Essentia

Volume 1 Spring 1980

 JOURNAL
of
EVOLUTIONARY
THOUGHT
IN
ACTION
PUBLISHER
Paracelsus College

EDITOR IN CHIEF
Mary Adams
ART CONSULTANT
Rick Grimes
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Kathryn Anderson
Dale Halverstadt
Dr. Albert Richard Riedel
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Michael Peck
ADVERTISING & CIRCULATION MANAGER
Richard Stern
OFFICE
Rebecca Oberlin
Elizabeth Rose

CONTENTS

Volume 1 Spring 1980

ARTICLES

Electrolytic-Water Therapy - Dr. Albert Richard Riedel

Metals and Medicine - Vincent Di Stefano

The Development of Man Through Music - Linda Case

FEATURES

Editorial
Letters to the Editor
Exemplar - Alexander von Bernus
Inquiry
Know The Old To Understand The New
 EDITORIAL

The Essential

In the changing background of time opportunity presents itself. Relative to the extent of
individual receptivity and initiative the perspective is expanded. There is in the process a
movement forward and into the experience of coming to know and to test through application
what is seen and understood to be essential.

Commonly, what is regarded as essential is prompted by wishful imagings defined through

acquisition only to be released upon the thought holding and drawing to itself still more pictures
of what could bring fulfilment. Such an essential as this is sought after, longed for, and is most
often seen to glow and to fade, to beckon from afar.

Yet, what is essential is found in a threefold unity in everything nature produces arid becomes
evident through investigation and testing. The essential is at hand, before us, is basic to each
thing, each individual. Understanding of it gives the opportunity for experiences leading
gradually to freedom and well being. All wishful images of the essential are fleeting while the
essential itself endures.

A description of anything but alludes to what in reality it is. To experience the essential is to
know it. To describe it simply with words of long acquaintance: it is body or salt; soul,
consciousness, or oil; spirit, life, or vitality.

More often than not, the obvious, because of its familiarity is not considered carefully, nor is it
really understood. Rather, there accumulates around it all matter of guise. It becomes clothed by
social, environmental, and other surrounding influences. To investigate the obvious is to see it in
a new perspective. In this new light it can be known and seen as it is. A unity of components
comprising a purposeful wholeness becomes apparent.

The purpose of ESSENTIA is to draw attention to the obvious, to investigate it, to test it, to go
beyond what is more commonly or readily accepted, to lay aside beliefs and even long standing
terminology to which has become attached, in some instances, confining definition. In
ESSENTIA the opportunity is en to see in a new light what is essential. An effort made to
understand the why and the how of it and to apply this understanding in beneficial ways.

The direction of ESSENTIA is contrary to speculation: it is evolutionary thought in action,

giving fredom of approach into the investigation of the purpose and meaning of the unity of
body, soul, and spirit -- into the experience of the essential itself.
Mary Adams

LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR

Dear Reader:
The Plan of ESSENTIA is to share. We invite your participation. Feature sections have been
selected with you in mind. This section gives you the opportunity to voice your comments on the
material chosen for publication, to suggest subjects of special interest to you, and generally to let
us know what you consider is or would be beneficial

EXEMPLAR presents men and women of recent times who have set an example of noteworthy
accomplishment in the parachemical field. Who would you choose? If you consider a certain
man or woman admirable along the lines of parachemical research and practice, we encourage
you to submit information about such a person along with a picture for this feature section.

After reading about Pig's Lard, you will have an idea of the kind of material we will use in
KNOW THE OLD TO UNDERSTAND THE NEW. A page, a column, two or three paragraphs,
whatever you consider is needed to get your point across can be used. Think about it and when
you've got it, type it up and send it in. What have you been doing lately IN THE
LABORATORY? Have you discovered a short cut, is here a special method that you could
describe that could be of help to others? We would like to see three or four of you in this section.

Not a day goes by that we don't have questions, but cc don't always have the answers. INQUIRY
will alwavs give you an answer, even if it's I don't know!"

Two other feature sections are planned. OFF THE SHELF will become a regular feature
beginning in the Summer ESSENTIA issue. Book reviews, suggested reading finds its place
here. ALONG THE WAY will appear and disappear according to a sense of humor captured in
word or picture having a parachernical lair. At this printing, it's illusive. If you get it, stopper it
tightly and send it in.

ESSENTIA reaches out to you. Together we will work and learn and grow. The Editor

Exemplar
ALEXANDER VON BERNUS
 DONAUMUNSTER RESIDENCE

Alexander von Bernus

One Hundreth Anniversary

Fifteen years ago, just a few days after his 85th birthday Baron von Bernus was laid to rest in a
simple grave at Donauworth in Bavaria, Germany. A few miles from Donauworth, where Dr.
Franz Hartmann was born, is Donaumunster, where at his castle Baron von Bernus lived and
worked the latter part of his life.

The Baron was born February 6, 1880 in Lindau at Lake Constance in Germany. He was a
distant relative of Goethe. During his first four years, he lived in land then moved to Stift
Neuburg, a former large Monastery close to Heidelberg, and became already in his younger years
affiliated with an elite literary group.

From 1902 to 1903, the Baron was a co-publisher "Freistatt", a publication of excellence. His
first volume of poetry was published in 1903 in his twenty third year. In 1907 he founded the
"Schwabinger Schattenspiele," where all the acting takes place behind a large screen upon which
only the shadows of the actors can be seen. Stift Neuburg was inherited by the Baron in 1908 and
became his summer residence. His winters, until 1920, he spent in Munich.
After the death of his son in 1912, the Baron began his studies in occultism and alchemy. In 1921
he founded the Soluna Laboratories. When he sold Stift Neuburg, which again became a
Monastery in 1927, Stuttgart became his residence and he moved the Soluna Laboratory to castle
Donaumunster which he bought in 1924. It was in Donaumunster where he found his second
premanent home. There he wrote and worked tirelessly in his laboratory and produced his
spagyric medications. Many hours of deep conversations passed between the two of us in his
castle in the presence of his and my wife. Even after his parting from this earth, we continued to
be yearly guests at the castle where the Baroness still is consolidating what he has left for
posterity.

For his efforts, the President of the German Republic Lubke gave him the order of the Cross of
Merit on his 80th birthday, and the media broadcast in word and picture his life's work. On his
deathbed, he made certain that a prearranged meeting between us, including a few selected
individuals, would take place the following year at the castle Donaumunster under my direction,
which did take place in 1966.

Through his writings, Alexander von Bernus did much to help place alchemy into its proper
place in our times, though he kept himself aloof and withdrawn as far as his practical laboratory
activity was concerned, having only as his confidant in the laboratory Frau llse Gaafke, who until
his very end and thereafter saw to it that his work would continue.

Baron Alexander von Bernus added a lustre to the name and practice of alchemy that will not
tarnish.

Dr. Albert Richard Riedel

Electrolytic-Water Therapy

Dr. Albert Richard Riedel

The biological basic treatment for re-establishing order of the electrolytic household of the body.

What disadvantages have been caused to mankind the so-called civilized achievements of the last
50 years can possibly only be determined in the next century. The pollution of the air has risen to
an unexpected extent. Cancerigenous matter, like soot, sulfur dioxide carbon monoxide, as well
as burned hydrocarbons from motor vehicles, is summining up its noxious effects with those
coming from detergents, polluted and chlorinated water food-stuffs which have been irradiated
by radio-active rays and "enriched" by insecticides. All, without exception, damage the
respiration and thus the cellular metabolism. Through the breathed air, stomach and intestinal
canal or the skin they reach via blood and lymph cells of the organs and connective-tissue.
Here now represents the Electrolytic-Water Therapy, a healing method which does not heal by
administration of remedies but by changing the isoelectric potential, enabling the sick organism
to again fulfill its physiological functions.

The isoelectric potential is measured by determining the concentration of the hydrogen ions. The
measured value is indicated by the signs pH (p: potential. H= hydrogen). Thus, the pH value
represents the measurable indication of the dissociation of acid, alkaline and salt molecules,
triggered by the hydrogen ions set free by the dissociation and which becomes measurable in the
form of isoelectrical tensions. The scale shows the values 0 (acid) to 14 (alkaline) In the middle
there is the neutral point 7.0.

It is known that nearly all enzyme and ferment reactions can only take place within certain pH
values. Hence the following deduction can be made: Every normal metabolism can only take
place within limits of a physiological pH value, which is subjected to certain fluctuations and is
influenced by this value direct or indirectly.

[Mr. Alfons Natterer, the originator of Nawa Water by simple osmosis and Dr. Albert. R. Riedel
of the Paracelsus Laboratories. Inc. in U.S.A. in one of their many friendly discussions about the
improved method of separation at Mr. Natterer's place in upper Bavaria. Germany.]

When the pH value moves extremely to the acid or alkaline side respectively, disturbances are
noted which can become perilous.

With the electrolytic water has been developed a therapeutics to balance and regulate the
electrolytic household of the human body. The electrolytic water is produced from a pure and
excellent spring water and separated according to a patented method by electrolysis. This
separation gives three classes of water with very different pH values.

Electrolytic-Water "S" pH 2.8 to 3.0

Electrolytic-Water "N" pH 6.8 to 7.2
Electrolytic-Water "A" pH 10.5 to 11.0
These waters are recognized as medical specialty by the German Board of Public Health and
registered under number H 636, H 637, H 638.

What are the biological effects of this Electrolytic Water?

The quality of these waters lies in its electrophysical activity which can be measured as value of
the pH. Thus, this ionized water can act through the skin as well as through the mucous
membrane and take part in the metabolism of the most different tissues and organs. It can be
assumed that an acid metabolism, a so-called overacidification, will be influenced by a neutral or
even more by an alkaline Electrolytic-Water. An alkaline metabolism will be balanced by an acid
Electrolytic-Water. Depending on the required treatment effect, the Electrolytic-Water is to be
taken by drinking it, or also in form of a poultice or ointment respectively.

Treating so-called inner diseases is realized by drinking Electrolytic-Water, normally 3 times a

day before meals, about 100 to 200 ccm. It is, however, possible to prescribe, if necessary, at the
beginning of the treatment 500 ccm and more because the Electrolytic-Water in its three forms is
completely harmless.

External diseases can be treated with Electrolytic-Waters by means of poultices on the skin
through which they penetrate and reach deeper tissues.

Electrolytic-Ointments have similar effects. The active substance, viz. Electrolytic-Water. is

slowly released to the skin and penetrates in a more slow manner in deeper layers.

For what disorders can Electrolytic-Water be applied?

Basically, it can be used for treating any abnormal alteration of the metabolism. A regulating
influence, however, can only be expected in those cases where the Electrolytic-Water is able to
act directly. This can only be the case by means of the skin or mucous membrane and also
through the stomach or the intestines which are transporting it by means of the blood. Up to now
the proved healings for the external application through the skin and the mucous membrane
(poultices and ointments) are mostly inflam matory processes which are often accompanied by
inflammation, swelling, heat and pain.

That is:

1. All inflammations of cellular tissues, furuncles, stings of insects, suppurative injuries,

scratches of the skin, etc. But also bloodshots coming from contusions, strains, sprains,
inflammation of the sheath covering tendon and arthritis, even articular rheumatism as well as
inflammations of the mucous membrane, arthrosis or phlebitis and thrombosis and overcharges
varix.

2. Varicose vein ulcers, but also other ulcers, burns and inflammated injuries caused by
corrosives have been healed.
3. Among positively influenced skin diseases can be mentioned fungus disease of feet or
between the shanks and in the armpit. Psoriasis is treated depending on the state of the
metabolism with acid or alkaline Electrolytic-Water.

4. Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the vagina or glans penis have been treated with
good results with Electrolytic-Water "S" (acid) or the Electrolytic Ointment "S".

Inflammation causes in the befallen tissue a setting free of alkaline albuminous substance which
is neutralized by the hydrogen ions and free electrons of the Electrolytic Water "S", making it
inactive so that the inflammatory state is slowed down and healing can start. This explains why
all local inflammatory processes mentioned under 1, 2, and 4 are treated with Electrolytic-Water
"S" or Electrolytic-Ointrnent "S" respectively. For diseases mentioned under 3, fungus diseases,
the Electrolytic-Water 'A' and the Electrolytic Ointment 'A' has given good results, because fungi
are very sensible to an alkaline surrounding and easily decay and die under such conditions.

The treatment of the so-called inner diseases is based on the conception that the vegetative
nervous system commands the phenomenon of life by means of his reins, i.e., the sympathetic
nerves and parasympathicus. Effects of the sympathicus are the pouring of adrenalin by the
adrenal ductless glands, the thyroxine of the thyroid gland, the conditions of rising fever the
acidosis of the body. Parasympathetically influenced are the insulin of the pancreas, the luteum
hormone of the ovaries, the conditions sinking fever and the alkalization of the body = alkalosis.
From the overbalance of one part of the sympathetic nervous system over the other are resulting
the different working conditions which can be denominated as sympatheticotonia or vagotonia
(parasympathecotonia) respectively. These are always connected with very special and
characteristic conditions of the metabolism. In the blood these differences are only insignificant
because it always tries to maintain its best working condition, the isotonia, as far as possible. In
the different tissues of the body, however, it is not the same. Here, acidosis and alkalosis can
appear, which can be manifest or hidden (latent). The acid-bases mechanism of the body tends to
a balance which is regulated by means of the vegetative nervous system. But how easily this
balance can be disturbed by external influences on this nervous system or by internal disorders of
the metabolism. Acids and bases are present in determined deposits in the body, e.g. in the
colloidal connective tissue.

When a balance of acids and bases reigns, these cells are flushed several times a day by acid and
basic material. In the urine there are then the corresponding acid and basic tides existent. When
we have an acidosis of the colloidal connective tissue organ, the urine, too, turns unilaterally acid
and there is no basic tide. A lot of status of disease are accompanied by disorders of the acid and
bases mechanism of the body.

Being able to influence the acid-bases relations has been the aim of the therapy for a long time
already, having in mind above all a purification of the blood. It is also spoken of a returning of
the vegetative nervous system. Both mean the same thing. All forms of the therapy work by
means of the sympathetic nervous system, be it a treatment at a watering-place, taking the waters
at a health resort, sweating (vapor-baths) or a diet. The more the regulating conditions of this
system can be influenced, the greater are the healing results. Because the ElectrolyticWater can
influence the condition of the metabolism regulated by the vegetative nervous system as well as
the deposits of dross in connective tissue, it is a healing factor, even more so because it works at
the basis of the phenomenon of life. In this manner Electrolytic-Water could become a basic
therapy for a lot of chronic diseases. As well, it can alleviate constitutional one-sideness of the
sympathetic nervous system. This basic therapy has to be guided by the conditions of acids and
bases in the body. In the case of metabolic disorders, as for instance gout, lymphalism, kidney or
gall-stones, the rheumatic diathesis, the obesity, eczema or diabetes, the acid or alkaline
condition of the metabolism has to be alleviated. An acidosis requires the taking of alkaline or
neutral Electrolytic-Water; an alkalosis the treatment with Electrolytic-Water "S" or "N"
respectively.

If the choice of the correct water is not to be made by the time consuming experiment, it can
easily be determined by the Electrolytic-Water Test. The prescription for this test can be
obtained from the medical practitioner.

Resume
Electrolytic-Water should not be compared with a medicine which is given for healing a specific
disease, but it brings the body again to a normal reaction condition by balancing its electrolytic
household. It recreates anew the elementary supposition of life where it has been lost. By means
of this central regulatory action, there is prepared at the same time the ground for an eventually
necessary supplementary therapy in a very positive manner. Professor Baur, Munich. said to this
topic in his great lecture on occasion of the Medical Congress 1964 at Karlsruhe: "Even the best
therapy cannot help when the water-electrolytic household of the sick is disturbed."

It has been recognized already for a long time that the balance of the electrolytic household is the
main condition for the real success of the therapy and that many symptoms of a disease disappear
when this balance is again established, eliminating, too, complications in a very short time.

Dosage: 3 times a day 100 to 200 ccm. (at room temperature) to drink before meals, if not
otherwise prescribed by the doctor.
A whole cure comprises generally 24 bottles of 1 liter.

Metals and Medicine

Vincent Di Stefano

PLANETARY METALS OF THE ANCIENTS IN THE LIGHT OF THE TWENTIETH

CENTURY.

"No-one can ascend into the Heaven which is thy ambition, unless he who descended from a
Heaven which thou seekest not, shall first vouchsafe him light"
-Thomas Vaughan.

Amongst the earliest records of the Indus Valley civilization, we find evidence of the knowledge
of extraction and purification of metals from mineral Within the giant sarcophagi which encased
the remains of the ancient rulers of Egypt, we find evidence of the extraordinary skill developed
by metal-workers in the extraction and purification of the inning elements. Without the working
of metals, the imperialism of the Caesers would have remained a dormant frustration rather than
emerging from the smelting furnace as the armaments of a military power of unprecedented
strength. As Rome increased in wealth and power, those same metals were put to ornamenting
and servicing her cities. Water was made available to the marketplace as well as to the
households of wealthy patricians through an extensive network of leaden waterpipes. This lead
which occurred in such abundance and melted with such facility was also cast into winejugs and
drinking vessels. In time, an entire population succumbed as the once shiny metal slipped into
water and wine accelerating the degeneration and death of a civilization. The Janus-faced nature
of metals begins to emerge Well before the beginning of the Christian era, the Chinese were
adept in the extraction and purification of various metals. Gold came into popular use, not as
ornamentation or adornment but rather as the substance of cooking vessels. The eating of food
prepared in such vessels was believed to help bring one to the state of fullness of life. This
foreshadowed the efforts of European alchemists many centuries later to obtain elixirs of potable
gold for the same purpose.

