Curious Thoughts, On True Alchemy, Particularly Its Prima Materia, Along with Complete Instructions for the Preparation of the Lapidis Philosophorum and Universal Medicine
quod est inferius, est sicut quod est superius
what is below is like what is above
Opus nostrum est opus mulierum
Our work is the work of women
Seminate aurum vestrum in terram albam foliatam
Sow Your Gold in the white foliate Earth.
Lapis noster non tingit nisi Proprio tingatur Sanguine
Our stone is not dyed unless it is dyed with the Proper Blood
Curious Thoughts,
On True Alchemy,
Particularly Its Prima Materia, Along with Complete Instructions for the Preparation of the Lapidis Philosophorum and Universal Medicine
With all the necessary manipulations and observation
Printed 1702
To the Most High Lord
The Holy Roman Imperial Counts of Beichlingen
Hereditary Lord of the Free Lord
Knights of the Royal Danish
Order of Dannen-Brugk/ His Royal Majesty in Poland and Electoral Serene Highness in Saxony, highly esteemed Colonel-Sangler and actual Privy Councillor.
My most gracious Count and Lord.
Most Highly
A most humble duty, with which I am forever bound to Your Highness, the Most High Excellency, compels me to lay the present pages before Your eyes with all humility and to obediently request a shot against the evils (which are intended to reduce this small task).
I must freely confess that I have taken on more than my strength is capable of carrying out, and I do not deny that in many respects the matter could be put forward more clearly and distinctly;
I am also happy to accept that others have come higher and further in this noble science of alchemy.
But since at this time there is no little doubt about the existence of alchemy and its reality and pro & contra debates are being made, I did not want to refrain from vindicating it to the best of my ability out of love for the truth and from presenting my thoughts to the learned world discover.
Please, Your Highness.
Excellency, once again, not to interpret my audacity improperly, but to acknowledge this poor work to your high standard and undeserved grace.
If I receive this, which I have no doubt about, then I will protect myself before the happiest people in the world, and prove to Your High Count Excellency that I am.
Your most humble and loyal servant
The Author.
Preface.
Dear reader, what the highly wise man and King Solomon complained about in our forefathers' times, that there is no end to the writing of books. vid. Ecclesiastes 12. v. 12. this Pan can be proclaimed with much better justification in our times, when everyone strives to leave his fame to posterity through writings.
And that so, just look at the excellent alchemy, in which one science contains so many hundreds of books that one could almost be horrified if one were to use them to achieve one's final goal, especially since most (I could say all) of the poets' fables are used to illustrate their meaning and the work is proposed as hieroglyphics and aenigmatics.
Despite all this great abundance, I hope nonetheless to obtain forgiveness from the kind reader, since I do not intend through my undertaking to promote my own honor and fame, but solely and exclusively the eyes of the kind reader, to open up the dark sense (obscurum sensum) of the Adeptorum and to keep him from the wrong ways of the sophists (Sophistarum).
This is also the ultimate purpose of this little treatise, which briefly and simply opens up the current mystery of nature and alchemy without flowery and obscure language; namely, what the true primary matter is, how it is to be found in its Reduce the elements , animate the Separata again and transform them into a menstrual universe or Mercurii Philosophorum.
It is how to obtain the seeds of gold through brass and to multiply them by imbibing and coagulating the Mercurii Philophorum, and then use this red coagulum in medicine and, with the addition of well-purified gold in an open fire, to make it into a true tincture, and also how to o-perish with the tincture in projectione and to tincture the Impure metals (Metalla impura) into true gold.
What is thus proposed by many hundreds of philosophers and aenigmatics, all of this is short and clear in the present sheet.
because vino bono haedera vendibili opus non est (), but I want to leave this to the art- and Christ-loving reader, who through diligent prayer and hands-on effort, with the help of this little treatise, will find and obtain more than he ever wished or thought.
Like a core, or as the Latins say, to see and hold it in a nutshell.
However, I do not want to boast about my own work, for good wine does not need ivy to be sold - good wine needs no bush (nam vino bono haedera vendibili opus non est), but rather leave them to the art and Christian-loving reader, who through diligent prayer and manual application, with the help of this little treatise, will find and receive more than he ever desired and intended.
Now may God shine to enlighten them, and grant that they use this lead for no other purpose than to honor God and the free youth of poor.
Chapter I: On the Knowledge and Truth of Alchemy.
1. That gold, which the Latins call the nervum rerum gerendarum (the nerve of things to be accomplished), is considered the only means of becoming great and distinguished in the world—this has so captivated many worldly-minded individuals that all their thoughts and efforts are directed toward gathering wealth, and thus establishing themselves in great honor and prestige.
2. No effort is spared to find all means to achieve this end, and because they hear and read in the writings of the philosophers that through the philosopher's stone all imperfect metals such as tin, lead and iron can be transformed into gold or silver, and all diseases can be cured, their sole aim and desire is to obtain this noble jewel; for this reason they call upon all the laboratory workers, of whom they only hear, and who follow their own thoughts and sit in the same darkness, to take counsel with them and do not follow the process according to the light of the Nature but according to their silly brains without God.
3. When they are now engaged in their work and perhaps notice some color or something else that is directly related to the flowery phrases of the I agree to the letter of the philosophers (Philosophorum juxta literam concord), they do not know, out of arrogance, what to do and where to go with the money.
One wants to be made a nobleman; another wants to have fun with mistresses and big banquets; the other wants to buy property and build big palaces; each of them has something good in mind, but when the process is over, they are all beggars and instead of gold they get dross; instead of wealth, poverty and long nicknames.
4. When they find themselves deceived in their hopes, they curse and cry out against the philosophers, calling them liars and deceivers and holding the noble alchemy to be a pure work of illusion and A being of reason (ens rationis), not seeing that their evil life and evil end are the cause of it and that it must only be requested from God, but concluding that because they and their ilk have not been able to obtain this little piece of work through labor, alchemy is a pure fantastic work of lies and not being (non ens), since, as all philosophers say, from the ignorance of the thing to the non-existence of the thing itself is no consequence (a rei ignorantia ad rei ipsius Inexistentiam non valet consequentia): for as absurd as it would be if I argued that
because you and he are a liar and a deceiver there are no honest and truthful people; it is just as wrong and unclear if you want to conclude from your ignorance and bad experience that the Lapis Philofophorum not being (non ens).
5. The contrarium is proved by the splendid examples of the Adeptorum, who lived at different times and showed certainty in this noble art. If we open the Holy Scriptures we find their different reasons and proofs. Among others I only like to mention Moses, David and Solomon.
6. Moyses who was a man after the heart of God and had the true miracle-working faith has legitimized himself for the sake of this noble science enough by burning the divine golden calf into a light powder and floating in water which No one else can do anything other than that of an Adeptus.
7. David and Solomon who also had the spirit of GOD were without doubt adepti because David did not leave Solomon that much centner of gold also want to discover many of the Compositions of stone (Lapidis compositions) from his Psalter (Pfalterio) as in the explanation of the same This is why the famous Arndt was also an adeptus and inherited such a tincture from a Hamburg nobleman.
8. In the other book of the Chronicles, c. 1. v. 13, it is written in detail about Salamon, that he made as much gold and silver in Jerusalem as stones.
Other biblical places show that they had this gold brought from Ophir with ships, but from this it cannot be concluded that they did not have the tincture, but because without it the gold from Ophir would have been such a good thing, and nothing like it can be found today, it may well be that they tinctured it in such distant places and then had it brought in with other goods; because otherwise Jeroboam, Solomon's son, could also have fallen into such poverty after Solomon's death if it had been dug in Ophir and brought in with ships. It remains undisputed that all these three holy men were adepts of this Noble Mystery.
9. If I come to our times, we find that there are not a small number of them, so that if one wanted to cite them all, he would have to write a whole book about them.
