From F. Basil Valentin
Religious Of The Order Of Saint Benoist,
(1646)
Many may find it strange that I treat and speak of the Metals with a particular style, but I do not do it without cause, being founded on Method or practice, with which I have reason to be entirely content. For it is hidden in my science & supported in the knowledge that I have of the infallible truth. Blame me whoever will, that's what I don't care about at all, we always make more of what we see than what we hear said & we praise more the one who has laid a good foundation than the one who put a bad one.
This is why I say that all things that are visible and comprehensible are made of the Spirit of Mercury, which Spirit is more precious than all things on Earth. For it is from him that they are made & that they derive their origin; it is in him that the Philosopher finds everything he seeks. For this Spirit is the origin & the beginning of the Metals, being reduced to a spiritual being, which BEING is nothing but an Air flying here and there without Wings; it is a moving wind, which, after Vulcan has driven it out of its domicile, returns to its Chaos, then mixes and expands in the purest part or Region of the Element of AIR from which he had gone out before, especially since he loves his fellow being, being attracted there by the Magnetic force of the Stars.
But if this SPIRIT OF MERCURY can be taken and made bodily, then you have clear, pure & transparent WATER, which is the true spiritual & first ROOT Mercurial WATER of Minerals and Metals, which is permanent Water in FIRE, entirely stripped of all terrestrial & phlegmatic aquosity: It is also this celestial WATER, of which so many Authors have written so amply.
By this SPIRIT OF MERCURY all metals are resolved into their first Matter, without any corrosion, like ice in hot Water; this SPIRIT rejuvenates Man & all Animals, & prolongs LIFE to old age, consumes & destroys all excremental things. This SPIRIT is the key to my other keys: This is why I will cry out: Come hither, all you who are blessed of God, and be treated with this OIL OF HEALTH, and embalm your bodies, lest 'they are not spoiled by corruption and decay; be also refreshed with this all-celestial Water, for it banishes excessive and peccant heat: But know that this spirit of Mercury contains in itself the three principles. He is Mercury, since it is a CELESTIAL Water which is the beginning of all things; it is Sulphur, because it is an INCOMBUSTIBLE OIL, which has its origin from a spiritual sulphur, which is this means uniting the SPIRIT & the BODY, because it is their SOUL; finally it is SALT, since it is a BODY, although spiritual, and this SALT must be reunited with its MERCURY by the OIL, as you will see below more fully. And to better understand what being, matter and form this SPIRIT OF MERCURY is, I say that its substance is animated, its spiritual matter & its earthly form; What must be heard as something incomprehensible, these words will undoubtedly be harsh and strange to many because they give rise to extraordinary thoughts. It is true that these words are extraordinary, which is why they also require men of extraordinary Spirit to hear them. In truth, they are not so easy to understand as the method of the peasant is to drive the plow well, and those who are not versed in this science will not understand it, although, inconsiderately, they imagine the opposite. I consider that one instructed in true SCIENCE, who, after the word of GOD & the Mysteries of the salvation of his SOUL, has learned to know well; by sound principles and well-reasoned foundations the NATURE of sublunary things, which contain Minerals, Plants & Animals: that the light of true and solid knowledge may dispel and vanish the darkness of ignorance & that we may distinguish the good from the bad, or the good from the bad.
It is not necessary to know the first origin or source of this SPIRIT OF MERCURY; know however in passing that it is supernatural, coming out of the celestial Stars & the Elements of the first Creation. But it suffices to consider this Spirit as Earthly. This is why, let the Stars & their influences, conceiving them only by faith or imagination, because their virtues & impressions are invisible & incomprehensible; do not stop either at the speculation of the Elements: For they have already by their competition engendered this Spirit: And it is not in the power of man to do anything with them, since it belongs only to the sovereign Creator of the Universe.
Suffice it therefore for you to know this one Spirit of Mercury, already made and begotten, which has form, & if it has none, knowing which is perfect, it is comprehensible & yet incomprehensible in various respects, though nevertheless visibly apparent to our eyes. So that when you have it, you can be sure that you possess the first MATERIAL of which all Minerals & Metals are made; this MATTER which joins with the SULFUR, which is described in the chapter of VENUS, and with the SALT, of which the chapter of MARS mentions, which SALT reduces them to a perfect coagulation, & in a body which is a sovereign & very powerful Medicine, not only to cure the leprosy of Imperfect Metals; but also to drive out all the diseases of the body of the Man & to maintain it in perfect Health. And you should not be surprised at the great virtues of this Spirit because GOD has ordered it so and because NATURE performs them under the good pleasure of its divine Providence. Many will believe them impossible & will despise these great Mysteries, because they do not understand them, & they will remain in their erroneous persuasions, until they are enlightened by the will of GOD, which very seldom happens. . But all those who are learned by the work of their studies or experiences, will confirm that all that I have written in this Treatise is as true as HEAVEN is ordained for the reward of the good & HELL for the punishment of the wicked. I do not now write all this so much with the Hand as with the Heart, & a great affection which leads me to describe the Nature of the Metallic bodies, according to their interior & their exterior, & even according to the principles which are enclosed in their center, although there are many men who, moved by a worldly or fanciful spirit, hate and blame the search for the admirable secrets of Nature: This will not prevent, however, I am sure, that the time will come, when the marrow of my bones will be dried up, that many will have a very great desire that I was still alive to instruct them verbally & if God permitted it, they would very willingly pull me out of the tomb & the dungeons of Death, which, knowing that they will not be able to do, I left them writings, so that the belief that they must have of the truth of these high mysteries and miracles of Nature may be confirmed by them, and that this public writing confirms my last will, which has been to favor the poor & the amateurs of this secret science. And although I did not have to write so much, I nevertheless wanted, as much as I could without offending or prejudicing the salvation of my SOUL, to send you a light, as through a small Cloud, so that the darkness of Night being chased away, the new clarity of a serene day enlightens and illuminates you.
Know therefore at this hour how the Archaea operates on Earth through the spirit of Mercury; as soon as this spiritual seed is impregnated by the impression of the Stars & nourished by the Elements, it is converted into Mercurial EAU-DE-VIE. And that in the beginning, when the Macrocosm was made of nothing & that the Spirit of GOD gave LIFE to this terrestrial creature, the divine Virtue operated by the influences & operations of the celestial luminaries; likewise in the Microcosm was the Virtue of GOD, but it was by the Almighty operation of his holy & sacred Breath.
Then the Almighty gave a means by which his will might be done by the Nature of each thing, that one might be able to act in the other & help one another: And so was given to the Earth the influence of lights or celestial Stars to generate, as well as an internal heat to decook & heat what would be too cold in its entrails, because of its wateriness, each thing producing by this means according to its genus & its species: Likewise, the Sky filled with STARS excites a warm quality & a sulphurous vapour, subtle, purified & clarified, which joins & unites with the Mercurial substance of the earth, a quality by which the moist is gradually dried up. ; and if, at the same time, the SOUL, which is the balm of nourishment, joins the BODY, operating by the celestial influence, then the perfect or imperfect Metals are engendered, according to whether the three principles have more or less worked: But if this Mercurial spirit coming from above is specified on the Animal, it becomes ANIMAL, or if it is specified on the Mineral, it becomes Mineral, however with distinction & according to whether it has operated . For, as for the Animals, he operates by himself; with regard to plants, in another way per se, as also with Metals & Minerals, each feeding on them according to his particular instinct, of which I would have place, if I wanted, to compose very ample speeches.
