Lion devoring Sun..Of solution now will I speak a word or two, which showeth out what ere was hid from sight, and maketh things thin that were thick also; By virtue of our first menstrue clear and bright, In which our bodies have eclipsed been to sight

Dame nature points to water springing from a rock beneath the lion's feet.
It is said of “our mercury”, the artificial mercury, that gold will dissolve in it as ice in warm water, but the gold takes a long time, possibly a year, before this takes place. It is also called the “dry water which will not wet the hand”, and this because it arises as a vapour when it is extracted from metals, and naturally distills into a liquid when it is cooled.

Before considering further quotations from a few treatises which bear out what has been outlined in previous chapters, it is as well to investigate some more rather difficult terminology. Prepared mercury is the vapour of metals, and extracted from antimony and iron.

Saturn, the planetary name given to lead in the old days, was never used to describe the metal. It is a blind designed to mislead, and invented owing to its descriptively dark nature. The first change the compound undergoes is that it becomes black in forty days or more (90 days are optimum). But if this colouring was due to lead, nothing will come of the experiment. Also note that antimony is not mentioned at all, but Mars (the name given for iron) is mentioned.

Now to deal with the problem as to whether Venus (or copper) is to be used in the work of preparing the “ Secret Fire “.
Many alchemical adepts said that Venus is of no use for the purposes of alchemy, and looked upon it with contempt. But Philalethes claims that without Venus nothing will be achieved. We quote from his poem The Marrow of Alchemy. (Remember Saturn is really antimony, Mars iron, and the sun gold.).

Mars is the stout and valiant god of war,
His body vile, and little is esteemed,
He’s fierce of courage, conquering near & far
all sturdy opposites, and may be deemed,
that his rough outside hidden doth enclose,
a spirit whose full virtue no man knows
Venus, the planet fair, the god of love,
Whose beauty the stout god of war allures,
her central salt; whoso has wit to prove,
shall find a key all secrets which assures
the owner for to find; I say no more,
for this disclosed by none, hath been before.
To Saturn, Mars with bonds of love is tied,
who is by him devoured of mighty force,
whose spirit Saturn’s body doth divide,
and both combining yield a secret source,
from whence doth flow a water wondrous bright,

In which the sun doth set and lose its light.

The “bonds of love” which must be joined as a preliminary work indicate the use of Venus (copper) to join the regulus of Saturn (antimony) and Mars (iron). More detail from Philalethes:

58. But of this mercury, if you desire, the secret for to learn, attend to me, for this is a water which yet is fire, which conquers bodies from their fixed degree, and makes them fly much like a spirit pure, this after fixing all flame to endure.
60. This Saturn’s offspring who a well doth keep, in which cause Mars to be drowned, then let Saturn in this well behold his face, which will seem fresh, young and tender, when the souls of both are thus together blended, for each by the other needs to be amended.
61. Then Lo-a star into this well shall fall, and with its lustrous rays the earth shall shine, Let venus and her influence withal, for she is nurse of this stone divine, The bond of all crystalline mercury This is the spring in which our sun must die.
62. This is the lunar juice, this is our moon, This is the Hesperion garden, happy they, who know it to prepare, for they very soon, may climb the mountain tops, where day shall banish darkness and all obscurity.

The sun is gold, and the moon is a name for silver-but silver is not meant here because gold and silver may never be used together. The compound or regulus of antimony and iron is often called “mercury” or luna to mislead.
Further from First Principles by Jacob Behmen:

“This shows the theory of nature in relation to its spirit and to the matter of every sort; the prime matter is antimony purified by iron, and finely pounded; the invisible mercury is the spiritual air of antimony, which combines with animal or vegetable fluids, and then solids, in its spiritual or watery form, and from thence, combines with metals or stones.
“From this theory, the affinities may be learned for practice. The gas will not unite easily with metals or minerals until it is embodied for that purpose. This may be done either by the thick red or white mercuries, which are the oil and water of antimony. . . “

In alchemical literature, one will often come across the expression, “the red man and his white wife”; and here we may gather what they are. Iron is the red man and antimony is the white wife. Later we can infer-that gold is the red man and the regulus is the white wife. Again, the regulus of antimony and iron becomes one principle, the red man, and mercury (which is clear white) is the white wife. All this is useful to know, although not essential, if one is reading the artful philosophers who try to hide their knowledge from dilettantes. But it is well to know that the regulus of antimony and iron is referred to as one principle; gold or silver (note that we say or silver as these must not be used together) is another principle, and mercury is a third, making three principles in all. In many books of the alchemists, they advise that only three principles are to be used, so always remember these three given here. The prepared mercury, of course, is not a metal at all, but is the catalyst, and only called a principle to mislead.