To think of less, but more truthfully, it is known what Arnoldus de villa nova did in Helmstadt. For when Cornelius Martini, professor there, publicly debated the Existence of the Philosophers Stone (Lapidis Philofophici Inexiftentia), Arnoldus de villa nova opposed him in this way: take lead, let it flow over the fire, throw a few grains of his tincture on it, let it flow again, and pour then throws out the gold that has been transformed into gold, saying: Solve this syllogism for me (Solve mihi hunc Syllogismum).
9. Edvvardus Kellæus, an English knight, brought a tincture in the form of a red dehl with him to Prague, the third drop of which tinctures 18 loth of silver in gold.
Alexander Sidonius, a Scotsman, has demonstrated his art publicly in Utrecht, Amsterdam, Cologne on the Rhine, Strasbourg, Augsburg, Basel and Vienna.
Wilhelm Homliton, servant of Sidoni, transformed mercury into silver and silver into gold in the presence of the Elector of Krossen.
Hans Olcke in Dresden is said to have tingired with the same art; in the art chamber there one can see a similar tinned piece of gold, one finger long.
Emperor Ferdinand III, of the High Royal Family, received the tincture from a nobleman named Richthausen, and instead of honoring him, he was made a baron with the name Chaos. This Ferdinand tinctured it ☿ in gold with his own hand and had an ingenious mascot struck as a memorial, as can be seen in Zwelfero in his Mantissa Spagyrica, with several others.
David Beuther, who received his tincture from a dying cardinal, tinctured publicly, but when they tried to force him to reveal his art to the executioner, he resorted to poison, as was known in Meissen.
The famous Burrhi demonstrated his art everywhere in Germany as well as in Holland, especially in Prague, from where he was taken to Rome as a prisoner for various insults, but was pardoned for the tincture.
What happened in The Hague to Dr. Helvetius in the year 1666, that an artist showed him the possibility and truth of noble alchemy by giving him a few grains of tincture, can be read in detail in his treatise entitled The Golden Calf (vitulus aureus).
I do not wish to mention here the splendid examples of this noble science that Theophraftus, Helmontius, Sendivogius, and many others have accomplished, but I hope that the interested reader will be satisfied with them and will agree with other credible persons that alchemy is not an imaginary science, but a true and real science, and that its power can also be demonstrated from nature.
11. In the vegetable kingdom one sees every day how, by grafting and grafting, a wild tree is transformed into a good tree, a plum tree into a peach tree, and a barren tree into a fruitful almond tree, or, more commonly, an apple tree. Yes, nature itself plays very strange games, so sometimes the grain is transformed into wheat, barley into oats, good oats into bearded oats.
12. In Germany, the nutmeg changes into a walnut. Cypresses in Livonia are said to turn into cedar trees. Pepper becomes ivy or woundwort in Italy, and cinnamon into laurel. In Germany, the seeds of the ginger plant change, when planted, into dogwood; monkshood (Latin: Napellus) and hemlock (Latin: Cicuta), which are terribly poisonous in Germany, can be planted in Poland and eaten there without harm.
13. In the animal kingdom, according to Hoæferus, scorpions are generated from decayed basil. See Hoæferus, med., Book 1, Chapter 2. According to Tacky's opinion, eels are generated from dew. See Tack, phasid., Book 3, page 61. And, according to the assertion of Helmont, mice are produced when an unclean shirt is placed in a heap of wheat. See Helmont, Tract. Imag. form.
8. Just as fleas grow from many sweat lice, from rotten urine, and worms grow from rotten blood, which modern physics would not admit, saying that everything that is generated is produced from an eye, which is instead of seed. But be that as it may, it cannot be denied that, depending on the nature of the material in which the ovule is located, the ovule can be transformed into another species, as we see every day in the caterpillars, which transform into other species every month.
I am also entirely of the opinion that an ovule belongs to every generation; in general, however, from a fly or other plant an ovule, depending on the condition of the matter in which it is located, a louse, flea, roundworm and other worm can be generated, which I could and would prove in detail through many experiments, if I did not know that this would annoy the eager reader who is more curious to see the transmutation of metals than of worms.
14. And not to delay him any longer, I will take him into the mines, so that he can see how the wondrous nature in the passages and crevices, when they have taken all their gold and silver, after several years first deposits in them a Mercury f. metallic juice (Mercurium f. succuum Metallicum), which over time turns into lead, the lead into tin, and the tin finally into silver or gold, which all mining experts confirm and attest with me.
15. Kenelmus Digbæus proves this by a wonderful experiment in which he produces from earth moistened with rain, firstly vitriol, secondly sulphur, thirdly lead, fourthly tin, fifthly iron, sixthly copper, in which there is indeed a lot of silver, which was also experimented on by D. de l'oberie and D. loques, the famous chymicus vid. of the king of France, Olai.Borrich differs the place. & progress. Chym. pag. 149.
If nature works so wonderfully, why should such a transformation not be brought about by art, since an artistically intelligent person imitates nature in all things.
16. Becher also gives us no little light, when he shows how iron can be made from yellow earth and common tar; see Chymisisches Laborat: On the Transformation of Metals (Von Verwandelung der Metallen) p. 40. In the same way, copper can also be made from yellow earth and common tar in Becheri's manner. Iron is also transformed into copper by vitriol, although this transmutation is more superficial than effective.
Agricola shows a beautiful way of how the most beautiful solderable copper can be made by reverberating Capitis mortui that remains from Oil of Sulfur (Oleo sulpuris). vid. Agric. not. in Popp. pag. 854~859.
17. I have, using the figured arsenic with only the regime of fire, transformed copper and silver into a red and green but flowing earth in the fire. I have not been able in any way to reduce it to a metal. However, when I cemented the red earth with silver, much silver has always been transformed into gold. But when I cemented the green earth with copper, I have always obtained silver.
18. Becherus, Digbæus, Boyle, Philaletha teach how from every metal a mercury corporum can be made and transmuted into silver and gold at will.
With this I hope to have satisfied the art-hungry reader and to have sufficiently demonstrated that the noble alchemy is a true and real science, but which is kept very sacred and hidden by God on account of misuse, as we will see in more detail in the next chapter.
Chapter 2.
From the nature of the
The Alchemist.
1. Just as the poets tell of the golden apples of the Hesperides daughters of Atlantis, that their fruit and garden were guarded by an ever-watchful dragon, so that these golden apples did not fall into impure and undeserving hands, this can be said with much greater justification of the philosopher's stone, for it shines a thousand times more beautifully than the golden apples of the Hesperides, and its splendor and fame is so great that not only those who see but also those who hear fall in love with it and seek to enjoy its fruit.
2. The more glorious and desired this golden fruit, the greater the protection and watch stands the same. The Garden of the Hesperides was guarded by a dragon here stands a cherubim I will not say even the great God, who allows no one to come, who does not legitimize himself through prayer and work.
3. Anyone who is unclean cannot survive here, but must die like Sodom and Gomorrah in the eternal fire. The greedy will be struck by the sword and poverty, and the unjust and blasphemers will perish like the gang of Coram, Datam & Abiram.
4. Therefore, dear reader, strive to attain this glorious jewelry and mystery of nature, while fearing God and avoiding sin, for the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Be silent and reveal your thoughts and knowledge to no one, lest you end up like Sendivogio Beutern and Sebastian Siebenfreund, who all almost died a miserable death.
Do not let the vanity of the world and the song of the sirens seduce you, and do not strive for great honor and wealth. For according to Christ, those who want to become rich fall into temptation and snares of many evil and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and damnation (1 Tim. Chapter 6 verse 9). If you follow my faithful advice which all philosophers and adepts give you, the divine light will enlighten your darkened understanding to such an extent that you will easily understand the wonders of nature with Solomon. You will be able to recognize them and to create them;
5. But if you are convinced in your conscience that you have made yourself unfit for this because of your sinful life, then for God's sake avoid this undertaking of making the philosopher's stone, lest you, as has already happened to hundreds, bring yourself into the greatest misfortune and poverty.
