THE STONE AND ITS OPERATION WITH FIGURES

(Manuscript Vat. Reg. lat. 1278)

Our Stone is made from a single thing because our entire magistery is accomplished with our water. This water is the seed of all metals, and in it, all metals dissolve. The imperfect body is transformed into its own water, and this water, combined with our water, creates a pure and clear water that necessarily cleanses all things. This is called both precious and vile, through which and with which our magistery is brought to perfection. For it dissolves bodies not through the common dissolution, as the ignorant do—who reduce the body to rainwater—but through true philosophical dissolution, wherein the body is converted into water. In this very water, the purification takes place, and the same water transmutes bodies into ash. Take heed, for this is a great secret.

Contemplate, my son, the highest mountains to the right and left. Ascend there, and you will find our Stone. Upon that mountain, all manner of beauty and species are produced, and likewise, there lies the mine.

Our medicine is a composition of nature alone.



Behold, I now come to you, fully prepared to conceive a son unmatched in the world, who shall be born in two mountains at the beginning of two withered trees.

Come, my beloved, and together we shall embrace and generate a new son who will resemble neither the father nor the mother—a king whose head is red, whose eyes are black, and whose feet are white.

There are two wise Stones found in the saline waters, along the riverbanks, in all the mountains, on the shoulders of demons, and in the burned liver; of these, one is white and the other is red, just as is the male and the female, and with these companions wisdom arises.

A child comes, crowned with a precious diadem, to be nurtured and raised until he reaches full maturity, and his name is Elixir. Honor him, for he comes again; therefore, the Philosopher says:



To the victor, the hidden manna shall be given.
O you who whiten the Laton in secret and close the books.

The stone necessary for this work is from something animated—you shall find it everywhere: in plains, in mountains, and in waters. Both the poor and the rich possess it. It is most useful and precious; it grows from flesh and blood and is more valuable than anything to those who understand it.

O blessed nature, which generates all things. O blessed nature, and blessed is its operation, for from the imperfect, you make the perfect.

Therefore, you shall take only nature that is pure, raw, earthly, sincere, delightful, and true.



Let us go in search of the natures of the four elements.

Here begins the sublimation of the Philosophers, and thus our Mercury is made.

Join our servant with his fragrant consort, and they shall generate.

Our stone is an untamed body—it makes no sound and does not decay.

Take our stone, shape it into thin tablets, and place them in our vessel, firmly sealed, until it first dissolves. Then cook it with the heat of the sun until it congeals.

There is only one stone, one medicine, one vessel, one furnace, one method, and one disposition, to which we neither add nor remove anything, except that in preparation, we discard the superfluous.

All our operations consist solely of sublimation within a single vessel, and they reach perfection in a single vessel and a single furnace.

Our stone contains spirit, body, and soul.

The spirit is its water, the soul is its tincture, and the body is its earth. Convert the natures and make the body into spirit.

First, we transform the coarse into subtle, the body into water, and then the water back into body. This is the natural union, for therein lie the male and the female.

Canaida, if a saffron-colored woman is wed to her husband,
Soon she gives birth, and from the twin body seeks but one body.
Whoever seeks our secrets within filth
Wastes time and labors in vain.
Mercury grants what you seek—behold, spirit!
From it emerges body, and from this, the strongest eternal soul.
A multicolored dragon, its body under the light of the sun,
I transform the leprous into snow-white, then into the Moon.

This stone of ours is truly composed of the four elements:

There are three perfect colors: black, white, and red, and no others are considered, as they depend on these.

Here the conjunction of two bodies takes place, and if in the stone there were only one of these two bodies, it would never impart its tincture to the others. These two bodies, being united and received in the conjunction of the stone, are impregnated in the womb of the wind, as the Philosopher says: The wind carried it in its belly.

It is clear that the wind is air, and air is life, is soul—that is, water or oil.

See that nothing contrary enters with our stone, but only itself.



Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Our stone is most certain and without falsehood, a thing that is animated.

Here, bodies are entirely dissolved into our fixed mercury, becoming a permanent white water, like a teardrop from the eye.

Our substance cannot be bought with a price, and anything that is bought dearly is considered useless and false in our magistery.

The dissolved bodies are reduced to the nature of spirit, and they never separate from each other—thus, water is mixed with water.

The Putrefaction of the Philosophers.



Transparent and clear blackness.
The head of a raven.
And similarly, it is necessary that it putrefy.
Here the bodies are sublimated in our mercury, that is, in the water of our Mercury. Here the gold of the philosophers is dissolved and reduced to its first matter.

Any color that appears after the blackness should be praised.
Here the bodies are putrefied, and black earth is made. When you see the substance turning black, rejoice, for it is the beginning of digestion.

