The Quintessence

By Elias Artista

The following article was translated from an unpublished manuscript titled, "The Great Work of Alchemy." It was received in an official publication of the Rosicrucians of Europe more than a decade ago.

The Spanish version was made from the English translation, which in turn was made under the direction of the Imperator, by Frater Erwin Watermeyer, FRC, of ​​the AMORC research committee. Because of his chosen mystical and alchemical terminology, translation into the present form was extremely difficult.

The Quintessence is the POWER, QUALITY and VIRTUE of every organic thing in Nature. For this reason there is an infinite multiplicity of various Quintessences in the living beings of this world.

However, all these various Quintessences possess for their recognition certain definite universal marks which are revealed when their vehicle or form is decomposed or destroyed. Therefore we can consider the Quintessence as a fifth element in all matter. As such, it forms the base from which the four visible lower elements flow: fire, water, air and earth. These four well-known elements can be considered the house of Quintessence.

It is also known that the Quintessence forms within matter a pure, noble and permanent element, and this primary, pure, noble and permanent element, can be released only through a process of destruction or "calcination" of its hard material shell.

The Quintessence, that is, the fifth intangible element found in all objects of the material universe, is very closely related to the principle of Fire.

This is your mother or father and therefore shares the perseverance and fiery nature of Fire. The science of Practical ALCHEMY employs many special operations to obtain the Quintessence itself, or to separate fire from the other basic elements and return it to its primary source. The Quintessence represents the Life Force or Ozone Group (primary essence) in its most concentrated form, which can be considered the most primary substance of things.

Therefore, if the student of Hermeticism succeeds in obtaining the Quintessence in its purest form, whether as an ethereal essence or as a fluid, then he has succeeded in restoring to its source all the fundamental properties of any material object, and it is, for the therefore, capable of exerting a wonderful influence on the world of forms.

Furthermore, the Quintessence is the true bearer of the forces of Magnetism and Od, just as the vehicle of the Elemental World Ether is, as we suppose, the existence of a World Ether of various degrees of density. Therefore, the Quintessence can also be correctly compared to a special Light that can be found in all sublunary substances.

The amount of Quintessence contained in these lower states of matter is very diverse and variable. The greater and more concentrated the amount of Quintessence contained in a given object, the nobler, larger and more vigorous will be its properties and manifestations, since the Quintessence is sheltered within itself and the four lower elements cannot unite with it, nor have no influence on her.

The visible or material elements are manifestations of higher ethereal forces.

Whatever the nature of these forces, divine or inferior, they cannot have any action against the Quintessence. The Quintessence is alone, and, therefore, can be extracted from all living things as a special or particular being. His presence in the objects of this world means life for them, and his departure means death. Its outer visible garment is known as the psychic force called "Od." Its inner substance is harmoniously associated with Magnetism and its most intimate luminous life is of an ethereal nature. The Quintessence also represents on the physical plane the real etheric body of the sublunary objects. This etheric body contains, in the form of concentrated energy, all the wonderful powers of an object, both external and internal.

From all these reasons it follows that the first practical exercises of the students of Alchemy, at this stage of development, must take place within the domain of the Quintessence.

The student must learn to analyze all things in a practical way, through alchemical operations, so that he can penetrate to the essence or real force of things, the Spirit, through the practical understanding of its external form. In this way the student will practically experience the eternal fundamental meaning of the alchemical doctrine of Salt, Sulfur and Mercury.

Only this practice leads to true knowledge in art of true alchemy. Therefore, Alchemy is an art through which a state of rebirth can be induced in Nature, in a legitimate manner, and in which the most intimate being of a body can be opened and its living Quintessence obtained. But the most intimate and greatest power of every body is alchemical Sulfur in the form of a tincture.

However, this Sulfur is visibly and firmly surrounded by a thick layer of Nature's Salt. Thus, if we wish to release the Quintessence, we must first break this hard shell of Salt through the processes of "Calcination," etc., with which the Sulfur or tincture reaches its freedom and is then volatilized, or can be transplanted . to its original active life. It is impossible to bring about this rebirth that creates a new and better organized body, without destroying the old one.

The metamorphosis of the Old into the New is carried out only by means of the freest and most subtle Sulfur which acts as a Quintessence of tincture and which refines the vehicle of the old body of Salt and thus elevates it to a tincture-like property. , which is a higher property of Sulfur.

In this state only life, movement, energy and force exist.

There is no death or lifeless state of matter. Enclosed in this new state is the intimate being of each body in its special or partial action together with its specific power. The extraction, in its purest form, of this specific force locked within each living thing, is the object of an extensive Alchemical Science.

This subject is taught to the student in the first degrees of his studies and is called Alchemical Arcanology. This " Alchemical Arcanology" represents the first step on the very difficult path of the highest treasure of true Alchemy, that is, of the attainment of the legendary Philosopher's Stone, which really exists, which is the highest universal spiritual force, and the supreme miracle of Nature and Art.

