Containing the explanation of the Hieroglyphic Figures which he had placed in the Cemetery of the SS. innocent in Paris.
Eternal praise be to the Lord my God, who raises the Humble from the mud, and makes the hearts of those who hope in him rejoice: Who opens to believers with grace the springs of his goodness, and places under their feet the worldly circles of all earthly bliss. In him always be our hope, in his fear our happiness, in his mercy the glory of the repair of our nature, and in prayer our unshakable security. And you, O Almighty God, how your kindness has deigned to open in the Earth before me, your unworthy Servant, all the Treasures of the Riches of the World, may it please your clemency, when I will no longer be among of the Living, to open to me again the Treasures of the Heavens, and let me contemplate your divine face, whose Majesty is an indescribable delight, and whose rapture has never risen in the heart of a living Man. I ask this of you through the Lord Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, who in the Unity of the Holy Spirit lives with you forever and ever.
Even more than me, Nicolas Flamel, Writer and Resident of Paris, in this year one thousand three hundred and ninety-nine, and residing in my house in the rue des Ecrivains, near the Chapel of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie. Again, I say, that I only learned a little Latin, for the meager means of my Parents, who nevertheless were by my very Envious esteemed Good People, if (by the great grace of God, and intercession of the blessed Saints and Saints of Paradise, principally of Saint Jacques), I have not failed to hear throughout the Books of the Philosophers, and to learn there their so hidden Secrets. This is why there will never be a moment in my life, remembering this high place, except on my knees (if the place allows it) or in my heart, with all my affection, I do not give thanks to this Most benign God, who never leaves the Child of the Righteous to beg through the doors, and who does not deceive those who hope entirely in his blessing. So, just as after the death of my Parents I earned my living in our Art of Writing, making Inventories, drawing up Accounts, and fixing the Expenses of Guardians and Minors, it fell into my hands, for the sum of two florins, a golden book, very old and very large. It was not of paper or parchment, as the others are, but it was made of loose bark, (as it seemed to me) of tender Shrubs. Its cover was of fine copper, all engraved with strange letters or figures; and as for me, I believe that they might well have been Greek characters, or some other similar ancient language. There were so many that I did not know how to read them, and I know very well that they were neither Latin nor Gaulish letters; because I get along a little. And inside, its leaves of bark were engraved, and with great industry, written with an iron chisel, in beautiful and very clear colored Latin letters. It contained 21 leaves, the seventh being still without writing. Instead of which there was painted in the first seventh a Rod, and engulfing Serpents, (V) in the second seventh, a Cross, where a Serpent was crucified; (VI) in the last seventh were painted Deserts, in the middle of which flowed several beautiful Fountains, from which emerged several Serpents, which ran here and there (VII). On the first of the pages there was written in letters large golden capitals Abraham Jew, Prince, Priest, Levige, Astrologer, Philosopher, to the Nation of the Jews, by the wrath of God dispersed in Gaul SALUT. D.I. After this he was filled with great execrations and curses, with that word, MARANATHA, (which was often repeated) against anyone who would lay eyes on it, except he was a Priest or a Scribe. Whoever sold me this Book did not know what it was worth, as little as I did when I bought it. I believe it had been stolen from the wretched Jews or found hidden somewhere in their former home.
In this Book, on the second leaf, he consoled his Nation, advising it to flee vices and above all Idolatry, waiting for the Messiah to come with sweet patience, who would vanquish all the Kings of the Earth, and would reign with his People in glory. eternally. No doubt he had been a very learned Man.
In the third page, and in all the others that follow, to help his captive Nation to pay the tributes to the Roman Emperors, and to do something else, which I will not say, he taught them Metallic Transmutation in common words, painted the Vessels to the side, and warned of the Colors and all the rest, except the first Agent, of which he did not speak; but indeed, as he said, he painted it and figured by very great artifice on the fourth and fifth whole pages. For although it was very intelligibly figured and painted, however, no one would have been able to understand it without being very advanced in their language, and without having studied the Books of the Philosophers well. So the fourth and fifth leaves were without writing, all filled with beautiful illuminated or painted figures, with great artifice.
Firstly, on the fourth leaf he painted (I) a young man with wings at his heels, having a caduceus rod in his hand, twisted by two snakes, with which he struck a helmet which covered his head. He seemed, in my opinion, the Mercury God of the Pagans. Against him came running and flying with open wings, a tall Old Man, who had on his head a Clock fastened and in his hands a scythe like Death, with which, terrible and furious, he wanted to cut off the feet of Mercury.
On the other side of the fourth page, he painted (II) a beautiful Flower on the summit of a very high Mountain, which the Aquilon shook very harshly. She had the flowery stem, the white and red flowers, the leaves shining like fine gold, around which the Aquilonian Dragons and Griffins made their nest and their abode.
On the fifth leaf, there was a beautiful (III) Flowering Rosebush in the middle of a beautiful Garden, leaning against a Hollow Oak; at the foot of which bubbled a Fountain of very white Water, which was going to precipitate itself in abysses, passing nevertheless first between the hands of infinite People who dug in ground, seeking it; but because they were blind, no one knew it except someone who considered its weight.
On the other page of the fifth leaf, there was a King with a large cutlass, (IV) who had soldiers kill in his presence a great multitude of little children, the Mothers of whom cried at the feet of the pitiless soldiers, and this blood was picked up afterwards by other Soldiers, and put in a large Vessel, in which the Sun and the Moon of the Sky came to bathe. And because this History represented approximately that of the Innocents killed by Herod, and in this Book I learned most of the Art, it was one of the causes why I put in their Cemetery these Hieroglyphic Symbols of this secret Science. That's what was in those first five pages.
I will not represent what was written in beautiful and intelligible Latin in all the other written pages, for God would punish me, especially as I would commit more wickedness than he, as they say, who desired that all the Men of the World not only had one head, and that he could cut it off with a single blow.
So, having this beautiful Book at home, I did night and day only to study it, understanding very well all the Operations that it demonstrated; but not knowing what Material to start with, which caused me great sadness, kept me lonely and made me sigh at all times. My Pernel Wife, whom I loved as much as myself and whom I had recently married, was quite astonished, consoling me and asking with all her courage if she could deliver from anger. I could never hold my tongue without telling her everything, and showing her this beautiful Book, with which she was as much in love as I was, taking an extreme pleasure in contemplating these beautiful Covers, Engravings, Images and Portraits, to what she heard as little as I did. However, it was a great consolation to me to talk about it with her, and to discuss what should be done to get the interpretation.
Finally I had all these Figures from the fourth and fifth leaves painted as natural as I could in my house, which I showed in Paris to several scholars, who understood them no more than I did. I even warned them that it had been found in a Book which taught the Philosopher's Stone; but most of them laughed at me and the blessed Pierre, except one, called Mr. Anseaulme, who was a licentiate in medicine, who studied hard in this science. He had a great desire to see my Book, and there was nothing he did not do to see it; but I always assured him that I did not have it; well I gave him a great description of his Method. He said that the first represented Time, which devoured everything, and that it took the space of six years, according to the six written sheets, to perfect the Stone; maintained that then it was necessary to turn the Clock, and not cook any more. And when I told him that it was only painted to demonstrate and teach the first Agent (as it was said in the Book) he replied that this six-year-old coction was like a second Agent. That truly the first Agent was painted there, which was the white and heavy Water, which was doubtless the Quicksilver, which one could not fix, nor cut off his feet, that is to say remove him volatility, only by this long decoction in a most pure Blood of young Children; that in this Blood this Quicksilver, conjoining with the Gold and the Silver, was first converted with them into a Grass similar to that which was painted; then afterwards, by corruption, into Serpents, which being afterwards completely dried up and cooked by the fire would be reduced to Powder of Gold, which would make the Stone.