Indian yogins of the Tantric Period (700 - 1300 AD.) appear to have been among the first to
attempt a systematic analysis of the effects of metals on the human constitution. In the search for
the Amrta, or the elixir of immortality, different compounds were prepared from mercury, gold,
silver, lead, zinc, iron, tin and other metals. The yogins observed the effects of these substances
upon themselves. Some presumably suffered a premature demise. A few, however, were reported
to have retreated into the solitudes and attained an ageless state of youthful vigor and energy.
These formed the lineage of the Rasa Siddhas of whom Marco Polo wrote: "These people make
use of a very strange beverage for they make a potion of sulphur and quicksilver mixed together,
and this they drink twice every month. This they say, gives them long life and it is a potion they
are used to taking from their youth."

In 1732. Francois Bernier remarked:

"These are men who scoff at everything, who take no care for anything, men possessing secrets,
and who, the people say, even know how to make gold and prepare mercury so admirably that
one or two grains taken in the morning restore the body to perfect health."

Many of the metallic compounds derived by the Siddhas found their way into the Materia
Medica of period. The method of preparation of these priceless medicaments is known to be in
the possession of a handful of practitioners in Tamil India.

During the same period, physicians and alchemists of the Arab world were also investigating the
virtues minerals and their compounds. The Arab adept Geber is known to have perfected
operations on mercury, gold, silver, antimony, copper, iron, tin and lead the eighth and ninth
centuries. Derivatives of metals made an early entry into the Unani system of medicine.

By comparison, European use of metals of that centered mainly on their application in weaponry
and technology. Among the first European treatises to deal openly with the medicinal
possibilities hidden within the mineral kingdom was the work of Benedictine monk, Basilius
Valentinus, entitled The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony- circulated from the sixteenth century.
Shortly later, Philipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, remembered as
Paracelsus, stormed his way through ossified complacency which had fixed the medical
confraternity of Europe, shattering treasured delusions and casting aside ineffectual traditions in
a medical revolution the reverberations of which are echoing into the future.

Armed with metallic tinctures, the secrets of preparation of which he had obtained in his
extensive travels, he cured institutions of derelicted patients, offending the exclusivenes of an
established hierarchy. Within a. short time of his death, however, crude metals and their simple
salts had become very fashionable among medical impresarios who poured huge amounts of
such substances into their unsuspecting patients. As the science of toxology gradually assumed
form, a more rational attitude tempered the excesses of over-zealous prescribers.

The influence of metals in biological systems represents one of the most important yet neglected
areas of medical understanding in what may be termed this century of metallic dispersion.

Neither human life nor civilization as we know it be would be possible without the existence and
utilization of metals. A glance at the periodic table of elements will reveal their ubiquitous
nature. For our present purposes, the selection of metals to be discussed will be governed by a
system of suggested correspondences between metals and planets. The term planet is here used
in the sense derived from the Greek planetos, meaning "wanderer;" more specifically, those
celestial bodies seen with unaided vision to move through the fixed constellations. According to
the Ancients, each of these bodies has a correspondence with an earthly metal: the sun with gold,
mercury with quicksilver, venus with copper, the moon with silver, mars with iron, jupiter with
tin and saturn with lead. Knowledge of such systems of correspondences is a precondition to the
decoding of ancient documents relating to such matters. This mode of restriction will enable us
to consider a group of substances which have traditionally been the field of research of a number
of Western investigators of Natural Science and Philosophy in the light of the twentieth century.

GOLD

This precious metal was considered by the Ancients to correspond with the sun, a
correspondence suggested perhaps by its color and radiance. It was further said to form the
medicine par excellence for disturbances of the heart and circulation, a notion upheld by Basil
Valentine, Paracelsus, and more recently, Armand Barbault and Archibald Cockren. Current
medicine has failed to establish a biological function for this metal, though it has been shown to
be selectively accumulated by certain plants. (Mahdihassan, 1975).

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many physicians, rather than using the often
violent and unpredictable mercury, successfully used preparations of gold in the treatment of
syphilis. Its current use in orthodox medicine is restricted to the injection of gold salts in the
treatment of severe cases of arthritis. Both gold and the salts of gold occupy significant positions
in the homoeopathic Materia Medica finding use, most commonly, in disorders of the heart and
circulation.
Because of its tendency to occur in the metallic rather than ionic state, and for the human
tendency to fix and stockpile the metal rather than to volatilize and disperse it, as is the case with
lead, gold rarely enters into biological systems.

Its value has, however, been recognized in certain systems of medicine. Indian Ayurveda has
produced a number of gold compounds rendered colloidal by repeated calcination and trituration
with the ashes of certain plants. These Swarna Bhasma, as they are called, are prized by ageing
maharajas and princes as the supreme medicament against the general debility of old age. The
virtues of potable gold have been lauded by European alchemists for centuries. Unlike Indian
systems, which use the method of repeated trituration to render the gold assimilable, European
methods involve the preparation of a highly volatile mineral solvent, the alkahest, through the
agency of which gold is rendered potable. The French adept, Armand Barbault, after fifteen
years of work succeeded in preparing a form of potable gold. With his tincture he cured chronic
cases of uremia, multiple and syphilis. He reports:

"There is a correspondence between the sun and gold. The sun governs life, radiating heat and
energy. It acts directly on the brain, the heart the quality of the blood and the cells in general.
Tinctures of gold are beneficial to these organs. They can be extremely precious in combating
old age, in revitalizing cells and and in maintaining equilibrium of the metabolism."

COPPER

The metal copper was said by the Ancients to correspond with the planet Venus. It was
considered to be of value in conditions of the kidneys and of the nervous systerm.

Unlike gold and mercury, copper has been shown to play an essential role in the maintenance of
life in a mammalian systems. The adult human body is said to contain 110-120 mg. of copper,
while newborn children are found to have significantly higher levels of copper per unit body
weight than adults. This is due to the presence in the newborn of mitochondrocuprein a protein
compound very rich in copper content localized in the mitochondria and specific to the neonatal
period. The role of copper in early human development has yet to be fully elucidated.

Of the 2 to 5 mg. of copper ingested daily, approximately one third is absorbed by the duodenal
mucosa and transported to the liver loosely bound to serum albumen. On reaching the liver, it is
either temporarily stored or used directly in the synthesis or ceruloplasmin and a number of
copper-containing enzymes. A small fraction is shunted to the bone marrow for incorporation
into the erythrocuprein of blood cells. Copper has an important catalytic function in the human
body. Ascorbic acid oxidase, cytochrome oxidase, uricase and monoamine oxidase are all
identified as copper-containing enzymes.

Decreased copper levels in the body have been associated with nephrosis and Wilson's disease,
both of which are accompanied by increased urinary excretion of copper. Elevated copper levels
have been found to occur in most acute and chronic infections in man, and in leukaemia,
Hodgkin's disease, various anaemias, haemochromatosis and myocardial infarction.

Copper appears to have been little used in medicine, although in infants it has been shown to be a
beneficial adjunct in the treatment of nutritional anaemias. It has been successfully used in
colloidal form to expell tapeworms. It continues to occupy a respected position in the
homoeopathic Materia Medica.

SILVER

The metal silver was said by the Ancients to correspond with the moon, a correspondence
suggested perhaps by its color and lustre. Its essence was said to be of benefit in diseases of the
brain.

Silver does not appear to participate in any essential or significant biological process. It has at
different times enjoyed a certain vogue in Western medical circles. To the doctors of the
sixteenth century, tinctura lunae was long a famous remedy for epilepsy, melancholia and mania.
Paracelsus praised its efficacy in diseases of the cerebrum. Until the early ninteenth century,
silver nitrate was employed as a purgative and as a specific in St. Vitus' dance. Its excessively
caustic nature, however, eventually precluded its internal use. Its main application in recent times
has been in the prevention of ophthamia neonatorum, or infantile gonorrhoeal conjunctivitis.
This is achieved by a single prophylactic instillation of one drop of 2% solution of silver nitrate
in each eye of the newlyborn infant. When first instituted in the late ninteenth century, the
prevalence of the condition in nursing wards of public hospitals was abruptly reduced.

Both colloidal silver and the salts of silver hold well respected positions in the homoeopathic
Materia Medica.

IRON

According to the Ancients, the metal iron corresponds with the planet mars. It was said to be of
value in inflammatory conditions and in disturbances of the gall bladder.
Iron is an essential element without which mammalian life as we know it would be impossible. It
is intimately involved in the oxidative mechanisms of all living cells. In its absence, the transport
and utilization of oxygen in mammalian systems could not occur. Severe deficiency of this metal
affects energy transformations in living cells at a most fundamental level.

The adult human body is said to contain from four or five grams weight of iron. It tends to occur
in greatest concentrations in the liver and spleen, whilst relatively large quantities occur in the
kidneys, heart, skeletal muscles, pancreas and brain. It occurs in the blood as haemoglobin in
erythrocytes or as transferrin and siderophilin in the plasma. Transferrin functions as the blood
transports molecule for iron in the same way that haemoglobin functions as the transport
molecule for oxygen. The liver, spleen and ne marrow contain high concentrations of the reserve,
or storage molecules, of iron, ferritin and haemosiderin.

The absorption of dietary iron varies markedly according to the needs of the body. Typically,
only ten percent of ingested iron is absorbed, the remainder being excreted. Because of the rapid
turnover of blood heamoglobin, which is completely replaced every 120 - 125 days, and the
susceptibility of the body to blood loss through ulceration and haemorrhage, the maintenance of
body level of iron is of vital importance. Underwood (1971) observed:

"Iron deficiency is the most frequently encountered, chemically manifest deficiency disease in
man. In adult men and post-menopausal women the principal cause is chronic blood loss due to
chronic infections, bleeding, ulcers and hookworm infestation. Iron deficiency anaemia is much
more common in women than in men because women of fertile age are subject to additonal iron
losses in menstruation, pregnancy and lactation."

The value of iron supplementation in the treatment of "chlorosis" (anaemia) is a relatively recent
discovery, having only beconie established in the eighteenth century. Dietary supplementation of
iron, especially in pregnant and lactating women has in recent times become virtually a universal
practice in the Western world.

TIN

The metal tin was considered by the Ancients to have a correspondence with the planet jupiter. It
was said to act principally on the lungs.

Paracelsus appears to have been among the first to make use of this metal in Western medicine.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, bisulphide of tin was a popular and evidently
successful vermifuge. This compound occurred in the form of minute, glistening scales and was
popularly known as mosaic gold. Because of its spectacular appearance, it became very popular
with mountebanks of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and was often included as an
ingredient in their patent medicines.

It was claimed to be an effective inducer of sweat and a purgative in fevers, hysterical

complaints and venereal disorders. In time, its popularity declined and it fell into disuse.
Tin has until recently been considered to be a metal with little or no biological value. Recent
investigations performed in ultra-clean environments would, however, suggest an essential role
for minute amounts of tin in mammalian growth and nutrition. It appears to form an essential
component of certain enzyme systems. Underwood (1971) reports progressive accumulation of
tin in human lungs with advancing age, with little or no concommitant accumulation in kidney or
liver tissue.

The only use it finds in contemporary medicine appears to be in homoeopathy, where minute
doses are held to be of value in certain chronic bronchial and pulmonary conditions.

LEAD

This heavy and malleable metal was considered by the Ancients to correspond with the planet
saturn. It was said to be of value in diseases of the spleen.

Our main concern with lead in this present century is as a cumulative poison which, in its
tetraethyl form, is progressively choking Western urban atmospheres and slipping into the most
obscure niches of countless ecosystems. The astronomical rise in atmospheric lead levels since
the general introduction of lead additives to petrol is well documented. Underwood (1971), on
the basis of geochemical data, quotes the figures of 2 mg. per 70 kg body weight as being an
accurate estimate of the "natural levels of lead in uncontaminated man The average city dweller
of today carries around 120 mg. of lead, of which 90% occurs in the skeleton." Tucker (1972)
gives an account of the results obtained in a study of old elm trees grown in American cities.
Between 1900 and 1910, the age rings were found to contain 0.12 ppm(parts per million) of lead;
between 1940 and 1947, they were found to contain 0.33 ppm of lead; between 1956 and 1959,
the age rings contained 0.74 ppm of lead.

Political debating over the wisdom or otherwise of pumping over one million tons of lead in the
form of finely divided tetraethyl aerosols into the atmosphere yearly continues to delay
implementation of effective measures to limit the influences of this toxic contaminant which is
imperceptibly deadening the mental faculties of increasing numbers of urban children and
shortening longevities of city dwellers generally.

Acute lead toxicity in humans is manifested by colic, anaemia and neuropathy or

encephalopathy. Chronic lead poisoning has been observed to cause irreversible brain damage,
and anaemia through the the inhibition of an enzyme system involved in haemoglobin synthesis.
Regarding the essentiality of lead in biological systems, Underwood (1971) has observed:

"The possibility that lead in low concentrations performs some essential biochemical functions in
living organisms cannot be excluded although no such function have yet been demonstrated in
plants, animals or microorganisms."

The notion of the use of lead as a medicine in this lead soaked century would appear to many as
a manifest absurdity. Nonetheless, minute doses of lead in colloidal form continue to be
successfully employed in certain cases of progressive muscular atrophy by homoeopathic
profession.
In the foregoing discussion, we have considered mainly the effects of the body of metals on the
physiology of man. A closer look at the history of their use among Natural Philosophers will
reveal that this by no means exhausts their sphere of action. Amongst the Aphorisms of Patanjali
is the indication that perfection or siddhi may be attained through the use of powerful
medicaments. The Nei P'ien of Ko Hung that the use of potable gold or "nine crucibles
cinnabar" will bestow the state of genie-hood upon the successful operator. The writings of the
English alchemist Thomas Vaughan allude to the existence of a world of light and energy
unveiled successful operations upon the mineral kingdom.

The errors of the past are remembered sorely but, with present mindfulness, can be transmuted
into the perfections of the future.

SOURCES:

BARBAULT, A. (1975): 'Gold of a Thousand Mornings' Neville Spearman, London.

BOERICKE, W. (1972): 'Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica', Philadelphia
Edition.
COCKREN, A. (1963): 'Alchemy Rediscovered and Restored'. Health Research, California.
GOVINDA, Lama Anagarika (1960): "Foundations of Mysticism". Rider and Co. London.
JAGGI O.P. (1973): "Yogic and Tantric Medicine", Atma Ram and sons, Dehli.
MAHDIHASSAN, S. (1975): "Collodial Gold as an Alchemical Preparation", Parachemy 3, 3,
234.
MARKS, G. and BEATTY, W.K. (1975): 'The Precious Metals of Medicine', Scribners, N.Y.
TUCKER, A. (1972): "Trace Substances and Health: A Handbook", Marcel Decker Inc. N.Y.
UNDERWOOD, F J. (1971): "Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition", Academic,
N.Y.
A.E. Waite (Ed) (1894): "The Hermetic and Alcheimical Writings of Paracelsus, Vols. I and II".
Shambhala, Berkeley, (Reprint).
WARE. J.R. (Trans) (1966): "The Nei P'ien of Ko Hung : Alchemy, Medicine and Religion in
the China of A.D. 320", M.I.T.Press, Massachusetts.
WOODS, J. Haughton (Trans.) (1914): "The Yoga of Patanjali, or the Ancient Hindu Doctrine of
Concentration of Mind", Motilal Banarsidass, Dehli, (Reprint)
ZVELEBIL. K.V. (1973): 'The Poets of the Powers', Rider and Co., London.

The Development of Man Through Music

Linda Case

Music among the Ancients was seen as the foundaion of the world or the world-soul itself. As G.
Nestler expressed in Die form in der Musik (Freiburg. 1954), . this music was inaudible; only its
symbol was audible. This symbol comprised the notes or sounds that inan chose from the
profusion that the cosmos placed at its disposal. Music arose from the polar tension between the
audible and the inaudible. The cosmos could be either a myth or a likeness of the divine, spiritual
order. It all depended on what man believed. Either he chose the myth and found a symbol for it,
or he created that symbol out of the spirit of cosmic order. The unheard substance of the cosmos,
the Essential, was in both cases sound and tone. These demanded expression and representation
by means of notes and instruments."

Pythagorean Formulas for Musical Sound

As early as the ancient Greek era, the acoustical laws of Nature were discovered. In the fourth
century B.C., Pythagoras developed the mathematical formulas for musical sound. These are
known as the harmonic overtone series and the ratios represent a principle of Universal order. In
order to illustrate these ratios, let us say that by vibrating the full length of a string 120 cm. long,
the sounding note will be C. Above this fundamental sound are secondary tones produced by the
upper parts of the string vibrating. The presence of these overtones created the varying tone
colors of different instruments. If you divide this string in half by placing a bridge at the exact
midpoint, the vibration of 1/2 the string will produce C', eight notes above the fundamental C.
Thus, the ratio of 1:2 (60:60 cm.) produces the interval of an octave. When the bridge is moved
to the 80 cm. point, forming a 2:3, the sounding pitch will be G' producing the interval of a
Perfect 5th. With the bridge at 90 cm., 3:4, the sounding pitch will be C'producing the interval of
a Perfect 4th. Continuing the same process; 4:5 produces the Major 3rd: 5:6 produces the minor
3rd; 6:7 produces the flattened third which is heard in eastern music; and 7:8 produces the Major
2nd. Continuing these ratios, the intervals become smaller and smaller until finally an infinite
number of pitches can be produced within the space of a single note (Microtones).

We must understand that these pitches cannot be related to a piano because even a newly-tuned
piano is not perfectly in tune but even-tempered. On the piano, pitches are divided into twelve
equal semitones. On stringed instruments, pitches can be divided into an infinite number of tones
with a small movement of a finger. A phenomena of the human car automatically adjusts the
pitch for us since our car is much more sensitive than any instrument.