One more confirmation of the ingredients of the regulus of antimony and iron, which will produce “our mercury”, this time from the book called Vade Mecum. Again, the notes in brackets are comment by the author.

“A crude immature and coagulated Mercury vive, not yet fixed, is the destroyer of the perfect bodies [gold or silver], for truly it destroys them, incrudates and softens them, and renders them fit for our work. It is the offspring of Saturn [Saturn here is not lead, but the appearance of the black stage], and is acknowledged as such by the philosophers, and is the only and greatest secret in the art.

It is necessary that it [the antimony] be freed from all superfluous and burning sulphur with which it is joined in the mine [being found in the natural state as stibnite, a sulphide], after which that which lies hidden in the centre thereof will be manifested.... The sign of its [raw state] right preparation is a beautiful whiteness, like the purest silver, a heavenly brightness and a wonderful glittering on the face of its fractures, like the polish of a bright sword.

Ripley calls it the ‘green lion’ [The main colour of the water which arises in the work from antimony], which devoured the sun.... In the Turba Philosophorum it is called sea water, in which ‘the perfect body’ [gold] is decocted until it [the sea water] is congealed. Artephius calls it the most sharp vinegar of the mountains.... It is the offspring of old Saturn [remember antimony used to be considered a form of lead], for which reason it has by some been called ‘Venus’ [see the myths concerning the birth of Venus], and principally for this reason; because she has been connected with the warlike Mars, and has been caught by Vulcan [vulcan is heat] in the act iron is added in preparing the regulus]. It has been called a ‘Wood’ and has received the name of ‘Diana’.

It is likewise called the philosophical mercury . . . and by Artephius a middle substance, because neither a mineral [crude Antimony at this point in the work]. It is moreover a ‘ middle substance ‘ between the body [gold] and the spirit [secret fire], between earth and water.”

Enough has now been said to confirm that antimony and iron are the metals that produce a “mercury” required in the making of our stone. These two when fused into a regulus are the one principle that is called mercury or sometimes luna. Now we require “sulphur”, and although most treatises of the art refuse to say where this comes from, the truth is that only gold and silver represent the “sulphur”. If there is any doubt about that, study the extract given above from the Vade Mecum, and take it for granted. Now we need salt; that is truly a liquid, a burning water, the sea water from the quotation above. This is the, “Secret Fire”, the catalyst, which is easy to discover, but which no book ever mentions, but enough has been said.

THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE OF MERCURY

The identification of each kind of mercury is one of the deepest secrets in alchemy. It is therefore important to obtain a definite knowledge of what that mercury is, and what that is, mentioned in every case where the name mercury appears in treatises. Sometimes it is “The Philosophers mercury”, and at other times, common, vulgar, or ordinary mercury, it is always necessary to notice the manner in which each is said to react upon bodies.

From this it may be gathered that there are two kinds of mercury. Both are volatile and liquid in form, but one is a metal, and does not wet the hand, and the other is a liquid which will naturally do so.

It is said of them, common mercury is silvery and opaque, and the philosophers mercury is not a metal, and is clear; as clear as the tears of the eyes, a beautifully clear, brilliant, and shining water. yet by no means a water, rain or dew as it has been described.

When the salt of the philosophers mercury is dissolved in common mercury, the clearness disappears, and it becomes milky and opaque. This is the milk often mentioned. Here it should be reminded that common mercury only becomes clear and transparent by being dissolved in an acid but acid is never used in alchemy so it is seen that both kinds of mercury are opposite in nature.

The philosopher’s mercury first arises as a vapour, and is extracted from all metals, but it is undetermined a simple, and not a compound substance. Philalethes says: “For this thing is not water otherwise than to the sight”. And the artful sages have said: neither can we imagine that water can be in solid metals. Of course not, but they go on to say and agree too, that there is a despised and common substance from which, although difficult to prepare, yet with little trouble and expense may be obtained the philosophers mercury, also sulphur and salt, the same as in gold and silver. So we have to learn what the philosophers mercury is, called the mercury of the bodies; and common mercury which is the mercury of metals. The latter is only to be used after the former is made.