One would have reason to ask me, with reason, how one could have or make this Mercurial Spirit? How should it be prepared, so that it can cure diseases & transmute imperfect Metals by their own seed? I assure myself that there are many who await the Answer with great desire: This is why I will not hide anything, & will say all that divine Providence will allow me to declare.
Take then, in the name of God, from a Mine of bright red Silver, & similar to Cinnabar, & from the best GOLD Mine that you can find. Being purified, grind them together in equal weight, before exposing them to the Fire, & pour over the Mercurial Oil, made of Quicksilver sublimated and purified without addition. Put the whole thing to digest on the fire for a month & you will have an extract which will be more spiritual than corporeal; have it distilled very gently in a bain marie, you will see the phlegm come out; the oil will remain at the bottom, very heavy, which pulls all the Metals to itself in a moment. Pour on this oil three times as much spirit of WINE, make circulate the whole in a Pelican until the spirit of WINE becomes in color of BLOOD & of a great sweetness. Tilt away this colored WINE spirit & pour more over this material, circulating it as you have done before: which you will do again as many times as your WINE spirit can draw no more redness or sweetness. Afterwards, take all the spirit of WINE which will be colored like a ruby, pour it on well calcined white TARTAR, & distill the whole thing over a fairly strong ash fire: the spirit of WINE will remain with the TARTAR, but the Spirit of MERCURY will pass.
If you put this Spirit of MERCURY with the sulphurous spirit of the SUN & with its SALT, and if you can conjoin them together by suitable distillation, so that they never separate from each other, then you will have a singularly excellent Medicine: But if you ferment this Medicine with the body of the SUN, according to the required weight, & lead to perfection by perfect decoction for a certain time, then you will have a more than perfect OR, which will be a sovereign Medicine , as much for the diseases as for the poverty, & will have a great contentment of Body & Goods.
Here is the method to have this spirit of MERCURY, which I revealed, according to that I could obtain license from the Sovereign Commander: As for my operations & Tricks-of-Hand, you will consider them & use them wisely, so that you avoided the pains of Hell, being faithfully admonished by my warnings.
Moreover, the door of this Royal Palace can only be truly & philosophically opened by a single Key, which cures all illnesses, whatever they may be, such as dropsy, paralysis, apoplexy, vertigo, gout, stone, epilepsy, leprosy. ; in short, all in general. This MEDIUM also heals venereal diseases and old wounds, such as cancers, blemishes, fistulas and all others, as I have already told you. Pay close attention to this and remember it well, to know that all science has its beginning from this Mercurial Spirit, which is revivified by the spiritual Sulphur: Salt, he makes for himself a Body endowed with innumerable virtues. But the beginning of the Spirit of the Soul and of the Body remains the Magnet, as it is also, and cannot be known for any other.
Finally hold as truth that, without this Spirit of MERCURY, GOLD could not be made drinkable, nor the Stone of the Philosophers accomplished: Be satisfied with this & keep silent: For, myself, I will be silent, since the judge Supreme wants you and me to be silent, and put this science into practice yourselves, without expecting another, whose ignorance would be harmful to you.
SATURN in the upper part of the SKY is above & highest of all the other planets; but in the lower part of the World, namely in the Earth, it is the lowest, the least esteemed & the most vile of all the other Metals: And just as HEAVEN allowed this superior light of SATURN to rise to the highest of the others, on the contrary, Nature willed that Saturn should be made by Vulcan the least perfect of all his Companions: 'Air can penetrate its Body & lift it: but especially since this Metal is not fixed, nor very compact, the FIRE can easily act on it to melt it, which must be observed by those who seek the mysteries of Nature in it: for there is a great difference between fixed and non-fixed bodies, and between the causes from which come their permanence and their volatility. And though the senses recognize Saturn as heavier than some other Metals, note yet that when it is melted with others, notwithstanding the union which the melting gives them, the other Metals go down, as we see in the ANTIMONY when fused with other Metals; from which we learn that all the others are of a more compact & tighter consistency than the GOOD SATURN: For it must yield and give way to the others, & cannot win any victory over them, being consumed with that its three principles are charged with impurity & because its SEL is more fusible than any SEL of the others, its Body is also more fusible and less fixed.
But so that you learn the Generation of SATURN, know that as common WATER becomes Ice by the coagulation caused to it by the natural coldness coming from the alteration of the superior Heaven, in the same way one can say that SATURN is coagulated & made corporeal by the great coldness that is in its SALT; &, as Ice is resolved by heat, so SATURN being likewise coagulated and made Metal is rendered fusible by a fire like that of Mount Æthna; there is in it a large quantity of Mercury, but not permanent, volatile, and a very small quantity of SULFUR, which is the cause that it could not be sufficiently heated. SEL likewise is found in small quantities, yet fusible, though the subtlety of SATURN does not come from SEL: for if SEL gave fusibility & malleability, it would follow that MARS would be more fusible & malleable than Saturn. : but as much as there are distinctions & differences in Metals, you must be careful how to distinguish & understand them.
All the Philosophers have written with me that SALT gives Coagulation, & corporifies each Metal, & it is in truth thus: but I will prove well by an example how it should be understood. Feather Alum is held to be a SEL, as it truly is & can be compared to the SEL of Mars; which aluminous SEL is of a non-fusible nature, as well as that of Mars. Vitriol, on the contrary, although it has a SALT in itself in small quantity, is however fusible & open, this is why its SALT cannot give such a great coagulation to the Metal, to which it symbolizes, that the other SALTS ; & notwithstanding that all the SALTS of the Metals come from the same root and seed, however a difference of their first three principles must be observed, just as one grass differs from another & an animal from another animal, whose the qualities and properties have much dissimilarity.
SATURN'S SOUL OR tincture is of a sweeter quality than that of Jupiter & one finds almost nothing so sweet, if one makes the separation of the pure parts from the impure ones, so that one can perform operations on them. much more perfect. Moreover, this Spirit or Tincture, commonly called SALT of SATURN, is of a very cold & dry nature: this is why I advise married people not to use it much, because it cools human Nature too much & prevents their semen cannot perform ordinary operations: it is not so useful for the SPLEEN & for the Bladder, because it causes much phlegm by itself, which engenders great melancholy in men: Because SATURN is an extremely melancholy Governor , seeing that it greatly increases the atra-biliary humor in man. But when one uses his Spirit, then one melancholic spirit attracts the other, and man is cured of the influence of his melancholy. SALT or SOUL of SATURN externally heals all wounds, whether old or new & arrived by cuts, wounds or other natural accidents, which no other Metal can do. It is also a great coolant for hot tumors of the limbs, and has this property of eating corrupt and rotten flesh: it serves as a good foundation for healing all internal accidents and diseases, mainly of hot or inflammatory origin. As, on the contrary, the noble VENUS works wonders in other diseases, because it has a warm quality, whereas SATURN finds itself cold: there are also different qualities between the Sun and the Moon, because the The Moon is smaller than the Sun, and it comprises in the measure of its Circle only the eighth part of the size of the Sun: If the Moon with its cold quality exceeded in size the Sun as this exceeds it, then all the fruits of the Earth would spoil, for there would always be winter weather and there would be no summer weather. But God, the Creator, has set certain bounds and limits to his creatures, so that the Sun may shine & warm by day, & the Moon light and cool by night, & render service in this way to the Creatures of the Earth.
