Alchemy 109
Alchemy is a catch-all. It can be both.
Alchemy is a very advanced science/magic, and essentially works on every level of existance/in every elemental form.
The making of potions or transmutation of physical objects into others would be Material Alchemy - in real-world terms, this would have been the mnaking of potions and turning Lead into Gold. Usually not considered to be the most divine form of the art.
Otherwise, Alchemy is essentially the turning of something into something else, of taking something base and solid and ascneding it into something holy. The true process of alchemy was taking a base soul and turning it via the mean into an Enlightened Soul. This process was very detailed and used a -lot- of symbology, including the symbol of turning lead into gold. Such points as Death of the Intellect (or Conciousness) to give rise to the SuperConciousness (True Self) and things of that sort.
The information is out there if you're really curious, but...
It can easily be transferred into a fantasy setting. I'd suggest a splitting of the art of Alchemy into 2 or 4 Subschools for fantasy, one being Material Alchemy, that being the creation of objects and potions and things, and the other either being a catch-all for divine alchemy, perhaps the crafting of one energy into another kind or changing a spirit into some other, more advanced form, or even giving boons to the alchemist in several ways. Real life alchemical lore is a rich pot of info.
Later,
Magus