This was the cause that during the long space of twenty-one years, I made a thousand quarrels, not however with the Blood, which is wicked and ugly. Because I found in my Book that the Philosophers called Blood the mineral Spirit which is in the Metals, principally in the Sun, the Moon and the Mercury, to the assembly of which I always tended. Also these interpretations, for the most part, were more subtle than true. Never seeing in my Operation the signs similar to what was written in my Book, I always had to start over. Finally, having lost hope of ever understanding these Figures, I made a vow to God, and to St. James of Galicia, to ask for the interpretation of them from some Jewish priest, in one of the Synagogues of Spain. . So, with the consent of Perenelle, carrying with me the extract of these Figures, having taken the habit and the staff, in the same way that I can be seen outside this same Ark in which I put these Hieroglyphic Figures in the Cemetery, where I have also placed against the wall, on one side and on the other, a Procession in which are represented in order all the Colors of the Stone, as they come and end with this French writing. Moult pleases God Procession If it is done in devotion.
Which is almost the beginning of the Book of King Hercules dealing with the Colors of Stone, entitled the Iris, in these terms: Operis processio multum naturae placet, etc., which I have put there expressly for the Scholars who will hear the hint. So in the same way I set out, and finally I arrived at Mont-joie, and then at S.Jacques, where with great devotion I fulfilled my vow. That done, on my way back I met in Léon a Merchant of Boulogne, who introduced me to a National Jewish Doctor, and then a Christian, who lived there, and who was very learned, being called Maître Canches. When I had shown him the Figures of my extract, delighted with great astonishment and joy, he immediately asked me if I knew any news from the Book from which they were taken. I answered him in Latin, as he had interrogated me, that I hoped to have good news, if someone deciphered these Enigmas for me. Immediately, carried away with great ardor and joy, he immediately began to decipher the beginning of it for me. Now, to be short, he was very happy to hear news where this Book was, and I to hear him talk about it. And certainly he had heard it discoursed at length; but as something that was thought to be entirely lost, as he said. We decided on our trip, and from Léon we went to Oviedo, and thence to Sanson, where we put on sea to come to France. Our trip had been quite successful, and already, since we had entered this Kingdom, he had interpreted most of my Figures, where even to the points he found great mysteries, (which I found very marvelous), when , arriving in Orleans, this learned Man fell extremely ill, afflicted with vomiting, which had remained to him of those which he had suffered on the Sea. He was so afraid that I would leave him, that he cannot imagine anything similar. And although I was always at his side, if he called me incessantly. Finally he died at the end of the seventh day of his illness, which I was very distressed about. As best as I could, I had him buried in the Church of Sainte Croix in Orléans, where he still rests. God rest his soul, for he died a good Christian. And certainly if I am not prevented by death, I will give this Church a few Incomes to have a few Masses said for her soul every day. Who will want to see the state of my arrival, and the joy of Pernelle, that he contemplates us both in this City of Paris on the Door of the Chapel of S.Jacques de la Boucherie, on the side and very close to my house , where we are painted, I giving thanks to the feet of S. Jacques de Galice, and Pernelle to those of S.Jean, whom she had so often invoked. As long as by the grace of God and the intercession of the Blessed and Blessed Virgin, I had what I desired, that is to say the first Principles, not however their first Preparation, which is a very difficult on all those of the World. But I had it at last after the long errors of three years or so, during which time I only studied and worked; as well as one can see me out of this Ark (where I put Processions against the two Pillars of icelle) under the feet of S.Jacques and S.Jean, always praying to God, the Rosary in hand, reading sorting carefully in a Book, and weighing the words of the Philosophers, and then trying after the various Operations that I imagined by their words alone.
Finally I found what I wanted, which I immediately recognized by the strong scent. Having this, I easily accomplish the Magisterium. Also, knowing the Preparation of the first Agents, following my Book to the letter, I could not have failed, even if I had wanted to. So the first time I made the Projection was on Mercury, of which I converted half a pound or so into pure Silver, better than that of the Mining as I have tried and had tried several times. It was January 17, a Monday around noon, in my house, in the presence of Pernelle alone, the year one thousand three hundred and eighty-two. And then afterwards, still following my Book word for word, I made it with the Red Stone, on a similar quantity of Mercury, in the presence again of Perenelle alone, in the same house, on the twenty-fifth day of April following the same year, at five o'clock in the evening, which I truly transmuted into almost as much pure gold, certainly better than common gold, softer and more bendable. I can say it with truth. I perfected it three times with the help of Pernelle, who understood it as well as I did, for having helped me in Operations; and no doubt, if she had wanted to undertake to do it alone, she would have succeeded. I had enough of doing it once; but I took great pleasure in seeing and contemplating in the Vessels the admirable Works of Nature.
To signify to you as I have done it three times, you will see in this Ark, if you recognize them, three Furnaces similar to those used in our Operations.
I fear for a long time that Perenelle could not hide the joy of her extreme felicity, which I measured by mine, and that she would not say a word to her Parents of the great Treasures that we possessed; for extreme joy takes away meaning, as well as great sadness. But the goodness of the great God had not filled me with this single blessing of giving me a chaste and wise Woman, she was still not only capable of reason, but also of perfecting what was reasonable, and more discreet and secret than the common of other women. Above all she was very devout; this is why, seeing herself without hope of children, and already well before her age, she began just like me to think of God, and to devote herself to works of mercy.
When I wrote this Commentary, in the year one thousand four hundred and thirteen, at the end of the year, after the death of my faithful Companion, whom I will regret all the days of my life, she and I had already founded and fourteen Hospitals in this City of Paris; built three new chapels; decorated with great donations and good annuities seven Churches, with several repairs in their Cemeteries, in addition to what we had done in Bologna, which is hardly less than what we have done here. I will not speak of the good that we have done together for poor individuals, mainly widows and poor orphans. If I said their name, and how I did that, besides the salary would not be given to me in this World, I could displease these good People (may God want to bless), which I would not want to do for nothing of the world.
Building therefore these Churches, Cemeteries and Hospitals in this City, I resolved to paint in the fourth Arch of the Cemetery of the Innocents (entering by the main door of the rue S. Denis, taking the right hand) the most true and essential marks of Art, nevertheless under Hieroglyphic veils and covers in imitation of those of the Golden Book of the Jew Abraham, being able to represent two things according to the capacity and knowledge of those who have it. will see: first of all the Mysteries of our future and undoubted Resurrection, on the Day of Judgment and Advent of the good Jesus (may it please us have mercy), a story that is well suited to a Cemetery. And then after again, being able to signify to those who are understood in Natural Philosophy all the principal and necessary Operations of the Magisterium.
These Hieroglyphic Figures will serve as two paths to lead to celestial life. The first more open sense, teaching the Sacred Mysteries of our Salvation, as I will demonstrate hereafter. And the other, teaching to every Man, however little understood he is in the Stone, the right sees the Work, which being perfected by someone, changes him from bad to good, takes away the root of everything sin (which is Avarice) making him liberal, meek, pious, religious and God-fearing, however evil he was before. For after that he always remains enraptured in the great grace and mercy which he has obtained from God, and from the depth of his divine and admirable works. These are the causes that compelled me to put these Figures in this way, and in this Place, which is a Cemetery, so that if someone obtains this inestimable good of conquering this rich Fleece, he thinks like me not to to hold not the talent of God hidden in the ground, buying Lands and Possessions, which make the vanities of this World; but rather to help his Brothers charitably, remembering to have learned this Secret among the bones of the Dead, with which he must soon find himself, and that after this fleeting life, he will have to give an account before a just and formidable Judge, who will censure even idle and vain speech.