To the Greeks, the number "10" was sacred and svmbolized the wholeness of all creation. The
Pythagorean formula 1+2+3+4=10 was the symbol of perfection. In the harmonic overtone
series, the first three intervals, the Perfect Octave, Perfect 5th and the Perfect 4th are produced as
a result of this formula. Accordingly, the Byzantines called these intervals the "pneumata" or
sacred sounds and all other intervals the "sonata" or bodily sounds. During the Middle Ages,
only these three perfect intervals were allowed in Church music.

According to the Greeks, the interval divisions of sound formed a link between Nature and the
soul with each ratio corresponding to certain feeling. The astrologer Kepler related these
intervals to the spacings of the planets with the distance between the sun and the earth being 2:1
or the interval of an octave. The measurements of the human body also correspond to these
ratios. More recently, Rudolf Steiner has maintained that the interval of an octave leads a person
to discover his higher self. Steiner also felt that the Perfect 5th stimulates the imagination and the
interval of a 3rd affects subjectivity and destiny.

The Three Essentials of Music

Everything in Nature contains the three Essentials. Music and sound affect the body, soul and
spirit of every human being. Thus, the three Essentials of music being rhythm (salt), melody
(sulphur), and tone color or harmony (mercury), are effective means for development of the
human soul. Rhythm develops the will building concentration, attention and determination.
Melody opens up the world of emotions. Since tone color and harmony are the vehicles of sound
itself, our inner hearing is developed.

Development of Musical Scale Systems

It is very interesting to note that the peoples of different countries, such as the Chinese, Celts,
Scots, African Negroes, North American Indians and Polynesians, produced their own music
along similar lines even though they were completely separated from each other. These people
were not exposed to outside music but created their own culture. The music of all these countries
was based on the pentatonic scale.

The pentatonic scale consists of five tones to the octave, containing no semi-tones. All of the
intervals of the overtone series are inherent in this scale with the exception of the two most
dissonant intervals: the minor 2nd and the tri-tone (Augmented 4th or diminished 5th). The
structure of the scale is that of our natural minor scale from which the 2nd and 6th degrees (ti
and fa) are missing: La Do Re Mi So La. The scale, of course, is only a basis for melody and the
possibilities are infinite. Many people think of the interval distances by relating the scale to the
black keys of the piano.

The five tones of the pentatonic scale are powerful sources of spiritual enrichment and are
thought to be inborn in every human soul. In order for these to be awakened, they must be
vibrated in the human being. Babies and small children often hum to themselves with their
speech actually being half-singing. Their first words---Ma-Na- or "Da-Da" are without fall
spoken to the interval of a falling minor 3rd. When parents call their children the same minor 3rd
appears. Playground songs always center around this interval which is the most characteristic
interval of the pentatonic scale. Children and adults alike who haven't studied music will
naturally improvise pentatonic melodies as can be seen in the folk culture of all peoples.

The five tones of the pentatonic scale can be related to the Five Elements, possibly being at the
core of human life itself. Also the five vowels (AEIOU) and the Hebrew letters Yod He Shin
Vau He correspond to these tones imprinted in our souls. The number "5" and the Pentagram
have been symbols for man and the human body. Perhaps even the original planets of the
Ancients with the Earth (Moon) as the center correspond to these five basic tones.

If we can return to Pythagorus for a moment, we see that by the fourth century B.C., the
scientific basis of our present day scale system was formulated by the Greek thinkers. In the
fourth century A.D., St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, took on the task of organizing the music of
the Church. The Church Modes which dominated European music for 1100 years (400-1500
A.D.) were based on the scale of the Greek thinkers, as is evidenced by the use of the Greek
names even in our present day.
Each of the eight Church Modes consists of seven different notes, differing from one another by
the order of tones and semi-tones. These can be understood more easily by looking at the white
keys of the piano with each mode starting on a different key (C-Ionian; D-Dorian; etc.) Here
again, each mode was related to a different feeling or mood. The greatest body of pure melody
known to man, Gregorian chant, was based on the Church Modes and the pentatonic scale.
Perhaps in the harmonic development, the seven planets of the Ancients with the sun as the
center relate to the seven tones of each mode.

With the further development of harmonic music, Church Modes were replaced by the Major and
Minor scale system in the course of the 17th century. Major and minor tonality has dominated
Western music since 1600 A.D., but now in the 20th century composers are using each of the
twelve chromatic tones in an octave as equals. With electronic music and synthe sizers, micro-
tonality and tone-color music are coining to the fore with composers returning to the elemental
nature of sound. Many of these modern compositions sound strange to our car, but the coinposers
are actually working with the basic laws of sound dating back to the creation of the Universe.

The Musical Education of all Human Beings

From this brief history, it is possible to see the fundamental principles of the Universe expressed
in music. Since it is so obvious that powerful sources of spiritual enrichment spring from music,
we must look to the musical education of all human beings.

In North America we can go to symphony concerts and almost always find empty seats. When
the concerts are over, you find people rushing off to their cars instead of showing their
appreciation by applauding. In Europe this is quite different with people being turned awav from
concerts regularly because of full houses. How do you build musically literate audiences that
have a thirst for finer music'?

The Hungarian composer and educator, Zoltan Kodaly, changed the course of music education in
Hungary; and his method is now spilling over into other countries as well. Kodaly believed that
the five, tones of the pentatonic scale are the essence of every being and that it is the duty of
educational systems to bring these tones forth in every child. While most schools are worrying
about sports and physical competitions, the child's soul can almost be forgotten. Kodaly
maintained that the foundations of a musical culture are laid at school where all children can be
given equal opportunity.

Most Hungarians were musically illiterate until the end of the 19th century. They had no
knowledge of written notation since their musical life was basically an oral culture. Around
1900, a great worldwide interest in folk music and the folksong occurred and at this time Kodaly
and another Hungarian composer, Bela Bartok, started the task of collecting the folksongs of
Hungarian people and putting them into musical notation. The pentatonic scale was again seen as
the basis for all of the folk literature. Bartok observed the peasants in Transylvania who had had
no musical education improvising pentatonic melodies. Many "mourning songs" were collected
from the old custom of widows improvising while sitting on the graves of their deceased
husbands. The widows would sit for hours and even days improvising pentatonic melodies with
their degree of mourning being judged by their improvising skill.
Kodaly maintained that the fold song is the child's musical mother-tongue and this language
should be acquired at a very early age. Children can learn their own language much more easily
by singing folk songs. Only the best music should be good enough for babies. After all, we
choose a baby's nutritional diet much more carefully than an adult's so we should at least give the
same care to a baby's spiritual diet.

The Kodaly Method

Since we are all born with an instrument in our throats and these five tones imprinted in our
souls, why not start the education by opening up and using these musical treasures? Most people
view instruments as the only course leading to musical education, but when you look at
instruments, they are all desperately trying to imitate the human voice. Most families in
Hungary, as well as in other countries, don't have extra money for instruments or music lessons
so Kodaly developed a method of teaching music in the schools whereby all children could
receive the blessings of music. The foundation is laid in the nursery schools and kindergartens
with children learning a large number of Hungarian folk songs entirely by ear. Daily singing side
by side with daily physical exercise equally develop a child's mind and body. Kodaly made sure
that the system would work by having properly trained teachers at every level but especially the
beginning levels. He often commented that a bad teacher can kill off the love for music from all
of his pupils.

Since children learn by ear rather than by intellect at first, the Kodaly method uses the sol-fa
syllables of the 11th century monk Guido of Arezzo and the hand signals developed by John
Spencer Curwen (1816-1880) to avoid the stave system. After the children have learned to sing
clearly and accurately with the movable do system, they are taught to read and write music. This
begins in the first grade and every child in Hungary becomes a fluent reader in the first two years
of school. The pentatonic scale serves as the foundation upon which the entire musical education
is built. After these five tones are mastered, the children move into modes and major and minor
tonality studying the music of all cultures.

The structure of music education is consistent from nursery school through college throughout
Hungary. Children 6-14 years of age receive systematic music lessons in every school with daily
singing classes in the first four years. For the 14-18 year olds, music classes branch out into
music history, appreciation or theory as well as orchestras and choruses. Those children wishing
to learn an instrument can attend specialized music schools which extend all over the country.
One year of singing and rhythm training is required before you start an instrument.

Kodaly maintained that active participation in music not only contributes to the foundation of an
artistic culture, but advantageously influences a child's physical and intellectual abilities. Thus, a
child will lead a richer life, whatever his occupation, and will become a more useful member of
society than those who remain musically ignorant. It is a blessing that the people of a communist
country can receive such spiritual blessings in the name of music education.

The Kodaly method is now being taught in North America, but the folk heritage of America and
Canada has not been collected and made available to educators as it was in Hungary. It is
imperative that children learn to sing before they learn an instrument. This, of course, can be
done at home using folk songs and nursery rhymes. Without fail, children who hear their parents'
singing will develop their own singing abilities automatically. The more exposure to fine music
that parents can give their children, the more their cars will be developed.

Another educator who is changing the education of children is Shinichi Suzuki with the careful
nurturing and exposure of small children to music. The Suzuki method is based on listening, with
children learning to play musical instruments as they learned their own mother-tongue. There
have been other educators, such as Rudolf Steiner, Emile Jacques Dalcroze, and Carl Orff, who
have contributed to the musical education of children. Now it is our duty to use these ideas and
instructions in order to continue the spiral of evolution by giving the blessings of music to all
people.

INQUIRY

INQUIRY welcomes your questions, particularly those pertaining to parachemical laboratory

research, and will direct them to Dr. Albert Richard Riedel (Frater Albertus) for his comment on
the subject that is of particular interest to you.

Q. The old alchemists had some of their products dissolved in a cellar. Why did they not simply
dissolve them in water? Is there something taken out of the air that is not found in the water?

A. Yes. Water that has made contact with the earth and is then reused has given off some of its
positive charge. When directly absorbed by the substance, the positive charge enchances it.

Q. What does Basilius mean when he speaks about the true and correct vinegar of the
philosophers and its salts? How can they be prepared?

A. He refers to antimony. The vinegar is described by him in The Triumphal Chariot of

Antimony in detail. In PARACHEMY, Fall 1979, Volume VII, Number 4. the salt is explained.

Q. Glauberus Concentratus, page 27, says: "A good medication made of gold will strengthen the
heart, out of silver the brain, from tin the lungs, from Mercury the liver, Mars the gall, Venus the
kidneys and Saturn the spleen." Paracelsus also states at one time Jupiter for the lungs and
Mercury for the liver. Usually it is the other way around. Which is right?

A. Glauberus followed ParaceIsus. Why Paracelsus made this statement is not clear. It could be a
printer's mistake or that of his pupils who edited his works.

Q. When calcining the salt in the preparation of the plant stone, the salt will get black because of
the carbon in the oil or sulphur. Frater Albertus said at one time that in such a case too much of
the oil (sulphur) had been taken. Would this not also happen if less is used?
A. Yes. The carbon has to be removed to bring the salt to a white state. There must be a
misunderstanding of what Frater Albertus is supposedly to have said. "Too much" was the cause
of it.

Q. In the true Aurum potable, the gold is entirely dissolved. When the menstruum which has
dissolved it is removed (distilled off), only the oil of gold remains behind; and no metallic gold
as is the case in ordinary gold solution. Therefore, the true Aurum potable is not poisonous when
taken internally. Is this correct?

A. Either the oil or tincture of gold is potable. These are distilled out of the dissolved gold.
Metallic gold dissolved per se is used as a ferment only.

Q. Is it possible to extract from gold amalgam the alchemical sulphur?

A An amalgam is not pure gold. Therefore the alchemical sulphur can also be extracted from the
substances used in the amalgam.

KNOW THE OLD TO UNDERSTAND THE NEW

Pig's Lard

Pig's lard? Why write about such a subject when seemingly more meaningful topics could be
chosen. Sometimes, the most simple things in life can be overlooked or put aside because of
circumstantial evidence, as it is called, overriding previously established facts with presently
available evidence. Not long ago I ran across a statement that had been formerly established as a
fact, namely, that pig's lard was good as a base for salves and liniments, with excellent
therapeutic results. It stated that this was totally erroneous and not based upon facts, as tests have
established that this was not so. Whom shall we believe, the former or the latter, since both claim
to have the facts? How could one basic fact change from yes to no when both claim to have the
evidence? Let us look closer and see if it is not a fact that both are right.

We are not attempting here to begin a squabble about words, but would like to establish the
validity of a fact. It is a fact that in man's way of thinking a thing is either right or wrong,
because two wrongs don't make a right and neither do two rights make a wrong. But how about a
right can be wrong and a wrong a right. Let us go back to pig's lard. The apparent reason why
pig's lard was considered at one time of therapeutic help is found in the fact that pigs were
allowed to run in the open. There they literally walloed in the mud, in fact enjoyed taking their
mud baths as we would say and perhaps do ourselves. But for what reasons?

Some of the best killers of bacteria are found in the earth. In this case we refer to the soil. We
even speak of rare earth extracted from the soil. Pigs were raised for their meat and especially
their fat. Fats are the storehouse for energy. It is well known that sugars produce fats in the body
and sugar is a source of energy. Pigs got their antibiotics directly from the soil. On top of it the
food they got had usually more nutrients in it than was known, as the leftovers and the ground up
grains gave a pig more food value than the farmer did eat himself. The antibiotics were stored in
the fat that, when rendered, yielded an excellent base for salves and ointments because of its
enriched natural sources to energize what had become weakened. Thus muscular overexertion,
one of the common ailments due to overstrain of the phy sique, was very common.

Now let us look at how pigs are raised today. Most of these animals hardly see the outdoors. In
dark barns, in cramped quarters, hardly any movements are possible and for no other reason than
to have them gain more weight. Their food has been specifically prepared to either produce pigs
with more meat and less fat, or both. In fact, for those pigs so raised, precautionary measures
have to be taken that they will not become sick or diseased as they can easily develop bacteria
detrimental to their health, such as trichines and its likes. The result is that the veterinarian will
have to inject antibotics to combat disease that could develop. It is very unlikely that any of the
natural soil components that fortified the pig with its preventatives can be found in pigs as they
are now raised.

The fact therefore remains that pig's lard formerly did contain natural antibiotics that were found
to be of therapeutic value. Likewise does the fact remain that due to the manner of raising pigs
now that are not allowed the free run formerly possible and to come in contact with the soil and
mud contributing to their health, pigs cannot store the natural antibiotics because they are
deprived of them. This, likewise is a fact.

It has been established that both are facts and both have a right to be heard. This does not
exclude the fact however, that facts are subject to change according to man's way of thinking.
Looking upon all this from the view of a Parachemist, it will pose no problem to establish the
rationale of all things according to the facts prevailing at a given time.

At one time pig's lard was found in almost any apothecary, because it was used as a base for
ointments and salves; and it helped the patient for whom it was prescribed. The name given was
most likely not pig's lard but the word unguentum when a few drops of an aromatic oil was
added with it. The fragrance changed according to the prevailing ailment.

In like manner were other medications used for more than one purpose. Antimony was such and
so was gold. Tinctures derived from such mineral substances had more than one use, especially
when other ingredients were added. Thus the tincture derived from antimony could be fixed or
unfixed, and it was considered a fact that it was a most excellent blood purifying agent. At the
same time when a medicine was added that had a specific function to perform, its value was
enhanced. For example, in case of nephritis, a substance working on the kidneys was added from
either the plant or mineral world to the tincture of antimony. The latter would help in the
purification of the blood by removing impurities from it while the other ingredient would affect
the kidney as an organ that may have malfunctioned. Such facts, and there are many of them
relating to one particular case, deserve the most careful attention.

This analogy is also applicable to other instances where established facts are available and
contradict former factual statements or outrule them. The oriental saying that one has to know
the old to understand the new deserves closer observation. Man is not sufficiently prepared to
pass judgment when considering prevailing circumstances only and too often is not taking into
consideration what occurred before them. Previous knowledge is not always available and this
should be a warning not to pass judgment in haste. What is known to be factual now may well
have been formerly contradictory.

Dr Albert Richard Riedel

Essentia
Volume 1 Summer/Fall 1980
Our Cover Picture - Potable Gold

The picture shows the first photographic evidence of potable gold, as far as is known. The
alchemistical lore says that gold contains the virtues of all the rays emanating from the sun as
represented by the seven planets this drop of tincture of gold was photographed at the Paracelsus
College by Manfred Cage, the renowned microphotographic expert of Germany, with the
Interference after Jamin-Lebedeff.

Exemplar - Carl Stahl

Healing Magnet - Dr. A.K. Bhattacharya
Inquiry

Carl Stahl
Contemporary Astrologers have not always seen eye to eye because two different systems are
seemingly contradicting each other. The one used by the majority is known as the Tropical
Zodiac and the other, the Sidereal. Both are rooted in antiquity but the Sidereal Zodiac has been
more recently revived. Each has its merits which are applicable, depending upon the point of
view of the astrologer. Carl Stahl belongs to the researchers of the sidereal zodiacal influences,
and he has made important contributions to sidereal astrological literature.

Of German ancestry, Carl Stahl was born on March 13, 1914 in Kilmanagh, Michigan, U.S.A.
He died January 2, 1980.
His association with the Paracelsus Research Society dates back to 1961 and, until his untimely
passing, has been of immense benefit. His work and research on the planet Vulcan, still a highly
debatable issue among astrologers, as well as his work on transplutonian planets, has given Carl
Stahl a prominent place among his peers. When first delegated to work on the ephemeris of the
mentioned planets not as yet accepted on strict, scientific levels, he was well aware of the risks
he undertook. His confidence in the celestial mechanics and their accuracy has found
substantiation. It was interesting to read in Dell's publication, Horoscope, how he was tested in
regard to the Vulcan ephemeris. His calculations on Adonis, another yet to be officially located
planet in our solar system, will prove of equal, if not greater, importance.