When you are working, first seek the black color, and then you will be certain that it will putrefy, and you are on the right path.

Burn our copper with a slow fire, like a nurse with eggs, until its head is formed, and extract the tincture little by little until it is completed over a long time.

When a part becomes black, we say we have the key to the work, for it cannot be done without blackness, as this is the tincture we seek and find in any substance.

The head of the art is the raven, which in the blackness of night and in the clarity of day flies without wings.

The stone is both animal and mineral, a brilliant color, a sublime mind, and a spacious sea. I have exposed it to you; thank God and proceed with your work.

O blessed nature, who makes the imperfect perfect through putrefaction alone, which is black and dark. Then, with your greenness, you make new and different things sprout and show various colors, but in our magistery, patience and delay are necessary. Hastiness is truly the work of the devil.

In due course, the raven will become as white as snow.



Head of the raven.

Transparent blackness.

This is the black and foul-smelling earth that the philosophers speak of, located in the middle of the vessel.

This is the earth that is water; in the following vessel, it will settle at the bottom of the vessel.

If it does not putrefy in the manure fire, that is, in the belly of the horse, it is of no value.

Seven dispositions of this magistery:

1. Purification, which is to extract the pure matter of the Stone, or to cleanse the pure from the impure.
2. Sublimation, which is separating the coarse parts from the fine.
3. Putrefaction, which is dissolving our bodies in quicksilver, that is, in the water of our Mercury.
4. Purification, which is cleansing the body from the blackness.
5. Freezing, which is to freeze; therefore, when you see the water freeze, you will be certain that the art is true.
6. Calcination, which is to dissolve and convert into ash, and do not despise this ash.
7. Fixation, which is to whiten and redden.

Red oil of no value.
Beware that if you work without putrefaction, you will see a red oil, almost thin and floating on top as if in vain, and this is the sign that your effort is in vain.
But if you dissolve your matter with putrefaction, you will see it turn white, green, black, and finally yellow and red, and then you will know that it is a beautiful sign of having worked well.
Then, also seeing the matter condense and transform into earth, and this condensation in the beginning is above the water, and gradually decreasing and becoming thick, you will see the earth submerged in the water, settling at the bottom of the vessel under the water, which earth will be yellow, black, and foul-smelling, as the philosophers said, this is a good conception.
Ignite the fire in the furnace according to the custom of the philosophers and ensure that the whole matter dissolves into water, then maintain it with a slow fire so that the majority turns into black earth, which will be on the 21st day. We have not been able to find anything else where putrefaction, in terms of true transmutation or preparation of bodies, occurs except through complete corruption, and turning entirely black.

Green serpent, hair of black color.

Head of the raven.



Black and foul-smelling earth at the bottom of the vessel, in which worms have been born.
In this vessel, it will fully dissolve into water as before, and it will take on the color of citrine oil.

Mercury is the stone that, by itself, both mortifies and revives; be diligent and continue the decoction until the tincture and the black color rise above the water. When you see the blackness floating above the water, know that the entire body has been liquefied. At that point, you must continue applying fire to it until a cloud is generated, which will give birth to the dark intention of the philosophers. The body, now dissolved into black powder, will enter its water and become one thing. Afterward, the water takes the water as its own substance, and thus, if everything does not convert into water, you will never reach perfection.

The first stage of preparation for your stone is that it becomes mercury, and this does not happen until it lightens by the power of water and heat, according to the continuous process of generation. In this generation, if the moisture of the belly and the heat were not continuous, the seed would not be retained, nor would the birth occur, as appears in our work, where, with tempered heat, much water is made, so that it has enough oil, because the more water there is, the greater the amount of tincture.

The oil, which I previously recommended to be preserved, is distilled by itself through our alembic, without any help. When it is nearly finished or close to the end of the distillation, watch for the change in the color of the circle that forms in the receiver, which turns to a burnt-like hue. This oil should be stored in a well-sealed glass vessel, as it is the elixir for preserving human life, expelling all bad humors and superfluities. Be sure that your work is not removed from the heat or the vessel until everything has been brought to perfection in either white or red.

When the blackness first appears, it is a sign of the putrefaction and dissolution of the stone. When the blackness completely disappears, it signifies the total putrefaction and dissolution.

It is also inquired whether the black clouds persist in the stone for forty days; the answer is that some last longer, some less, and such variation depends on the quantity of the medicine and the skill of the operator. Therefore, a greater quantity requires more time, but the wisdom of the operator seeks to minimize the waiting time once the blackness has separated.

It is further asked how long the putrefaction and purification of the earth will last. The answer is forty days, though sometimes more or less, depending on the quantity of the earth and water.