SOLUTION - The Second Gate
Of solution now will I speak a word or two, which showeth out what ere was hid from sight, and maketh things thin that were thick also;
By the virtue of our first menstrue clear and bright, In which our bodies have eclipsed been to sight;
And of their hard and dry compaction subtilate.
Into their own first nature kindly retrograde.
One in gender they be and in number two,
Whose father is the sun, and moon truly is mother,
the mean is mercury, these two and no more,
be our magnesia, our adrop, and none other;
Things there be, but only sister and brother.
This is to mean, agent and patient, sulphur and mercury, co-essential to our intent.
Betwixt these two, in quality contrarious,
Engendered is a mean most marvellous,
Which is our mercury and menstrue unctuous;
Our secret sulphur working invisibly,
More fiercely than fire burning the body,
Into water dissolving the body mineral, Which night from darkness in the north, we call.
But yet, I trow, thou understandeth not utterly, The very secret of philosophers dissolution.
Therefore understand me, I councel thee wittily,
For I tell thee truly without delusion,
Our solution is cause of our congealation.
The journey through the Twelve Gates
For the dissolution on one side corporal, Causeth congealation on the other side spiritual.
And we dissolve into water which wetteth no hand,
For when the earth is integrally incinerate,
then is the water congealed, this understand;
For the elements be so concatenate,
that when the body from his first form be alterate,
A new form is induced immediately,
For nothing is without form utterly.

And here a secret to thee I will disclose,
which is the ground of our secrets all,
And if thou know it not, thou shalt but lose,
thy labour and costs both great and small,
Take heed therefore in error that thou not fall.
The more thine earth, and the less thy water be, The rather and better solution shalt thou see.
Behold how ice to water doth relent,
and so it must, for water it was before;
Right so again to water our earth is bent,
and water thereby congealed for ever more,
For after all philosophers which ever was bore, [born]
Every metal was once water mineral, Therefore with water they turn to water all.
In which water of kind occasionate,
Of qualities been repugnance and diversity,
Things into things must therefore be rotate,
until diversity be brought to perfect unity;
for scripture recordeth when the earth shall be
troubled; and into the deep sea shall be cast, mountains, our bodies likewise at the last.
Our bodies be likened conveniently to mountains, which after high planets we name;
Into the deepness therefore of mercury,
turn them, and keep thee out of blame;
Then shall you see a noble game.
How all shall become powder soft as silk,
So doth our rennet by kind curd our milk.

Then hath our bodies their first form lost,
And others have been induced immediately,
Then hast thou well bestowed thy cost;
Whereas some others uncunningly must go by, Not knowing the secrets of our philosophy.
Yet one point more I must tell thee, Everybody, know it, hath dimentions three.
Altitude, latitude, and profoundity,
By which always must we turn our wheel.
Knowing thine entrance in the west shall be;
Thy passage forth into north, if thou do well,
And there thy lights shall lose their light each deal,
For there thou must abide ninety nights,
In darkness of purgatory without lights.

Then take thy course up to the East anon, By colours variable passing in manifold wise, And then be winter and spring nigh overgone;
To the East therefore, thine ascending devise, For there the sun with daylight uprise;
In summer, and there disport with delight, For there thy work shall become perfect white.
Forth from the East into the south descend,
And set thou up therein thy chariot of fire;
For there is harvest, that is to say an end
Of all thy work after thine own desire;
There shineth the sun up in his own sphere.
And after the eclipse is in redness with glory, As king to reign upon all metals and mercury.
And in one glass must be done all this thing,
Like to an egg in shape and closed well.
The journey through the Twelve Gates
Then must you know the measure of firing,
The which unknown thy work is lost each deal,
Let never thy glass be hotter than thou may feel,
And suffer still in thy bare hand to hold, For dread of losing as philosophers have thee told.
Yet to my doctrine furthermore attend,
Beware thy glass thou never open nor move,
From the beginning until thou hast made an end.
If thou do otherwise, thy work may never achieve;
Thus in this chapter which is so brief,
I have taught thee true solution,
Now to the third gate go, for this is won.
SEPARATION - The Third Gate
Separation doth each part from the other divide.
The subtle from the gross, the thick from the thin;
But Manual separation look thou put aside, For that pertaineth to fools, which little fruit do win. For in our separation, nature doth not blin. [cease]
Making division of qualities elemental,
Into the fith degree till they be turned all.

www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/esp_ciencia_lapidus4.htm

Taken in: Belgique / Antwerpen / Antwerpen (show map)

Taken on: December 28, 2017

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