May he therefore, who having weighed my words, and well known and understood my Figures (knowing moreover the first Principles and Agents, for certainly he will find no vestige or teaching of them in these Figures and Commentaries) do to the glory of God the Magisterium of Hermes, remembering the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, and all the other Churches, Cemeteries and Hospitals, and above all the Church of the SS. Innocens of this City, in whose Cemetery he will have contemplated these real demonstrations, opening very widely its purse to the poor Ashamed, desolate people, Infirm, Widows and poor Orphans. So be it.
Theological Interpretations that can be given to these Hieroglyphs, according to my sense.
I have given this Cemetery a Charnel ground which is opposite this fourth Arch, the Cemetery in the middle: and against one of the Pillars of this Charnel ground, I have sketched and crudely painted a Man all black, who looks at these hieroglyphs, around which there is written in French: I see marvel, which moult je m'ébahis. That and another three Plates of iron and gilded copper, to the East, West and South of the Ark, where these Hieroglyphs are, the Cemetery in the middle, representing the Holy Passion and Resurrection of the Son of God, that, I say , must not be interpreted otherwise than according to the Theological Common Sense, except that this Black Man may as well cry out marvelous at seeing the admirable works of God in the Transmutation of Metals, which are figured in these Hieroglyphics, that he watches so attentively, as to see so many dead bodies buried, which will rise out of their Tombs on the dreadful day of Judgment.
Besides, I do not think that it is necessary to explain in Theological Sense this Vessel of earth at the right hand of these Figures, in which there is a Writing desk, or rather a Vessel of Philosophy (if we remove the links and that we join the cannon to the cornet), no more than the two other similar Vessels, which are alongside the Figures of S. Peter and S. Paul, in one of which there is an N. which means Nicolas, and in the other an F. which means Flamel. Because these Vessels mean nothing except that in similar ones I made three times the Magisterium.
Who will also want to believe that I put these Vessels in the form of Cupboards, to have the Writing Case and the capital letters of my name represented there, that he believes it if he wants, because all these two interpretations are true.
We must not also interpret in Theological Sense this writing which follows in these terms, Nicolas Flamel and Pernelle his Wife, especially since it does not mean anything else, except that I and my Wife had this Ark built.
As for the third, fourth and fifth Tables following, at the bottom of which there is written, How the Innocents were slain by the command of King Herodes, the Theological Sense is also sufficiently understood by this writing; it is only necessary to speak of the rest which is above.
The two Dragons united, and one inside the other, of black and blue color, in Field of Sand, that is to say black, of which one has golden wings, and the other does not a point, are the sins, which naturally are maintained; for one has its birth from the other. Of these sins, some can be driven away easily, as they come easily; because they fly at all hours towards us. But those without wings cannot be cast out, as is the sin against the Holy Spirit. This Gold of the wings signifies that most of these sins come from the sacred hunger for Gold, which makes so many people attentive, and which makes them think so carefully of where they can get it. And the black and blue color demonstrates that these are desires that come out of the dark pit of hell, from which we must entirely flee. These two Dragons can still morally represent the Legions of evil Spirits, who are always around us, and who will accuse us before the just Judge on the dreadful day of Judgment, who only ask me to sift us.
The Man and the Woman, which come after, of orange color on an azure and blue Field, signify that the Man and the Woman should not have their hope in this Blonde (because the orange marks despair) or leave all hope here. And the azure and blue color, on which they are painted, represents that one must think of future celestial things and say like the Roll of Man, Homo veniet ad Judicium Dei, that is to say, Man will come to the judgment of God. Or like that of the Woman, Vere illa dies tenibilis erit, that is to say, Certainly this day will be terrible, so that we keep ourselves from the Dragons, which are the sins, God have mercy on us.
After that, in Field of Synople, that is to say green, are painted two Men and a Woman resurrecting, of which one comes out of a Sepulchre, the other two from the Earth; all three of the color of pure snow, hiding their eyes with their hands all looking towards Heaven, on which there are two Angels sounding Musical Instruments, as if they had called those Dead on the Day of Judgment. For above the two Angels is the figure of our Lord Jesus Christ, holding the blonde in his hand, on whose head an Angel places a Crown, assisted by two others, who say in their Scrolls, O omnipotent Pater, O good Jesus! O Almighty Father, O good Jesus! On the right side of the Savior is painted S. Paul, dressed in orange-white, with a sword, at whose feet is a Man dressed in an orange robe, in which black and white folds appear, who looks like me to the quick, who asks forgiveness of his sins, holding his hands joined, from which come these words written in a scroll, Dele mala quae feci: take away the evils that I have done. On the other side, in the left hand, is S. Peter with his key, dressed in orange-red, holding his hand on a Woman dressed in an orange dress who is at her knees, representing Pernelle, who holds the joined hands, having a Scroll on which is written Christe precor esto pius: O Christ, be merciful to me; behind which there is a kneeling Angel with a Scroll, which says: Salve Domine Angelorum: I salute you, O Lord of the Angels. There is also another Angel kneeling behind my Image on the side of St. Paul. Who also holds a Scroll, saying: O ever-dull Rex! O Eternal King! All this is very clear, according to the explanation of the Resurrection of the future Judgment, which one can easily adapt to it: also it seems that this Ark was painted only to represent this, that is why it does not fit there. need not stop any longer, since the least and the most ignorant will know how to give him this interpretation.
After the three Resuscitators, come two Angels of orange color again, on a blue Field, saying in their Scrolls: Sur-gite Mortui, venite ad Judicium Domini mei: rise dead, come to the Judgment of my Lord. This again serves the interpretation of the Resurrection. Just like the following and last Figures, which are a violet Field of the vermilion red Man, who holds the foot of a Lion also painted vermilion red, which has wings, opening its mouth as if to devour. For we can say that this one represents the unfortunate Sinner who, sleeping lethargically in the corruption of vices, dies without repentance and confession, who doubtless, on this terrible Day, will be delivered to the Devil, here painted in the form of a roaring red Lion , which will swallow it up and carry it away.
The Philosophical Interpretations according to the Magisterium of Hermes.
I desire with all my heart that he who seeks this Secret of the Sages, having passed over in his mind these Ideas of the future Life and Resurrection, should first profit from them. In the second place, let him be wiser than before, let him probe and deepen my Figures, Colors and Scrolls; in particular my Rolls, because in this Art one does not speak vulgarly. Let him then ask himself why the Figure of S. Paul is in the right hand, instead of where it is customary to paint S. Peter, and that of S. Peter, instead of S. Paul. Why the Figure of S. Paul is dressed in orange-white, and that of S. Peter in red-orange; Why also the Man and the Woman who are at the feet of these two Saints, praying to God as if they were on the Day of Judgment, are dressed in various colors, and are not bare in bones as resurrecting. Why on this day of Judgment was painted this Man and this Woman at the feet of the Saints; for they must be lower in Earth, and not in Heaven. Why also the two orange Angels, who say in their Scrolls, Surgite Mortui, venite ad Judicium Domini mei, that is to say, Rise dead, come to the Judgment of my Lord, are dressed in this color, and outside of their place; because it must be in the top of the Sky, with the two others which sound Instruments. Why they have a Purple and Blue Field; but, principally, why their Scroll, which speaks to the Dead, ends in the open mouth of the red and flying Lion. I would therefore like that after these questions and several others, which one can justly ask, fully opening the eyes of the Spirit, he should come to the conclusion that this not having been done without a cause, one must have represented under their bark some great Secrets which he must pray to God to reveal to him.
Having thus led his belief by degrees, I still wish him to believe that these Figures and Explanations are not made for those who have never seen the Books of the Philosophers, and who, ignorant of the Metallic Principles, cannot be called Children science. Because if they want to fully hear these Figures, ignoring the first Agent, they will doubtless be mistaken, and will never hear anything about it. Let no one therefore blame me, if he does not hear me easily; because he will be more blameworthy than me, especially since not being initiated in these sacred and secret Interpretations of the first Agent (which is the Key opening the doors of all Sciences), nevertheless he wants to hear the most subtle Conceptions of the Philosophers who have been very envious, and who have written them only for those who already know these Principles, which are never found in any Book, because they leave them to God, who reveals them to whomever He pleases, or else is taught orally by a Master by Cabalistic tradition, which happens very rarely.
But my Son (I can call you that because I am already very old, and besides, perhaps, you are a Son of Science), God lets you learn, and then work for his glory; listen to me then attentively; but do not go any further, if you are ignorant of the Principles of which I have just spoken.
A Writing Case in a Niche made in the form of a Furnace.
Explanation of this Figure, with the manner of Fire.
This Earth Vessel in this form is called by the Philosophers the Triple Vessel; for in its middle there is a floor, on which there is a bowl full of warm ashes, in which is placed the Philosophical Egg, which is a Matras of glass which you see painted in the form of a writing desk, and which is full of the Confections of the Art, that is to say, of the Foam of the Red Sea, and of the Grease of the Mercurial Wind. Now this Earthen Vessel opens above, to put inside it the Bowl and the Matrass, under which, through this open door, the philosophical fire is set, as you know. So you have three Vessels, and the Triple Vessel. The Envious called him Athanor, Crible, Fumier, Bain-Marie, Fournaise, Sphere, Lionverd, Prison, Sépulcre, Urinal, Phiole, Cucurbite, myself in my Philosophical Summary ' which I composed four years ago two months, I name it at the end, the House and Habit of the Chicken, and I call the Cendres de l'Ecuelle the straw of the Chicken. Its common name is Fourneau, which I would never have found if Abraham the Jew had not painted it with his proportioned Fire, of which a large part of the Secret consists. It is like the Belly and the Matrix, containing the true natural heat to enliven our young King. If this Fire is not clibanically measured, says Calid; if it is lit with the sword, says Pythagoras; if you kindle your Vessel, says Morienus and make him feel the ardor of the fire, he will give you a blow, and will burn its flowers before they have risen from the depths of its marrow, and they will come out red rather than white; and when your Operation will be destroyed, just as if you make too much fire. Because then also you will never see the end of it, because the Natures are cooled and morfondue, and because they will not have had movements powerful enough to digest themselves together.
The Heat of your fire, in this Vessel, will be, as Hermes and Rosinus say, according to Winter, or as Diomedes says, according to the heat of the Bird which begins to isolate very slowly from the Sign of Aries, to that of Cancer. For know that the Child, from the beginning, is full of cold phlegm and milk, and that too vehement heat is the enemy of the coldness and humidity of our Embryo, and that the two Enemies, that is to say our Elements of cold and heat, will never embrace each other perfectly except little by little, having first made a long abode together in the middle of the temperate heat of their Bath, and having changed by long Decoction into incombustible Sulphur. Govern therefore gently, with equality and proportion, your haughty Natures, lest if you favor some more than others, they who are naturally enemies will be vexed against you with jealousy and dry anger, and make you sigh for a long time.
Besides that, you must maintain them perpetually in this temperate heat, that is to say night and day, until Winter, that is to say the time of the Humidity of Materials, has passed, because they make their peace and join hands while warming up together, and because if they were only half an hour without fire, these Natures would be forever irreconcilable. This is why it is said in the Book of the Seventy Precepts: make their fire continue and ceaselessly, and that none of their days be forgotten. And Rasis: haste, brought with it by too much fire, is always followed by the Devil and Error. When the Golden Bird, says Diome-des, has reached Cancer, and from there it will run towards the Scales, then you will have to increase the fire a little. And all the same still when this beautiful Bird flies away from Libra towards Capricorn, which is the desired Autumn, the time of harvests and already ripe fruits.
Two Dragons of yellowish, blue and black Color like the Champ
Explanation of this Figure.
Consider well these two Dragons, because they are the true Principles of Philosophy, which the Sages did not dare to show to their Own Children. The one below, without wings, is the Fixed, or the Male; the one above is the Volatile, or else the black and obscure Female, who will take over for several months. The first is called Sulfur, or Calidity and Dryness, and the last, Argent-Vif, or Frigidity and Humidity. They are the Sun and the Moon of Mercurial Source, and Sulphurous Origin, which by the continual fire adorn themselves with Royal Garments, to overcome all things metallic, solid, hard and strong, when they are united together, and then changed. in quintessence. These are the Serpents and Dragons that the ancient Egyptians painted in a circle, the head biting the tail, to say that they had come out of the same thing, and that it alone was sufficient unto itself, and that in its outline and circulation it perfected itself. These are the Dragons that the ancient Poets put to guard without sleeping the Golden Apples of the Gardens of the Hesperides Virgins. They are those on which, Jason, in the adventure of the Golden Fleece, poured the juice prepared by the beautiful Medea: discourses with which the Books of the Philosophers are so filled, that there is no Philosopher who has not written since the truthful Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Arthephius, Morienus, and the others following, until me.
It is these two Serpents sent by Juno, who is metallic Nature, that the strong Hercules, that is to say the Sage, must strangle in his cradle: I mean, conquer, and kill, to rot, corrupt , and engender, at the beginning of his Work. They are the two serpents tied round the Caduceus, or rod of Mercury, with which he exercises his great power, and transfigures and changes himself as he pleases. Whoever, says Haly, kills one, he will also kill the other, because one can only die with his Brother.
These two (which Avicenna calls Hound of Corassene and Hound of Armenia) being therefore placed together in the Vessel of the Sepulchre, they both bite each other cruelly; and by their great poison and furious rage, never let each other from the moment that they took each other and seized each other (if the cold does not prevent them) that both of them, with their drooling venom and mortal wounds, were not bloodied by all the parts of their Body, and finally killing each other, are smothered in their own venom, which changes them, after their death, into living and permanent Water; before which, they lose with corruption and putrefaction their first natural Forms, to resume afterwards a single new nobler and better one.
It is these two Sperms, masculine and feminine described at the beginning of my Philosophical Summary, which are begotten (says Rasis, Avicenna, and Jewish Abraham) in the loins, entrails, and from the operations of the four elements. These are the radical Humid of Metals, Sulfur and Quicksilver, not the vulgar ones and which are sold by the Druggists; but they are those given to us by these two beautiful and dear Bodies, which we love so much. These two Sperms, said Democritus, are not found on the land of the Living. The same says Avicenna, but, he adds, they are collected from the droppings, Ordure and rottenness of the Sun and the Moon. O how happy are those who know how to collect it! For out of them then afterwards they make a Theriac, who has power over all pain, sadness, sickness, infirmity and debility, who fights mightily against death, prolonging life according to God's permission, until the appointed time, in triumphing over the miseries of this World and filling Man with his riches.
Of these two Dragons or Metallic Principles, I said in my Summary that the Enemy would inflame by his ardor the fire of his Enemy; and that then, if we were not careful, we would see through the Air a venomous smoke, and of bad smell, worse in flame and in poison than is the envenomed head of a Serpent and of a Babylonian Dragon.
The cause why I painted these two Sperms in the form of Dragons, is because their stench is very great, as is that of Dragons, and the exhalations which rise in the Matras are dark, black, blue and yellowish, thus what are these two painted Dragons; the force of which, and of the dissolved Bodies, is so venomous that truly there is not in the World a greater venom. For he is able, by force and stench, to kill and kill every living thing. The Philosopher never smells this stench, if he does not break his Vessels; but only he judges her to be such by the sight and change of Colors which come from the rottenness of her Confections, These Colors therefore signify the Putrefaction and Generation which is given to us by the biting and dissolution of our perfect Bodies; which dissolution comes from the external heat which helps, and from the Pontic Igneity, and admirable sour virtue of the poison of our Mercury, which puts and resolves into pure dust, even into impalpable powder, what it finds that resists it. Thus the heat acting on and against the metallic, viscous or oleaginous radical humidity, engenders blackness on the Subject. For at the same time Matter dissolves, corrupts, blackens, and conceives in order to engender. Because all Corruption is Generation, and one must always wish for this darkness. She is also that black veil with which the Ship of Theseus returned victorious from Crete, which was the cause of the death of her Father. Therefore the Father must die, so that from the ashes of this Phoenix another may be reborn, and the Son be King.
Certainly, who does not see this blackness, at the beginning of his Operations, during the days of the Stone, what other color he sees, he misses the Magisterium entirely, and can no longer perfect it with this Chaos. For it does not work well, not putrefying; especially since if one does not rot, one neither corrupts nor engenders. Therefore, the Stone cannot take on vegetative life to grow and multiply. And truly I say to you again that even if you work on the true Matters, if at the beginning, after having put the Confections in the Philosophical Egg (that is to say some time after the fire has irritated them), you don't see that Raven's head, black black very black, you have to start over. For this fault is irreparable, and cannot be corrected. Above all, one must fear an orange, half-red color; because if in this beginning you see it in your Egg, without doubt you are burning or have burned the greenness and vivacity of the Stone. The Color you must have must be entirely perfect in blackness, similar to that of these Dragons, and this within the space of forty days.
Let therefore those who will not have these essential marks withdraw early from Operations, so that they avoid an assured loss. Know also and notice well that it is nothing in this Art to have darkness, there is nothing easier to have. For almost of all the things of the world mixed with humidity, you will have their blackness by fire. You must have a blackness which comes from the perfect Metallic Bodies, which lasts a long space of time, and which is only lost in five months, after which comes and succeeds the desired whiteness. If you have that, you have a lot, but not everything.
As for the bluish and yellowish color, it means that the solution and putrefaction is not yet complete, and that the Colors of our Mercury are not yet well mixed and rotted with what remains.
So this Darkness and Colors teach clearly that in this beginning the Matter or the Compound begins to rot and dissolve into a finer powder than the Atoms of the Sun, which then change into permanent Water. And this Dissolution is called by envious Philosophers Death, Destruction and Perdition, because Natures change form. From there came so many Allegories on the Dead, Tombs and Sepulchres. Others have named it Calcination, Denudation, Separation, Trituration, Assation, because the Confections are changed and reduced to tiny pieces or parts. The others Reduction into Prime Matter, Melification, Extraction, Commission, Liquefaction, Conversion of Elements, Subtilization, Division, Hu-mation, Impastation, and Distillation, because the Confections are liquefied, reduced to seed, softened, and circulate in the Matras. The other Xir, Putrefaction, Corruption, Cimmerian Shadows, Chasm, Hell, Dragon, Generation, Ingression, Submersion, Complexion, Conjunction, and Impregnation because Matter is black and watery, and the Natures mingle perfectly, and hold each other together. each other. For when the heat of the Sun acts on them, they change first into Powder, or Greasy and sticky Water, which, feeling the heat, flees up into the head of the Chicken with the smoke, that is to say with Wind and Air; from there this Water, drawn and melted from the Confections, she dreamed of it below, and descending reduces and resolves as much as she can the rest of the aromatic Confections, always doing so until everything is like a broth greasy black. This is why it is called Sublimation, and Volatilization, because it flies above, and Ascension and Descension, because it ascends and descends in the Vessel.
After some time the Water begins to thicken and coagulate more, coming as very black Pitch; and finally comes Body and Earth, which the Envious have called Fetid and Stinking Earth, for then, because of perfect putrefaction (which is as natural as any other), this Earth is stinking, and gives off a smell similar to the stench of filled Graves. of rot and bones still charged with natural humor. This Earth was called by Hermès the Earth of the leaves, nevertheless its proper and true name is the Brass which must then be whitened. The ancient Cabalist Sages described it in the Metamorphoses under the Story of the Serpent of Mars, which had devoured the Companions of Cadmus, who slew him by piercing him with his Spear against a Hollow Oak. Note this Oak.
A man and a woman, dressed in orange robes, on an azure and blue field, with their scrolls.
Explanation of this Figure.
The Man depicted here expressly resembles me naturally, just as the Woman naively represents Pernelle. The cause why we are painted to the quick is nothing special. Because it was only necessary to represent the Male and the Female, to which our particular resemblance was not necessarily required. But it pleased the sculptor to put us there, just as he also did in this same Arch higher up, at the feet of the Figure of St. Paul and St. Peter, depending on whether we were in our youth; and still elsewhere in several places, as was the door of the Chapel of S. Jacques de la Boucherie, near my house (although in the latter there is a particular reason) as also on the door of Saint Geneviève des Ardens, where you can see me.
I therefore paint you here two Bodies, one of Male, and the other of Female, to teach you that in this second Operation you have truly, but not yet perfectly, two conjoined and married Natures, the masculine and the feminine, or rather the four Elements; and that the natural Enemies, the Hot and the Cold, the Dry and the Wet, begin to approach each other amicably, and by means of the Peacemakers, gradually lay down the ancient enmity of old Chaos . You know well enough who these Intermediaries are between the Hot and the Cold: it is the Humid; for it is parent and ally of both, of the Hot by its heat, and of the Cold by its humidity. This is why to begin to make this peace, you have already in the previous Operation converted all the Confections into Water by dissolution. And then afterwards you caused the necessary Water to coagulate, which was converted into this black Earth of very black black, in order to make peace entirely. For the Earth which is dry and moist, finding itself also related and allied with the Dry and the Humid, which are Enemies, will appease and attune them entirely. Don't you consider a very perfect mixture of all these four Elements, having first converted them into Water, and now into Earth. I will still teach you below the other conversions into Air when everything is white, and into Fire when everything is a perfect purple red.
You have therefore here two married Natures, one of which conceived of the other, and by this conception was converted into the Body of Male, and the Male into that of Female, that is to say, were made a single Body, which is the Androgine of the Ancients, which otherwise is still called the Head of the Raven, and the converted Elements. In this way I paint you here that you have two Natures reconciled, which (if they are led and governed wisely) can form an Embryo in the womb of the Vessel, and then give birth to you a very powerful, invincible, and incorruptible King, because that it will be an admirable Quintessence. This is the principal end of this representation, and the most necessary.
The second, which is also very notable, will be that I had to depict two Bodies, because in this Operation you have to divide what has been coagulated, to give then after food, a milk of life, to the newborn baby, who is endowed (by the living God) with a vegetative Soul. Which is a very admirable and very hidden secret, which has made all those who have looked for it without finding it delight, for lack of understanding it; and who has made wise anyone who has looked at him with the eyes of the body, or of the spirit.
You must therefore make two parts and portions of this coagulated Body, one of which will serve as Azoth to wash and mondify the other, which is called Brass, which must be whitened. He who is washed is the Serpent Python, who, having taken his being from the corruption of the silt of the Earth, assembled by the Waters of the Flood, when all Confections were Water, must be slain, and vanquished by the arrows of the God Apollo, by the blond Sun, that is to say by our Fire, equal to that of the Sun.
The one who washes, or rather these washings, which must be continued with the other half, are the teeth of this Serpent that the wise Operator, the valiant Theseus, will sow in the same earth, from which will be born Soldiers who will finally destroy themselves. themselves, letting themselves resolve in the same nature of the earth, letting deserved conquests carry them away.
It is on this that the Philosophers have so often described and so often repeated. It dissolves itself, freezes, blackens, whitens, kills itself, and vivifies itself. I had their Azure and Blue Field painted to show that I'm just beginning to emerge from the very black darkness. Because the azure and blue is one of the first Colors that the obscure Woman lets us see, that is to say the Humidity yielding a little to the heat and dryness. Male and Female are mostly orange. This means that our Bodies (or our Body, which the Sages here call Rebis), does not yet have enough digestion, and that the Humidity from which the black, blue and azure comes, is not half vanquished by dryness. . For when dryness prevails, everything will be white, and fighting it or being equal to Humidity, everything is partly according to these Colors. The Envious have again called these Confections in this Operation, Numus, Ethelia, Arena, Boritis, Cor-suste, Cambar, Albar aeris, Duenech, Randeric, Kukul, Thabitris, Ebisemeth, Ixir, etc. What they ordered laundered.
The Woman has a white circle in the form of a scroll around her body, to show you that Rebis will begin to whiten in this same way, first whitening at the ends all around this white circle. The Ladder of the Philosophers says: The Sign of the first perfect whiteness, is when one sees a certain small capillary circle, that is to say passing over the head, which will appear around Matter at the sides du Vaisseau, in color verging on orange.
There is in their Scrolls, Homo veniet ad Judicium Dei; that is, Man will come to the Judgment of God. Vere, (says the Woman) illa dies terribilis eris. That is to say, certainly that day will be terrible. These are not passages from Holy Scripture but only sayings speaking according to the Theological Meaning of the future Resurrection. I put them like this; for they serve me for one who contemplates only the grosser and more natural artifice, taking the interpretation of the Resurrection. And are useful all the same to those who, wanting to collect the Parables of Science, take Lyncée's eyes to penetrate beyond the visible Objects. There is therefore, Man will come to the Judgment of God, Certainly this day will be terrible. It's as if I said, this must come to the Coloration of perfection, to be judged and cleansed of blackness and filth, and to be spiritualized and whitened. Certainly this day will be terrible. Yes really ; also you will find in the Allegory of Arileus. Horror held us in Prison For eighty days in the darkness of the Waves, in the extreme heat of summer, and in the troubles of the Sea. All of which things must first pass before our King can be whitened. , coming from death to life, to vanquish then after all his Enemies.
To teach you even better this albification or bleaching, which is more difficult than all the rest (until what time you can fail at all steps; but afterwards no, or you would break the Vessels), I have made you this Next table.
A man similar to Saint Paul, dressed in an orange-white Robe, edged in Gold, holding a naked Sword, having at his feet a man on his knees, dressed in an orange, white and black Robe, holding a Scroll, where there is Dele mala quae feci, that is to say: take away the evil that I have done.
Explanation of this Figure.
Take a good look at this Man in the form of a Saint Paul, dressed in an entirely white orange Robe. If you consider it well, it turns the body in a posture which demonstrates that it wants to take the naked Sword, or to cut off the head, or to do something else on this Man who is at his feet on his knees, dressed in an orange, white and black Robe, which says in its Scroll: Dele mala quae feci, as if to say: Take away my darkness, term of the Art. For evil means by Allegory blackness; thus in the Turbe one finds Cooked until the darkness, which one will estimate to be badly. But do you want to know what this Man who takes the sword means? It means that the Raven's head must be cut off, that is to say, this Man dressed in various colors, who is on his knees. I took this feature and figure of Hermes Trismegistus in his Book of Secret Art, where he says: Take off the head of this black man; cut off the Raven's head, that is, whiten our Sand.
Lambs-prink, German Gentleman, had already used it in the Commentary on his Hieroglyphics, saying: In this wood there is a Beast which is completely covered with blackness; if someone cuts off her head, then she will lose her blackness, and dress the color very white. Do you want to hear what it is? The blackness is called the head of the Raven, which removed, at the moment comes the white color, then, that is to say when the cloud does not appear any more, this Body is called without head. These are his own words. In the same sense the Sages have also said elsewhere, Take the Viper, called from Rexa, cut off its head, that is to say take away its blackness. They still used this paraphrase when, to signify the Multiplication of the Stone, they feigned a Serpent Hydra from which, if one cut off a head, ten were reborn. For the Stone increases by ten each time you cut off this Raven's head, blacken it, and whiten it, that is to say, dissolve it again, and then recoagulate it.
See that the naked sword is twisted with a Black Belt, and that the ends of it do not quite surround it. This naked, resplendent sword is the White Stone, so often described in the Philosophers in this form. In order therefore to arrive at this perfect sparkling whiteness, you must hear the entanglements of this Black Belt, and follow what they teach, which is the quantity of Imbibitions. The two ends that don't quite twist it together represent the beginning of the end. For the beginning, he teaches that it is necessary to imbibe in this first time gently and sparingly, then giving the Stone a little milk, like a newborn child, so that the Ixir (say the authors) does not overwhelm it. The same must be done at the end, when we see that our King is drunk, and wants no more. The middle of these Operations is painted by the five whole twists of the Black Belt, at which time (because our Salamander lives on fire, and in the middle of the fire, even is a fire, and a Quicksilver, running in the middle of the fire , fearing nothing) he must give it abundantly, in such a way that the virginal milk surrounds all Matter. I had these surroundings of the Belt painted black, because they are Imbibitions, and consequently Blacknesses. For Fire with Moist (as it is so often said) causes darkness. And as these five whole circles demonstrate that it is necessary to do this five times entirely, all the same they make known that it is necessary to do this five whole months, one month at each Imbibition. This is why Hali Abenragel said: The cooking of things is perfected in three times fifty days. It is true that if you will count these little Imbi-hitions of the beginning and the end, there are seven of them. Whereupon one of the most Envious said: Our Raven's head is leprous; therefore whoever wants to cleanse it, he must descend seven times to the river of regeneration in the Jordan, as the Prophet commands the Leper Naaman Syrian. Including in this the beginning which is only a few days, the middle, and the end, which is also very short.
I therefore gave you this Painting to tell you that you must whiten my Body which is on its knees, which does not require anything else. For Nature always strives for perfection. What you will accomplish by the affixing of Virginal milk, and by the decoction that you will make of the Materials with this milk which, drying on this Body, will tint it in the same orange-white, with which the one who takes the sword is clothed, in which color you need to bring your Corsuflet.
The clothes of the figure of Saint Paul are broadly bordered in golden color and orange-red. O my son, praise GOD if you ever see this. For you have already obtained mercy from Heaven, So soak and dye until the little Child is strong and robust, to fight against water and fire. Accomplishing this, you will do what Démagoras, Senior and Hali called: Putting the Mother in the womb of the Child she had already given birth to. For they call Mother the Mercury of the Philosophers, from which they have the Imbibitions and fermentations, and the Child, the body that must be dyed, from which this Mercury came. I therefore gave you these two Figures to signify albification or whitening; also it is in this place that you needed great help, because everyone caught there. This Operation is really a Labyrinth, because here a thousand ways present themselves at the same moment, besides the fact that it is necessary to proceed to the end of it, precisely at the very reverse of the beginning, by coagulating what you were previously dissolving, and doing Keep what you were doing before Water.
When you have whitened, you have defeated the enchanted Bulls, which threw fire and smoke from your nostrils. Hercules cleaned the stable full of filth, rot and darkness. Jason poured the juice on the Dragons of Coichos, and you have in your power the Horn of Amalthea, which (although it is only white) can fill all the rest of your life, with glory, honor, and wealth. To get it you had to fight valiantly, and like a Hercules. For this Achelous, this moist River (which is darkness) is endowed with a very powerful force, besides that it often changes from one form to another: so you have completed, because the rest is without difficulty . These transfigurations or changes are particularly described in the Book of the Seven Egyptian Buckets, where it is said (as also by all the Authors) that before quitting darkness entirely, and becoming white in the manner of very shining marble and a flaming naked sword, the Stone will dress in all the colors you can imagine. Often it will liquefy itself, and often will coagulate again, and among these various and contrary operations (which the vegetative soul which is in it makes it perfect at the same time) it will become orange, green, red (not a perfect red) and yellow, will become blue, and orange, until being entirely overcome by the dryness and the heat, all these infinite colors end in this admirable orange whiteness of the garment of Saint Paul, which, in little of time, will come like that of the naked sword. Then, by stronger and longer decoction, finally take the orange red, and then the perfect red of Laque, where it will rest from now on. I don't want to forget, by the way, to warn you that the milk of the Moon is not like the Virginal milk of the Sun. Think then that the Imbibitions of whiteness require a whiter milk than those of redness and color of Gold. Because in this step I thought to fail, and would have done it without Abraham Jew. For this reason I made you paint the Figure which takes the naked sword in the color which is necessary for you: also it is this Figure which whitens.
On a green Field, two Men and a Woman, who resuscitate completely white, two Angels above, and on the Angels the Figure of the Savior coming to judge the World, dressed in a perfectly white orange Robe.
Explanation of this Figure.
I had a Green Field painted like this, because in this Decoction the Confections turn green, and keep this smell longer than any other after the black one. This greenness particularly marks that our Stone has a vegetative Soul, and that it has been converted, through the industry of Art, into a true and pure germ, to germinate abundantly and then produce infinite branches. O blessed greenness, says the Rosary, which produces all things: without you nothing can grow, vegetate, nor multiply. The three who are resuscitated dressed in sparkling white represent the Body, the soul and the Spirit of our white Stone. The Philosophers ordinarily use these terms of the Art, to hide the Secret from the Wicked. They call Body, the black, dark and dark earth, which we whiten. They call Soul the other divided half of the Body, which, by the will of GOD and the power of Nature, gives to the Body, by its imbibitions and fermentations, the vegetative soul; that is to say, the power and virtue to swarm, grow, multiply, and to make itself white like a shining naked sword. They call Spirit the tincture and dryness which, like a spirit, has the virtue of penetrating all metallic things.
I would be too long if I wanted to show you here for how many reasons they said for everything: Black Stone has, like the Man, Body, Soul and Spirit. I only want you to notice that, as Man endowed with body, Soul, and Spirit, is nevertheless one, so you now have only one white Confection, in which however are the Body, soul and Spirit, which are inseparably united. I could give you very clear comparisons and explanations of this Body, Soul and Spirit; but to explain them, it would be necessary to say things that God reserves himself to reveal to those who fear him and who love him, and who consequently should not write.
I therefore had you here paint a Body, a Soul and a Spirit all white, as if they were resurrected, to show you that the Sun, the Moon and Mercury were resuscitated in this Operation, that is to say are made Elements of Air and whitened: for we have already called the Blackness Dead; continuing the Metaphor, we can therefore call the Whiteness a life, which returns only with and by the resurrection, The Body, (to show it to you more clearly), I had it painted, lifting the stone d. his tomb, in which he was enclosed. The Soul, because it cannot be buried, it does not come out of a tomb, but only I have it painted among the tombs, seeking its Body in the form of a Woman with disheveled hair. The Spirit, who also cannot be buried, I had him painted as a Man emerging from the earth, not from the grave. They are all white; also the Blackness, which is Death, is vanquished, and they being made white are henceforth incorruptible.
Look up now, and see our crowned and risen King coming, who has conquered Death, darkness and dampness. Here he is in the form that the Savior will come, who will eternally unite all the pure and clean Souls to himself, and will drive out all the impure and filthy as being unworthy to unite with his divine Body. Thus, by comparison (however requesting permission to speak thus to the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, and begging any good-natured Soul to allow me by similarity), here is our white Elixir, which henceforth will unite to itself inseparably all pure metallic Nature, transmuting it into its silvery and very fine nature, rejecting foreign and heterogeneous impurity. Praise be to God, who gives us the grace, by his great goodness, to be able to consider this sparkling White, more perfect and shining than any composite nature, and more noble, after the immortal soul, than any other Substance, animate or inanimate. ; also it is a Quintessence, a very pure Silver, passed through the Cup and refined seven times, says the Royal Prophet David.
It is not necessary to interpret the meaning of the two Angels playing Instruments on the heads of the Risen Ones; they are rather Divine Spirits, singing the marvels of God in this miraculous Operation, than Angels calling us to Judgment. Expressly to make a difference, I gave a Lute to one and to the other a Musette, not Trumpets, which they are always given to call to Judgment. The same must be said of the three Angels who are on the head of Our Saviour, one of whom crowns him, and the other two say in their Scrolls, assisting him, O Pater omnipotence! O Jesus bone! That is to say, O Almighty Father! O good Jesus! by giving him eternal graces.
On a purple and blue Field, two orange-colored Angels, and their Scrolls.
Explanation of this Figure.
This purple and blue field shows that, wanting to pass from the white Stone to the red, you soaked it with a little Solar Virginal Milk, and that these Colors came out of the Mercurial Humidity that you dried on the Stone. . In this Ruby Operation, although you soak, you will hardly have black, but rather violet, blue, and the color of the Peacock's tail: for our Stone is so triumphant in dryness that your Mercury the touch, Nature, rejoicing in her nature, joins her and drinks her greedily; and therefore the Black which comes from Humidity can only show itself a little under these Violet and Blue Colors, as much as dryness (as it is said) now rules absolutely.
I made you paint these two Angels with wings, to represent to you that the two Substances of your Confections, the Mercurial and sulphurous, fix it as well as the Volatile, being fixed together in your Vessel. For in this Operation the fixed Body will ascend gently to Heaven, entirely spiritual; and from there he will descend into the Earth, and wherever you will, following throughout the Spirit who always moves on the fire. Especially since they are made of the same Nature and the Compound is all Spiritual, and the Spiritual all Corporeal, so much has it been stolen from our marble by the preceding Operations. The Natures therefore are here transmuted and changed into Angels; that is, are made spiritual and very subtle, so they are now true Tinctures.
Now remember to begin the Rubification by the affixing of the red-orange Mercury; but hardly any, and only once or twice, depending on what you see. Because this Operation must be perfected by dry fire, Sublimation and dry Calcination. And truly I am telling you here a secret which you will very rarely find written down. Also I am not Envious, and would to God that everyone knew how to make Gold at his will, so that one would live leading his fat Herds to graze, without usury or trial, in imitation of the Holy Patriarchs, using only , like the first Fathers, of permutation from thing to thing, for which it would be necessary to have worked as well as now. For fear, however, of offending God, and of being the instrument of such a change, which perhaps would be bad, I am careful not to represent or write where we hide the Keys which can open all the doors of the Secrets of Nature, and turn the Earth upside down, contenting myself with showing things which will teach it to any Person to whom God will have allowed to know what property the sign of Libra has, when it is illuminated by the Sun and Mercury in October.
These Angels are painted orange to let you know that your white Confections have been baked a little more, and that the black from the purple and blue has already been driven out by the fire. Because this orange color is composed of this beautiful golden red orange (which you have been waiting for so long) and the rest of this purple and blue which you have already partly undone. This orange still demonstrates that natures are digested and little by little perfected by the grace of God.
As for their Scroll which says: Surgite Mor-tui veeite ad Judicium Domini mei: that is to say, Arise Dead, come to the Judgment of God my Lord, I rather had it put for the Theological Sense alone than for the other. He finishes Hans with the mouth of a very red Lion, it is to show that this Operation must not be discontinued that we do not see the true red of Purple, similar at all to the Country Poppy and to the Pure Lion Lacquer. , except to multiply.
A Man similar to Saint Peter, dressed in a red orange Robe, holding a Key in his right hand, and putting the left on a Woman dressed in an orange Robe, who is kneeling at his feet, holding a Scroll, where is written Christe Precor, esto pius. Please, O Christ, be merciful to me.
Explanation of this figure.
Look at this Woman dressed in an Orange Dress, who naturally resembles Pernelle as she was in her adolescence. She is painted in the manner of a Suppliant, on her knees, hands clasped, at the feet of a Man, who has a Key in his right hand, who graciously listens to her, and then extends his left hand over her. Do you want to know what this represents? It is the Stone, which in this Operation demands two things from the Solar Mercury of the Philosophers (depicted in the form of Man), namely Multiplication, and a richer habit. What she needs to get in this time here. So the Man, thus putting his hand on her shoulder, grants it to her.
But why did you have a Woman painted? I could just as easily have a Man or an Angel painted as a Woman: (because the Natures are now all spiritual and corporeal, masculine and feminine) but I preferred to have you paint a woman, so that you could judge that she asks for Multiplication rather than anything else; because these are the most natural and proper desires of the Female.
To show you even more that she asks for Multiplication, I painted the Man to whom she prays, in the form of a Saint Peter, holding a Key, having the power to open and close, to bind and untie. Especially since the envious Philosophers have never spoken of Multiplication except under these common terms of Art. Open, close, bind, unbind. They called opening and loosening making the Body (which is always hard and fixed) soft, fluid, and flowing like water, and closing forgetting to coagulate it afterwards by stronger decoction, bringing it back into shape again of body.
I therefore had to represent a Man with a key, to teach you that you must now open and close, that is to say, multiply the germinating and growing Natures. For as many times as you dissolve and fix, so many times will these Natures multiply in quantity, quality and virtue, according to the Multiplication of ten, from this number becoming a hundred, from a hundred to a thousand, from a thousand to ten thousand, from ten a thousand to a hundred thousand, from a hundred thousand to a million; and from there by the same Operation to infinity, as I have done three times, for which I praise God. And when your Elixir is thus conducted to infinity, a grain of it falling on a molten metallic quantity as deep and vast as the Ocean, it will tint it and convert it into perfect Metal, that is to say, into Silver. or in Gold, according as it will have been soaked and fermented, driving out and removing from itself all the impure and foreign matter, which was joined in its first Coagulation.
For the same reason that I had a Key painted for Man, which is in the form of a Saint Peter, to signify that the Stone asked to be opened and closed to multiply, for the same reason also, to to show with which Mercury you must do this, I gave the Man a red orange coat, and the Woman an orange one.
This is not enough to come out of the silence of Pythagoras, and to teach you that the Woman, that is to say our Peter, asks to have the rich adornment and color of Saint Peter. She wrote in her Scroll Christo precor esto pius: Jesus Christ, be gentle to me, as if she were saying: Lord, be gentle to me, and do not allow him who has come this far to spoil everything with too much fire. It is quite true that from now on I will no longer fear the Enemies, and that all fire will be equal to me: however, the Vessel which contains me is always fragile. For if the fire is increased too much, it will burst, and bursting forth will carry me away and unfortunately sow me among the ashes.
Take care, then, of your fire in this step, governing and governing gently with patience this admirable Quintessence, for it must increase its fire, but not too much. And pray to the sovereign goodness that it does not allow the evil Spirits who guard the Mines and the treasures, to destroy your Operation or fascinate your sight, when you consider these incomprehensible movements of this Quintessence in your Vessel.
On a dark violet Field, a purple-red Man, holding the foot of a red Lacquer Lion, which has wings, and seems to delight and carry away the Man.
Explanation of this Figure.
This violet and dark Field represents that the Stone has obtained, by the entire Decoction, the beautiful entirely orange and red garments that it asked of Saint Peter, who was dressed in them, and that the complete and perfect digestion (signified by the whole orange color) made him leave his old orange Robe. The Lacquer-red color of this Flying Lion, like that pure Scarlett of the grain of the truly red Pomegranate, demonstrates that it is now accomplished in all righteousness and equality. That it is like a Lion, devouring all pure Metallic Nature, and changing it into its true Substance, into true and pure Gold finer than that of the best Mines.
So she now carries Man out of this valley of miseries, that is, out of the inconveniences of poverty and infirmity, and with her wings lifts him gloriously out of the stagnant waters of Egypt (which are the ordinary thoughts of Mortals) and, making him despise present life and riches, makes him meditate night and day in GOD and the Saints, wishing for the Empiric Heaven, and drinking from the sweet springs of the Fountains of Eternal Hope.
Eternal praise be to God, who has given us the grace to see that beautiful and all-perfect Color of Purple, that beautiful Color of the rural Poppy of the Rock, that sparkling and flaming Tyrian Color, which is incapable of change and alteration: on which Heaven itself and its Zodiac can no longer have dominion or power, whose radiant and dazzling brilliance seems in some way to communicate to Man something supercelestial, making him (when he contemplates and knows it) astonish, tremble, and shudder at the same time.
O Lord, grant us the grace that we may use it well for the increase of Faith, for the benefit of our Soul, and the increase of the glory of this noble Kingdom. So be it.
END
Quote of the Day
“Why do you melt and dissolve other bodies with great labour, when in these [the precious metals] you have what you seek? If you wish to use the base metals, you must first change them into the substance of perfect bodies.”
Plato (qu. ii.)
The Golden Tract Concerning The Stone of the Philosophers
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