The fire should be so slow that the entire work ascends and descends freely without harming the vessel.

This is the oil of the philosophers.



The head of the raven. Here, the new black child is born, and it turns white. It will be called Elixir, and it will perform marvelous works.

Here, the earth, which was black and foul-smelling at the bottom of the vessel, has been converted back into mercury (living silver), and dissolved into the color of gold. Therefore, it is called the oil of the philosophers.

Dissolve the gold and return it to its first matter, which is to make it truly dissolve into living mercury. Then we can make silver and gold very well once they are converted into their matter. Everything must be washed and decocted so that it becomes truly sulfur and living mercury because, according to the philosophers, this is the matter of all metals.

Whoever knows how to lead the wife, impregnate her, mortify and revive the spirits of generative things, and put light and nectar into the ugliness and the darkness will have great authority.

Therefore, we shall unite; our crowned king, with our children, will not generate even in the slow fire, but the child, united with the generator, because the clouds that were above it return to its body as they came out.

Continue then in the tempered bath until it dissolves into an impalpable water, so that the matter is entirely released in the color of blackness, which is the sign of dissolution.

Make sure that its humidity does not escape from the vessel and go astray, so that it is brought back to the earth. Freeze with light heat, just as sperm is frozen in the womb.

It is important to ensure that the water, with too much heat, does not turn into smoke and escape. Do not despair, son of doctrine, because if you seek it in books, you will not find it. Rather, you will find it through the speculation of nature.

He who follows the examination of books will arrive late at this most precious art.

Beware of never applying the Elixir except above the Sun and the Moon, and whoever does not know our matter goes blind to the practice.

Sulphur of the philosophers and silver of the philosophers.



Dark house.

Here, the water begins to whiten slightly.

Then a dragon is created, eating its own wings, producing different colors in many ways, and many times it will move from color to color until it reaches whiteness.

The king will come into the fire and delight you with marriage, and the hidden things will appear, and the virgin's milk will whiten, and our son, already grown, will make a warrior, and in the eminent tint.

Beware of excessive fire, oil with charcoal at the end is enough.
Be sure that the paste is never before the living mercury.
Too much fire causes vitrification.
Too much moisture turns into a lake.

Therefore, govern the dragon. It needs to eat and drink.
Never let putrefaction tire you.
It provides the remedy for all the work.
But do not let excessive fire deceive you.
It does not do the natural.
The remains of eggs and elephant teeth.
And the ruby you melted and diamonds.
Sulphur of the philosophers.



Dark house.

This is a stone and yet not a stone, but spirit, soul, and body, which, if you dissolve it, dissolves and freezes, and if you make it fly, it flies, it is a white and clear vapor like a tear from the eye, then it becomes citrine, salty, and hairless, and no one can touch it with the tongue. If you say it is water, you speak the truth; but if you say it is not water, you speak a lie. If you think this can be worked upon.

Sulphur of the philosophers.

Dark house.

Here the water is completely cleansed of its blackness, and it begins to whiten slightly.
Know, good man, that the head of the crow is the neck of the vessel, which you will kill, and a dove will be born, then a phoenix, and you will be happy.

Here, with these few words, the whole of our magistery is foretold, that is, in white and red. Although unworthy, I have seen it all so far. Still, I pray the Most Clement God to bring me to the desired end and to see.

Ashes of all ashes.



I am black because the sun has faded me.

Those little black clouds descend to the body from which they came, and a conjunction is made between the earth and water, and thus ash is formed.

Let the fire be slow until whiteness, so that the fortified spirits fight against the fire. For when the spirits are far from the bodies, they desire to unite with them and follow them; once they have entered, they dwell within them and revive them, never separating from them.

Revive the dead and kill the living, and you will have the magistery.

As soon as this water is completely cleansed of its blackness, the black clouds will begin to descend again into its body from where they came, and from then until the third following lion, in which the perfect white Elixir will be, forty days will pass. Guard against the moisture escaping from the vessel and going wrong, so you can return it to the earth. Freeze with slow fire, just as sperm is frozen in the womb, because having embraced its consort, it quickly passes into its body.

Turn the water over the earth until it freezes from below.

Then give a third of the water back to the Ash, for in that will appear all the clean colors when the moisture is whitened and dried.



Where the body is, there is the ash, and also the eagles will gather.

Arnaldo (referring to a statement attributed to Arnold of Villanova).

But because nature has no motion except through the action of heat, if you measure the heat correctly, the water and fire will be sufficient, for they moisten, clean, nourish the body, and remove its darkness, for the water that dwells in the air follows the earth as iron follows a magnet.

Repeat these operations over it four times, and at the end, calcine it in the way that fixes and calcines. In this way, you will have sufficiently purified the precious stone, the stone, and the earth. Calcination is nothing other than drying and converting into ash; burn it without fear until it is reduced to ash, and once done, it will be perfectly mixed.

Do not despise this ash, but return to it the sweat it has expelled. The water, completely burned and turned to earth, should rot for a few days on the lion until a more precious white color emerges from above. In this vessel, all the clean colors will appear when the moisture has been dried. What has come out of it, return it to the top, and it should be prepared by fire.

White rose.



I am the elixir in white, which transforms all bodies into perfect silver, better than any mine.

From this thing, a part can transform a thousand parts of mercury into the purest silver, better than any mine.

Morienus

Whiten the brass and put away the books, so they do not corrupt our hearts, for our matter is light and requires gentle aid. Whoever whitens it will make it a member.

Arnaldo

The white and the red come from the same root. What is done in the white can also be done in the red. If you whiten philosophically, and do not exceed the limit in the process, you will be blessed. Upon seeing this, you will experience amazement, fear, and terror.

If you do not whiten first, the true red cannot be made, because no one can reach from the first to the third except by the second. Similarly, you cannot move from black to citrine except through white. Therefore, whiten the black, and redden the white, and you will have the magistery.

Since this medicine is completed,
Not only in bodies of metals,
But it removes and drives away from human bodies
All grave illnesses,
And once the disease is expelled, it defends
So that it never returns in the future,
And makes the man remain secure,
To live happily and healthily,
It preserves health and youth,
Without the fault of great wealth.
It also preserves the natural heat
And the vital spirit,
Above all medicines of Galen,
Of Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Damascene.

Red Rose



This stone is blessed by the Lord God, made by the hands of men.

I am the elixir of the Red, which transforms all imperfect bodies into purest gold, better than mine gold, one part for a thousand of common mercury.

St. Thomas Aquinas:

Since the year is divided into four parts, so too is our work.
The first is cold and rainy winter (black).
The second is the warm and humid spring (white).
The third is the hot, dry, and reddish summer (red).
The fourth is the cold and dry autumn, the time for harvest and fruits.

When you see that whiteness appearing, and most eminently, you will be certain that in that whiteness is hidden the redness, and then you should not extract that whiteness, but cook until everything becomes red.

One should ask the operator whether the price of the stone is great or small: if he says small, he speaks truthfully; if he says large, he is a deceiver.

Lilio.

In the end, the crowned king will emerge with his radiant diadem, shining like the clear sun, as carbon is brilliantly glowing, as wax is persistent in fire, penetrating and retaining the mercury.

The color of redness is created from the completion of digestion, because blood cannot generate in man unless it is first cooked in fire. Likewise, white urine is a sign that digestion is not complete.

Thus, decook with dry fire and dry calcination until it becomes as red as cinnabar, to which you should add no water or any other substance until the red is completely decooked. If through decoction it turns red, it will give the true color of gold, because in the span of seven days the entire process is completed.

Thus, the septenary number signifies completeness, and in this, the precious gift of God is finished.

From the crystalline lamina, which is the elixir of the white, a grain of mustard will suffice for someone with a fever, and they will immediately be healed. The red elixir cures all chronic and desperate diseases.

If the diseases have lasted a month, they will be cured in a single day; if a year, in twelve days; if ancient, in one month.

If you take our elixir every day for seven days, with a weight of three carobre, your gray hair will all fall out and turn black, and you will become young and strong again.

Since it does not allow the blood to rot, nor phlegm to dominate, nor cholera to burn, nor melancholy to exalt, but rather it cleanses the blood, purges the things contained within the spiritual matters, restores the limbs of the body, and preserves and guards them.

Our Elixir is composed of a single thing, and it is the black drinkable gold, and those who think it is the common gold are blind and foolish, for if gold were to give its perfection to others, it would remain imperfect.

The regimen of our stone is very black, and it must be continuously decocted in its vessel without interruption until you reach the end and the effect.

Therefore, use the most noble and simplest member, and the member of the heart will suffice, just as the member of the brain in the head, because in the heart is the irascible force of the soul, just as in the brain is the rational. It is enough, then, to place the stone in its vessel and similarly close it until the entire work is completed; thus, the lion is not saved in vain in the niche, because one follows the other as the bride follows her groom. Revive the dead and kill the living, and you will have the work.

The true philosophical intention ends in white and red.

Praise be to God.

Amen.

In the book of Master Giacomo Tornabuoni, the following words were written in The Book of the Trinity:

The most certain and the best thing in the art is natural gold and mercurial water; these things, similarly mixed, change all metals into gold very well.

The same conjunction with silver does the same for silver above all other metals. If you seek further, you will perish.