drive with something on a higher,more spiritual level,(Lovesexy,perchance!) basically just a general improvement in quality,of life possibly, "make a better day",as Prince said in Alphabet St,"striving to be the best that you can be",(Live 4 Love),or,most significantly,"Call upon the inner forces that I've got brewing in my cauldron,that means my nugget",(My name is Prince).
The text below is taken directly from an internet site on alchemy:
"What is a wizard? Not someone who can simply perform magic but "What is a wizard? Not someone who can simply perform magic but someone who can cause transformation. In the West a wizard is primarily thought to be a magician who practices alchemy, turning base metal into gold. Alchemy also exists in India (in fact it was invented there), but the word alchemy is really a code word. It stands for turning human beings into gold, turning our base qualities of fear, ignorance, hatred, and shame into the most precious stuff there is: love and fulfilment. So a teacher who can teach you how to turn yourself into a free, loving person is by definition an alchemist--and has always been one. "Prince has always fought to change people's ideas,prejudices in songs like "Race",and other purposes for alchemy include getting rid of addiction,his dislike of drugs has been shown in songs like "Pop life","Sign O The Times","The Future",and to heal sexual/mental abuse "Papa".
Other related topics to Alchemy include the balance of the natural forces for good and evil (Chaos and disorder anyone?),astrology,a topic Prince has touched upon before,"Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with"-Kiss.He has shown classic signs of duality associated with his gemini (the twins) starsign,(indeed,he portrayed the Gemini character in the batdance video),along with his infamous good/bad alteregos Camille and the despicable Spooky Electric,and he told us "I've got 2 sides,and they're both friends",in 1992.More recently the Dinner With Delores single cover features the symbols for the starsigns Cancer and Libra,the crab and the scales of justice respectively.These could perhaps signify a cancer eating away at the Scales of Justice (a dig at Warners perhaps),or maybe crab was on the menu for Dinner with Delores,or is he just saying he's a fair person,while she's shellfish (boom,boom!)
One of the aims of the alchemists was to discover the stone of knowledge in an attempt to perform alchemy.An underground society over 2000 years old exists,who seek the stone.Their name-The Golden Dawn!Was it not at the end of Gold that we were finally told "Welcome to the dawn".Many members of the group are artists and philosophers,a description fitting of Prince.The Golden Dawn believe in "The Future",with people who are not at war with themselves,filled with inner power and peace.This tallies with Prince's vision of the dawn-"To be around you is so alright,you're sheer perfection,the future",from Take Me With U. It is also interesting to note that the group rely heavily on the 2 sections of the bible that Prince favours:Exodus and Revelations.
The substance Soapstone is compacted talc,and as an elixir it was believed it could help to cross "the veil of dimensions","Cross the Line"-Prince ,1988,"Together we'll love through all space and time"-7,1992.
And so we have it,beyond any reasonable doubt,the foundation for Prince's new name.Whether he believes in "The Golden dawn",alchemy and the like is uncertain.He is a pop wizard for sure,but whether his magical skills stretch further is debatable. It's likely he just came across the symbol in a book one day,noticed a resemblance with his own union of the sexes symbol and took it from there.He does give the impression of being a well-read person and so maybe researched into alchemy etc.and saw similar ideals to his own,and took it as "a sign".None of the "gold" references in his songs appeared before 1992 and the 0(+> album,so he just dreamt up the whole "Gold Experience" and,as ever,left it to the fans to work out in time.3 years in time as it happens.
"That's a theory,and if you don't want to know,step aside and make a way for those who want to" 0(+>,Gold,1994.
With thanks to the following:
My Prince-related website All About The Artist can be found at: http://www.prince3922.freeserve.co.uk/home.htm