Driven by the hope for wealth, power, and a long, healthy life, we are more fascinated than ever by the natural and scientific feasibility of the New. The seemingly Other, the so-called pre-modern thinking, serves as a historical contrast and philosophical corrective when it comes to addressing the question of the essence of the New without hastily linking it to the question of the essence of technological progress. Based on a case study of a central work of early modern transmutation alchemy, the Rosarium Philosophorum (1550), this paper philosophically engages with ideas about the feasibility and essence of the New. In this context, the diverse and interpretatively rich reception history of alchemy up to the 20th century, particularly in the works of thinkers like Alexandre Koyré and C. G. Jung, plays an important role.