It takes pioneers of Carl Stahl's caliber to enter into uncharted territories and leave the results for
posterity to evaluate. Carl Stahl's entire life was one of devotion to the science of Astro cyclic
Pulsations. Yes, he used the word "Astrology" because of its accepted usage: but it was not for
him the soothsaying of bygone days but a science needing constant revision.

His influence upon those he instructed was not confined to his immediate surroundings; through
his publishing house, "Solunar," his publications reached beyond the United States to those who
made use of his advanced teachings of Sidereal Astrloogy.

My close, personal association with Carl Stahl has enriched my life; and all those students of the
Paracelsus Research Society who knew him came under his influence benefited from his
advanced knowledge, as will those who hereafter continue to expand the legacy of one who
devoted his entire life to fathoming the celestial mechanics pertaining to the inner functions of
life in mankind as a whole.

The work of Carl Stahl will continue with those who have recognized and will recognize the
importance of his contribution to the science of astrology.
- Frater Albertus

Healing Magnet

Dr. A. K. Bhattacharya

About 2500 years ago the shepherd Magnes accidentally found the magnetic rock while roaming
with his herd of cattle on Mount Ida in Asia Minor. This is the most common story about the
discovery of the first natural magnet known as Lodestone. Since then the magnet has made great
strides and today the magnet is a household word. Till recently, a magnet was supposed to be
used for various industrial purposes, but due to the untiring efforts of some researchers this same
magnet is now being used for healing purposes also. History shows that magnets were used for
various purposes other than industrial, but due to lack of information and secrecy these uses were
forgotten.

There are several anecdotes regarding the power of the magnet, which history has recorded. It is
said that Cleopatra used to have a Magnet Tiara on her forehead to keep her beautiful. King
Zeilan used to eat his meat from a plate of lodestone as it was believed that it gave youth and
vitality. A magnet was also used to establish infidelity in women by keeping it under the pillow
which did not allow the woman to stay in bed with her husband. There are also stories of
magnets being used for some illnesses in human beings. It was believed that honey kept in
loadstone, if taken, relieved constipation.

Magnets, in ancient times were also used for various types of pains and inflammations, such as
toothache, gout, arthritis, etc. It is believed that magnets were used extensively by the Egyptian
nobility, particularly the Pharaohs, for maintaining their youth and virility. Unfortunately, no
written records were discovered, as they were either destroyed by the lapse of time or were kept
a secret by the users to gain power for themselves only. A reference about the use magnets is
found in the writings of the Swiss alchemist and physician Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus (1493 -
1541) . He explains,

"Martial diseases are such as are caused by auras coming and expanding from a centre outwards,
and at the same time holding on to their centres; in other words, such as originate from a certain
place, and extend their influence without leaving the place from which they originate. In such
cases, the magnet should be laid upon the centre: and then it will attract the diseased aura
towards the centre, and circumscribe and localize the disease, until the latter may be reabsorbed
into its centre. By the attraction power of the magnet acting upon the diseased aura of the blood
in an affected part, that aura may be made to return into the centre from which it originated, and
be absorbed therein - and, thereby, we may destroy the head of the virus and cure the patient, and
we need not wait idly to see what Nature will do. The magnet, therefore, is specially useful in all
inflammations, in fluxes and ulcerations, in diseases of the bowels and uterus, in internal as well
as external diseases."

The above observations made by Paracelsus, the father of modern medicine, centuries ago, are
now being confirmed by fresh trials with the magnet on different types of diseases.

The magnet as we know has two poles, South and North. The law of magnetism states that Likes
repel and Unlikes attract. When the magnet is suspended from the middle by a thread, the two
sides of the magnet are positioned to the geographic north and south. The markings on the
magnet should be as follows: the side facing the geographic south should be marked as NORTH,
and the side facing the geographic north should be marked as SOUTH. These markings will be
followed when describing the healing effects of the magnets in various types of disorders.

The word BIO-MAGNETICS, meaning the biological effects that magnetic fields have on all
biological systems, is becoming very popular in Western countries, thanks to the efforts of
several interested persons have devoted their lives to alleviate the sufferings of human and
animal beings. The two poles of the magnet work on different problems, as we will see when
describing different diseases treated by the magnets.

Types of magnets: There are different types of magnets available on the market - cylindrical or
round, bar, oblong, horseshoe, conical, etc. The magnets are made of metal or ceramic or ferrite
and plastic. The different magnets are used for different purposes, as will be mentioned later.
In this article I shall only state the results obtained by me personally even though many more can
be recorded which were done by others in the field.

My first experiment with seeds: It is claimed that seeds, when magnetized before sowing,
produce plants that grow larger; and the vegetables and fruits become bigger in size. I conducted
an experiment on this. I took a packet of radish seeds and had a few seeds from the packet
magnetized with the North pole of a bar magnet for 10 hours before sowing. Two rows were
prepared. In one row the magnetized seeds were sown and in the second row the non magnetized
seeds were sown as a control. I found that the leaves of the plants grown from the magnetized
seeds were larger compared to those of the control (non- magnetized) plants. The radishes also
were of a larger size in the magnetized row. Not being a farmer, I could not carry on with the
work further, but I would suggest the following method for interested persons. A packet of seeds
should be kept in a magnetic field and every hour some seeds should be removed from the packet
and kept in a separate packet, recording on it the pole used and the duration of magnetic
treatment the seeds received. The magnetization may be done for 24 hours. Then in different
rows the seeds of different packets should be sown, keeping a separate control row with
untreated seeds for comparative study. The time of germination of the seeds with other data of
growth performance should be recorded for each different row, and a regular watch should be
kept until the end to see the immunity or otherwise of the plants to the attacks of insects and
pests. One may then fix the exact time (duration) of magnetization required for a particular type
of seed for best results. The magnetization may be done with both the poles separately, and also
with a horseshoe magnet. I am confident that by this type of experiment we would be able to get
high yielding seeds that will help ease the food problem faced by almost all nations of the world
at the present juncture.

I shall now describe some cases treated successfully with the magnet, which will give hope to
many persons suffering from similar diseases.

Finger Pain. A lady came one day with pain in her small finger which she could not bend due to
the severity of pain. The North pole of a small cylindrical magnet was kept on the finger for 20
minutes. After the treatment when the lady was asked to move her affected finger and see if the
pain was still there, she was surprised to see that she could bend and straighten the finger without
any difficulty or pain.

Backache. A young boy was brought to me with pain in his back which he sustained while
playing soccer. He could not bend at all and walking was also painful. The North pole of an
oblong ceramic magnet was taped at the site of the pain, and he was asked to keep it there
permanently till he reported again. Slowly the boy started recovering. In a month's time there
was no pain and he could bend normally. The father of the boy was very grateful for the healing
properties of the magnet as it saved the boy a major operation and an enormous expense.

In another case, a lady was having pain in her back and she was unable to get up from bed for the
whole day. She was made to sleep on her face and several cylindrical magnets with the North
pole facing the skin were placed all over her back. After 30 minutes treatment she was asked
about her reaction to the treatment. She got up from bed without any pain and felt perfectly all
right.
Toothache. A lady came with excruciating toothache, which prevented her from sleeping for a
few nights and also from eating any solid food. The North pole of a big cylindrical magnet was
kept on the cheek of the affected side for 30 minutes. After 12 hours the treatment repeated. She
started eating solid food without any difficulty and also slept peacefully at night.

Ankle Pain. One day a police officer visited my place limping. He said that he had twisted his leg
and was having pain in the ankle and much difficulty in walking. I took one horseshoe magnet
and tied a string in the middle and held it over the painful spot. The magnet started rotating
clockwise for some time then rotated counterclockwise. This process continued for about 10
minutes and then it stopped. I asked him about his pain, To his surprise he found that he could
walk without any pain whatsoever.

One of my friends with whom I play tennis was unable to serve fast as he would get a pain in the
shoulder. One day at about 11 in the morning, when he was at my place, I taped an oblong ferrite
magnet to his shoulder with the North pole touching the skin. We went for our usual game at
1:30 in the afternoon. When he started playing he was cautious about his shoulder; but as the
game progressed he was able to play a normal game without feeling any pain at all. He kept the
magnet on his shoulder for a few days and the pain never came back. He still plays tennis as
vigorously as anybody else.

Insomnia. Several insomnia cases have been benefited by the magnet. I shall relate one
remarkable case which was cured by the magnet. A Countess in Italy was unable to sleep without
pills and this was going on for nearly ten years. Lately, even the pills were not proving effective.
She was recommended the application of the North pole of a small round magnet on her forehead
between the eyebrows for 10 minutes before retiring. She applied the magnet reguarly for two
months and reported she could sleep without the help of any sedatives. If the magnet can help to
remove insomnia then, to my mind, even if it does not do any other work, it would be a great
boon to people who are unable to sleep due to great stress and strain of the modern world.

Knee Pain. In knee pain, or pains in larger joints, I have applied two round magnets with the two
poles facing each other on the two sides of the affected part and found great relief to be obtained
by people with this complaint.

Cancer Pains. In a very advanced case of cancer of the liver with metastatis to other parts of the
abdomen, I have given magnet treatment that gave great relief of pain, even though the patient
succumbed to the disease. I put two horseshoe magnets of large size with the opposite poles
facing each other, one on the abdomen and the other on the back just opposite, for one hour twice
daily. This gave relief to the excruciating pain which not be controlled by any other medicines.

Many more cases could be quoted, but I think the above will give some guidance to people who
would like to duplicate the results. Different authors have given different opinions regarding
Magnet Therapy. Many say that with constant use of the magnet harmful effects are produced in
the system. I beg to differ with them as I have yet to find a case which has been harmed by
magnet treatment. In case a wrong pole has been used, the patient will feel an aggravation of his
complaint. In that case the pole may be reversed and amelioration may be obtained. The Earth is
a big magnet and we stay on it until the last day of our mortal life. We do remain healthy in spite
of staying constantly in this magnetic field. When the system is unable to absorb the magnetism
from the Earth, we take the help of artificial magnets. This then is Nature's own treatment. One
important thing I have observed is that persons who sleep with East-West orientation are more
prone to disease. In our religion we have been commanded to keep our head to the south and legs
to the north. During the cremation ceremony, the body is kept exactly in the reverse position -
head to the north and legs to the south. When sleeping as mentioned above, the magnetism flows
from head to foot, but when lying east-west, the magnetic flow is around the body which disturbs
the polarity of the body. This is an observation which can be verified. It is also interesting to note
that when a razor is kept in north-south orientation, the sharpness of the edge of the razor
remains much longer than in any other position. I believe the same theory applies to human
beings when sleeping.

In conclusion, I have to state that this Therapy is not only efficient but also absolutely harmless;
and anybody can use it for the benefit of all persons irrespective of their diseases. Another
advantage of this system is that it is the cheapest of all systems and till the magnet is broken or
lost can be utilized for all persons. There are no harmful after-effects, which no other "pathy" can
claim. A lot of work has yet to be done to find out the use of magnets in different types of
ailments, and I shall be happy if more people will experiment with this Therapy and publish their
results for others to follow.

Inquiry

Q. There is a rumor circulating that you will leave your home in Salt Lake City and spend the
latter part of your life somewhere in the Himalayas. Is this true? If so, please elaborate.

A. No such statement has been issued by myself.

Q. What is a true initiate? Are you one?

A. According to the dictionary, an initiate is one who has been introduced to take the initial steps
into a realm formerly unknown to him or her by those capable of bringing about such an
introduction. A so called "true" initiate would have to be one who can prove through
demonstration what has become known. Actually, "true" initiation, as it is called, has nothing to
do with outward rites and ceremonies but takes place within. An initiation can take place with or
without the help of those who act as guides. As to me being an initiate, it all depends on one's
concept of this. Yes, I have been initiated into what was formerly not known to me. Initiation is
of a profound nature and is an experience which is very personal.

Q. If the soul can manifest as either male or female at various times then it would seem both
polarities within one must merge and become balanced for a complete attunement. Yet in your
book Gently I Answered and Said there is reference to a final merging with the "other half." This
implies that one cannot be complete until the other half, which was once lost, is again found
when one is finally ready. Yet, what of the great masters who achieved total unity, such as Jesus?
Could it be that the other half is to be found within and not necessarily on the earth plane at all?
A. Considerable speculation is going on about soul mates, twin souls and its like. According to
the law of polarity, everything has its counterpart. Therefore, no completion can exist when parts
that belong together remain separate. If, according to Holy Writ, man at one time was separated,
a reunification has to come about again. As to Jesus, the man, speculation likewise exists as to
his brothers and sisters and his relationship to others, among them his so-called Heavenly Bride.
This could just as well pertain to another soul waiting for a reunion or a re-emerging on a higher
plane of awareness. It is difficult to answer such questions. To know, one has to experience for
one's own self. How can the other half be found within one's self when one is in search of it and
if one or the other has advanced to a different level the other half has not reached as yet? Only
personal experience can bring about a realization of what is referred to.

Q. In the teachings at the Paracelsus College, information is given about Vulcan, Chronos,
Adonis and the "real" Pluto, all yet undiscovered at this time. Where does this information come
from? Since it cannot be proven, doesn't this put us back into the realm of belief rather than
knowledge?

A. What one does not know one may believe, which is an assumption based on previous
knowledge that gives rise to further conclusions to be proven. This is how knowledge is
obtained. Things do not always have to be seen to exist beforehand. There exists knowledge
about the atom and even its weight; yet, no one has seen an existing atom or weighed it.
Nevertheless, conclusive evidence of the outcome of such previous assumptions puts belief in its
rightful place.

Q. Would you say that a person's degree of evolvement can be determined by his or her ability to
accept things? In other words, the more evolved the easier to accept whatever takes place?

A. The more knowledge one has and uses the more so will one be receptive, for one is
confronted with and accepts what takes place according to his or her ability of acceptance.

Q. How can one learn more about the metzIah or path on which one finds him or herself?

A. It requires an in-depth analysis of one's own self. With the help of further Astro-cyclic
knowledge, one can find out more when comparisons are made with the personal past
experiences in this life if one is on the path to lead to the goal an individual has.

Q. At the Paracelsus College the QBL is taught. However, you discourage any kind of rituals,
even those which are considered to be positive, as protections, etc. Why? Please elaborate.

A. We do not encourage nor discourage any kind of rituals, qabalistic or otherwise, as this is
strictly a personal affair as to what one believes. We do, however, discuss or talk about such
things as the occasion arises within the context of the themes under discussion; but let it be
repeated again, we do not discourage nor encourage any rituals an individuals wishes to perform.

Q. You prefer not to use the word "sub-conscious," saying there is really not such a thing. Please
explain.
A. We have outlined during class that the conscious awareness is in opposition to the
unconscious state that we are not aware of while we are conscious. The dividing line is where the
one enters into the other, or goes "under," as from the awakening state to the sleep state, for
instance. The extremely short duration of merging from one state into another is where one goes
"sub" or under, but does not remain there. What is commonly termed a subconscious state is
based on what at one time was suppressed or pushed aside, behind, or such similar position, from
which it can be recalled during the conscious state. What takes place during the unconscious
state we are not conscious of, as the word indicates.

Q. So much is said about "tests" in this realm of Parachemistry. Is it true that the further one
finds himself on the path, the greater and more difficult the tests and the chance of failing?

A. It has been found that the difficulties increase relative to the responsibilities one has.
Therefore, a test and its successful outcome or failure would likewise be relative.

Q. If one fails a test, isn't it rather that we are delayed because of something still to be learned?

A. Yes. One could safely agree to that.

Q. Please speak about the seed of metals which is perfectly ripened in gold. What is meant by
this seed?

A. Seed, not wherein the seed is contained, as the kernel or pit or its like, is the life that lets the
soul or consciousness unfold. Everything grows from a seed. Without it there would only be a
body without the seed (life) of procreation. This applies to all three kingdoms: the mineral, plant
and animal.

As to the seed of metals, it is gold that has all three in equal proportions, the seed (life, spirit,
mercury), sulphur (soul), and body (corporeal substance). It is said no other metal has such equal
proportions.

Q. It is scientifically proven that antimony, specifically arsenic which is found within it, can alter
the cells in the brain when it is found even in the most minute amounts in the body. Even by
removing the poison by way of the salts, how can you be certain that the antimony which is being
taken is pure enough not to have a detrimental effect? Even after numerous filtrations,
appearances can be deceptive.

A. The salts of antimony are poisonous, and this refers to the body. The essence extracted from
the antimony when pure, that is, freed from any antimony solids, is not poisonous. One has to
distinguish between the poisonous solids and the non-poisonous inherent "virtues" in an essence
thereof. Even minute traces of solids, if found therein, are not detrimental when looked upon
from a homeopathic point of view. Certainly any intolerable quantity could prove even fatal.
Numerous filtrations will not give proof of its purity. However, atomic absorption and atomic
emission would establish such evidence.
Q. When cycles are taught at the College, you indicate that the cosmic cycles began, as far as the
earth is concerned, with 19,717 B.C. Please tell us how you came up with this date?

A. This date can be found by the precession of the equinoxes, or the great Platonic year. Even
then astronomers are not in exact agreement, because of the many factors to be taken into
consideration, and discrepancies occur. The date given here has proven itself with a great degree
of accuracy in our investigations and tests.

Q. You refer to "going direct" to get one's answers, and you have indicated that this is the way
you have received that which you now teach to others. When you receive in this way is it in the
form of your own subtle thoughts? Please elaborate.

