Related Texts • The Rosicrucians • Fama Fraternitatis • Confessio Fraternitatis • The Rosicrucians: Past and present Related Subjects • Alchemy • Rosicrucianism • Thelema • Ritual Magick • Tarot • Geomancy

Alternative Religion/ Library

And this is the right way of making the Stone of Mercury alone; but the Elixir cannot be made without the addition of Silver to the white and of Gold to the red.

To each this work, consider eight principles:

1. Luna. 2. Pure Silver. 3. Calcination. 4. Solution. 5. Putrefaction. 6. The Sulphur. 7. The Liquor of the Sulphur. 8. White Ferment.

Hermes saith the Elixir is nothing else but Mercury, Sol and Luna. By Mercury nothing is understood but the Sulphur of Nature, which is called the true Mercury of the philosophers, and that Sulphur gotten by putrefaction by the conjunction of the Spirit and the body of imperfect bodies and metals.

By Sol is meant Gold, by Luna, Silver; both of them are to be joined to imperfect bodies, that is to say, white Sulphur and Red, whence the same Hermes, in his seventh treatise of Sol, saith there happeneth a conjunction of two bodies, and it is necessary in our maistry. And if one of those bodies only were not in our Medicine, it would never by any means give any tincture. Upon which Morienus saith: For the Ferment prepareth the imperfect body and converteth it to its own nature and there is no Ferment but Sol and Luna, that is Gold and Silver. Of which Rosinus saith: Sol and Luna prepared (that is to say their Sulphurs) are the ferments of metals in colour.

But this is made more evident by Raymund in his Apertory, where he saith there is no Ferment except Sol and Luna, for the Ferment of the Medicine to white is Silver and to the red Gold, as the philosophers do demonstrate, because without Ferment there doth proceed neither Gold nor Silver nor anything else that is of its kind or nature, therefore join the Ferment with its Sulphur that it may beget its like, because the Ferment draweth the Sulphur to its own colour and nature also, and weight and sound185, because every like begetteth its like. Because the Ferment, even as Sol, tingeth and changeth his Sulphur into a permanent and piercing Medicine, therefore the philosopher saith: He that knoweth how to tinge Sulphur and Mercury with Sol and Luna shall attain to the greatest secret. And for this reason it is necessary that Sol and Luna be the tincture and ferment thereof.

2. And so also Arnoldus saith in his Rosary, there is no body more noble and pure than Sol or his shadow, that is to say Silver, without which no tingeing Mercury is generated. He that endeavoureth to give colour without this Gold or Silver goeth blindly to work, like an ass to a harp, for Gold giveth a golden and Silver an argentive colour; therefore he that knoweth how to tinge Mercury with Sol and Luna cometh or reacheth to the secret which is called white Sulphur, the best to Silver, which, when it be made red, will be red Sulphur, to Gold best.

3. Take pure Luna, that is to say Silver. That is best which is beaten into leaves; and bring it into calx with Mercury, and it is then called water Silver; then is the Luna well prepared for calcination.

4. When you have your Silver thus prepared, take four or six ounces thereof and put it in double proportions of Lac Virginis mixed with equal quantity of corrosive water to dissolve in an egg glass. After it hath dissolved so much as it can in the cold, set it in Balneo and there let it stand nine days till the whole substance of the silver be dissolved into a green water. Then let the Balneum cool and take it out and put the dissolution into the body and set thereon a head and distil off the water from the matter remaining, which is the oil of Silver, calcined not into a calx but into a liquor, because this Lac Virginis, if it be mixed or joined with common Aqua Fortis or alone without it (as it pleaseth the operator) is so strong that the very Diamond cannot resist it but is dissolved. Therefore this water is called the Water of Hell and is the only miracle of miracles of the world, because it containeth such a fiery nature in itself and propriety of burning of all bodies into liquor, whereas the elemental fire prevaileth no further than to reduce metals into calx or ashes. But to return from whence I digressed, I now come to the third operation.

5. To the end, therefore, that this liquor or oil of Silver may be more perfectly dissolved, and that all the imperfection of adustion may be taken away, which by the ancients is called the corroborating of the least humidity, put the oil or liquor into another egg glass like the former, pour thereupon so much Spirit of Wine above it as shall reach to a depth of four fingers, then close well the glass and set it in Balneo to digest seven or ten days and you shall find the oil or liquor turned into a thin or rare water or oil. Put this water into a still and in Balneo draw away the spirit of wine till none of the Spirit of Wine remain with the Silver dissolved, and thus you have your Silver prepared for putrefaction.

Observe the power of the Moon and her Angel upon Hasmodai, Muriel, Populus, Via and Silver. Practice and prepare after this manner. This Medicine cures all the diseases of the neck and breast etc. It must be Silver purely refined.

Geomancy the Harmony in this Preparation.

6. This liquor of Silver is potable, but not the Quintessence. Put this water into a fit putrefying glass and seal it up and set it to putrefy in Balneo till the time of putrefaction be past, which is about one hundred and fifty days, and when you see the first sign of putrefaction, which is called the head of the Crow, increase your fire a little till all the colours begin to appear and you see it begin to be white.

When you see it white, increase your fire yet more and it will rise up and stick to the sides of the glass, most transparent, like the eyes of fishes, which is Sulphur of Nature or Salt, or the putrefied body of the white luminary, viz., Luna, which yet is not so hard as a body nor so soft as a Spirit, but of a mean hardness between a Spirit and a body, and is called the Philosophers' Mercury and the Key and means of joining Tinctures.

7. But to come to the liquor of the white Luminary. This body being brought into Quintessence is prepared for dissolution like the Sulphur of the imperfect body; but whereas that is done by virtue of the white tincture or Lac Virginis, I rather do it by virtue of the fire natural, which is the Spirit of Wine; and after the drawing away thereof it remaineth in a liquor.

Now this liquor of Luna dissolved is the Quintessence, which then is the liquor of the white luminary and the soul (as Eximandrus saith) quickening the whole Medicine, without which it is dead and will never give form nor colour.

8. Therefore the fourth part of the liquor of the white luminary is to be joined to three parts of the former liquor of the Sulphur of Mercury, and after to be kept in a lent fire of ashes, well closed, till it pass through all colours and at last come to its former colour of whiteness; and so the Medicine is fermented and turned into the white Elixir.

The residue of the foresaid dissolved Sulphur keep diligently, and therewith ferment the white Sulphur of other imperfect bodies or stones into Elixirs, which, when they are thrice dissolved and again congealed and remain in a liquid, then they are called incombustible oils and Elixirs of the third order.

And thus the Medicine is made of Mercury alone as followeth by this example. Having spoken of the white Medicine it now resteth that we speak of the making of the Red Elixir, whereof there are two processes, the first whereof is from the Radix, i.e., the long way; the other an accurtation that is much shorter and more excellent. And this way the Elixir may be made in eighty days, and excels all other accurtations; neither is there found therein any diminution of the virtue, but a plentiful and perfect fullness of power and virtue, having all the properties which the Elixir ought to have.

Next>

<Return to Start

Return to Texts Index