The Purpose of Alchemy

The purpose of Alchemy is simply to follow Nature with the help of Art. For this reason it is said in ancient treatises on Alchemy that nothing can be obtained in the art of Alchemy that does not already exist in Nature. Without precise knowledge of the laws of Nature no success is achieved in this field. That is why the ancient masters said:

"Follow Nature; that is, do not work against its laws. Only with the help of its laws you will be able to have good success." An art that acts contrary to the laws of Nature disturbs the entire universe in all its relations, because in the universe there are harmonious and continuous mutual influences between all things. This fact It has been spelled out very clearly by the alchemists, and in the "Golden Chain of Hermes" and "The Platonic Rings" they have presented profound symbols for Hermetic students to contemplate.

Everything in Nature, from above to below, It is continuous, and each part reacts on the other in an intimate way. Only a small section of the whole is perceptible to the objective senses. The Quintessence is a very subtle essence that penetrates all objects and that, although hidden in each substance, It can, however, become partially perceptible.

Through its power and its activity all objects are mutually attracted or repelled according to their polarities. This reciprocal magnetic action manifests itself downwards in the domain of the objective world and can be considered as the lowest active manifestation of the sublime Soul of the World (Anima Mundi). This Soul of the World is the universal spirit that manifests and acts within the entire Cosmic; a soul that animates all beings, not only humans but animals, plants, stones and the entire earth. It only differs in quantity and quality in the different objective forms of this world.

For this reason the quintessence of all things is a universal medium because it is in fifth place above the other four elements. It is also called Sidereal Spirit, when it flows through the regions of the Astral Light.

In the visible world, the Quintessence can be captured in the form of a Volatile salt or represented in the form of a Balm. In these limited states it is called Mumia, and this is the subject of an extensive branch of Hermetic Science.

In the form of Mumia the Quintessence can counteract all putrefactions and conserve and preserve all substances. However , this state should not be considered as the ordinary gaseous product of chemical combinations but as a representative of the next higher stage, that is, as an air that is filled and illuminated with life, also called Prana according to Indian terminology. , because the light of life uses it as its immediate home. In the same way, in man, this Quintessence acts as a living light similar in nature to the sun, but it is not the general solar fire or "great life", but acts as a more specific individualized life.

Various Quintessences

For this reason it is that the Hermetic student can extract an infinite number of different specific Quintessences from the most diverse sources. However, because the Quintessence can open the inner nature of every object, it appears that it therefore exaggerates, to the highest degree, not only the merits of the object but also its defects.

Therefore, we might expect to encounter a great number of surprises in the field of medicine, as soon as we apply pure ethereal substances or Odic fluids in the field of therapy.

However, several thousand years ago, universal Hermetic science already possessed a true fundamental system of therapy, the so-called Alchemical Spagyric Art. This "Alchemical Spagyric Art", although of enormous extension in the field of human knowledge, has been completely forgotten in modern times. The firm foundation of the entire field of occult healing methods lies almost exclusively in the domains of Quintessence. We know a large number of chemical essences, ethereal substances, etc., which are sympathetically attuned to the true Quintessence. Due to their magnetic action, these particular substances can extract various amounts of Quintessence from different material substances. However, through this same process they purify themselves and their strength increases. But in this branch of Alchemy, the disciple of the Alchemical Sciences must be guided exclusively by his own practical experience.

The Inner Essence

Regarding this topic, an old Hermetic text written by the Brotherhood of the Illuminati says "that Nature has introduced a refreshing and resistant spirit between the 'water' of the celestial 'moon' and its 'external' Mercury." (true), in the spirit of a being similar to Sulfur and identical to the Quintessence."

This is a completely obscure phrase, almost impossible to interpret except with the help of the Secret Esoteric Guide through which all these matters are clearly revealed and the dark veil is parted before the inner vision of the true student. The above text further explains: "For this reason, they (students) must realize that within Nature you can find a special spirit that adheres to matter and acts on all fermentation processes (the secret Alchemical fermentation).

In Nature there is a defined chain (Platonic Annulis), a coordinated affinity between visible and invisible objects. Due to this chain, the highest spiritual essences descend and cohabit with matter. But you have to be careful to understand me correctly! I am not speaking here of a divine spirit, but of a specific Art (Alchemical Spagyric) by means of which a particular spirit can unite with the universal spirit and thus wonderfully elevate and increase its nature."

Therefore he who wishes to attain the The goal of Hermetic Art must be to make every attempt to penetrate to the true basis of Nature. It must possess a knowledge and understanding of how matter comes into existence and how life is born. Finally it must penetrate the metaphysical aspect of Nature to understand the maintenance and propagation of matter and life, in accordance with the divine order.

The "Emerald Table" of Hermes exposes a fundamental truth when it says: "What is above has its true image reflected in what is below, and vice versa," etc. This saying is confirmed not only by all true philosophers, but also by all who practice the Hermetic secret. For this reason the experienced teacher of the genuine and ancient way of Nature correctly says in the chapter of his book that deals with the true Alchemy of the ancients: that Alchemy is an art that teaches a new birth and also a method by which every object of Nature can be decomposed in a natural way into its fundamental components, by which the energies of the fires that lie latent within it are released.