A. It is rather difficult to even attempt an explanation. What you refer to as subtle thoughts are
not subtle thoughts at all. There is a pronounced awareness that fills one's whole being; an inner
knowing just as plain as an outer manifestation. Can one explain color to another one without
seeing color? Try and tell me what red looks like and maybe I can find a way to explain how one
is receiving the direct way."

Q. There is so much talk about the Great White Brotherhood, who have their participants
working here on the earth, as well as on an intangible plane. Is this actually another plane of
awareness, the other side, or where?

A. Whatever is understood by individuals that the White Brotherhood represents may vary
considerably. Speaking of another plane of awareness means just that, but we are here on this
earth plane at present. If there are representatives of the White Brotherhood here on earth
participating in the affairs of nature and man, then it is neither taking place on the other side, nor
for that matter anywhere else but here where one may become conscious of it.

Q. If one is involved in a particular work to assist mankind could it not be said that one is
working for the Great White Brotherhood? If there is no conscious contact with them on another
level is this indicative that one is not yet worthy? Please explain this.

A. Whatever is done with the thought in mind to be of benefit for all concerned would come
under the work of the Brethren in White, no matter if an actual physical contact has been made
with such a representative. Worthiness of an individual because of no contact made, as
mentioned, is not based thereon but upon the ensuing results.

Q. Will you please speak about the "spiritual" or religious and metaphysical cults of today,
where man people become mesmerized, hypnotized and literally brainwashed where identity is
lost, etc. What is the meaning and purpose of this?

A. To speak frankly about this may not be to the liking of everyone especially persons who like
to deal in matters of a secret nature. When a pledge is exerted not to reveal any rites or rituals a
person has lost some of their freedom because of fear of the consequences involved. The best
one can conceive of is that a measure of obedience may be learned that may come in handy at a
given time. However, there is some danger that one may lose thier personal identity when
merging with group identification.

Q. How can one become involved in Parachemistry to such degree that he or she can leave
mundane work behind and actually earn a living doing this work that one loves?

A. Parachemistry does not exclude mundane work. Both mental and physical work comprise
Parachemistry. Wherever the latter is actively employed any laborer is worth his wages. This
refers not only to the laboratory work but to any Parachemical activities. One has to find a place
where one's abilities justify parachemical employment.

employment.
 Essentia
Volume 1 Winter 1980
 Editorial
Arpad Joo
Solar Eclipse - Wondrous Marriage of the Sun and Moon
The Analytical Technique Applied to the Water Work
A High Temperature Kiln Using Propane Gas
Inquiry
Know the Old to Understand the New - Gold Chemistry Today

Cover Photographs

Total Eclipse of the Sun (left)

Photographed in Ankola, India on February 16, 1980 with a Nikon FTN camera and 400mm
teleastroner lens on Kodachrome 64 film.
Shutter speed: 1/4 second
Aperture: f/6.5

The corona, which is only visible during totality, is exceptionally full in the photograph on the
left. This is because the sun is in the peak of its eleven year sunspot cycle. When the sunspot
cycle is at its lowest point you will see flares around the equatorial regions of the sun, with very
little corona showing on the poles.

The Diamond Ring Effect (right)

Photographed during the total eclipse of the sun in Ankola, India on February 16, 1980 with a
Nikon FTN camera and 40Omm teleastroner lens on Kodachrome 64 film.
Shutter speed: 1/30 second
Aperture: f/8

The "Diamond Ring Effect" occurs immediately after totality, at the precise moment when the
moon's disc uncovers the edge of the sun. It occurs for only 7 to 10 minutes because even a
minute sliver of sunlight is sufficient to flood the atmosphere with so much light that it is
impossible to see the black disc with the naked eye. (See article on page 8)

Editorial

Education is an unending process of applied knowledge whereby experience is the predominant

factor. Without knowledge, which in this case is synonymous with experience, no additional
thoughts are possible.

However, education should not be considered synonymous with intelligence, as these two words
indicate different concepts. A person can become educated in various ways and forms. This can
take place at home, at work, at play, at school and in many different situations, because the
addition of knowledge can only be obtained by experiencing the influx of further thoughts,
depending also on the capability to assimilate such experiences in an intelligent way. The degree
of intelligence available differs among people and is the measuring stick whereby the effect that
education has upon a person can be ascertained.

A multitude of educated individuals permeates our daily life and exerts an influence upon us.
One may even have more than one academic degree to prove the schooling one has acquired.
Such individuals may have absorbed a tremendous amount of knowledge and resemble living
information centers or programmed computers who can at the wink of an eye produce
information otherwise to be had only by persistent probing and research. One may well question
what good such stored information and knowledge is when not used in an intelligent way.
Intelligence and education can be merged and become a tremendous tool to help forge an
individual's character which determines one's destiny.

To be an intelligent person does not necessitate schooling in the accepted sense in an institute of
learning. There are many individuals with hardly any formal education that, because of their
inherent intelligence, contribute to the evolvement of mankind. History has proven that this is the
case.

One can increase one's inherent degree of intelligence by education regardless of the way in
which such is obtained. In like manner can a systematic acquisition of knowledge in an
institution of learning contribute to the advancement of the intellect. But let it be said and
understood that all the knowledge found within an individual is of little value when this is not
expressed and set into motion. Only then will the degree of intelligence be revealed that is to be
found within the child, youth, adolescent or older person. Age, as the calendar counts it, has no
bearing on the essential intellect, which is evident in uneducated children revealing a higher
degree of intelligence when compared with older persons who, despite an education, show
comparatively less intelligence in the use of their documented education.

This does not abrogate by any means or belittle a formal education as unnecessary to bolster or
help towards the widening of the thought world of an intelligent individual. It only stresses the
fact that the inherent intelligence in a person does not represent solely the outcome of an
educational systematic process, but is an attribute of a natural phenomenon, inherited or by
whatever source and for whatever reason, found as a gift already within the newborn infant.

Let us not assume that such intelligence cannot be increased or widened by educational ways and
means, but it should also be recognized that any additional knowledge can manifest only in
relation to the degree of intelligence already at hand. Thus, there will always be people that show
a higher degree of intelligence without formal education than educated individuals that have had
such formal academic experience.

Exemplar

Arpad Joo
While people are alive they are usually taken for granted, except for some occasionally special
feats which may be called to our attention. As soon as they have left us, every virtue one can
think of is recalled until they, too, have eventually gone down the road of the forgotten ones.
With a shrug of the shoulders it is usually dismissed as "fate."

How much more uplifting, by contrast, it is to give credit to those alive who are presently
making contributions in the various arts and sciences for the enjoyment of mankind. There are
many to select from, depending upon the specific fields of endeavor.

It gives me great pleasure, indeed, to introduce here an artist who not only specializes in one
specific field, but shows several expressions of accomplishment which are of equal merit. This
one is a concert pianist who as a child prodigy in his native Hungary already made a name for
himself, but who, as music director of various symphony orchestras and as recording artist, has
himself firmly established as the musical director of the Calgary Symphony Orchestra in Canada.
Besides these accomplishments he is a student of Eastern Philosophy and Ancient Languages as
well as the Hermetic Sciences in theory and practice.

Exemplar is delighted to present Arpad Joo, born in Budapest, Hungary in 1948. The son of a
concert pianist, he decided at a very early age to master the piano and that most versatile
instrument of'all - the orchestra. When he was 10 he gave his first public concert in the main
auditorium of the Franz LisA Music Academy. In the audience was composer Zoltan Kodaly,
who later undertook to tutor Arpad as one of only two proteges he had during his lifetime. Along
with Kodaly, Mr. Joo has studied with many famous teachers including: Zecchi, Magaloff,
Ferencsik, Mathe, Kozma, Gat, Starker, Kodosa and Vacano.

Arpad has had many awards and honors bestowed upon him. In 1962 he won the Bartok-Lizst
Competition in Budapest and in 1965 won the prize at the Festival de Montreux where critics
hailed him as "a poet whose inspiration is limitless." When only eighteen he won first prize in
the International Liszt Piano Competition in Boston. He was awarded scholarships to Juilliard
and to Indiana University where he won recognition as one of the finest young conductors to
complete graduate studies in Instrumental Conducting. Immediately upon his graduation he was
engaged on the Faculty of Music at Indiana University. He was recently the recipient of the
coveted "Centenary Award" of the Monte Carlo National Orchestra after his appearance
conducting that orchestra as a representative of the U.S. in the UNESCO Concerts of Young
Talents.
Before moving to Calgary, Arpad spent four years as Principal Conduc tor and Musical Director
of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. A frequent Guest Conductor in Mexico and Venezuela,
he has also completed South American tours, and was highly successful as he conducted at the
well known Vienna Summer Festival. He has been seen and heard nationwide over the Public
Broadcasting System.

He has just completed several symphony recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra and
in his native Hungary recorded with the Budapest Symphony the complete works of Bartok this
year. As concert pianist Arpad Joo has received acclaim of highest merit.

As a student of Eastern Philosophy he has traveled to the near East and to India in order to get
first hand information to further his knowledge of Hebrew and Sanskrit.

Not satisfied with theory only, he has engaged himself also with practical laboratory work of
preclassical Chemistry, up to and including contemporary pharmaceutical research.

Anyone with such diverse talents, none of mediocre quality, but of sincere devotional emphasis,
is bound to leave an imprint on the sands of time.

How fortunate when one still so young in years is endowed with so many gifts, and is making
such profuse use of them for the enjoyment of all those who come under such dynamic influence.

Undoubtedly the future will hold many surprises in store when Arpad Joo will emerge as an even
more versatile individual with present talents encompassed within a conglomerate whole of such
dimensions that will bring him recognition as a great humanitarian. This latter statement may
sound somewhat prophetic to some, but this is exactly what it is meant to be.

Those of us who know Arpad Joo can all look with confidence into the future as our expectations
are high and well founded.

Solar Eclipse - Wondrous Marriage of the Sun and Moon

Compiled by Barbara Shuler

Mark Shuler, Eclipse Photographer

Mark Shuler, a resident of Monterey, California, is a 27-year-old photographer with a keen

interest in astronomy and a passion for solar eclipses. He viewed his first eclipse on February 26,
1979 in the state of Washington. "At that moment, " he said, I became hooked on eclipses. "
After the Washington eclipse he came home to make preparations for the next total eclipse which
was to take place on the other side of the is world in India. He and a friend made at detailed
calculations, studying the eclipse path for a precise point to locate for maximum viewing
potential. Special photographic equipment was purchased and several "dry-run" rehearsals were
organized to test the operation of various cameras and tape machines to be used in recording the
event. The elaborate preparations paid off. The expedition went smoothly and Mark was able to
bring back a breathtaking chronicle of the first solar eclipse of the decade. He is now projecting a
series of photographic adventures to different parts of the world to capture on film the great
eclipses of this century or, as it is called by some, the solar age.

A dark shadow slowly moves over the sun until only a narrow crescent is left to behold. Little
specks of light remain for a few seconds. And suddenly -darkness! Then, a pearly white corona,
the halo of our sun, burst into view. An eerie stillness pervades. All is held captive by the
awesome spectacle in the sky. The sun and moon have wedded for a few breathless moments and
nature reverently responds to their union.

What can be more inspiring to our inner and outer vision than this grand marriage of our own sun
and moon, called in this age a total solar eclipse? It is a wonder of evolution that affects all
nature. Throughout the ages men have stood transfixed by the unearthly light shining forth in
those few minutes of totality when the moon's disc exactly covers the solar orb. And we
ourselves are brought closer to the very portals of the great mysteries in its presence.

Myth and History

As wondrous rarities, eclipses have inspired many different explanations and interpretations. A
classical Chinese text, Chou King, is considered to contain the earliest record of a solar eclipse.
Historians pinpoint the date as October 22, 2134 B.C., when "the sun and moon did not meet
harmoniously." The Chinese leved that a monstrous dragon ed to consume the sun periodically.
It was the duty of the court astronomers to predict the dragon's habits and to warn the emperor
when the event was about to occur. At that time, a great commotion was produced (noise,
beating of drums, arrows shot into the sky) to frighten the dragon away and restore sunlight, On
this date, the two royal astonomers, Hsi and Ho, failed to predict the eclipse (allegedly because
they had been drinking and carousing instead) and the dragon began to devour the sun before the
noise makers could be assembled. The Emperor was furious and, even though the sun returned
anyway, he ordered Hsi and Ho beheaded.

Most of the Indians of the Americas worshipped the sun as the central deity in their universe. He
was visualized in human form, his face a golden disc emanating rays. Solar eclipses were
portents of the sun deity's anger requiring prayers and human sacrifice.

In Japanese lore, the sun is perceived as the goddess Amateratsu. Amateratsu was terrifed one
day by wicked brother, Sunasoo, and hid in a rocky cave of heaven closing the entrance with a
boulder. The world was temporarily plunged into darkness and, for a while, the evil Sunasoo had
his way.

The natives of Zambezi tell a story of the pale moon who jealously stole the fiery feathers of the
sun while he was looking at the other side of the earth. The angry sun splashed the moon with
mud which stuck on eternally. The avenging moon waits to catch the sun off guard and once in a
while returns the insult of a mud splash. The sun then is covered with large spots and cannot
shine fully for hours causing darkness to come into the hearts of men and animals who love his
light.

Not all interpretations of eclipse are ominous, however. In several cultures, Tahiti, for example,
stories of marriage and lovemaking of the sun and moon are given as explanations for the
mysterious darkening of the day. The Eskimos, Aleuts and Tlingets of Northern America believe
that an eclipse reveals divine providence. The sun and moon leave their places in the sky and
check to see that all is in order on the earth.

The heavenly merging of the sun has occurred with the regularity of a giant cosmic clock since
the commencement of the present alignment of our planetary body. Snatches of history reveal
that this celestial timepiece has periodically played a more immediate role in directing the course
of human affairs. The earliest record, as mentioned above, centered around the unusual destinies
of Hsi and Ho, the Chinese astronomers.

On, another occasion, the Lydians and the Medes were locked in a struggle in Asia Minor. In the
sixth year of battle on May 28, 586 B.C. a solar eclipse occurred (which, unbeknownst to the
armies, had been predicted by Thales, a Greek mathematician). The event was reported by
Herodotus, the historian: "... day was on a sudden turned into night ... the Medes and the
Lydians, when they observed the change, stopped fighting and were alike anxious to have terms
agreed on." The sight of the eclipse had shaken both armies and they stopped fighting at once,
saving thousands of lives. They agreed to a peace treaty and cemented a bond with a double
marriage.

Charlemagne's son, Emperor Louis the Pious, was so overcome by the impact of a total eclipse
he witnessed on May 5, 840. that he died shortly thereafter, having been literally frightened to
death. The fighting for his throne ended three years later with the historic Treaty of Verdun
which divided Europe into three major areas we know today as France, Germany and Italy.

Pope Benedict IX narrowly missed death at the hands of assassins in 1032 A.D. when, wrote
Raoul Glaber in 1824, "about the sixth hour of the day there occurred an eclipse of the sun which
lasted until the eighth hour. All faces were as pale as death, and everything that could be seen
was suffused with the colors of yellow and saffron. . ." In the confusion, the assassins hesitated
and the Pope fled to safety.
During the solar eclipse of 1764 a chestnut foal was born on the estate of the Duke of
Cumberland in England. The colt was named, appropriately, Eclipse. He was destined to become
the greatest racehorse in history. One observer at the time is quoted as saying, " He was never
beat, never had a whip flourished over him, never felt the tickling of a spur, nor was he ever for a
moment distressed by the speed or rate of a competitor - outfooting, outstriding and outlasting
every horse which started against him." The invincible Eclipse made fortunes for many, retiring
to stud after winning 26 consecutive races.

Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee Indian and self-proclaimed prophet, tried to unite the Indian tribes east
of the Mississippi against the white settlers. Accepting the challenge of the governor of the
territory of Indiana, Tenskwatawa sought to prove his supernatural powers by predicting that on
June 16, 1806 he would cause the sun to disappear and darken the earth. The eclipse came as
predicted and his powers were celebrated.

Modern research into ancient history suggests that although there were great superstitions and
wild imaginings connected with solar eclipses, accurate observations of the cycles of eclipses
were being made as early as 3000 B.C. Astronomers in Babylonia and Assyria discovered
eclipses tend to repeat themselves every 18 years, although they occur at different places on the
globe. They called this cycle the saros and it is used to this day to make predictions. (Curiously,
although it is certain that the Egyptians paid close attention to the heavens, it has been stated that
no one has found a single reference to an eclipse in all of Egyptian history. It has been
conjectured that the vision of totality has been preserved in symbolic form. Bryan Brewer, in a
recently published book entitled Eclipse, notes that the corona of the sun during certain eclipses
resembles the well-known winged globe of Egypt which appears over the pylons or gates to
many temples and tombs. This winged symbol is also emblematic of the three personas of the
Egyptian trinity: Osiris, Isis and Horus. This parallels the alchemical triad, Sol, Luna and
Mercurius. The marriage of Isis and Osiris or Sol and Luna is expressed in the darkness of
totality of the eclipse of the sun. This is called the blackness or "nigredo" by the alchemists.
From this blackness is born a new vision of the nature of the sun, or, symbolically, a "seeing" of
the truth, represented by Horus and Mercurius as the offspring of the union of the two bodies.
For thc Egyptian, then, the mysterious transformation of the sun during an eclipse may have been
the most exalted and sacred moment for the solar deity which they so ardently worshipped.

Gerald Hawkins, a modern researcher into the enigma of Stonehenge, revcals that the most likely
purpose behind the stones and markers that puzzled historians for so long was to predict eclipses.
In Stonehenge Decoded, Hawkins views Stonehenge as a working model of the sun-moon-earth
system. The sun, the moon and the lunar nodes, each represented by markers, revolve around the
earth located in the center. When the markers coincided, an eclipse would take place. It is
interesting to note that a recently constructed replica of Stonehenge was a dramatic sight in
North America for the eclipse that took place on February 26, 1979.