For the fact that so many thousands of people labor and achieve nothing is solely because they do not love and seek God above all else and do not intend to increase his honor, nor do they fervently call upon him in prayer to enlighten their darkened understanding with divine wisdom, so that they may see and recognize the wonders of nature, but believe that it can be accomplished through their own strength, wit and understanding, since it is a gift from God that is given to no one but those who fear God.
6. Yes, you say, how many Adeptos have we had, of whom such virtues can never be boasted: Theophrastus Paracelsus was a black artist and devil-panner, and yet at the same time an Adeptus, Thurnheuser got his tincture by murdering the monk Siebenfreuns des, and tinctured before princes and lords. To this I answer briefly that as far as Thurnheuser is concerned, he can never be counted among the Adeptos, because he composed the Lapidis, but only tinctured as long as his tincture protected, which can also be seen sufficiently from his remaining sophistic writings.
But as far as Theophrastus Paracelsus is concerned, he was undoubtedly not an adept, but by no means, as he is previously proclaimed, a fake artist. His magnificent writings, especially his Denk-Biebel, which is a concept of true divine magic, prove the opposite. In the prologue to the Lapidis Philosophorum he writes in detail that this art cannot be taught or understood except through God: for this reason he also very keenly appeals to God for the Holy Spirit to enlighten his senses and teach him this mystery; see Theophrastus Paracelsum Tom. 2. pag. 689.
This is precisely what all philosophers and adepts demand. And indeed Theophrastus Paracelsus was not an ignoramus of divine secrets, but a real Theo Magico philosopher, which can be seen from the Secreto Magico of the blessed stone, since he teaches us how we should call upon God for wisdom, so that the spirit of God may enlighten us, so that we may recognize and learn the book of nature, which is not written and intimated with ink but with the fingers of God, see. Secret. Magicum Tom. 2. pag. 671. Indeed, he wants to make it clear that for this reason the god All secrets of natural magic must be learned this is also proven in detail in explanations of various biblical texts, vid. 1. c. p. 672.
But even in his writings he deals with Necromancy and other related types of magic (speciebus magiae cognatis), he writes this not to imitate (imitandi) but the grace of detesting (detestandi gratia), as can be clearly seen in the treatise Philosophia occulta intituliret, where he rejects all Consecrationes, Conjurationes and Characteres Nigromanticos/ and proves in more detail that in order to perform miracles, firm faith and well-founded imagination must be obtained solely through fervent prayer to God vid. 1. c. Tom. 2. pag. 268. which is sufficiently founded in holy scripture, Matt. c. 7. v. 7. & id. c. 21. v. 21. and thus need not be deduced at greater length: suffice it to say that I have proved that Theophrastus Paracelsus was not a banner of the devil, but a good Christian and Theo Magico Philosophus, and also that this Mystery of Nature can be attained by no other means than through divine magic, namely devout prayer, firm faith in God, and an blameless life.
7. And this is the philosopher's stone (cornerstone), at which so many thousands of philosophers working through fire have stumbled, because out of ignorance of this high science of the adepts, they wrote their writings so theomagically (theo-magically) that they could not understand them, and thus had to labor in vain. Therefore, dear reader, if you are truly serious and a possessor of this noble little treasure.
If you want to become a magician, improve your life and become a true theo magico-philosopher, as Henricus Kuhnrath explains in detail in his Amphitheatro æternæ sapientiæ (The Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom). You will not only master this mysterium naturæ, but you will also be able to achieve much more.
Chapter 3
On the Prima Materia (First Matter) of the Philosopher’s Stone, along with a detailed instruction to prepare, multiply, and operate with it through projection.
1. Now, in God's name, we want to approach and examine the work itself, and investigate from what kind of material the Stone of the Wise is to be manufactured. Let us consult the writings of the adepts for our task and observe their most secret ways of speaking and symbolic images, which reveal more about the external accidents happening in the work than about the true essence of the Stone. Should someone accept this task with hesitation and trembling, taking upon themselves an equal burden, they will indeed He must really be an Oedipus who wants to discover and solve their problems, for their only thoughts and desires are how to conceal and hide the material from the world, and they also place a terrible curse on those who call the the subject of art (subjectum artis) by its own name.
For just as the word Jehovah is rarely spoken by the Jews, so little is the prima materia called by its own name, because of the divine curse (propter execrationem divinam), by the adepts. So whoever wants to work according to the letter of the philosophy is cheating and strengthening himself into the greatest poverty and misfortune. Therefore, there is no better advice than to pray to God for the enlightenment of this noble clery through the earnest intention of a Christian life, to open the book of nature and imitate it like a diligent student, hoping that discovering this material will not cost so much effort.
2. When we thus consider the nature in the generation of metals, we find that they all consist of a metallic juice (Succo Metallico) ☿ Mercury, a fatty earth (terra pingvi), a combustible 🜍 Sulphur, and a vitriolic salt (Sale vitrioli), and have a golden root. We also find that nothing else is lacking in imperfect metals except a more complete and refined union of these principles, and the separation of heterogeneous substances, which is accomplished through long and moderate digestion, of which all physicists and mineral experts will agree.
3. Now, if we imitate nature and want to transmute imperfect metals into good gold—which the adepts claim can be done instantaneously—then it is clear that we must select a material that internally has a golden form. For, just as in the animal kingdom, an animal can be generated without any intervention from another animal, or as barley/grain can sprout without sowing, so too can gold be produced without a golden seed. Thus, it is indisputable that the seed of gold, if it is to become fruitful and bring forth a thousandfold harvest, must first be reduced to its prima materia (prime matter) and then placed in fertile soil.
4. But now the question arises: what kind of material can reduce gold to its prima materia? Some aim to achieve this end by following the ‘Triumphal Chariot of Antimony’ of Basil Valentine, others by the letters from antimony, others by Helmont’s and Paracelsus’s menstruum (solvent) from vitriol; some follow Arnold of Villanova with mercury and sulfur; many others use arsenic and orpiment.
Most follow Hermes’s Emerald Tablet and speak of the Spirit of the World, or, according to the philosophers from Sal Terrae (Earth's Salt), a supposed fish caught by the right fisherman, and express their views in philosophical terms so obscurely that one might think they intentionally made it difficult; according to their opinion, it must be and no other material should be used; however, if a test is conducted, ah, it often falls short!
Even a natural scientist can immediately recognize the ineffectiveness of these materials based on the light of nature. To prove the truth more thoroughly, I will briefly examine these materials and reveal my opinion about them.
5. Firstly, regarding antimony, which Basil Valentine frequently mentions in his writings, and others such as Becher, particularly Tollius in his Fortuitous Criticisms, seem to have thoroughly understood the martial regulus of antimony. The latter interprets all the fables of the poets accordingly, explaining and clarifying them, although this seems very vague and unconvincing.
Since all adepts avoid naming the prime material openly due to divine prohibition of excretion, Basil Valentine must have meant something different by 'antimony.'
The material must have the nature of gold, or at least a material that, when combined with it, can adopt its nature, dissolving gold down to its smallest particles so they unite in such a way that, once mixed, they can never again be separated.
However, daily experience shows that antimony does not provide this. For whether you make an oil from the vinegar and sulfur of antimony, or refine the martial regulus of antimony into a mercury...
and put it in a dissolving agent; you get nothing but such a menstruum, which, due to its corrosive sharpness, indeed dissolves the gold and does so with great vehemence. However, upon the slightest examination, it falls apart again, and this cannot be otherwise, as the antimony is such an impure substance, composed of many arsenical, sulfuric, and metallic parts, that it is impossible to make anything durable out of it. Furthermore, they do not improve the nature of antimony by adding mercury to regulate it, but rather destroy it through the numerous additions of salts, so that something much worse emerges than crude antimony itself.