Those born under the influence of SATURN are ordinarily Melancholic, & if the reason or the instruction that one must give them did not moderate them, they would be inclined to be rigorous & always in anxiety, &, increasing in age, they would become avaricious: they usually devote themselves to lofty and difficult enterprises, are very industrious and very pensive, rarely rejoice in company, and do not have great love for the natural beauty of the female sex, but love the enjoyable MUSIC entertainment.
Finally I tell you that SATURN was born from little SULFUR, little SALT, & much gross and unripe MERCURY, which can be compared to the foam supernatant on the Water, compared to the Mercury of the GOLD which is of a very hot degree: The MERCURY of SATURN does not have a Life as vigorous as that of Gold, because there is a greater heat in it, which is the cause of this vigor , which has been greatly augmented by the Archaea in this lower world & earthly Sun, from whose Life & quick spirit is transmutation & enhancement of the Metals.
Now, here is the true description of the three principles of SATURN, with regard to their Origin, quality & complexion. Thus I give you notice that no transmutation of Metal can be done by Saturn, because of its great coldness, except that it can coagulate the vulgar Mercury, as much as the cold Sulfur of Saturn can dominate over the hot spirit of vulgar quicksilver, if one proceeds well: This is why one must observe such a method, that Theory responds to Practice. You must not despise the SATURN, because its virtue & property is unknown to many people: For the Stone of the wise Philosophers derives the first beginning & origin from its Celestial & resplendent Color proceeding only from this Metal, & by means of the influence of the Planets the Key of fixity & permanence is given to Saturn by putrefaction, because from Yellow can come no Red, if it has not been from Black first made white.
I could still describe many natural and supernatural things, and recount their admirable virtues, in addition to what I have said before and claim to say in the following Chapters of the rest of the seven metals; but because another work prevents me, I will conclude as briefly as possible this Chapter, reserving myself to declare the rest of the secret science of Metals and Minerals in the Book which I will soon bring to light, containing a treatise on ANTIMONY, Vitriol, Sulfur & Magnet of the Philosophers, & other matters, which, by preference, hold enclosed in their interior the true Matter & substance from which GOLD & SILVER have their Beginning, middle & End, with their particular true transmutations, although this virtue in its perfection is in a single & unique Matter, in which the seed of all Metals & Minerals is invisibly hidden, & this Matter is visible to the eyes of everyone, but because the operation of its virtue is deeply hidden & enclosed, & unknown to many, this is why this worthy Matter is considered useless & of no value & will remain so, if only for the example of the disciples of our Lord, who went to Emmaus & recognized the Savior by the breaking of the bread, the eyes are some day opened to the children of Science, so that they see the wonder of all the wonders that the mighty Creator of all things put and enclosed in a puny Creature or matter, whose name is Hermes, who has in her Arms a flying Serpent & whose wife is called Hermaphrodite, who knows all the Hearts of humans, & yet is only one Matter, a single Being common everywhere & known to all, & that each handles; which even many use for low and unimportant things. We make a great deal of a high & lofty thing, & we neglect a low thing, although it holds another thing of very high consideration, & which is nothing other than a WATER & FIRE from which the Earth by the medium of AIR is begotten, preserved & perfect.
Thanks be to the Eternal for his gifts, and may this suffice for the declaration that I have proposed to manifest in this Chapter.
The planet of VENUS can only be calculated with great difficulty, as the Mathematicians & Astronomers will admit to me: Because its Course is done differently than that of the six other Planets, this is why its birth is also of another kind. I will therefore say that the Birth of VENUS has the first rank after Mercury, but although Mercury has this property of penetrating & of making act, he could not do anything nevertheless, if Venus does not incite & push him in his particular operations in which she participates. with pleasure & beauty all together. I do not boast here of being an Astronomer, nor of being able to calculate the Course of the Stars, because I must pass my time in prayers in the House of God: but so that after my devotions I do not lose uselessly the time that I have left, I devote myself to the knowledge of Natural things, in the search of which I have known that it is quite easy to know from where Venus took her Origin & her birth as well as her increase: as also what can be produced by her great & copious abundance, for she is more clothed than she needs, & she only lacks fixity.
Know then that Venus is clothed with a Celestial sulfur which is more abundant in her than in the Sun, from which one draws much less than from her: but so that you learn what is the Matter of this sulfur, which dominates abundantly in this Venus & of which I make such a great deal, know that it is also a hot & volatile spirit which can penetrate and destroy, which the ignorant do not believe, & if he asks how the spirit of Venus can perfect the Imperfect metals, since it is itself imperfect & not fixed, I answer him, as I have already said, that even though this Spirit does not have a fixed domicile in Venus, and that as soon as this domicile is burned by the Fire, he who lodges there is forced to leave with regret the Inn where he lodged as a passer-by: nevertheless, if this same Spirit of Venus being extracted is joined to the fixed Body of the Sun, he is protected, & no one can drive him out of there, if it is not that a certain Judge gives his consent for this effect: because he is placed in this strong domicile as in his natural Earth, where he is obstinately rooted by this perfect & fixed Body.
This Spirit or Tincture of Venus is also found in MARS & is even more perfect there: For Mars is the Male & Venus the Female, of which I have mentioned elsewhere: This Tincture is also found in Rosacea & in Vitriol which is a Mineral of which I could write an entire Book; & in these things there is a sulfur which burns & another which does not burn, which is a marvelous thing; one is white in its extraction, and the other is red, that which does not burn is the true and legitimate sulphur, and in it is enclosed a pure Spirit, from which is made a permanent oil in the Fire, and it is of this same spirit that was made the sulfur of the Sun, being of one root.
I reveal here several secrets that I should not declare: but what will I do? it is not expedient to hide everything; for mediocrity is good in all things, as you will see in my protest.
This sulfur of VENUS may well be called & named the Sulfur of the Wise, for all wisdom and happiness are found in it, if once it is conjoined by a spiritual union with the Salt of Mars & the spirit of Mercury, so that these three are done one by the same Operation. And this spiritual sulfur comes from above, as well as the Spirit of Mercury: but with difference, because the Stars variously produce fixed & non-fixed things, colored & uncoloured things.
The Tincture consists in the virtue of the Spirit of Venus, & principally in that of Mars her male, & this Spirit is a stinking & malodorous smoke at the beginning, which must be resolved in the manner of liquor; so that stinky & incombustible oil can be made from it, which originates from MARS; this oil unites easily with the Spirit of Mercury & attracts to itself all the bodies of Metals, when they are previously well prepared, according to the method of my Keys.
I am not observing the order of the Planets here for good reason; for I only describe the rank of their birth: Venus therefore having a lot of sulfur was rather cut with Mars than the other Metals. But Mercury helped them greatly; he could not however improve their imperfect Bodies, nor fix them, for lack of a clean, suitable and suitable place to operate in them for this purpose.
I will reveal to you here this secret, which is that the Sun, Venus & Mars have the same Tincture of like substance & color, & the substance of this Tincture is a Spirit & a smoke, as I have already said, which penetrates all Bodies. Metallics: If can sharpen it by the Spirit of SALT of Mars & conjoin it with the Spirit of Mercury, according to the necessary weight, purifying them of all impurities so that they become a soft body without corrosion, you will have a Medicine, which cannot be compared with any of the world: But if you ferment it with the resplendent SUN, you will possess completely the secret to transmute the Metals.
O Eternal Wisdom! How will you be given enough grace for a secret that the world does not consider and that most neglect to know? It is hidden in Nature, everyone sees it before their eyes & does not know it; everyone has it in their hands & does not understand it; one often handles it without noticing it and without knowing what one is touching; this blindness is due only to the fact that its interior is hidden from them.