A Theory about the Evolutionary Implications of Solar Eclipses for the Planet

In The Theory of Celestial Influence - Man, the Universe, and Cosmic Mystery, Rodney Collin
shares some provocative insights with his readers about the nature and purpose of total solar
eclipses. He begins by observing that if our moon were a few hundred miles larger or smaller or
a few thousand miles nearer or further away, the coincidence of the lunar disc fitting exactly over
the solar orb at regular intervals could not occur. "Out of all the immense range of size and
distance apparently possible for a satellite, this particular point has been chosen," he says.
"Clearly such a combination of size and distance must represent some meaning, a focus in some
field of unseen force."

Collin postulates that one function of the moon is to alter the constant influence of the sun so that
it interrupts the flow of the solar current to the earth in a regular pattern. The principle, he says,
is similar to that used in an electric buzzer which utilizes a magnet and a spring to make and
break a steady current, producing a mechanical oscillation which we hear as sound. The
sequence of these "cut-outs" of solar current is the very regular "saros". Within the 18-year, 11-
day saros period, 28 total eclipses are observed somewhere on the globe. Solar radiation, then, is
interrupted by the moon at a rate equivalent to a frequency of 4 kilo cycles, if one takes 80 years
of the sun's time to correspond to one thirtieth of a second in the time of man. The moon's effect
is to produce pulses of high-frequency current. According to Collin, one of the results of the
moon's creation of a high frequency effect may be to "keep the transformed solar energy flowing
along the surface of the earth in time, that is, flowing through that part of earth which is covered
by the world of nature and organic life." This interaction of the sun and moon which produces
what we know as solar eclipses, then, may have played and will continue to play a vital role m
sustaining organic life on earth. It is easy to understand, in the light of this theory, how one
might well surmise the existence of an unseen hand guiding the bodies of our solar system into a
careful alignment to create ideal environments for the evolution of life.

The full implications of these questions about the meaning of the merging of the sun and moon
are far beyond us. We know that since the dawn of human consciousness men has sought to
understand the purpose and promise behind the spell-binding dark disc which glows with
allurement of a great celestial veil ... and we know that in the future, priests, scholars, scientists,
poets, warriors and adventurers will continue to strive to penetrate the mystery behind the veil of
the wondrous marriage of the sun and moon.

Bibliography

Brewer, Bryan, Eclipse, Earthview, Seattle, Washington, 1978

Collin, Rodney, The Theory of Celestial Influence, Samuel Weiser, New York, 1975
Hawkins, Gerald S., Stonehenge Decoded, Doubleday, 197.5
Jung, C. G., Mysterium Coniunctionis, An Inquiry and Synthesis of Psychic Opposites, Bollingen
Series, Princeton UniPress. 1977 Palmer, The Secret Teachings of All Ages Philosophical
Research Society, Los Angeles
Science Today; "When the Sun Goes Out,"
M. K. V. Bappu: Eclipses in Mythology," Maithili Rao, February, 1980, Vol. 14, No. 2, Bombay
Wallace, Irving and Wallechinsky, David, The Book of Lists #2, " 10 Eclipses that Affected
Human Lives," William Morrow and Co., New York. 1980.

The Analytical Technique Applied to the Water Work

 A Modern Approach

Joseph C. Lisiewski Jr.

In addition to the artful gleanings which the Alchemical experimentalist has learned to
appreciate, the analytical nature of this Science must also be carefully kept in view in order to
fully understand the processes and various manipulative operations which underlie this pursuit. It
is essential then, that the modern student pose to every operation the questions:

1. What is to be accomplished in terms of a practical end result?

2. What common factors involved in the experiment can be more efficiently reproduced by
modern means?

Of course, the understanding of the theory behind any given operation is a prelude to the above.

As an example of this approach, assume the student is engaged in the production of a functional,
permanent Herbal Stone. If he chose to proceed according to the process laid down in Circulatum
Urbigerus,1 he would find the first requirement is that of obtaining a sulphureous medium with
which to imbibe the salts. Further, it would be apparent that a large quantity of menstruum,
greatly reduced in concentration, would result. This in turn would require extended periods of
imbibition of the salts in order to bring about the desired effect. Conversely, through the
application of the analytical technique, he would find that through Soxhlet extraction, a highly
concentrated sulphureous medium would be obtained, not only in a relatively short period of
time, but due to its increased concentration would decrease the time neces. sary for imbibition of
the salts in order to bring about their saturation.

Hence, the knowledge of the theory of each operation, coupled with the application of analysis,
can go far toward the effective utilization of hme, while increasing the probability of successful
completion.

The analytical technique applied to the water work theory

In the Golden Chain of Homer it states:

Take a quantity of dew, rain, snow or hail which you like; but the most expeditious way is if you
can take rain water from a thunder shower, receive it into clean glazed vessels, and filter it, in
order to separate the dirt from it which intermixes from the roofs of houses, and you will, after
filtration, have a Clear, Crystalline water, of no particular taste, in fact a fine clear water, fit to be
used like any other fine water. Place this collected water in a warm garret, where neither the sun
nor moon can shine upon it, cover the vessels with a linen cloth, to prevent the dust from getting
into it.

Let it stand a Month unmoved, and if the place is warm enough, you will by this time perceive an
alteration in the water, because this water begins by the power of the implanted spirit to grow
warm although imperceptibly and to break. It begins to ferment and Putrefy and acquires a bad
smell, and you will observe that it becomes turbid, although it was perfectly clear at first, and a
brown spongy earth ascends swimming at the Top, which increases daily and from its weight
falls to the bottom.

Here you see a separation, occasioned by the ingrafted spirit of the gross from the subtle. The
separated earth is brown, spongy or like wool, slimy and slippery and this slimy earth is the
Universal Gur of Nature.2

This Gur, or pre-adamic earth the base material from which the Kingdoms of Nature (i.e., the
Mineral, Vegetable and Animal) are created.3

Now, the enterprising student who has attended the classes of Alchemical Instruction at the
former Paracelsus Research Society (now, the Paracelsus College, Utah Institute of
Parachemistry) and desires to reproduce this experiment encounters difficulty when comparing
the technique as given in the Golden Chain Homer with the oral instructions delivered at the
former Paracelsus Research Society. Specifically, students have been orally instructed to collect
rain water during a violent electrical thunderstorm, but to do so in such a manner that the water
so collected does not come into contact with a building, or the ground, in order to preserve the
water's electrical charge. Yet, the Golden Chain of Homer instructs that the water be filtered to
remove the dirt which intermixed with it from the roofs of houses. However, by applying the
analytical technique, we shall see that the modern oral instructions have their basis in modern
day considerations, and as such, are correct. Hence, using our analytical technique we approach
the problem in following manner: We know from the title page of the present edition that the
Golden Chain of Homer was first published in Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1723. If we consider the
structure of the dwellings of that period, we find they were composed of wood, brick, clay and
straw, all of which are excellent insulating materials. In addition, we know that electricity was
not yet harnessed, and therefore no electrical wiring existed in the dwellings. Hence, water
collected from such structures retained its electrical charge, and was suitable for this experiment;
in that time period.

Today, however, modern construction techniques not only employ electrical wiring for buildings,
but grounded electrical connections which earth electrical charges. Rainpipes also are found
possessing the same grounding principle, thus directing even minute electrical charges to ground.
As a consequence, rainwater collected from buildings in this present day would lack the critical
electrical charge component. It is therefore of fundamental importance that rainwater collected
for the experiment of the generation of the 3 Kingdoms through Gur production be collected in
vessels completely insulated from any ground connection so as to enable the water to retain its
electrical charge.

Our second point of consideration is the purity of the atmosphere at the time when the water is
collected, since the air should be as clean and clear as possible.4 Once again we must analyze the
prevailing circumstances of the time in order to comply with the principles involved. If we
consider the date of 1723, the date of the first publication of the Golden Chain of Homer, we find
a world largely free of atmospheric contamination. In contrast, our own age is just the opposite:
high levels of pollution in our environment have given rise to corresponding protection agencies
aimed at rectifying these conditions. In relation to this, we have to consider the phenomena of
acid rain. This is a form of atmospheric pollution resulting from high sulphur burning coal.
Specifically, it contaminates rainwater during precipitation, such that the rainwater subsequently
received is impure. Therefore, a sample of the collected rainwater should first be filtered and
then distilled. If a murky, reddish brown substance remains in the distillation flask, the presence
of acid rain can be suspected, requiring all the rainwater to be distilled prior to putrefaction. In
this way, a contaminant free Gur can be assured.

Finally, we have to consider the phenomenon of lightning in order to understand more fully its
role in the process. We know that lightning is an electrostatic phenomenon consisting of
electrical discharge between adjacent clouds or between clouds and ground.5 And while the
physics of lightning and its effects on rainwater are complex, the general consensus of
alchemical theory on the subject requires its effects in order to produce a Gur which can be used
to generate the 3 Kingdoms. Thus, if acid rain is detected requiring distillation prior to
putrefaction, then high speed water distillers are called for which, due to their metallic
construction and grounded electrical features, will negate the electrical charge. When such is
found to be the case, or if it is desired to increase the electrical component of the water, then the
phenomenon of lightning must be simulated. Such simulation can be achieved through the use of
a Van de Graaff generator. This is an electrostatic device which produces high voltage electrical
power through the interaction of electric fields, and is easily adaptable to electrifying water.

Experimental procedure

I. Component preparation

Using our analysis thus far we have seen that it is necessary that the rainwater used for the
generation of the 3 Kingdoms be collected directly from the sky. Further, due to atmospheric
pollution, acid which can exist in the collected rainwater must be removed through distillation in
order to achieve a contaminant-free Gur. Finally, when modern high speed water distillation
techniques are used, negation of the water's electrical charge component can result. However,
through electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graaff, the charge can be replaced.
In order to comply with this criteria, the following methods and procedures were used:

A. Water Collection - Polyethylene sheeting available from most department and hardware stores
can be used to construct a receiving vessel. The author used a section 12'x 100'(feet) suspended
between wooden slats to construct a 1200-square-foot receptacle. During a violent electrical
thunderstorm lasting only 45 minutes, 125 gallons of rainwater was collected.

B. Purification - The rainwater was checked for acid contamination by distilling a 500 ml.
sample in a conventional distillation train. While the distillate was clear, the residue remaining in
the distillation flask was murky, and reddish in color. Subsequent analysis by chromatographic
techniques showed the presence of nitrates, sulphates, and a mixture of generally acidic
components, thus establishing the presence of acid rain. Quantitative analysis showed
concentrations as high as 0.05 grams per liter, a relatively high concentration which would
adversely affect the purity of the Gur. Hence, the entire 125 gallons of rainwater were distilled
using a high-speed steam distiller, which produced 11 gallons of distilled water per 24 hour
period. In less than 12 days, the entire quantity of water was distilled, thereby eliminating the
prohibitively long and tedious process encountered with conventional distillation trains.
C. Electrification - As previously mentioned, the use of typical highspeed steam distillers can
result in the negation of the electrical charge component of the water. The charge can be
reintroduced through electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graaff (in the absence
of acid rain where prior distillation is not required, this technique can be used to strengthen the
water's existing charge). The author used a 500,000 volt at 50 microampere unit to electrify the
water over a 12-hour period. This was accomplished by connecting a platinum electrode from the
charged sphere of the Van de Graaff generator directly to the water. In this way, a concentrated
simulation of lightning phenomena results in a highly charged water medium. Such Van de
Graaff generators can be purchased in kit form from scientific supply houses for $100 to $200.

D. Gur production 123 gallons of the distilled, and electrified rainwater was placed in 10 plastic
food grade containers, each with a capacity of 15 gallons. Two controls were also established, as
follows:

Control 1 - 10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof of a house. This was filtered, but not
electrified.

Control 2 - 10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof. It was filtered and electrified as
previously described.

All containers were covered with a finely porous percale material and set aside in a dark place at
75-80oF for 90 days in order to putrefy.

At the end of 90 days, the containers were opened and the results analyzed. The 10 containers
which had been distilled and electrified showed a 28% per container higher yield of Gur when
compared to Control 2, and a 41% higher yield per container when compared to Control 1. In
addition the Gur obtained through distilla ion and electrification had a much deeper reddish color
to it, as well as a highly repetitive matrix structure. The Gur from Controls 1 & 2 lacked these
properties.

Finally the Gur obtained from Controls 1 & 2 showed the presence of acidic components when
analyzed by chromatographic techniques, thus establishing the carry through of the acids to the
Gur formation.

Conclusion
It has been shown that through distillation, acidic components present in rainwater should be
eliminated prior to putrefaction in order to obtain a pure Gur. Further, electrostatic electrification
of this distilled rainwater prior to putrefaction not only results in a higher yield of Gur, but in a
highly ordered structural arrangement of the substance.

It is up to the enterprising expermentalist to establish the relevancy of these techniques in his

own generation of the 3 Kingdoms.

References
1. B. Urbigerus, Circulatum Urbigerus, 1690, Para Publishing Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973,
pp. 36-37.
2. H. Nintzel, Compiler, The Golden Chain of Homer: Restoration of Alchemical Manuscripts
Society, Richardson, Texas, 1978, pp.35-36.
3. Paracelsus Research Society, Parachemy, Vol V, No. 2 p.429; 1977.
4. Ibid.
5. "Lightning" Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th. ed., Vol. X, pp. 966-968.

"Science was supposed to solve problems. Now people see it as creating them. There's a
widespread anti-science syndrome now, but people have been antagonistic to science before. It
will pass."

A HighTemperature Kiln Using Propane Gas

or A Yellow Golden Glass without Borax

Ditmar Dan Dullies

There are many ways in which antimony may be vitrified. Basil Valentine advises the best way
of preparing glass of antimony is without addition of any fluxing agents. This glass is endowed
with the greatest virtue and power which it manifests after its further preparation.

To attain a yellow glass of antimony trioxide (Sb203) without the addition of any fluxing agent
(e.g., borax), a higher temperature is required than if antimony fume is used.

The problem nowadays exists in finding a heat source that is inexpensive, yet delivers a
temperature high enough (1200-1500oC) to come up with the desired results.

Many experiments with different gas burners and electric kilns were carried out to make a yellow
glass from antimony trioxide, but the level of maturity attained was always unsatisfactory
(biscuity appearance).
Finally, a used pottery kiln made from asbestos cement was converted (see diagram) by drilling
two 6 cm. holes (inlet for gas burner) and a 6 cm. outlet hole on the opposite side. The gas torch
(5 cm. diameter) was operated with propane gas. In the beginning of the experiments the
antimony trioxide turned into regulus within 20 minutes. It seemed that insufficient oxygen
reached the furnace chamber. Better results were obtained by placing the gas torch 5 cm. outside
the inlet hole (more oxygen was drawn into the furnace), but best results were achieved by
leaving the furnace door open: a golden yellow glass was attained within 30 minutes.
By using Morgan refractory fireclay crucibles it is possible that moisture is trapped in the porous
material. To prevent cracking it is very important to preheat the fireclay crucible gradually to a
red heat before filling it with the material per se.

Inquiry

INQUIRY welcomes your questions, particularly those pertaining to parachemical research, and
will direct them to Frater Albertus (Dr. Albert Riedel) for his comment on the subject that is of
particular interest to you.

Q. Is each soul created to develop specific talents - such as one being artistically inclined
through most lives, or do we express a multitude of talents to become more complete? In other
words, as part of the One Universal Soul, does each soul from the beginning express a particular
individuality by way of talents or purpose?

A. The evolvement of a soul, as a segment of the Allsoul, Oversoul, The Only One, etc., is in
itself of perfect origin, similar to a child who of, let us say, perfect parents is in itself perfect. The
physical aspect under proper circumstances may develop to perfect maturity. The soul or
consciousness will have to evolve, however, like that of a child until it has reached a similar
level to its progenitors, or even beyond. This is also why man is called a child of God. Various
talents up to genius are attributes of soul evolvements in given spheres at given times, such as
incarnations, until a state of perfection is reached again within the sphere of one's prevailing state
of being. Artistic, scientific and other conscious attributes are but an outcome of such
development and evolution. It can hardly be conceived that an evolving soul has a predestined
outline to be forever an artist or scientist as this would make an improperly evolving soul. All
facets of evolution have to be considered in soul evolvement.

Q. If the solar chart represents the evolving persona, how can one determine the true "soul"
chart, which would represent our particular birth as a soul from the One Soul?

A. A solar chart pertains to our solar system as the name indicates. Soul is antedating our limited
astrological concept and therefore cannot give us a particular true solar birth chart.

Q. Since the axiom "as above so below" applies, what is the significance to voluntary
sterilization as far as a mental correspondence?

A. Voluntary sterilization is a strictly physical process that can and does have mental
repercussions according to one's thought pattern. Where in this case "as above so below" enters
in is not clear.

Q. Please comment about cloning as far as the parachemical process is concerned. What of the
soul in this process?

A. Cloning refers to cellular structures in conformity with the laws of heredity. A soul cannot be
cloned as there is no duplicate of a soul to be had, structurally or otherwise.

Q. When we have a physical ailment can we also assume that it has its origin mentally? In other
words, a kidney problem indicating a disturbance in physical elimination would have its origin
in problems with mental elimination, or a heart disorder could have its root in the corresponding
mental imbalance - the love of nature, etc?

A. Yes. One can assume that physical ailments have a counter effect on the mentality just as the
mental anguish shows its physical effects. As to which has the priority one can query: Which
came first, the chicken or the egg? This does not alter the fact that both the chicken and the egg
are with us.

Q. There is a great deal of talk among those health oriented persons regarding the detrimental
effects of white sugar. Would you please comment on this from your point of view as a
Parachemist?

A. White sugar as a pure carbohydrate has as much a place in health as other sugars of which
there are many forms such as sucrose, dextrose, maltose, etc. I have seen health oriented people
violently opposed to the use of white sugar and other refined products, producing inside and
outside their bodies abnormalities that were otherwise attributed to the use of white sugar.
Unfortunately, too many people are throwing everything into one pot and have not yet learned to
separate where it becomes necessary. Just remember the unscientific old time saying: "One man's
food may become another man's poison."

Q. You have indicated in your classes that we can get the vitamins we need from food, and that
what we are really trying to get out of the food is the spirit. However, specific vitamins are
known to perform specific functions in the body and doses of them are helpful in cases of
deficiency. Most of us do not get what is needed from our diets, so in this case wouldn't vitamin
supplements be helpful?

A. Any vital substance (vitamin) a body is deficient in needs to be corrected. The manner of
correction is also of importance. So-called vitamin supplements are to be found in different and
additional food stuff than those which are insufficient in the daily needed vital requirements. It is
safe to say that there are some vitamin supplements that do anything but supply vital energetic
substances, aside from being stimulants.

Q. At present there is much investigation of the planet Saturn. We are finding out about the
physical properties, taking new photographs, and have even learned about the various moons.
Why is this happening now, and what is the esoteric implication?

A. Saturn has been in the heavens for no one knows how long. The esoteric implications are the
same now as they have been according to the recipient's attunement. Why is this happening now?
Because no one did it to our knowledge before, as it is done now, sending mechanical
instruments millions of miles into space to record the data presently available.

Q. Can the salt of tartar absorb and accumulate the energy found in spirit of wine by the proper
manipulations?

A. Not only in the spirit of wine but also from the air.

Q. Can this energy absorbed by the salt of tartar be transferred to heighten energy of herbal
tinctures? How?

A. By immersing an herb into liquified salt of tartar (potassium carbonate) when the moisture has
been absorbed directly from the air.

Q. Can this energy be transferred to fresh highly rectified spirit of wine to increase its potential
as a menstruum?

A. Yes, by pouring the absolute alcohol over such liquified salt of tartar. The alcohol will
become a tincture as it extracts the essence of the tartar. By rectification an energized menstruum
may be obtained.

Q. Would this process be similar to that of Kerkringus' menstruum?

A. By analogy, yes.
Q. Since vegetation is a restructuring of the earth directed by a seed in a particular way, is the
same also true in the animal kingdom? Is mankind justly called the salt of the earth?

A. All terrestrial restructuring takes place by seed. This includes all three kingdoms of nature. If
by salt, the alchemistical interpretation, body is used, then mankind collectively can be called the
body or salt of the earth as an analogy.

Q. Would you explain the medicinal natures of a fixed and unfixed tincture?

A. A fixed tincture is used in chronic (fixed) diseases whereas an unfixed tincture is used in
ailments which are not chronic. Basilius Valentinus in his Triumphal Chariot of Antimony gives
explicit information regarding the preparation and admin istration of the fixed and unfixed
tinctures of antimony that are appli cable also in the plant and animal kingdoms.

Q. Is there any chemical analysis being carried on today in regard to the medicinal value of
antimony?

A. Dr. David Schein, M.D., Ph.D., of the Paracelsus College has undertaken such analysis in his
published work on antimony. His work, published in the German language, has been translated
into English and will be published soon.

Q. There is speculation that children are more conscious at an early age because they are more
recently here and therefore more receptive to either influences from the other side or also from a
higher level. Is this true? Could there also be a physical reason for this in that a young body
would not be as polluted and therefore more able to receive the fullness of the spirit?

A. This could be because a child is more receptive to impressions because of its limited ability to
relate thern to present occurences by way of reasoning. The latter part of the question is doubtful
as a child may inherit a polluted body because of the parents intake of pollutants transferred
through the blood of the another to the body of the child.

Q. Please explain about the original 144 as listed in the early Alchemical Laboratory Bulletins.
Does this still apply and will this number represent the core of Tristar? Of the original names
what of those who have dropped out or have passed over - are they replaced? What of others
who have entered since that original printing?

A. The 144 names given were, the core or nucleus when the then PRS appeared in the open.
Some of them were called. Out of those some were chosen and from the chosen, some were set
aside to become conscious assistants. There will be a constant evolution going on among those
whose names are now on the unpublished list of individual names to eventually fill that number.

When the Tristar Foundation is operating eventually in its full capacity, the administrative staff
then will consist of the 144 gathered out the world to be just such a nucleus that in turn can be
split like an atom to regenerate itself by bringing forth another 144 where "the beacon of light
uplifted" will shine forth on other continents.
Q. What is the significance of number 144?

A. As to the number 144 it totals nine. Nine is the end of all numerical integers. No higher
number is available. Out of the One come all other numerical values, which show by the four
elemental qualities, the dual polarity, in this case, as matter and antimatter - the visible revealing
the invisible.

The first one plus four gives the quintessence inherent within the four but not one of the four, as
the intangible reveals by its four cardinal virtues on the exterior, the sum total of achievement.

Q. What about the students who been coming to the Paracelsus College Research Society year
after but still do not get directly involved. Are they conscious assistants?

A. This depends upon a student's conscious attitude. In practically all cases a preparatory contact
is necessary so one may be prepared when this conscious awakening takes place to become
directly involved. There are cases known at present where ten or more years were needed by
some to become conscious of the essentials in this work. Others did so at an earlier time interval
while others even after decades have yet come to such a realization. There is more to all of this
than appears just on the surface to the casual or sensation-hungry inquirer.

Know the Old to Understand the New

Gold Chemistry Today

R. J. Puddephatt

Why is there so much said about gold in these days when other issues are of an even more
pressing nature? Why gold? Why not platinum and other rare metals and minerals? One has to
go way back in history to find its origin and may be confronted with a surprise because, besides
the endurance, lustre and comparative rarity of gold, its real value was bestowed upon its
inherent virtues. What would these be? It is an old established alchemistical concept that gold
contains the perfect essence formerly as potable gold. That means gold in a liquid form. This in
itself is no chemical problem as gold can be brought into a solution. Such solutions, however,
are brought about by corrosive acids and therefore are not potable. Since those who claimed
formerly to know how to extract an essence from gold in form of a tincture that was drinkable
without any of the poisonous gold salts in solution, question remains as to what kind of will
accomplish such a feat.

It is a well-known fact that salts of gold are administered to patients. These are, however,
poisonous salts and are in the form of gold chlorides in minute doses.

The last few decades have shown an astounding interest in gold as a medicinal agent. Since the
salts of gold are known, one may question, and rightfully so: What other alternatives are there
that could give more information about the medicinal values of gold! It is here that one has to
know the old to understand the new. When the following investigations are studied it will not be
difficult to find that the real quest has not found its answer in present research and has most
likely its answer in alchemical knowledge of those initiated into the secrets of nature that may
require a turnabout into the past to appreciate the new.
-Frater Albertus

R. J. Puddephatt, B.Sc., Ph.D., was educated University College, London. After two of post-
doctoral research in Canada, he was appointed lecturer and then senior lecturer at the
University of Liverpool. He moved to present post of Professor of Chemistry at the University of
Western Ontario in 1978. He has published numerous research papers on aspects of the
organometallic chemistry of platinum, gold and lead. Among other publications, he is author of
The Chemistry of Gold (1978).

Recent extensions in the applications of gold have stimulated research in gold chemistry. New
oxidation states of gold have been discovered and whole new classes of gold compounds
prepared and studied. This article reviews some of these advances, though many have been
omitted either through lack of space or because they are difficult to describe in nontechnical
terms.

Metallic gold has been treasured by man from antiquity for its beauty, rarity, and material value.
Traditionally, gold has been the basic material used in jewelry and coinage and it is still hoarded
in vast quantities as an insurance against inflation and a form of investment. It is the most noble
of the metallic elements: it is, for example, the only metal that is not attacked by oxygen or
sulphur at any temperature. Many of the applications of gold rely on its low chemical reactivity.

Although the nobility of gold has practical advantages, it causes problems to the chemist
studying the properties of its compounds. It is often necessary to prepare gold compounds at low
temperature and in the absence of light to prevent thermal or photochemical decomposition.
Another problem in studying gold chemistry is its cost, and this has undoubtedly also been
responsible for restricting the use of gold and its compounds in industry. However, gold is less
expensive than elements like platinum, iridium, and osmium which have found a greater variety
of practical applications.

The uses of gold based on its physical and chemical properties rather than its decorative value
are increasing rapidly.

Other areas of interest are the use of gold compounds in medicine, particularly in'chrysotherapy'
(the treatment of arthritis by gold compounds) and in catalysis. It is most desirable to understand
the chemistry involved so that intelligent design of more effective and less toxic gold drugs or
more reactive and selective catalysts can be undertaken.

For all these reasons there has recently been a great increase in interest in gold chemistry, and
several reviews and a monograph on gold chemistry have been published as a result.
Occurrence and properties of gold metal

The average concentration of gold in the Earth's crust is only about 4 parts per billion and
concentration by a factor of about one thousand is necessary before economic extraction is
feasible. Chemists and geochemists have been interested in how the necessary concentration of
gold has occurred in nature, and the currently accepted theories are outlined below.

The world's greatest gold fields are in South Africa, where metallic gold occurs as thin veins in
quartz rocks. It is thought that the concentration has occurred as a result of hydrothermal
metamorphism. Thus at the high temperature and pressure produced when hot volcanic rock is
buried, or when a hot granite intrusion rises near the Earth's crust, gold is expected to dissolve by
reactions of the type:

2Au + 3/202 + 8HCl==2H(AuCl4) + 3H20 As the solution moves away from the hot zone and
cools, the concentration of HCl and 02 would be expected to decrease rapidly and gold should be
redeposited in a more concentrated form. It is no coincidence that gold often occurs in volcanic
regions controlled by major fault zones.

Interestingly, some micro-organisms isolated from gold bearing deposits have the ability to
dissolve gold enzymatically and this gives another mechanism by which concentrated deposits of
gold may be formed.

In most of its compounds gold has oxidation state (I) or (III). For example, reaction of gold with
chlorine can give AuCl or AuCl3, depending on the reaction conditions. It has been known for
many years that gold (I) compounds usually have linear stereochemistry and gold (III)
compounds square planar stereo-chemistry. To achieve these stereochemistries AuCl
polymerizes and AuCl3 dimerizes to give the structures shown in Figure 1.

There have been several reports over the years of a gold (II) chloride, but all were found to be
false. A black solid of formula AUCl2 - isolated by reaction of AuCl3 with a deficiency of carbon
monoxide - seemed to be an exception. However, the structure of this compound shows it to be a
tetramer Au4Cl8, with equal numbers of linear gold (I) and square planar gold (III) centers. It is,
therefore, not a true gold (II) compound. There are many other examples of apparent gold (II)
compounds
pounds which are actually mixed gold (I) - gold (III) derivatives.

Not all gold compounds have the linear or square planar structures and some examples of three
and four coordinate gold (I) complexes have been prepared recently. Some example, are in
Figure 2.

Gold clusters and gold-metal bonds

Gold has a remarkably high ability to form bonds to itself and to other metals, and many
compounds containing two or more metal atoms have been prepared. Gold clusters contain from
two to eleven gold atoms and the average formal oxidation state of gold may vary from + 1 to +
0.27. The higher clusters have a structure which resembles a small section of metallic gold
surrounded by other groups.

Organogold compounds and catalysis

Gold was one of the first transition metals from which stable organometallic compounds were
prepared, but for many years the area was neglected. Recent years have seen a transformation
and many new compounds and reactions have been found. Compounds with a-bonds, such as
alkylgold and arylgold compounds, were the first to be prepared and very interesting compounds
of this type are now known. Carbene complexes of gold and compounds with olefins and
acetylenes have also been prepared and characterized in recent years.

A strong incentive to research in this area to understand the mechanics of catalysis by transition
These reactions are often to involve organometallic intermediates. Also reactions of three general
types - called respectively oxidative addition, insertion, and reductive elimination - are thought
to be of major significance in catalysis. Organogold compounds display all these reaction types,
as shown below, and so should be able to act as a catalyst.

Oxidative addition (Me = methyl):

Several examples are now known of catalysis by gold compounds. These include oxidation of
acetylene to glyoxal; olefins to epoxides; and cyclopropanes to oxidation products. Alkenes can
be hydrogenated using gold compounds as catalysts and acrylonitrile may be dimerised to
adiponitrile. Isocyanides and alcohols react to give formamidines via carbene complexes of gold.
Gold compounds are often used to modify the properties of other catalysts.

Gold metal is not usually regarded as a good catalyst, in contrast to its neighbor platinum in the
Periodic Table. Indeed, it is often added to other noble metal catalysts to reduce their reactivity
and thereby improve the selectivity of reaction.
 Essentia
Volume 2 Spring 1981
 Editorial: Teachings and Teacher - Frater Albertus
Exemplar - Armand Barbault
Color and Sound - Gregory Sneddon
Hebrew Pronunciation - Israel Regardie
Know the Old to Appreciate the New - Isaac Newton's Seven Aphorisms on the Great Work
The Art of Distillation - Forward
Inquiry

Editorial
Teaching and Teacher

In our everyday language many words are given a synonymous meaning when actually there is a
differentiation in closely related words. As an example, the words "teaching" and "teacher" are
not the same in meaning. Teachings, that is what is to be conveyed as evidenced occurrences,
may be the result of many incidents formed into a conglomerate whole. The origin of each
segment or the entire concept originating with but one can even be so obscured that no trace of
identity will be found. Some such teachings may even be attributed to mythical beings. Whatever
any of the many different kinds of teachings, philosophical or otherwise, have to say, are subject
to interpretation or at least explanation by those who wish to acquaint themselves with such. If
self interpretation is not possible for lack of prerequisite knowledge of the subject under
question, this is where a teacher enters.

This is of a twofold nature as one may teach him or herself or look for help in one who has a
knowledge of a teaching under consideration. Even here a further separation becomes necessary
as one who has the knowledge and is in a position to convey it unto others usually does so as an
avocation or calling or filling such position because of the knowledge to be dispensed to others.
The aspect of the personal life of a teacher is separate and should not be considered synonymous
with the work performed. If a Jewish teacher expounds teachings in a Christian school this does
not require him to become a Christian. It would be perhaps better if a Christian would be
teaching in such an institution, but the one of Jewish faith may nevertheless be a better teacher.
Too many people associate teachings and teacher as inseparable. A church or religion may have
the highest moral and spiritual standards which do not become obsolete or invalid because a
member or teacher thereof does not comply with them in his or her personal life. The ideal state
would be when the teachings, teacher and personal life of a teacher are in as close a harmony as
possible. History has shown that these are the exceptional cases and not the average.

Another aspect deserves attention, namely, teachings are subject to alterations in the course of
time. This may be the outcome of either additional knowledge added unto them or those
interpreting teachings not having the grounding in the fundamental concepts and attempting to
insert their own opinions foreign to the original.

It becomes even increasingly difficult to discover any discrepancies when no access to such
foundation is available. At best, what is presently to be had, needs to be investigated and
subjected to scrutiny, if it is what one is searching for. Any explanation by teachers, likewise,
needs to be checked so that personal opinions can be separated from what was originally meant
before attempts are made to analyze them in a different light. Much suffering, both mental and
physical, has been the result of such personal interpretations. The results of teachings, when the
theory can be practically demonstrated, are the best evidence that can be had. In only too many
instances are theoretical expoundations - especially so-called psychic experiences - so personal,
that repetitions on a practical level become almost impossible. As soon as tangible evidence is to
be had physical phenomena are evident, whereas psychic, soul or mental functions are not
subject to physical manifestations unless exercised in such a state as a matter of proof to one's
self only, in contrast to physical experiences by many. Teachings manifest both within and
without and can teach us per se, if one is a properly attuned recipient. If not, then the teacher
enters to assist the one to be taught with what is not known and understood by him. The effect
and result of any teaching, with or without the help of a teacher, depends on the sincerity of the
inquirer when applying them to his daily life.

Armand Barbault

Armand Barbault with his son and PRS students at his home in France.

When we as a group of students of the former Paracelsus Research Society visited for the first
time with Armand Barbault at his home in France, it became apparent at once that there was a
man, or rather a family of man, wife and son, who were dedicated to their work. Emphasizing the
practical aspects of laboratory alchemy and taking them literally from the Liber Mundus, it was
the earth per se, or the soil as found on the ground that was used to free from it what was to be of
therapeutic importance. To have personally seen him explaining diligently the entire procedures
of his work beginning with collecting the dew, mixing it with the soil (earth) and baking it on his
specially built oven for final extraction and adding some gold to it, to bring it into his Elixir, was
most interesting. When he and his wife and son took me upstairs in his home to show me
privately some of the glassware he had made up for him and already mounted on the grid, to be
used for a special procedure to obtain his alchemistical results that he had hoped to come up
with, it revealed his intentions to enter into the mineral world. His work up to then was strictly of
an organic nature, but realizing that greater potencies were to be found in the mineral world per
se, did let him visualize some other experiments that he had not pursued up to this time.
Actually other attempts have been made by scientists to derive important substances from the
earth, literally known as rare earths, which indicates that not commonly found substances only
were to be used but those that proved to be the mineral contents of rare elements. In Barbault's
simple approach, as former alchemists had demonstrated, it was shown by him that such rare
elements could be freed from the soil, though very large amounts of raw materials were needed
to come up with comparatively small quantities of the very constituents that made up his
alchemistical preparations. One may also question if his results were strictly alchemistical as the
spagyric process was not always followed as alchemists would indicate. However, the great
merit belongs to Armand Barbault that he advocated he alchemistical way in his laboratory to
produce what he did.

