Projection was the ultimate goal of Western alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

. Once the Philosopher's stone

Philosopher's stone

The philosopher's stone is a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal...

 or powder of projection had been created, the process of Projection would be used to transmute a lesser substance into a higher form, often lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 into gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

.

Typically, the process is described as casting a small portion of the Stone into a molten base metal.

Claims and Demonstrations

The seventeenth century saw an increase in tales of physical transmutation and projection. These are variously explained as examples of charlatanism, fiction, pseudo-scientific error, or missed metaphor. The following is a typical account of the projection process described by Jan Baptista van Helmont in his De Natura Vitae Eternae.
Other reports include:

• Elias Ashmole
  Elias Ashmole
  Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
  
  ’s Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum lists an account of Edward Kelley
  Edward Kelley
  Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot was an ambiguous figure in English Renaissance occultism and self-declared spirit medium who worked with John Dee in his magical investigations...
  
   making projections from lesser metals into both gold and silver. Kelley’s success is also recorded by John Dee
  John Dee
  John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
  
  .
• Alexander Seton was reported to have projected a heavy yellow powder onto a mixture of lead and sulphur resulting in a button of gold.
• A variety of accounts are given of Sendivogius
  Michal Sedziwój
  Michał Sędziwój of Ostoja coat of arms was a Polish alchemist, philosopher, and medical doctor....
  
   performing public transmutations.
• Nicholas Flamel
  Nicholas Flamel
  Nicolas Flamel was a successful French scrivener and manuscript-seller who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist due to his reputed work on the philosopher's stone....
  
   is recorded as making a projection of the red stone onto mercury, making gold. His wealth is given as further evidence of this success.

While it may not account for all claims of metallic transmutation, some alchemists of this time period give accounts of fraudulent projection demonstrations, distinguishing themselves from the projectors. Maier’s

Michael Maier

Michael Maier was a German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg, a learned alchemist, epigramist and amateur composer.- Biography :...

 Examen Fucorum Pseudo-chymicorum and Khunrath’s

Heinrich Khunrath

Heinrich Khunrath , or Dr. Henricus Khunrath as he was also called, was a physician, hermetic philosopher, and alchemist...

 Treuhertzige Warnungs-Vermahnung list tricks used by pseudo-alchemists. Accounts are given of double-bottomed crucibles used to conceal hidden gold during projection demonstrations.

In Art and Entertainment

The concept of projection appears in various fictional works related to alchemy. It’s a notable theme in Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist

The Alchemist (play)

The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature...

where the following dialogue can be found, commenting fraudulent applications of projection: