Alchemy's peacock stage, conceptual illustration. The peacock represents the stage in the alchemical process when the base material turns iridescent. Alchemists though that the philosophers' stone, a mythical substance, was able to turn base metals such as lead into gold. It was also thought to be a rejuvenating elixir of life. Reproduction after Salomon Trismosin, Splendor solis (1582).