Thus, I would like to know what kind of false delusion could come upon otherwise learned people, that they believe in mercurifying antimony to find the primary matter in it, since this, by a new addition of mercury, becomes a new compound, and its nature in such a form does not act throughout its life in the way it would if it followed the natural course as described in the philosophical texts.
6. Secondly, regarding common mercury, many seek to derive the primary matter from it; however, what they ultimately achieve from such efforts is taught by its poor outcome. Although it appears otherwise, and indeed does not argue well in favor of it: From whatever matter each body consists, it is also resolved into the same thing (Ex quacunque re corpus quodque constat, in idem etiam resolvitur)
Whoever wishes to apply this to metals, believing that these can be dissolved back into mercury by the art of artisans, is terribly deceived, as the fire is not a certain and trustworthy analyst, but rather easily deceives and extracts such bodies, compressing them through its heat. This has never been formalized in corporeal beings, as is particularly seen in fixed salts and urines. Furthermore, metals can never, without the addition of many salts, be resolved by mere heat into a mercury state. Even if one handles them as closely as possible, I am fully of the opinion — with due respect to learned men — that common mercury is nothing more than a substance corroded by many salts and reduced to a liquid form, like lead, but not as a primary principle of metals, as is commonly taught in schools, where philosophers and adepts speak of something entirely different through mercury, meaning a metallic earth or water. In this sense, I too have understood mercury in previous chapters as a principle of metals.
Proof of this lies in the fact that mercury is never found in our countries in tin, silver, copper, or gold mines, which would necessarily be the case if it were truly the principle of metals. Furthermore, it is clear...
...mercury in analysis is mostly reduced to lead; even if it is purified to a great extent, it can still be transformed with little effort and by the addition of salts from lead into a similar running mercury. Therefore, it is undeniable that mercury should be regarded as nothing other than a metallic body, which, like all other metals, essentially contains an earthy or metallic water within itself. However, it is not sufficiently fixed, but only slightly coagulated on the outside, so that it easily evaporates in the form of vapor when exposed to fire, condenses into globules in flasks, and otherwise flows like water. This is why it is aptly called 'a water that does not wet the hands' by philosophers. I know that this opinion may seem unfounded and unbelievable to many: that I take earthy and metallic water as one principle.
However, anyone who considers nature in its operations, as it always begins with a metallic juice, which it then, by the force of the mineral spirit, coagulates into an earthy metallic substance, condenses, and purifies through digestion, could attest and test with many experiments if given time. For now, it is enough to say that common mercury, though perhaps not the primary metallic principle, may well be directed toward a better metallic base and matrix by the transforming power of salt and the spirit of golden water or aurificating spirit.
Nonetheless, it should not be...
To make a tincture for metals, as the sophists imagine. For even though it can be brought to a red precipitate by adding salts or through the power of fire, it does not follow that every red precipitate is a tincture for metals. For if I add new salts, indeed contrary ones, I get my previous mercury back as it was before; and this is against the reason and working of nature, which contributes what the man should give and the woman should receive.
To speak clearly, all impure metals (among which I include the common mercury) are in the place of the feminine, which indeed nurtures the material for generation by the sun alone but is not capable of completing this generation without the intervention of the man or the aurific (gold-making) force. Therefore, it must be unequivocally sought in a completely different body, where the prima materia (first matter) can be found, which all adepts confirm with me.
7. As for common sulfur, many are convinced by its beautiful color that they can achieve their ultimate goal by it alone. In this delusion, a certain student of surgery, who had been in Turkey for several years, approached me a few years ago, asking if I would allow him a month in my laboratory. He wanted to complete his studies on the Philosopher's Stone, which seemed very laughable to me, so I discouraged him from such an undertaking.
... and so persistently sought the favor of using the laboratory that I had to grant his request. But as he got deeper into the work, the flask broke in two, and the tincture escaped into the fire, causing no small amount of damage to the laboratory. Such a mishap annoyed me greatly, not only due to the incident but also because of his foolish intentions. In order to pacify him, I shared the following process with him:
8. Take common sulfur, pulverize it, and pour strong Aqua Fortis (nitric acid) over it; draw this off three times. The sulfur left at the bottom will be black. Wash this with sweet water and continue until the water is clear, without any sulfuric smell. Then, take this washed sulfur, place it in a closed reverberatory furnace, and reverberate it like antimony. It will first turn white, then yellow, and finally red, like a cinnabar. This reverberated sulfur is supposed to tint any silver into the finest gold. But one must have strong faith for that, as common sulfur never naturally contains anything suitable for metals, regardless of what sophists may shout.
For even if it forms a beautifully colored body, that does not mean it is a tincture for metals. It remains like a foam that lies upon metals during projection and has not the slightest effect, as I have observed with similar attempts.
I have often seen and experienced similar distillations. So, the sulfur of the adepts is a completely different substance; it is metallic and uncombustible and is found only in metals, whereas common sulfur is combustible and never seen in ore-forming veins.
Agricola, in his notes to Popp, teaches how to coagulate common sulfur with oil of vitriol and then transform it into an oil with spirit of wine. He attributes remarkable virtues in medicine and alchemy to this oil, and, in the sophistic manner, calls it the blood of the lion; he further explains the truth by saying:
'Dissolve your silver in a good spirit of niter, let a few drops of this essence fall into the solution, and let it stand overnight in the sand; you will find a black precipitate that holds a little gold.'
However, who does not see that Agricola is acting as a sophist here, deceiving people with a blue haze before their noses? For what causes this black precipitate is not the oil of sulfur (oleum sulphuris), which he himself writes on page 853 is not fixed and cannot endure the examination, but rather the spirit of niter, which in dissolving silver always precipitates a black, gold-bearing precipitate. Thus, every beginner should take great care not to immediately believe in all such processes, but instead to before pondering and examining whether they are based in nature.
9. Fourthly, we want to see what can be achieved with arsenic, about which the ancients made so many statements and the modern sophists still want to persuade themselves that the white tincture can be made from it. They base this on experience, claiming that arsenic can transform copper into silver with their so-called tincture.
I recently witnessed a comparable projection with a black glass, where the copper was tinged as beautifully as the finest silver. The artist stated that the process was as follows:
10. Recipe: Take 9 quintals (q.v.) of white arsenic powder, throw it into an iron crucible, and place a gentle fire underneath. Leave it until it no longer smokes, then strengthen the fire so that it flows. Once it is well-melted, remove it from the fire. Then take a smelting crucible, add as much lead as you like, and let it melt. Once it is properly heated, take the arsenic that was sealed in the iron crucible and throw it in carefully. Let it flow together for an hour. Then remove it from the fire, tap the crucible with tongs to see if the king (metallic essence) is visible.
When everything cools down, break open the crucible, and you will find the arsenic in the form of a black glass, which contains the tincture that lies at the bottom.
... a lead-like “king,” which can be retained for further vitrification of the arsenic.
Take a portion of this tincture, dissolve it in three parts of purified copper, and let it melt well. You now have white copper. If you then take three parts of this white copper and one part of silver and let it flow strongly, you will have silver that holds to the mark.
However, if you grind it down, it evaporates, as all sophistical silver or gold does into the air, and it loses its whiteness with repeated melting.
In summary, it is deception and should not mislead those who love Christ, for arsenic is a mixture of auripigmentum (orpiment) and common salt, composed by sublimation and consisting of three parts: first, of a salt which is extracted by the cooking of arsenic; second, of sulfur, because it burns and enriches itself like sulfur; and third, of mercurial or metallic parts, as I demonstrate here because if arsenic is treated with mustard and tartar in a circular fire, it yields a beautiful metallic regulus that shines as brightly as the finest silver, yet is so delicate that it can evaporate even in the air.
With these parts, however, little transmutation is achieved. I would almost bring myself to experiment with the fixed arsenic case I have invented and also to bring the thoughts I have had to bear on its intransmutation. Namely, as already mentioned above...
I took fixed arsenic, mixed it with nitre, and coated copper plates with it. I added some silver and calcined it in an open fire for a full 16 hours. Finally, I applied a strong fire so that it melted. Instead of white copper, I obtained a red stone lying on the surface and a green one at the bottom. The red, when fused with silver, gave me gold; the green, silver.
Now, one may ask whether in this experiment the cause of the aurification was the arsenic or the nitre. It is probably not the arsenic, as it is a light bird that lets its wings be clipped in such a manner. There is nothing golden in arsenic; one may proceed as one wishes. I fully believe that this “destruction of Venus and Luna” solely and entirely comes from the fixed nitre.
I cannot deny that something significant is concealed here, and perhaps something useful could still be achieved. I would have liked to carry out the experiment with only fixed nitre alone, but due to lack of time, I was never able to proceed. Therefore, I leave it to the interested reader to experiment with this, ensuring they are not deceived but rather succeed.
11. Fifthly, as for auripigmentum (orpiment), it deceives with its gold-yellow color in such a way that many imagine they are near to achieving perfection by its means. Many philosophers call their materia auripigmentum, although whether it is the same...
... not so much from the body as from the color, as it has its prima materia.
However, in order to make this sulfur rich in healing properties, they calcine it with fixed nitre in a circular fire like arsenic; others mix it with mercuric sublimation and distill from it a yellow oil, to which some add antimony to improve it further.
The first ones, with their orpiment, cement the Moon; others pour it into oleum orpimenti, silver lime, and thus color the silver and transmute it into gold. However, if the presumed gold is examined, the test is not worth it, and even though a few grains of gold-lime may result from it, this is not sufficient to conclude that it comes from the orpiment, for orpiment consists of the same corrosive salts as arsenic, which is why it is a septic medication, namely ‘philosothrum’ from sulfurous particles, from which the color, the distilled oil, etc., proves itself. From metallic and mercurial things, the regulus when cemented with alkaline salts is tested. But with all these things, there is little success in transmutation, as they are too volatile and impure and not in line with nature, by which they could accomplish the right sharpness.
... of those deceived. Therefore, I do not consider it worth my time to dwell further on this matter, but rather to hurry.
11. Sixthly, on vitriol, about which there is much boastfulness and fame; entire treatises can be found that claim vitriol as the true material of the stone. The old philosophers also interpret their Cabalistic sayings exclusively and solely toward this subject when they say, Visit the interior of the earth, and by rectifying, you will find the hidden stone, the true universal medicine. Hence, the initial letters, when taken together, spell vitriolum, and they claimed that only common vitriol held this knowledge.
12. Theophrastus Paracelsus, in his Secretum Magico de Lapide Philosophorum, attempts to persuade us in a cabalistic manner that vitriol is the true material. He says, The stone is called Vultu mori, i.e., viro multi vid. (Tom. 2, p. 689), where by transposing the letters, one gets nothing but the word vitriolum. He also calls, in this place, mercury the first matter of the philosopher's sulfur, referring to the green color of vitriol as its true essence (see p. 687).
13. Hadrianus à Mynsicht, in his Testamentum, aligns with this when he says (p.m. 13): Cujus ut indigitem proprium tibi denique nomen, Scito: quod antiqui facie sit filia vatis Calcanthis MILUI simul orta rapacis in ORTU &c.
"To identify her name precisely for you, know this: that the one with an ancient face is the daughter of the seer Calcanthis, born at the same time as the rapacious kite in the dawn (or rise), etc."
Thus, by calcanthum, vitriol is understood, and also from Milvi ortu (the rising of the hawk), when this is transposed, nothing else is meant but vitriol itself, which becomes even clearer to see from the sigil, as shown on page 5. Since the sign of the Sun and vitriol is in the center, from which sulfur and mercury originate, it is therefore inevitable to conclude that from vitriol, the mercury and sulfur of the philosophers must be prepared.
14. And it is not to be denied that in vitriol, before all other bodies, something special is contained, as shown to us by the Pulvis Sympatheticus and other astral medicines composed from vitriol, which in its body is found more abundantly than in any other in the world. Anyone who knows how to analyze this body correctly, to separate the pure from the impure, can already obtain a complete medicine.
But to make it effective in alchemy, they manipulate vitriol in various ways: they calcine, dissolve, crystallize, and distill it, until it becomes a blood-red oil. This is then brought into a closed, hermetically sealed flask, tempered through heat, into a red stone, when all the stages of colors have been gone through and coagulated. As is explained in detail in Geisler’s treatise Panacea viridis Leonis.
… from which red stone they prepared the conjunction with Sol, the Philosophers' Stone, the Tincture for preparing metals.
15. Now, whether common vitriol can produce a similar effect, I am inclined to doubt. For though it contains a large amount of Astral Spirit and Metallic Spirit, it is no longer pure and universal but is combined with certain species of metals. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain a universal tincture for metals from it. No matter how much one may purify and process it as desired, the traces of Venus will always be present with vitriol.
16. The world-famous Helmont, with whom I had the honor of speaking a few years ago, and from whom I also received information regarding this material (namely, vitriol), confirmed that he also preferred to work with his substance in preparation rather than with vitriol. He could not deny, however, that in the projection of this tincture, Venus would always appear as a third part, and to liberate the tinged gold, it would have to be purified through Saturn. I believe that a particular tincture could be made from vitriol, though not one that would penetrate the metals as thoroughly as the universal tincture, turning all parts into gold.
… referring to vitriol, yet this does not mean that it must be common vitriol. Rather, it is known that for transmutation, the subject in its root must also be golden, but closest to Venus; otherwise, gold cannot be generated by it. Thus, vitriol is a completely different thing with another nature—a salt so universal that it is prepared for the generation of all metals, not something that is already determined and classified by absorbing an impure seed, like common vitriol.
The learned Kuhnrat agrees with this view when he writes: Materia nostra non est vitriolum commune vel etiam cuprum, sed Physico-Magicum, ex aere Catholico, Saturno nostro, sale nimirum Saturni, composed of the primordial salt of the fundamental general Earth. See Heinrich Kuhnrad, Tractatus de Primateriali Chao, Chapter 7, pp. 163–164. And this shall suffice on the topic of common vitriol.
17. Now, let us next examine the Universal Spirit of the World, from which many wish to deduce and prove the first matter according to the Smaragdine Tablet of Hermes. It cannot be denied that there exists a material like this. Let us call it ether, subtle matter, or the Spiritus Mundi, which in all bodies appears as a universal efficient cause of saturation. Through it, things grow and multiply...
... herbs grow, animals move, and minerals are transformed and sustained through it. However, the question remains of how to obtain this verum avicula of Hermes most effectively and frequently, whether in air, water, or earth.
18. The first group creates their magnets from calcined salts like potash, calcined fire salts, but especially from fixed nitre, as well as certain metal mixtures, which they expose to the air in hopes of capturing the Spiritus Mundi. Others use blowers like Eglinus, who placed a glass retort in hot sand and, through continuous inflows from bellows, managed to capture a large amount of spirit. Many concentrate it using burning mirrors and other peculiar instruments. See Tractatus Anonymi titled Aurum Aurae, Chapter 5, p. 26 and following.
19. The second group, who seek it in water, obtain it from snow, icicles, dew, and rainwater. It is remarkable that even from dew and rainwater, an ardent spirit can be distilled, which initially has no taste at all but becomes very sharp and acidic after a few weeks. I distilled this spirit three times and obtained such a sharp, yet pleasantly vinegary solution that it dissolved coral, pearls, and even gold.
As further experimentation with it has not yet yielded any useful results, I have not continued testing for the time being...
And although the adepts speak almost exclusively of their obscure discourses…
… besides in medicine, where it powerfully reduces heat and fever in high fevers, and at the same time strongly strengthens the patient, especially if one dissolves pearls in it and offers such liquors as a perlarum. This statement, namely, that the prima materia resides in the air, is particularly mentioned by Sendivogius or rather Sithonius in his New Chemical Light, when he writes in his appended riddles. The air is the old matter of the philosophers; this is the water of our dew from which the philosophers' saltpeter is drawn, through which all grows and is nourished; this is also our magnet, which I previously called steel; the air produces this magnet, the magnet, however, makes the air visible and tangible. Many are of the same opinion, such as Penotus, Crollius in Basel, Chym. Faber in Pall., Spag. Poppius in Hodego., Chym. Rhumelius, Glauberus, Nitner, Borricius, etc.
20. The third group who seek this treasure in the earth use as a foundation the water stone of the wise, as mentioned on p. 24. The materia is found everywhere, p. 27. The subject is partly heavenly and partly earthly. By this, they understand the terra virgina adamica, which is to be found among the plant roots and which has not yet been specified in any kingdom of knowledge. It is neither animal, mineral, nor vegetable, but entirely...
... completely pure and universal, if it is to be found ad genua foderis foveam ("to dig a pit at the knees"), just as the water-stone of the wise speaks purely and in great quantity holds and possesses the universal spirit of the world, the magnetic balsamic spirit.
21. To obtain this universal magnetic spirit, there is a special instruction in a rare manuscript, which provides the kind reader complete satisfaction, communicating word by word with all manipulations. I also intended to include my own experiences with it. The manuscript reads as follows:
22. 'In the month of May, when the sky is entirely clear and pure, and the weather is calm without any wind and rain, and the air is full of a pleasant fragrance, so that one can see the air almost visibly from near and far, smoking and evaporating with sweet and delicate scents, go early in the morning at sunrise to a meadow that has good, rich, black — or even better, red, clay-like soil — and that naturally bears well-scented colorful flowers.
Then dig a large, wide, round pit, about 3 or 4 feet wide and as deep as the knees (but the grass and roots must first be removed and set aside). The grass should be carefully cut out piece by piece with a spade, and then the pit should be...'
... filled with manure and other earth, and once the turf is placed back on top, the excavated earth of the wise suffers no harm. The red and yellow earth found a bit in the vineyards is also quite useful for this, as well as from the clay pit (Luna Symbol), if you completely separate the roots. Then, dig about 20 to 24 hundredweight of such good, rich earth, only if it’s not stony, and spread it out on the meadow or another nearby place, so that the stars and the sky can fully affect it. Leave this earth exposed for 14 days and nights in such clear and pure weather (if rainy weather occurs, it must be covered with straw or green brushwood and very thoroughly covered). After the 14 days and nights are over, if the earth has been well-weathered by the air and sky, then store it carefully in clean wooden barrels or tubs until use.
23. After this, take wooden barrels like those used for boiling saltpeter, lined on the inside with wooden slats about 2 hands high, with taps at the bottom. On these slats, place a layer of barley straw, then add a quantity of the collected earth on top. Pour cold water over it, as much as the earth requires. Let it stand for 24 hours so that the pure salts of the earth can be absorbed. Then...
Open the tap hole and let it slowly drip into a container set below, just as one would normally handle lye, and proceed similarly with the remaining earth, until you collect a good quantity of this earth-lye; then pour it into a copper kettle, let it boil down to about half, and repeat this 8, 9, or 10 times. When it’s all boiled down for the last time and the kettle is still half full, pour this firm, hardened lye into a new copper kettle with fresh earth, let it sit for a few days, and a salt will settle in the kettle, similar to saltpeter, but it doesn’t burn like common saltpeter.
Dissolve, filter, coagulate, and crystallize this salt in pure water until it becomes completely clear, transparent, and crystalline. This is now called ‘Salt of the Virgin Earth’ and ‘Nitrum Philosophorum,’ which floats in the sea of the world; the water that does not wet the hands but moistens the ball, without which nothing in the world can be shown or born.
Thus ends the manual instruction of our secret manuscript.
24. Now I will briefly report what I obtained through this process, according to the letters, after laboring: from several hundredweights of such prepared earths, I only extracted a little over two ounces of earth-salt by lixiviation. After…
...I repeated the experiment in the same way once more and soaked the collected earth in different stages with putrid rainwater, doing this over four weeks continuously. After the fourth week and subsequent washing, I obtained an exceptionally fine saltpeter, which did not burn like common saltpeter. I purified this by dissolving and crystallizing it to the finest and purest state.
25. Then, according to the manual of the aforementioned manuscript, I took this fine white earth salt, half a pound, and crushed it finely in a glass mortar. I mixed it with its own earth, from which the salt was initially extracted, and let it be well-heated in a brick oven. I soaked this with rainwater, formed balls from it, placed them in the sun, and soaked them several times with rainwater so that the aerated spirit could more thoroughly permeate.
26. After four weeks, I took a part of these balls, filled half a well-sealed retort with luto (clay), and placed it into a strong glass container, over which I poured distilled rainwater through a funnel. I distilled a spirit and volatile salt from it, placing a helmet over the vessel. In this way, I collected a good quantity of this spirit and volatile salt.
27. Then I took a flask, placed my spirit with the volatile salt into it, closed it with a strong helmet, and distilled off all phlegmata in a balneo Mariae (water bath). Afterwards, I placed the flask in a sand furnace and distilled the spirit again, which I separated separately, and distilled it several more times. Then I applied a stronger fire, and the volatile salt sublimated into the helmet. I continued this sublimation until a fine feces remained in the flask, which I also set aside.
28. Then I calcined my caput mortuum (residual matter), extracted from it a saline solution with distilled rainwater, which I dissolved, coagulated, and purified until it became clear and transparent, like refined saltpeter. Then I combined all three separate principles, placed them in gentle digestion, until everything had transformed into a single water.
29. Now this is the universal solvent or ‘menstruum’ that the above secret manuscript describes, and it is indeed not to be discarded lightly but truly valuable, deserving further consideration.
Here I again note how I worked with this solvent according to the instructions of the manuscript.
30. I took 3 1/2 lot of this universal water, added one drachm of the purest gold refined through antimony, and placed it...
... a small glass flask in digestion, so that the gold dissolved peacefully in gentle warmth from the very first moment without any resistance, yet left a gray earth lying at the bottom / separated from the gold in the solution / and remained as the expelled earth. Further, I separated the strong solution, so that a high gold extract could be obtained from the earth, and poured my solution into a small vial glass, sealed it well with wax or hermetically sealed it. I then placed it in God's name in the corresponding Athanor or digesting oven, gave it a very mild steam heat for almost 40 days until everything went into putrefaction and turned entirely black, which is known as our Philosophical Raven's Head.
Afterward, I placed it in ashes so deeply that only a plate-width remained exposed at the top / gave it a slightly stronger fire so that the glass became as warm as the sun shines on the warmest summer day; after 40 days different colors appeared, which are expressed by the Philosophical Peacock’s Tail. I then increased the fire, but only so that it did not glow / and no wood in the ashes turned to coal; after another 40 days, my tincture turned snow-white, a color that is called the Adept's, the moonlight, and the beautiful Diana in her snow-white silver form.
Afterward, I buried the glass in the ashes and gave it strong heat until it glowed...
... glowed, so after 25 days, the tincture turned completely reddish; however, at that time, due to an oversight and the carelessness of a young boy, I was hindered, so I could not continue as per the description in my secret manuscript. After 50 days, it should have turned blood-red and left a blood-red ruby core in the center, which the Philosophers call the true, crowned king of wealth and health. This red ruby core must be separated from its red powder as its excrement and kept by itself: for this is the true Quinta Essentia and seed of gold, by which an unspeakable secret of health and wealth is obtained through repeated imbibition and coagulation, as I will explain in the last chapters.
31. Now I must admit that in all my life in alchemy, I have never seen or read anything rarer or more real than the present process, which, according to the opinion of all philosophers and adepts, so perfectly agrees. If not all adepts agreed in writing that their menstruum is sweet as sugar and not corrosive, I would believe there was no other way in the world to reach this Philosophical Kingdom than by the above-mentioned process. And one may not know whether the adepts, through their sweet...
... that they understand everything metaphorically and hieroglyphically, which suggests something different. Enough to know that through this path something great can be achieved; Sapienti satis (enough for the wise).
32. Here, next, I cannot refrain from communicating to the gracious reader another process, as it is relevant to the subject: glass ore or lead ore, rich in silver, from which one can coin, is often filled with metallic spirit. The process is as follows:
33. Take glass ore / q. v. (quantum vis - as much as you want) and extract its essence using the following menstruum, prepared without fire (for it must not be placed in fire, as this would cause most of it to evaporate and very little of the red tincture would be obtained, with the spirit being driven away from the matter in the heat). This extract must be made in sufficient quantity; pour off the menstruum each time and add a fresh one until all sweetness is extracted. Then filter everything carefully, so that it has a slight yellow hue; put this in a large flask and distill the menstruum very gently until the material thickens like a syrup. When a drop of this is allowed to fall onto a cold stone, it solidifies like cooked sugar. Then stop and place the material into a sealed retort, set it in a sand bath, and put an ordinary flask in front to fully expel the remaining menstruum. When they start to...
To make yellow drops and white spirit, and as the oil reflects white rays in the middle of the retort, then one must immediately place a large recipient, well-sealed, yet not give too strong a fire, so that the spirit does not shatter the recipient. One must maintain a steady degree until all the oil and spirit have passed over. What remains behind is a black mass, which contains the treasure of life and wealth, and is called the black raven’s head. Therefore, one must not use too strong a fire so that it does not flow to the king.
The distilled spirit is placed in a well-sealed vial and hung in the steam of the Balneum Mariae for a maximum of three weeks. During this time, the liquid becomes entirely flat, and the oil separates, partly settling below and partly above, producing quite a lot in this manner. This is as beautiful as the oil of oranges (Oleum Aurantium). This oil is then separated through a funnel and stored because it is not yet the resin-colored blood, as will be further explained later.
§ 34. Therefore, take the black raven's head, calcine it so that it does not flow, but becomes white and turns to ash, which we call terra adamica. Then, take one part of this white earth and pour three parts of the earlier spirit over it. Place it in digestion for eight days, during which it will turn blood-red. When you see this sign, place it in a retort and distill it through the alembic gently. Finally, give it a slightly stronger fire.
Fire, thus the oil rises as a red blood
together with the gray earth, called the rusty
man or sulfur, which is united with its white
bride and has become the highest medicine,
called the Philosophers' potable gold, which
maintains human health and cures cancer, fistulas,
strokes, and other diseases with a single drop.
35. Now follows how to proceed with the metals.
In the name of God, take this proper part, all together, which is quite heavy, and add the finest, most subtle calcined gold, one ounce. Place it carefully into warm ashes, not too hot—such that one can still bear a hand in it. Then you will see the gold rise and fall, and it will dissolve and coagulate, forming a black, cloudy mass.
Thus, maintain this degree of heat until all the colors appear. This does not require a year but happens in 16 to, at most, 18 weeks. At that point, it will turn into a pure ruby-red stone.
Then, take one part of it and mix it with four parts of crude mercury. Combine it in a well-sealed vial and place it into a sand furnace that is reasonably hot, such that one cannot keep their hand on it for long.
You will see the tincture flow, coagulate, and transform the mercury in 10 days into a blood-red powder or mass.
it is a tincture that is first applied to gold and afterward to all imperfect metals, transforming them into the finest gold. Now follows the menstruum:
36. Take putrefied urine, distilled vinegar (acetic acid), and Spirit of Tartar (equal parts). Place them together with quicklime into a flask. Set a head (distillation apparatus) on top. Allow it to distill thoroughly with a receiver. The head must have a hole on top that can also be closed when necessary. Once this is done, pour the urine, distilled vinegar, and Spirit of Tartar through the hole, where it will heat up with the lime and forcefully expel the spirit below.
However, the lime must not be too much; otherwise, it will overheat. This is said to be the true philosophical menstruum, which extracts the "soul" from every mineral. However, regarding its certainty, I must confess that I am unsure because the mentioned substances are much too impure to achieve anything usable. Therefore, I also do not favor the process of separating the principles since it seems rather sophistical.
However, as it was communicated to me as something special and real by a good friend, I leave further thoughts on it to the discerning reader. It is enough that its essential procedure is contained within.
37. Now I would have various subjects to consider, from which many would prepare the Philosopher’s Stone. Among them are chicken eggs, hair...
... hair, semen masculinum, saliva, human excrement, urine (of which a curious story can be read in the treatise titled Sol sine veste, page 3), blood, as well as Chelidonia (celandine), spurge-root, ivy, hyssop, lunaria, etc.
However, I deem it a waste of time to dwell any longer on these worthless things, as anyone can see the absurdity of the preceding materials and judge them accordingly. Even the renowned Theophrastus Paracelsus speaks for me when he states about this matter:
'It is all deceit and trickery combined to mislead people, to deprive them of their money, to make them lose and waste time unproductively, and to follow nothing but the foolish notions of their own heads, which cannot even calculate what Nature requires. Rather, tell me who burns in earthly water, or whether there are winemakers and urine merchants who can create metals from them.'
You fool, you cannot understand that you are mistaken, that such things have no place in Nature. Or do you wish to place yourself above God by wanting to create metals from blood, wine, urine, etc.? Then make a stone out of a horse or a wheel out of a mouse. Perhaps you still think good milk could help with this—that would also be multiplication. But it does not happen, and as little as this happens...
... so little can you make metals from the aforementioned substances. See Theophrastus Paracelsus, Tom. 2. Tr. de Lap. Phil., p. 687.
And these are my thoughts on the differing opinions concerning the prima materia.
38. Now it is no longer inappropriate to reveal my own opinion on the matter and to communicate the true subjectum artis. However, before I fulfill my duty, it is necessary to first address the agreement among the adepts regarding this matter, which all conclude that a single substance is required, specifically from the mineral kingdom, which nature has already dedicated to this purpose.
For the author of the Aquarius Sapientum states: Materia saltem unica est res, ex qua hic lapis unice et solus absque peregrino additamento preparari necessum habet (The material is at least a single thing, from which this stone alone and uniquely must be prepared without any foreign addition). See Musae Hermet., p. 83. In the treatise titled Gloria mundi, the following words can be found: Saltim res una est ex qua Ars laboratur (At least it is one thing from which the art is worked). See cap. 212.
Arnoldus de Villa Nova, in his Speculum Alchymiae, shares this view: Tota scientia in sola una re consistit et ista res sola facit totam perfectionem (The entire science consists of only one thing, and this thing alone brings about all perfection). Furthermore, Lapis noster invenitur in pluribus locis et est vilissima res; et pauci sunt qui non habent et nullus ipsam agnoscit (Our stone is found in many places and is a very cheap thing; few do not possess it, yet no one recognizes it). See L.C., p. 14.
(The commentator on the small farmer also writes very thoughtfully:) There is a thing which is closest to gold and is a thing which one does not need to buy from others and which the poor possess just as well as the rich...
As the rich can have, the pound is to be had for a shilling.
See [reference], Tractate on Chymistry, Heinrich Khunrath in Amphitheatrum Divinae Sapientiae, p. 109. Theophrastus Paracelsus, On the Philosopher's Stone. All agree with this opinion. Mynsicht, in his Testamentum, likewise says:
'Hold this of ours bare: examine the universal veins.
Extract from the lap that Nature brings close to you.
Here you will find what is our one and only thing:
The primary material of all good of the philosopher's stone.'
(Appearance though externally base) origin.