With this process, these objects are transported into a life of accelerated growth through a "Hermetic fermentation" that represents the initial state of a complete rebirth. This rebirth represents our true Quintessence, as a true regeneration of the material, since it is more of a life force than an energy on a higher level, free from the shackles of material restriction.

The wheel of nature

For this reason the rebirth of things cannot take place without a knowledge of the inversion of the elements. Hermes already said it: "Invert the elements and then you will find what you are looking for." Students who wish to penetrate the true universal Quintessence, instead of the particular Quintessence of restricted form already mentioned, must know how to transform one element into another, thus setting in motion the rigid wheel of Nature.

The eternal order must be maintained and no true student is permitted to alter it by attempts to unify contrary elements, such as water and fire, or inharmonious elements, such as fire and earth. The natural order of Hermetic science demands that water must be united with water, air with air, earth with earth, and fire must be worked with fire. This is an old maxim of the wise that must also be applied to the regeneration of humanity.

Only the equal can be worked and united with the equal; a plane only with a plane; a state only with a state. In our particular example it is not as difficult as it seems, because the true Quintessence can be found in any plane or sphere even when it is adapted to certain stages or states. But for this very reason it is essential that the practical student be supplied with a special key so that he may clearly understand the Quintessence of that particular stage which he wishes to attain.

In the lower states of the material world the essence is a special product of individual things. At the highest level of the spiritual world, the essence is equivalent to the great Hilé or universal Chaos of the Hermetic sages. Between them there are a number of intermediate stages, each of which requires the student of Hermes to fully complete his specific Hermetic work, and the student must demonstrate a complete understanding of each step before being allowed to advance to the next higher level.

Considering only the lowest stage, it is possible to bind the newly born Quintessence to any possible form that the practical Hermetic desires. It can be transformed into salt, water, oil or powder. In other words, it is possible to bind only a fraction of it to these denser forms of matter, while its other parts remain unbound.

For this reason the essence is considered to belong to the domain of the semi-astral world, being a manifestation of a higher world , and a precursor of a future luminous being. And for this same reason within it there are many other secrets that we are not going to talk about now.

The secret symbol

In the symbolism of Alchemy, the Quintessence is often represented by the secret symbol of a winged dragon whose feet rest on the earth. This symbol indicates that the Quintessence represents a dual being. Her residence is located both upstairs and downstairs. He is nourished by both heaven and earth and his body is both spiritual and material. The student can find these symbolic representations in their various profound forms in an old manuscript of the Brotherhood of the Rose Cross. The process of the decomposition of matter and the extraction of Quintessence is certainly not so simple as to be carried out by anyone who is not specially prepared. However, individual practical experience is the best teacher, and many students succeed in completing their work after innumerable exercises and long experiments; Only a few become successful in a shorter time.

It is doubtful whether this work represents a simply chemical or pharmaceutical process, for even practical students who are still on the first steps of the alchemical path know the very great importance of certain influences, such as the aura of the experimenter, the biomagnetic forces, the astrological constellations, the immediate and even the most distant environment, and even the situation of the country where the experiment is carried out, and they also know that all these different conditions exert a profound influence on the experiment, and that even experiments carried out with laborious precision can produce immensely different results. Considering the incredibly subtle virginal purity of etheric matter , we should not be surprised by this fact.

All the various Quintessences of the most elementary stages also possess medicinal properties and can be used to cure various kinds of diseases. With the use of these substances, medicine can be elevated to a higher level and thus the dream of a great Hermeticist and man of science, Theophrastus Paracelsus, would be realized. The true Quintessences of the Spagyric Art are "universal", comparable to the common chemical products of doctors, but they are not so if they are seen in the light of high Alchemy.

There are also infallible signs that indicate what degree of perfection an extracted Quintessence possesses, just as an observation of the action of the same essence represents an additional confirmation of its momentary state.

The true Quintessence, even of a medium degree of refinement, is of such a sensitive constitution that the inexperienced student will find it almost impossible to preserve it in a uniform quality even for a few minutes; however that is possible. But all these things have to be learned, especially if the Hermetic student needs to work out for himself the next higher degree of the Hermetic products of his intelligence. His success will be confirmation that he has acquired maturity in the art of contemplation of the divine mysteries of Nature. This is the "Alkahest," that is, the universal solvent, the infernal fire of the Kabalists, etc., which represents the second step or degree towards the supreme and sacred "Misterium Magnum" of the Holy Order whose name I dare not name. to mention.

This is the firm foundation which every

Alchemical student must completely master, and by studying Paracelsus and other Masters dealing with the Quintessence, he will achieve greater progress. For example, Paracelsus' book that deals with the Quintessence is so important that it should be translated into our language; much more so since every true friend of the "Spagyric Art" and the Science of the "Mumia" receives, through him, a well-known guide that must be used in his theoretical and practical work. May happiness and blessings be with our Children of Fire.

This article was first published in the magazine "El Rosicruz" Published in July 1948