In truth, I will again reveal to you for the Love of God a great Mystery, namely, that the Sulfur Root of the Philosophers, which is a Celestial Spirit, as also the Root or Origin of this spiritual and supernatural Spirit of Mercury, and even the beginning or source of the spiritual Salt, is in a single thing, & is found in a single & same Matter of which the Stone of the Philosophers is made & not in several things, although the Philosophers allege MERCURY per se, SULFUR per se , & SALT per se: but I say that by this they mean the impurities which are in each of them. One can however make by several ways a particular Medicine for a mediocre & limited transmutation of Metals.
But this Medicine or Universal Transmutation, which is the great Treasure of terrestrial Sapience, made up of the three Principles, is found & drawn only from a single & unique Matter, which reduces all Metals to a Principle & first Matter, & is the true spirit of Mercury, the Soul of Sulphur, & the spiritual Body of Salt, united & enclosed corporeally & spiritually together in a Celestial Matrix & of the same nature as them, & is the Dragon & the Eagle; the King & the Lion; Spirit & Body; which Medicine tints the Body of the Sun with a Tincture so exuberant & with such abundant power, that it has a present virtue: that of tinting & fixing its companions perfectly.
O Benoîte Medicine given by God the Creator! O Celestial Magnet, whose strength has attractions of sweetness and Love! O golden substance of Metals! How great is your strength? How incomprehensible is your virtue? & how brave is your constancy? Blessed is he on earth who knows your light by truth: for he will feel no poverty or sickness & no evil will inconvenience him until his DEATH, determined by the judgment of his celestial King. It is impossible that all the tongues of men can declare the Wisdom which is hidden in this treasure, & all the eloquent will be compelled to be silent & to wonder & to admire with great rapture of spirit when they see this supernatural glory. But I fear that I have said too much; However, I hope to pray to God that he will not impute this to me as a sin since I began this work in his fear & revealed it for his glory. O holy & eternal Trinity! I praise and honor you with heart and mouth, for having revealed to me the great wisdom of this earthly world, as also your divine Word, of which I know the almighty virtue and the supernatural wonders it has produced, which man does not want to recognize. I beg you with affection, give me reason & wisdom from now on, so that I can enjoy this TREASURE of wonders with thanksgiving for the usefulness of my neighbor & for the spiritual salvation of my SOUL & the health of my Body ; & may your name be glorified & honored by all creatures in Heaven & Earth, & may my enemies know that you are a Lord full of infinite wonders, & that in the end they come to repentance of their crimes & convert to you to avoid the punishment that is prepared for the wicked in the lower darkness: Wherefore help us by your divine grace, O Father, Son & Holy Spirit, My God who art exalted over all things in your Throne of glory and power, of which wisdom has neither beginning nor end; before whom it is necessary that all celestial, terrestrial and infernal creatures TREMBLE WITH RESPECT, and that you be praised forever and ever, so be it.
O Cherub! O Seraph! O how great are the wonders of my Lord & God! Pray to him that he will regard me as a puny creature & most abject servant, & appease his wrath towards me for what I give & publish this present Revelation of Nature's most hidden mysteries.
Afterwards, the reader must know & observe the birth of Venus, namely that Venus is begotten of much Sulphur, that her Mercury & Sulfur are of the same weight, because we do not find more than one than on the other: but inasmuch as Sulfur surpasses Mercury and Salt in abundance of Tincture, there emerges a great tinting Redness, which has taken possession of this Metal and has prevented Mercury from achieving fixity.
Know therefore that the Body of Venus is just like a tree which has a lot of resin as is the fir tree or other similar, which Resin is the Sulfur of the resinous tree which throws by its side the Resin in abundance. Such a Tree so abundant in the Tincture & sulfur of Nature, & cut by the Elements, burns easily & is not so durable nor heavy as the Oak & the like, which are dense & compact, not having their pores so open. that the light Woods are which the sulfur dominates abundantly. This is why the others have more Mercury & much better SALT than the Fir tree & they do not float on Water as easily as it does, for their pores are so narrowly constricted that Air cannot enter them to support them, they thus remain heavy. This is the true thought of what must be believed of Metals & mainly of GOLD, which has acquired an invincible Body, very fixed, & tightened by the abundance of its fixed & well-cooked Mercury, to which cannot do no harm to fire, or water, or earth, or air, or any putrefaction, because its pores are tightly closed & tight, so that the nuisance & destructive power of the Elements can do it no harm, which compactness & fixity give an assured testimony of the heaviness that GOLD must rightly have more than other Metals; which is easily verified in balances & also by means of quicksilver, on which a hundred pounds, if you put a scruple of GOLD, it will go immediately to the bottom by its weight, as also the other Metals being lighter float above, because their pores are more open, and the Air and the wind penetrate them more.
You must also observe that the Spirit of Venus works great effects in Medicine: for we know by experience that its virtue is very useful, not only that which comes from this Spirit, drawn from its first being or origin; but also the virtue which is found in this same Spirit, drawn & extracted from its last matter.
Finally, this Spirit of Venus is a highly commendable Medicine & Remedy, for it cures suffocation of the womb, epilepsy, dropsy, noli me tangere, old wounds, apostemes, both internal and external; it preserves the blood from putrefaction, excites digestion, breaks the stone, however it may be, and has marvelous effects, both inside and outside the human body. You must again observe this of the Spirit of Venus, that it is a hot, penetrating Spirit, seeking out & consuming all bad moisture & superfluous phlegm, both in men and Metals, which may with reason be ranked most excellent remedies. It is igneous & sharp, & yet incombustible, spiritual & formless: therefore it can also like a formless Spirit give igneity, cook & ripen, & if you are a true naturalist, have it recommended, for it will not abandon you without health, nor without wealth, provided that you know it & know how to use it well.
I hope that my writings, joined to my good will, will have some credit towards those who are observers of Nature, & who probe & practice her secrets. This is why they will sharpen their senses & open their eyes & their ears, so that they can learn from me what has never been observed nor learned: namely, what is in this sulphurous Spirit of VENUS, but he who does not observe & hear my writings will make no profit here. No one, therefore, will be able to use this spirit usefully if he does not search and search in Venus by its exact Anatomy, the secret and interior virtues which are in it, as I have done: If someone can tell me to learn something that I do not yet know, I beg him affectionately not to be ungrateful; he will be rewarded with a thousand thanks with usury, & thus I commend you to the very high Creator.
MARS & VENUS have a Tincture all the same like GOLD & like all Metals, however small it may be in them.
It is true & known to everyone that there are men with different moods, & whose opinions are very diverse; which nevertheless take their origin & are begotten from the same seed & matter. This diversity that is in them comes mainly from the influence that the Stars imprint, both in their Bodies and in their Spirits & in all their senses; & as these Celestial Influences are variable & changing, according to their different aspects: thus the inclinations of men, taking & borrowing their strength or their weakness from these influences, are, consequently, greatly different from each other. For example, a man is inclined to study Mathematics; another fond of Theology; another to Jurisprudence; another to Medicine; another to Philosophy. There are several Spirits fond of Arts & Crafts: Because one becomes a Painter, the other a Printer; this one a Shoemaker, that one a Tailor, and so on the others. All this comes from the Influences of the Stars; together also of the particular imagination of each one, confirmed supernaturally by the Celestial virtues. Thus it is seen that whatever man has once strongly intended and imprinted on his mind remains attached to it in such a way that it is almost impossible to remove it from the fantasy, except by strong reasons & great length of time, or by a powerful resolution to do the opposite; or if only in an instant Death comes, which puts an end to all things.
So it is with men who devote themselves seriously to the Noble & legitimate curiosity of true CHEMISTRY & to the search for the deepest secrets of Nature, who ordinarily do not abandon this excellent exercise that they do not have practiced & founded it by any means they have deemed reasonable in their minds, although this is not done too easily.
The same thing can be said of Metals: For according as the Influences & imaginations of the Stars influence Minerals & Metals, their difference is made, & as all men are all men, but different as I have already said, so all Metals are called Metals, as also are they. However, although they are all engendered from the same seed & matter, they nevertheless remain diverse in their particular nature: for one is hot & dry, the other cold & humid; some are of a simple complexion, others of one which is compound.
But to return to speak particularly of MARS, you will know that it has in its composition & degree a coarser SALT than the other Metals; whence therefore it comes that his Body is harder, coarser & more solid, & less malleable than all his companions - this, by the order of Nature. In it is little Mercury, more Sulfur & much SALT; of this mixture & addition of the Elements, is procreated its natural Being: it contains in itself a Spirit which, in its operations & virtues is quite similar to the others: But if you know the true Spirit of Mars, I tell you ingenuously that a grain of this Spirit or QUINT-ESSENCE taken with the Spirit of WINE strengthens the heart of man, so that he has no fear of his enemies, arousing in him a magnanimous heart of Lion, & even warming him up to make him capable of winning a Victory against Venus. Thus, when the conjunction of Mars & Venus meet in the constellations, then they have fortune & victory in their good & misfortune, & remain unanimously together, even having everyone as enemies. But because I am a Religious in a Monastery occupied in the service of God, I will follow his holy commandments, which will prepare the way for me in Heaven; striving by a life-giving faith & by a fervent invocation of his help to stand firm in the grace of our Mediator & Patron Jesus Christ, & I will forsake the unruly affections & impertinent desires of the flesh & the world setting my intentions purely to the glory of my God & to the relief of my neighbour, in whose favor I leave these my writings to the world in consideration of the charity that I bear to him.
Therefore, by this Spirit of MARS are admirably well cured all Martial diseases, such as Dysentery, the women's diseases called Menses, all belly discharges & internal & external open wounds of the whole body, caused by the bloodthirsty Mars, which he would take too long to cite by their names, which are known to learned doctors. If the Spirit of MARS is well known, it will be found to have a secret affinity with the Spirit of VENUS & that these two Spirits being suitably united & made a Matter of the same substance, form, essence & virtues, they can cure the above diseases & transmute the Metals profitably.
But we must notice the property & virtue that MARS possesses in its corporeal form & Terrestrial body useful for several things: because it stops the blood of the external wounds & removes the internal obstructions of the Body; it graduates & increases the TINTE at the MOON, & has many other beautiful effects, although this does not always happen happily for the Body of man, nor of the Metals, because by it alone, according to its gross Body, one does not can make great profit, if it is not that one knows the secret virtues that Nature has put in him. I must say this again, that the Magnet Stone & the true MARS have the same virtues in the diseases of the human Body & are both of the same Nature. But as regards the celestial spiritual & Elemental intelligence between the Body its Soul & its Chaos from which the Soul & the Spirit came out, I say that the Body was the last in this composition.
But what will be done if the coarse do not understand this, and if those half wise do not take heed to it, or if those who are extraordinarily wise examine too much what I have written here? I would like them to be affectionate towards my writings, and to explain them simply and wisely, for they carry with them their sentence and conclusion so clearly that the intelligent will never fail to hear them for themselves, & to draw from it the resolution of what they will have to practice. To conclude this chapter, know that married people cannot live together for long in their household if one turns the cart from there to the East, and the other to the West, because they are different in intentions & actions, which causes great disorder between them: But if they want to live peacefully & for a long time in friendship, they must be of the same Spirit, thought, opinion & virtue to accomplish what their heart desires, & thus Love & fidelity will reign among them; also I say that, if the three Principles are not by due proportion & philosophical purification, joined & united together, they will not produce the effect of the desired end, because of the discord & the disagreement which would be among them: For the MERCURY is of itself too fearful & lacks constancy & fixity; SULFUR cannot lovingly warm the Body because of its small amount of heat; SALT also does not have a clean & natural quality because of its great abundance, making coagulation too strong & too hard. But after they are well prepared & purified, they will give by their triple union & perfect digestion, one thing in ONE, which causes so many wonders.
I believe that you will take this example in good part, since Syrach praises the fidelity & the malice of a woman, but in various ways, & so I take my leave of MARS, adding this: that no one can judge the difference of one or more things, if he has not considered them before, & learned, known & well founded their nature & their properties.
The light which I have received from Heaven obliges me to reveal in writing a thing which is the true symbol of Courage & constancy, because the SUN is an ardent & consuming FIRE, Hot & dry, which contains the greatest strength & virtue of natural things: the virtue, I say, of this SUN causes the THREE most considerable things among men: knowledge, good understanding, HEALTH & wealth. I have no little pain in myself, & my Spirit is only in fear of undertaking the design of revealing things which have always been kept secret; but when I return to myself & recall the thoughts & motives which prompt me to pursue this purpose, it is not in my power to distract myself from it, & I find that I have only to use discretion and a few precautions in my way of writing, so that I am not the cause of any harm; but rather that people have cause to thank me for the usefulness which could come from it, in which according to the occurrence, I will use the same method as the other philosophers who preceded me. Observe therefore in the first place that you must banish all strange things & which are not useful for Philosophical speculation, but which can rather cause you to lose the opportunity to enjoy what you must seek; however know that if you are fond of affection to possess this golden Magnet, you must first address your wishes & prayers to GOD with zeal, contrition & humility, so that you can reach the scientific knowledge of the THREE various WORLDS which are at the reason human the curious objects of admiration.
The first is the celestial or ARCHETYPICAL WORLD, in which the immortal SOUL must have its residence, from which comes its first BEING which was after the divine Creation of the Universe. This super-celestial world is, after GOD, the first moving imperceptibility or the first imperceptible moving SOUL, by which the natural LIFE operates supernaturally, & this SOUL or Spirit is the first Root & source of LIFE of all creatures, & what can truly be called PRIMUM MOBILE, of which the Sages & learned have written & disputed so much.
The SECOND World is the CELESTIAL or Ectypic, the observations of which must then be considered: the decree of Divine Providence, thus causing the generation of METALS & MINERALS by their spiritual influences.
The third is the Elementary or Typical WORLD, in which are all the Elements & the sublunary creatures, among which are the METALS & MINERALS which derive their origin from the spiritual influences of these first two Worlds, which incessantly impress their virtues in this Elemental World.
It is from the SURCELESTE World that the source of the LIFE & SOUL of all things draws its origin; & from the CELESTE World comes the light of the SPIRIT. But it is from the third, knowledge of the ELEMENTARY World, that proceeds the imperceptible FIRE, wholly divine & invincible by which things tangible & of corporeal solidity are demolished; these THREE substances or matters are the true Principles of the Generation & form of METALS, among which GOLD is the most excellent & much preferable to all the others, because, by the operations of the Stars & the Elements, the MERCURY of this Metal has been sliced to perfection. Likewise the seminal virtue of the Animals which are of the male sex, which is the Agent, meeting in the MATRICES of the other sex, which is the Patient, this same seed is found to be contiguous with the Menstrual matter, which is the Earth, & having thus come out of the Agent & received by the Patient, it is worked by the Stars & Elements, so that these two SEEDS can be united & nourished in their MATRIX Earth for their birth & production.
The same must also be observed of the SOUL of the Metals, which was conceived by an imperceptible, invisible, incomprehensible, occult & supernatural composition, & as of WATER & AIR, formed from Chaos, & then demolished by the FIRE & the celestial or Elemental light of the upper SUN, from which the STARS receive their forces, when its heat penetrates into the interior of the Earth as in its MATRIX, & carries there the operative property of the higher STARS which causes the Earth to become open , so that the Spirit included therein can give food & produce Metals, Herbs, Trees & Animals, according to the prolific multiplicative seed of each, as I have already said that men are spiritually & divinely designed, the faculties of their SOUL & SPIRIT being formally perfected by the nourishment of the Earth Matrix, their Mother-nurse. What can be observed alike in all Metals & Minerals, & this is the greatest secret of GOLD, to show & make heard, for example & similarity where NATURE has hidden this great Mystery. There is a way to prove that the celestial light of the SUN is of an igneous property that the Creator of Heaven and earth has placed in it, by means of a SULFUROUS SPIRIT, Celestial, fixed and permanent, to maintain its corporeal substance & its form, & this celestial creature is inflamed by its perpetual course, so fast & so rapid, with which it moves in the AIR, & which will continue as much as its Course without diminishing its forces, because it there is no combustible matter in it by which this great light can be compelled to suffer diminution.
So then, GOLD is decimated by these Principles from above & attains such fixity & invincible nature, so that nothing can harm it, because the effects of higher Astronomy have acted through their intercourse & harmonic relation with the lower one, so that these lower Stars being fixed by the influences & virtues of the Superior ones to which they symbolize, they do not yield to any examination, because those below, by the influences & faculties of those above, have obtained a great fixity & constancy: observe & notice this well on the first Matter of GOLD. I must add yet another similarity, according to the custom of the Philosophers, namely of this great LIGHT of Heaven with this little FIRE which we see daily lit on the Earth, always burning before our eyes, and which I make see what great affinity, magnetic virtue, or harmonic relation there is of the great light with this little one, & that by this Aerial Medium, they preserve their BEING & the perfection. For we see that as soon as the AIR conceives some corruption by the aquosities which are attracted above, like mists and other similar masses which form clouds, which prevent the rays of the SUN from acting by their reflection and penetrating virtue as before , likewise the little Earthly FIRE does not burn so well in overcast & cloudy weather as when the AIR is pure, clear & serene. This comes from the fact that their Love is smothered by the accidental aquosities of the AIR; in such a way that attractive Virtue is prevented from doing its operation to produce the effects of its sympathy.
Just as the SUN which is the great celestial light, & the small terrestrial which is the elementary FIRE are found to have a strong & mutual inclination & affection to attract each other by magnetic virtue; likewise the SUN & GOLD also have a particular correspondence & certain mutually attractive virtue between them, because the SUN has worked in the GOLD having served as a powerful mediator to unite & inseparably link these three principles: Thus the GOLD has its origin from the golden & celestial Magnet.
Here, then, is the greatest wisdom of this world, the wisdom of wisdoms; even a wisdom which surpasses natural reason: for by this wisdom one must understand how GOD created the celestial BEING, the operations of the firmament, the spiritual design or imagination, & the corporeal BEING of all created things: it also includes in itself all the qualities & properties of it, even everything by which man subsists.
In this golden Magnet is hidden the resolution of all Metals & Minerals, & their powers & virtues, as also the First Matter of their birth & their power over HEALTH; their freezing & fixing, & the operation of their virtues to cure diseases. Observe & notice well this KEY, for it is divine, astral & elemental, from which all earthly things are produced; it is natural as well as supernatural, and has its birth from the Spirit of MERCURY, divinely, from the Spirit of SULFUR, spiritually, from the Spirit of SALT, bodily. This is the whole way & the whole science, the beginning & the end; for his BODY is so linked with the SPIRIT by means of the SOUL that they cannot be disunited, but engender a perfect BODY which nothing can harm. Of this spiritual substance, & of this Matter which has formed a GOLD BODY, is made the true POTABLE GOLD of the ancient sages, which is more perfect than GOLD itself, which must be spiritualized before it can be made. this precious liquor. This Spirit or spiritual OR heals venereal diseases & leprosy, being a Mercurial & very fixed substance; it also heals all stubborn wounds; strengthens the HEART & the BRAIN, & gives a good memory, makes good BLOOD & incites to Love. If the QUINTESSENCE of the Pearls with the TINCTURE of the Corals are joined in the same weight with this spiritual GOLD, & if one gives the weight of two grains to someone, he can be sure to enjoy perfect health & happiness. to be free from all infirmity, because in this Spirit of GOLD resides par excellence the virtue of curing all debilitations, removing them & rectifying the mass of the BODY of man in such a way that he can be kept perfectly free from all diseases: For the QUINTESSENCE of Pearls strengthens the HEART & rectifies the functions of the five senses, while the TINCTURE of Corals expels all venoms, & thus the SOUL of GOLD being in the form of liquor united with the ESSENCE of Pearls & SULFUR of Corals joined together, they can produce almost incredible effects, & which would seem to exceed the extent of the powers of NATURE, if experience did not show the Truth; & particularly this Cardiac Virtue which is extremely comforting to the heart must be, with admiration considered the most excellent of all the others, such as they can be.
For me who am Religious & subject to the vows of my profession by a spiritual & divine oath that I made in the order of Saint Benedict, in which it pleased God that I obtained according to the promises of his word, by my fervent prayers, a consolation in my SOUL in the affliction of my weaknesses & infirmities by means of this universal Medicine, I can assure that I find no better comfort for my brothers & for myself than this composition brought into the world by divine grace & favour, & made of the UNION of these three things. His divine Providence bless & increase this Virtue until the end of the world, & as long as all men will enjoy this mortal LIFE: O golden virtue of your SOUL! O golden reason of your SPIRIT! O golden operation of your BODY: GOD the Creator preserves you & gives to all terrestrial Creatures who love & honor him, with the true intelligence of all his gifts so that we do his will on EARTH & HEAVEN, & that this is enough for the Revelation of the Spirit of the GOLD, until Hélie returns.
I will add here an operation whose process will be compendious: Take the Spirit of SALT and draw with it the SULFUR of the GOLD; separate this Spirit of SALT & rectify the SULFUR of the GOLD with the SPIRIT OF WINE, so that it becomes pleasant and without corrosion. Then take real oil of Vitriol, made with Vitriol, verdigris, & dissolve MARS in this oil & make it into Vitriol, which dissolve in Oil or Spirit aforesaid to rectify it also with SPIRIT OF WINE ; then combine all these two together & remove the SPIRIT OF WINE, & dissolve the Matter which will have remained dry in the SPIRIT OF MERCURY, according to the required weight; circulate it all & when all is fixed & become permanent, you will have a MEDICINE to give HEALTH & vermilion color to Men & Metals after it has been fermented with GOLD.
The TINCTURE or Spirit of the MOON shows its color of a celestial Blue, which is only a Watery, cold & humid SPIRIT; it is not so hot in its degree as the Spirit of the SUN, VENUS & MARS: this is why the MOON is more phlegmatic than igneous But although of Watery substance it has not failed to reach freezing by fire.
Just as we see the METALS having received their Spirits from DYES & their coagulation, so also the STONES have received their fixation & TINTING from a similar influence; because in the DIAMOND there is a fixed & coagulated MERCURY, this is why it cannot be broken like the other stones. In the RUBY is the Tincture of MARS or Sulfur of Iron; in the EMERALD, the sulfur of VENUS; in GARNET, the Soul of SATURN; in the TOPAZ the Tincture of JUPITER & the CRYSTAL of rock is found to symbolize to the vulgar MERCURY, as also in the SAPPHIRE is the Tincture of the MOON: in short, each according to his Species is thus found to symbolize to some Metal, & if we remove the blue color to the SAPPHIRE one removes his habit, and his Body will remain white like the DIAMOND. One must also observe that if one separates the Soul from the GOLD, its Body becomes similarly white, which is called fixed MOON by the disciples & curious scrutinizers of the Anatomy of the MIXED.
You must learn here that all that I have said of SAPPHIRE must likewise be understood of METALS: this azure Spirit of the MOON which I have above alleged, contains in itself the SULFUR & SOUL from which Silver borrows LIFE, both in the mines in the Earth, and by Art on the Earth; & the white Tincture of SILVER, from which it receives whiteness, is found in the same magnetic form & first being with GOLD.
Ah! you who possess the Talent of Eloquence, where is your voice to express the wonders of this SECRET? & you, naturalists! Where are your writings? & where are the maxims of your dispensaries, O Physicians! who obliges to go to seek many drugs beyond the Seas, in order to try to cure Dropsy & all lunar diseases? You will no doubt say that this is too obscure to you; if so, light your lamps in the lower & earthly light, & to seek have no shame in contracting an alliance with the Vulcan or CHEMICAL Fire, & be persevering in patience; finally, by divine permission of the Eternal, you will find that the Spirit of SILVER contains in itself the Virtue to cure Dropsy, just as the Spirit of GOLD & MERCURY can remove the roots or causes of vertigo, so that the center of these diseases will never be there.
And for the consideration that the MOON has not acquired in the Veins of the Earth a warmer quality in its degree, and that it has thus remained of an Aquatic nature, take yourselves in the great light of HEAVEN. , which because of its aquatic influences has operated such a property in some Earth creatures & Planets, as in MONEY; & although this Terrestrial MOON has in itself a fixed Mercury in which it radically originated; however the hot SULFUR lacks in it to be able to dry up the phlegm: This is why the MOON also does not have such a compact Body, if not by the ART of the Microcosm or learned Artist & Philosopher.
And as much as this Body is not compact because of its aquatic substance, its pores are not so constricted & filled to have the weight & endure the shock against its enemies: which, on the contrary, must be found in the OR, so that he may have victory over his enemies & that he may subsist among them.
All things are difficult in the beginning; but as soon as they have been made once with industry & patience they soon become easy to be heard: If you consider & take good heed of the Spirit or SOUL of the MOON, you will easily understand the principal of the work & the end of its usefulness: this is why I will propose it to you by example & will make you learned by the rule & way of doing things of the peasants, so that a child's game gives you the opportunity to consider & seek the profit of a something higher.
A Peasant sows on a well-prepared Field the Seed of FLAX, which after Putrefaction emerges & vegetates outside the Earth, being aided by the operation of the Elements, & presents to us a Matter or Grass of FLAX with its Seed, but multiplied, which is separated from FLAX after it has been pulled from the Earth. But this FLAX could not be useful if it is not Putrefied & purified afterwards with WATER, putrefaction by which the Body opens & in it is found a useful Thing; The putrefaction completed, this linen is dried by the AIR & by the SUN, & this coagulation, often repeated times, it reaches another form in which, after several other works, it becomes more perfect.
This FLAX thus prepared is beaten, broken, purified & pulled by a certain wooden tool called by several Breakers or Jaws, so that the Pure separates from the Impure & the Gross parts from the Subtles, which could not be to do before this preparation: Afterwards, this same FLAX is spun & the Nets are boiled in WATER or detergent so that a new & slight Putrefaction takes place there, & that the remaining impurities separate from it; after that they are Dried & given to the Artisan who makes Cloth from them, & this Cloth, after a few repeated Humidifications, is made beautiful & White, then cut by Tailor, Linens or others for the use of a Household, & when this Canvas is worn & torn, then we collect the coins or Flags & we take them to the Mill, where good PAPER is made from them, which we use afterwards to Write or Print the beautiful BOOKS that we see being the nobles custodians of the Treasure of the rarest & most learned Traditions of all the Arts & Sciences, & which make the ornament of the most curious & most precious Cabinets.
This PAPER thus made being put on a Metal or on a glass & being lit & burned, the vegetable Mercury of this PAPER goes back into the Air & flies away, leaving its SALT in the Ashes with a Burning SULFUR: for all that is not consumed resolves into OIL, which is a good liniment for those who have sore eyes & who have troubled sight. This OIL thus made has an excellent Fat, which the Matter of the PAPER has retained with itself from the Seed of the FLAX, and thus the last Matter of the FLAX which is the PAPER is resolved into the First Matter; To know: in this Sulfurous smoothness, with separation of its MERCURY & its SALT, so that, by the last, the first Matter knows itself, & by this first, its operations & virtues.
Though this example seems Rustic & gross, nevertheless you must take heed to its Subtlety & what is hidden in it: can learn to let go of Gross feelings & indulge in Subtle ones.
From this I conclude & hear that the First Matter must be known, observed & founded by the Revelation & discernment of the Last Matter, which Last Matter of the perfect METALS must be separated from them, so that it appears naked before men , & thus one will be able to learn by this ANATOMY, what the First Matter was from its beginning, & of what this Last was similarly made. You must content yourself with this Last statement concerning the MOON, on the subject of which I would still have much to say, but that will be for another time. I beg your affection, urging you that in your conscience you observe all that I have revealed to you according to the Syllables between alpha & omega, & to keep all my words & warnings, so that you cannot sin & endure the eternal revenge. Before I finish, I will reveal this to you again:
Take the SULFUR from a Celestial Blue drawn from the SILVER & grind it with the SPIRIT OF WINE; dissolve it according to its weight in the WHITE SPIRIT of Vitriol, & in the well-smelling Spirit of MERCURY, then coagulate them by the fixation of the FIRE of proper heat, and have the white Tincture in your hands with its MEDICINE: but if you know what can be called PRIMUM MOBILE, this Tincture is not necessary for you; for you can accomplish the work by him alone.
The good JUPITER among all the Metals, is almost the one that holds the Middle in its interior: Because it is neither too Hot, nor too Cold, neither too Dry, nor too Wet. It does not abound in Mercury & there is very little SULFUR in it & the one that is there is of White color: One of its Three Principles however surpasses the other in quantity, as is clearly seen when 'one makes opening & Dissection of its true nature: Hence, it is born, made & coagulated in the form of METAL, of such a composition & mixture of the three unequally assembled principles.
The planet of superior JUPITER is a STAR of peace & agent of goodness, dominator & possessor of the middle Region: But the terrestrial with regard to its condition, being, virtue & operation holds the middle, & no illness can happen except this JUPITER cannot cure, if one uses his MEDICINE with mediocrity & dose judiciously dispensed; also it is not always appropriate to use his medicine for any illnesses where it is not needed; but one must use it when the Body & its Illness have a particular correspondence & relation of virtue & operation with the superior Stars, mainly in their conjunctions, so that there is no contrariety in their operation in the operative Nature.
The Spirit of JUPITER is such that it can in no way be absent in the birth of the Metals, any more than any of the others: because when a Metal must be perfect, both in the Macrocosm and by transmutation in the Microcosm, it is necessary that all the Spirits of the METALS consent to it, from those of the lowest degree, to the highest; I mean that all the degrees from the most imperfect Metals to the most perfect are followed from degree to degree until the achievement of these, before the Metals can be perfect: for all Metal, from SATURN to the 'OR, must complete its Course to achieve the specific constancy of its Tincture & of its Body: although SATURN holds the first place in the superior Region where the Stars dominate & complete their Course, it is nevertheless the lowest in the Earth.
The Birth of TIN, in & on Earth is done just like the birth of man & animals who, in the beginning are nourished with their mother's milk, because there is no food on earth anymore. beneficial to man in his infancy than that of milk, since the most considerable & best part of milk is an Animal SULFUR which gives food. In the same way, TIN is nourished with its Metallic SULFUR, which is more profitable to it, & because it attracts more heat to itself than that of SATURN, it is more thin & its Body is more fixed & more constant, because of the degree of perfection of its SEL.
The Jupiter is said of the Ancients, to cause good government & maintenance of HEALTH, & its judgments are deemed fair, so that it bestows upon each what is of Justice & good right: the spirit of TIN remedies all the inflammations & accidents by which the LIVER could be infected, its Spirit naturally tastes of Honey; his Mercury when made volatile becomes a poisonous substance: For he purges violently & with effort: That is why it is not always proper to use his quicksilver being thus open; but as soon as it is corrected, it can be good & useful to use for illnesses which depend immediately on the influences of the stars; that is to say when the poisonous volatility is removed from CEDEKIEL, and it has reached a fixity contrary to venom.
The common Physician will not understand this, because such a science does not lie in words alone, but in experience, seeing that this common Physician has built his foundation upon words alone, but as to the preparation of our Medicine, although its beginning depends on words, its main foundation is the test supported by experience: for experience is supported by a foundation as sure as a place built on a Rock would be, but the words of others are just like on quicksand. This is why what is made by experience with the help of Nature is valued more than what comes only from naked words and fanciful speculation: For the work makes the Worker known.
I am not using here the way of speaking of the Poets, nor a style similar to that which is in my BOOK of Occult Philosophy, which I have already brought to light, and which deals with the admirable birth of the SEVEN Hermetic planets, neither do I express myself here in mystical terms as the Magi & Cabalists did, & I do not observe the Method of those who taught the supernatural sciences, such as Hydromancy, Aeromancy, Geomancy, Pyromancy, Necromancy & many others: For my intention is to reveal the secrets of Nature, that Philosophers & children of Science & Wisdom may by divine blessing, well understand & observe this, & after diligent observation learn therein something something useful concerning the double Metallic virtue in the Macrocosm & Microcosm, as also what the true MEDICINE contains in itself & in the interior of the Metals, what is seen & manifested when by the division of their Principles, one noticeably sees THREE things from what before was ONE, & then the nature of this ONE is discovered & demonstrated by the separation & stripping of its earthly garment, & its virtue its operation for the HEALTH of Metallic human bodies is manifested.
Doubtless my persecutors & those who are ignorant Doctors will tell me what is said in proverb: You tell me many things concerning Geese & you do not yet know Ducks. Who will assure us that everything you have written to us is true? For my particular I have nothing else to answer them, except that I am very content with the things that I have learned by experience, as also, my other companions; without fear of being deceived in my hopes, and I have no intention of giving myself any trouble for wanting to learn something new and uncertain; whoever is of another opinion than mine, let him keep it as he sees fit and amuse himself with the knowledge of these Ducks: For he is not worthy of Roast Geese, nor to learn the marvels that the Nature hides in itself.
But I confess in truth & even I dare to say under the loss of this precious jewel & STONE, the richest in Nature, & even of my SOUL, that all that I have written & all that I write in this Book contains the pure TRUTH, and everyone will find that it is nothing other than the TRUTH: But if all the learned or the Common men, and especially those who are persecutors of this secret science written, I wouldn't know what to do with it; but let those who are truly curious pray to God for his grace; & you, persecutors, pray that he forgives you, work with patience & perseverance, read with reason & intelligence, & no SECRET will be hidden from you: but on the contrary, you will discover clarity therein.
I particularly urge anyone who has found this SECRET to give thanks to GOD his Creator, with all his heart, night & day, without ceasing, with reverence, humility & due obedience: For no creature can thank GOD enough as this precious DONATION deserves. I make here my thanks & thanksgiving to GOD & then answer before this sovereign Creator of the Universe, & before everyone, & be guarantor of the truth of these Wonders of Nature that several presumptuous minds believe not be possible, because they cannot understand cause or effect: But what my eyes have SEEN, what my hands have TOUCHED & my reason without deception has understood, NOTHING CAN PREVENT ME FROM BELIEVE IT & ADMIT ITS EFFECTS IN THIS LIFE, EXCEPT DEATH WHICH SEPARATES ALL THINGS.
This voice of mine has not been compelled by a motive of the century to declare what I have here written; I did not do it also out of arrogance, nor as having regard to worldly honors. But she was compelled by the commandment of Jesus Christ, my Lord, that her glory & goodness in natural & temporal things, should not remain unknown to men, but might be manifested for honor, praise & glory of his Eternal name, and that, by the confirmation of these miracles, his Majesty and all power be honored and recognized by all the living.
After these motives of Divine love, affection for my neighbor invited me there, to testify that I want him as much good as myself. As also to my slanderous enemies & persecutors of this Divine SCIENCE, so that I may pluck burning coals from their heads.
Thirdly, that all these contradictory adversaries may know who has erred the most & who has revealed the most secrets of Nature, & whether I have deserved to be blamed & the others to be praised, & also in order that this Great SECRET is not buried in darkness, nor drowned in the great waters of the Torrent of the years: but that it can shine by the Rays of the true light, out of the Shipwreck & out of the multitude of Idiots; & that, by the publication of a true & certain Confession, there are many irreproachable testimonies & authorities which can prove the truth of my writings.
In my dominion are appropriated to me among the twelve Signs, Sagittarius & Pisces: I was born from Pisces because I was WATER before my LIFE; but Sagittarius placed the Sagette in my heart, by means of which I lost my wateriness, having become, by means of the Heat, a dry Earth; & although my Earth, by means of WATER, has become a soft substance, nevertheless you must hear that the Water has been dried by the hot Air, & that this soft Matter has been changed by the Heat into a Hard material.
From this, you who are learned, or you others who want to learn, you must diligently observe & take heed that TIN is subject to the four Elements & to the other Planets, which Elements have received in their center the virtues from above & are generated from it.
To say goodbye to you, I tell you that when you draw SALT & SULFUR from this good JUPITER, and join them to SATURN to make them flow together, you will see SATURN take on a more fixed Body, purging itself & becoming clearer, & will have a true Transmutation of SATURN into JUPITER.
Quote of the Day
“in all silver is white, as in all gold there is red, sulphur. No other sulphur like that which exists in these bodies is found on all the earth. Therefore we cunningly prepare these two bodies, that we may have sulphur and quicksilver of the same substance as that which generates gold and silver under the earth. For they are shining bodies, whose rays tinge other bodies with true whiteness and redness, according to the manner of their own preparation.”
Avicenna
The Golden Tract Concerning The Stone of the Philosophers
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