See: Testamentum Hadrianeum, p. 9.
39. Basilius Valentinus is among all the most trustworthy when he teaches us that there are two ways to reach the universal. The first comes from the sulfur and salt of the most purified gold with the help of the spirit of mercury, which must be extracted and driven out of a crude and unrefined ore. It is through the force of his fifth key. However, this way is the most laborious, requiring considerable effort, cost, and a long time, since gold does not allow itself to be reduced to its prima materia without great effort.
The second way comes from a feminine and mineral nature in which the sulfur is much stronger and more worthy than in the most purified gold.
Gold to be found, also liquid and open, along with the spirit of Mercury, which also, in a visible form, can be obtained with little effort from the very same mineral. Through this way, the universal can also be prepared in a very short time.
(See Basilius Valentinus, Tractate on the Universal of the Whole World, p. 233, etc.)
40. Now, as to what kind of mineral nature this is, in which such wonderful treasures are still contained, it is certainly worth further reflection. Basilius Valentinus wants to convince us that in imperfect metals such as Mars (iron) and Venus (copper), and in minerals (in which the materia prima and the root of metals are even more present), there is vitriol or copper water, in which the spirit of Mercury and sulfur can be obtained as desired. He also shows how vitriol can be brought into different principles and how the oleum grave veneris (heavy oil of Venus) should be separated from oleo solis (oil of the sun).
Now, concerning the aforementioned material, I hesitate to communicate it so openly for several reasons. Firstly, because the spirit and Mercury in vitriol are acidic, although all adepts praise and extol its sweetness. Secondly, because the unburnable fixed sulfur is found very little therein. Thirdly, because in the separation of vitriol, one never gets any such heavy golden residue as Basilius Valentinus claims to have obtained. Fourthly, as it is evident in his Tractate on the Universal of the Whole World, he explicitly states that the vitriol should not...
...of the common, but rather metallic vitriol, as understood, see vid. l. c. p. 255. Thus, it is indisputably understood here that vitriol is nothing more than a general principle, or better said, a universal one, which is magnificently manifested in the generation of metals as a father and can be frequently found in all metallic bodies, though more abundantly and potently in imperfect metals and in the matrices of metals than in the metals themselves.
41. "Whoever therefore intends to achieve his ultimate purpose, does not begin with the materialists—since the Spirit of Mercury is not separated from the metals and minerals—but rather ventures into the mines, as gold still lies within the matrix (as one may rightly assume that the shell is better than the kernel itself), and seeks the nearest material from which gold is generated, already prepared by nature for this purpose. This is further clarified as I elaborate using Basil Valentine—refer to his Treatise on Natural and Supernatural Things, p. 241.
Take in the name of the Holy Lord a red quicksilver ore, similar in appearance to cinnabar, and the best gold or glass ore that can be obtained. Grind it together in equal weight, expose it to a moderate fire for some time, then pour upon it an Oleum Mercurii prepared per se (which is likewise prepared from quicksilver ore through sublimation and fixed in a cold place). Place the true Oleum Mercurii thereupon and digest it...
42. "After one month, you will have an extract that is more heavenly than earthly. Distill this extract gently in the balneum Mariae (water bath) until all the phlegm is removed. Then place the remaining material in a well-sealed flask, embed it in sand, and apply heat. Thus, you will obtain the universal central salt and the Spiritus Mercurii. Distill this spirit several times from the gilded oleum, the true essence of feminine gold, until it becomes sufficiently volatile and rises in the helm.
Then, transfer the golden oleum to another vessel and heat it as needed with the proper intensity. When everything has been distilled, keep each part separately. Calcine the remaining residues in an open flame, then extract the salt with the spiritus roris majalis (spirit of May dew). Add this salt to its spirit and let it digest until it becomes well combined and dissolved.
43. Take three parts of this spirit and one part of this golden oleum. Place them in a flask, seal it hermetically, and digest it in the balneum Mariae until the material becomes fertile and unites. Then, seal the flask in an airtight, hermetically closed container, place it in the furnace, and apply heat equivalent to the sun’s warmth. As described above, the material coagulates to white, and after strengthening the fire further, it turns red. Finally, continue applying heat until the golden ruby grain appears—the true treasure of health and wealth.
If, however, this jewel is obtained but cannot be used for tinting, it is because, according to all philosophers, lapis noster non tingit nisi prius tingatur liquore proprio (‘our stone does not tinge unless it is first tinged with its own liquid’). Therefore, take this newly born phoenix, weigh ten parts of the Spiritus Mercurii or universal menstruum against one part of the essential red small kernel, and proceed as mentioned earlier until they are fully united and brought to their highest perfection. Coagulate this mixture so that it becomes fixed in fire, and without any smoke, place it on a glowing...
...flows like wax; when the first multiplication is completed, it can be further multiplied ad infinitum in quality and quantity. For this, one takes from the now completed fermented tincture again 1 part and of the spirit of mercury 10 parts, puts it into a hermetically sealed vial, and processes it as before until all colors vanish, leaving a ruby-red color and solid consistency.
44. Now note the benefit of the fermentation: in the first multiplication, 1 part tinges 10 parts, in the second 100 parts, and in the tenth 1,000 parts, and so on indefinitely. The more the tincture is further fermented and multiplied by the addition of spiritus mercurii, the higher the yield. Thus, depending on the degree of multiplication, 1 grain can transform 3, 4, up to 8,000 grains of imperfect metals into the finest gold.
45. However, as I proceed further in my instructions, it is necessary to remind you that one must always preserve a good portion of this tincture for medicinal purposes before preparing the rest with gold and metals. Otherwise, you will achieve nothing in medicine with the remaining portion.
46. To reach the desired end with the tincture and metals, take this red medicinal tincture, multiply it several times, and blend it with the finest antimonial gold, processed several times, in a proportion of 1 part to 10 parts. Combine everything in a good melting crucible, heat it well, and let it flow for 6 hours in a strong furnace. The gold will become completely brittle and form into a red ruby stone of pure tincture. Extract this beautiful, red, ruby-like stone, crush it into an incredibly subtle powder, and keep it well stored for future use. This is the Philosopher’s Stone, unique in its ability to penetrate metals entirely, even beyond further multiplication, and can also be applied medicinally.
47. If you would like to tinge metals with your gold tincture, take 1 grain of your gold tincture, wrap it in a bit of wax, and cast it into the molten material. For half a pound of any imperfect metals, melt them beforehand in a crucible and cast the tincture into the flow. Let it simmer for a good hour in the melting crucible, then pour it into an ingot mold. You will have the finest and most stable gold in all tests.
48. Lastly, I must also mention the Universal Medicine, which heals all diseases. This medicine arises from the tincture before it is fermented with gold, as described above. It can be prepared in both solid (dry) and liquid forms. For the solid form, dissolve the tincture with the spirit of wine in a water bath (Balneo Mariae) until it becomes as sweet as sugar. The dose is 1, 2, or at most 4 grains and can be taken in cold or warm wine.
If you wish to have the liquid form, extract the tincture with spirit of vitriol or dulcified salts, driving it over the alembic into a flask in the shape of drops of blood. This liquid tincture is the most valuable potable gold. Take 1, 2, or up to 4 drops dissolved in a warm liquid or placed on a silver spoon. It heals all incurable diseases, whatever their name, and instantly rejuvenates the person, restoring them to perfect health without any adverse effects until the end ordained by God.
This is the true description of the Philosopher's Stone and its universal medicine, with all manipulations explained from beginning to end. Many have sought this a thousand times in vain, expending great effort and wealth, but it can be achieved here with minimal labor and patience through diligent prayer and proper distillation. Whoever does not grasp nature from this or refuses to learn how to align with it will remain forever ignorant and blind.
Remember to give thanks to the Creator of Light, who does not withhold His wonders from mankind but allows them to be achieved through careful preparation and study.
END.