How versatile Barbault was is indicated when he made the changes that became necessary when
the gold he had added to his Elixir became too expensive.

Neil Powell in his Alchemy, the Ancient Science describes Barbault's Vegetable Gold:"

"Armand Barbault regards this liquor as the alchemists' elixir, and calls it vegetable gold. It
seems, in fact, to be a typical homeopathic remedy effective in microscopic doses. Dr. Ruth
Jensen-Hillringhaus of Freiburg, Germany claimed to have used it to cure a woman paralyzed by
multiple sclerosis. Another doctor tried several drops of the elixir each morning and reported a
marked reduction in tiredness, increase in initiative, and improved urination. Others reported
miracle cures of uremia and syphilis. Barbault, who found it too expensive to continue adding
gold to his liquors, was last reported to be employing the 'Blood of the Green Lion' - extracted
vegetable sap.

The ever intriguing alchemistical secrecy and romance in the old volumes with their picturesque
illustrations gave rise to many ideas of those who dared to enter into alchemy. Undoubtedly
Barbault was one of those daring souls who made every effort possible to him to get hold of the
concept of alchemy and what better source could be taken to begin with than the very virgin
earth where both the organic and inorganic substances are found that have curative effects upon
the ailments of man and beast.

It takes people like Armand Barbault and his family that keep up a tradition as old as the earth is
itself, as our own earth is living evidence of the workings of alchemy or evolution.

Color and Sound

Gregory Sneddon

Often through our various senses, we receive impressions that bring the pleasure of nature's
harmony into our thoughts. At other times we are aware that man has intervened in nature's
processes to produce something by art, which to our highly evolved senses seems to rival even
the best nature can display of beauty and harmony. We become aware at such times of man's
wonderful ability to bring seemingly unrelated elements into harmonic balance, and receive a
glimpse into a world where everything exists in conscious sympathetic attunement to everything
else.

When we listen to a piece of music that seems to strike a beautiful chord somewhere inside us, or
view a painting that simply glows with harmonic awareness well executed, we probably do not
spare much time to contemplate the wonderfully intricate combination of vibrations that our
sensors make it possible for us to perceive. We tend to appreciate the relationship between the
parts of something, by an awareness of the harmony or dissonance of the whole. This ability
enables us to say "what a beautiful house!" instead of "analysis has proven that this collection of
building materials exhibits certain elements of harmonic proportion."

While this ability to instinctively appreciate the beauty of true harmony has an important role to
play in evolution, a more analytical understanding of the laws involved can be most useful. This
is especially so if we wish to create works of art where each part exists in true harmony, not only
with the other part of that particular whole, but with the universe within which the creator and
the created exist.

Everything vibrates. From the most dense matter to the most subtle cosmic rays, everything
which our senses allow our thoughts to become aware of, can be specified in terms of
wavelength or frequency of vibration. These two terms define the same thing, but from different
points of view. (See Illustration 1)

The following are the approximate wavelengths of various energy carriers:

Cosmic rays 0.000,000,001 mm

Gamma rays 0.000,000,1 mm
X rays 0.000,500 mm
Ultraviolet rays 0.003 mm
Visible light 0.006 mm
Infrared 0.01 mm
Sound waves 1 meter
Radio waves 300 meters

Violet light 400 nm to 450 rim

Blue light 450 nm to 500 rim
Green light 500 nm to 570 rim
Yellow light 570 nm to 590 nm
Orange light 590 nm to 610 nm
Red light 610 to 700 nm

1 nanometer (nm) = 0.000,000,1 cm = 1/10,000,000 cm

If a guitar string is plucked and we hear a sound, it is not too difficult for the human mind to
associate this sound with the vibration of the guitar string. With color it is quite different. It is
difficult for us to conceive that the color of a substance is not an inherent property of the
substance itself, but an indication picked up by our senses of that substance's ability to absorb or
reflect the light which happens to be shining on it at that moment. Neither the matter nor the light
is colored. What happens is that the brain learns to differentiate between the frequencies
reflected or transmitted by the substance the eyes are focused on. The same thing happens with
sound. When we say "Oh! listen, they're playing my favorite song," what we really mean is: "my
brain has stored within it a particular pattern of frequencies. I have compared the new
information being received with this stored pattern and have deduced the answer that the two
patterns are similar within certain specified tolerances." The 'pleasure' involved could have
something to do with our running the pre-recorded pattern at the same time, in 'sympathy' with
the new pattern as it is received.

The word sympathy describes very well our ability to appreciate color and sound. It also
describes the reason behind certain elements of harmony. For instance, if a substance vibrating at
100 cycles per second (tone 1) is in the proximity of another substance vibrating at 200 cycles
per second (tone 2), we could perceive, if we had the right equipment, a certain sympathetic
relationship between the two. If our equipment was a wave form plotter, we may have a drawing
like illustration 2.

We will see from this that there is a uniform doubling of the first tone seen in the second. At
various points along the waves, the two are the same in amplitude. At other points they are at
opposite poles to each other. This doubled frequency has more points of similarity to the original
than any other frequency except the original itself. If the equipment we had available for
measuring these two frequencies was a sound board amplifier and a pair of ears, then we would
hear what would sound to us like one tone. If we had the opportunity to hear one at a time, we
would hear that although they sound the same, one is higher in pitch than the other. This
characteristic of 'the same but different in pitch', musicians have called the octave. Any two tones
produced where one has exactly doubled the frequency of the other is called an octave. Speaking
in ratios, an octave would appear then as the ratio 2:1 or 1:2, depending whether we are talking
of an octave up or down.

A single note produced by almost any instrument will contain more than one wavelength or
frequency. It will have a dominant frequency, the wavelength of which we would call the note's
'fundamental' or 1st harmonic. It will also have a varying number of upper harmonics, gradually
fading in intensity into infinity or silence.

Natural harmonics always have the same pattern of intervals between them. The interval between
the 1st and 2nd harmonic is a perfect octave; between the 2nd and 3rd a perfect fifth; between the
3rd and 4th a perfect 4th; and so on, the intervals becoming smaller and smaller until they lose
any relationship with the western 12 tone scale as it exists at the moment. Just as an octave has
certain elements of sympathy with its fundamental, so some intervals have been noted to be more
perfectly in sympathy with the fundamental than others. The ratio of the 'perfect 5th' or interval
of 7 semitones, as it occurs in the harmonic series, is 3:2 or 2:3, while that of the 'perfect fourth"
is 4:3 or 3:4. All the tones in the western 12 tone scale can be expressed in terms of the ratio
between the upper tone and its fundamental. This would seem to be an ideal way of generating a
scale from any given fundamental and several attempts have been made to do this, the
Pythagorean system being probably the most well known. Although when working with a single
tone instrument playing on its own, the Pythagorean formula works wonderfully well, if we had
several instruments tuned this way together and asked them to play almost any western music,
we would find that at times they sounded quite out of tune to each other.

The lack of flexibility of the various scale systems based on the harmonic series has led to what
is known as the 'tempered' scale. This uses as its primary unit of interval the ratio of the octave or
2:1. It then proceeds to divide the interval between any fundamental and its upper octave into 12
smaller intervals by applying the ratio: two to the one-twelfth power, to one (21/12:1). This equals
1.059463094, so by multiplying any frequency by this number, we will obtain the tempered
semitone next up from our fundamental. We will also find that any tone twelve semitones up
from any other tone, in a scale generated in this way, will have exactly double the frequency.

If we took the note middle C on a piano and halved the wavelength, we would have the note C
one octave above. If we halved this, we would have the C above, and so on. However, within
about 6 octaves, we would find that although a 'sound' was being produced, no human ear could
perceive it. If we kept on going, halving and producing upper octaves of our fundamental C, we
would proceed through the infrared band, into the visible light spectrum. If we happened to be
outside during the day, we would, for one octave only, see the note C with our eyes. The next
octave above would already be in the ultraviolet band, and outside the eye's sensitivity range. If
we can think of color as being an indication of a substance's vibratory rate or wavelength, we
may begin to see a relationship that could exist between the color and sound spectrums.

The logical extension of what has so far been said is that there exists a scale in the color
spectrum that coresponds exactly to the scale in the sound spectrum, each color tone being an
octave of the equivalent note in the sound range.
This is not the end of the story but only the beginning. If we can for the moment accept that any
wavelength in one band has upper and lower octave stretching out to infinity, then tne next
question is 'fine, but what shall we use as our fundamental? A particular color? A particular
sound frequency?' The musicians among us will probably say 'A 440'. This means that the note A
should vibrate at 440 Hertz, or 440 times per second. They would tell us that this is standard
pitch has been adopted by most orchestras around the world; pianos are tuned to it, instruments
are constructed to formulas based on it, and so to them it would probably seem the most
appropriate place to begin. Some of these musicians may know of the battle that is still raging
with regards to this being the standard, but few would know why A = 440 Hz was chosen except
that it werned when it was set to be a suitable compromise between the many different pitches in
use at the time.

There is also a scientific standard of pitch of C= 512 Hz which, although not in common use in
nusic, has a lot of theoretical followers, as it is generated from the lower octave of C = 1 cycle
per second and has certain advantages of numerical simplicity in mathematical research.

A scale built upon either of these standards will yield an upper octave scale in the color
spectrum. However, with the A = 440 Hz scale, we end up with a color series which, although
interesting, is hard to relate to any color system or set of values in current use. The C = 512 Hz
system, on the other hand, seems a more obvious choice at first sight, having 12 definite color
tones and containing the strongest and most pure colors in the spectrum.

Further research showed that there were still things not quite right with this system, and has led
to a modified version in which correspondences with other systems seemed to fit into place. Of
course the proof of the pudding is in the eating and before being accepted this system will need
further research to substantiate the correspondences and prove its value to mankind. What
follows is a summary of the process used in drawing up this modified scale.

The upper octave color of a fundamental of one cycle per second is found to be exactly emerald
green, which is recognized as having a wavelength of 511 nanometers (this is at 20o in air). 511
nm is also the color of malachite, or hydrous carbonate of copper occurring as a mineral. It
would seem reasonable, given the teachings in the QBL, to associate this with the planet Venus.
If we take 1 Hz or its upper octave 512 Hz as our fundamental, then build a scale upon it using
our tempered scale 'formula', we will have the following 12 color tones:

723 nm = infrared
682 nm = deep red
644 nm = orange red
608 nm = orange
574 nm = yellow
541 nm = yellow green
511 nm = emerald green
482 rim = green blue
455 nm = royal blue
430 nm = indigo
406 nm = violet
383 nm = ultraviolet

There are certain immediate correspondences that become apparent between some of these colors
and our teachings in Parachemistry. The yellow here is the color of chromate lead and zinc
yellow, the most 'yellow yellow', for want of a better description, to be found in the spectrum. It
seems rather logical, if we follow the Queen scale of color, to call this the Sun, or Vulcan,
depending on which system we choose to look at. The orange here is exactly the frequency of
sulphide of mercury or cinnabar. It would seem appropriate to relate this to the planet Mercury
on the tree of life. If we then call the deepest red in our scale Mars and the Royal Blue Jupiter we
find a pattern beginning to form. The ultraviolet here is outside our range of color vision and
would appear black to us. If we call this Saturn, as Saturn is described as either black or violet,
then we have six tones out of the twelve named.

If we can accept for the moment that what we are looking for is a color-scale based on the
western 7-tone scale (the white notes on a piano), and we look at what we have already, we will
find that the six tones we have placed form a major scale starting from the Sun or Vulcan and
what better place to start?), with the exception of one space left empty. This is the color
commonly called violet, and seems to beg to be named the Moon or the Earth (depending which
tree of life we work with).

We now have a Major Scale which, matches the Queen Scale of Color uncommonly well, but we
still have 5 unnamed color tones and 5 planets without a home. Of the seven planets already
placed, five are said to have polar correspondence to the outer planets. This can be seen on the
new tree of life as being Mercury to Uranus, Venus to Neptune, Mars to Pluto, Jupiter to Adonis,
and Saturn to Chronos.

If we name the note one semitone down from each inner planet the corresponding outer planet,
we can easily place the outer planets, whilst automatically excluding Vulcan and the Earth which
have each other as polar opposites. (See front cover.)
If we choose to keep the inner planets as 'white notes' and the outer planets as 'flats' as has been
done here, we have a musical scale in the sound spectrum, which is approximately two and one-
half semitones lower in pitch than the accepted A = 440 Hz scale. We could, for practical
purposes, tune our instruments to A = 430.54 Hz and transpose our planetary relationships
accordingly. A piano tuned like this would appear as in Illustration 3.

Strangely enough, this gives the standard pitch of C = 512 Hz, which is what we started out with.

At first sight there seems to be little rhyme or reason to this system, but a closer look will reveal
some interesting correspondences:
Distance in Semitones from Vulcan
Mercury ... one down (-)
Venus ... two up (+)
Mars ... three down (-)
Jupiter ... four up (+
Saturn ... five down (-)

Distance in Semitones from Earth

Uranus ... five up (+)
Neptune ... four down (-)
Pluto ... three up (+)
Adonis ... two down (-)
Chronos ... one up (+)

If the new tree of life is considered, the same order will be observed as in the above. (See
Illustration 4.)

Illustration 4
Many correspondences will be observed if the foregoing system is studied and worked with, but
eventually the only proof can be in its benefit or lack of it, to all concerned.

Hebrew Pronunciation

Israel Regardie

Some months ago a noted occult writer wrote me a letter asking why it was that the Hebrew
pronunciation given in my book A Garden of Pomegranates differed radically from almost every
other contemporary Qabalistic writer. When answering him, it had been my intention to assert
that the explanations had already been given. When, however, I proceeded to examine the book
anew, I found that this had been carelessly omitted.

My reply took a page and a half to clarify the issue. In order to eliminate possible repetitions of
this expenditure of time and effort, let me offer the following.

I can best begin by asserting that no matter where or by whom spoken, English is English. The
accents used, for example, in the North of England are entirely different from those employed in
Kent or Sussex in the South of England. The English of Wales sounds strangely melodious
compared to that of Surrey or Northampton. All however are English.

Much the same is true in the United States. The accent of an inhabitant of Maine is entirely
different from one who lives in Alabama or Georgia. All speak that variety of English we know
as American. Which one is correct?

Let me say that there is no standard or fixed accent which is accepted universally as
authoritative. I fancy much the same is true of every other anguage. Northern and Southern
Italian vary in many ways. So also in Germany, France and elsewhere. Accents and dialects are
integral parts of the linguistic process.

This is true also in Hebrew which is part of the magical language of what has come to be called
the Western esoteric tradition. There are two main streams of Hebrew pronunciation called the
Ashkenazic relating to North Europe, England and the United States, and the Sephardic spoken
in the Mediterranean and Levantine areas. The history of these two streams is really irrelevant to
this essay. Anyone interested can do a little research in a good encyclopedia.

The Mediterranean area, as we know historically, achieved a higher level of cultural

development far earlier than did Northern Europe. Much of the Qabalistic literature had its
origins in Spain where there was a fascinating merger of Christian, Arabic and Hebrew
mysticisms in pre-Zoharic times, as well as in the Levantine area as a whole. The obvious result
of this cultural superiority was that the spoken Hebrew had a Sephardic accent. When the
literature came to be translated by later scholars and Christian Qabalists, the translations or better
still transliterations took on the Sephardic flavor.
Much later in the 18th century, when there was a revival of Jewish mysticism called Chassidism,
in Central Europe and Poland and Russia, the Ashkenazic accent or dialect was employed.
Regardless of how popular Chassidism became, English translators persisted on the whole in
using the Sephardic dialect, which is interesting because Baal Shem, the founder of what became
the Chassidic movement, obviously used Ashkenazic Hebrew. It seems, however, that the
Sephardic dialect and the whole Qabalistic literary corpus were intimately bound together, so
that very few could conceive that there was any other way of transliterating Hebrew. This
persisted right up to modern times. S. L. Mathers in his Kaballah Unveiled, Arthur E. Waite in
all of his Qabalistic writings, and Frater Albertus in one of the early Alchemical Bulletins,
amongst many other distinguished writers, all used the Sephardic dialect.

It so happened that when I began my interest in the Qabalah in my midteens, I wanted to be able
to translate some of the important books and manuscripts that yet remained to be rendered into
English. The head of the Semitic Division of the Library of Congress whom I came to know in
those days - I must have made myself a young nuisance to him requesting information about
Qabalistic texts in English - recommended that I get a tutor from whom I could learn Hebrew. As
a result I had a year's intensive training in Hebrew from a young man attending George
Washington University in Washington, D.C., where I then lived.

Many years later, when I had learned to manipulate letters and numbers (Gematria) with some
dexterity, I found that on occasion the Ashkenazic transliterations were far more useful and
illuminating than the Sephardic, as I demonstrated in The Garden of Pomegranates. Various
people to whom I spoke as a very young man showed not the least interest, so I kept my counsel
to myself.

A large number of personal notes and quotations from various authorities gradually accumulated
over the course of years. In 1931, while I was in a London literary environment, serving as a
secretary to first one and then another novelist and author, I was encouraged to put my ideas in
book form. I did so. It became The Garden of Pomegranates published by Riders a long time
ago. I had hoped that the use of the Ashkenazic dialect which had solved a number of gematria
problems for me, would attract some attention from other students and authorities and be used
constructively in other texts. No such thing happened. Since that book was written in the early
1930s, I have seen my Ashkenazic transliterations used only three or four times at most. I was
disappointed, I must confess, so that in later writings I dropped it, returning to the more
conventional spelling and transliteration of the Hebrew alphabet and Qabalistic terms.

When the State of Israel declared its independence in 1947, with Hebrew as its official language,
naturally the Sephardic dialect was used since Palestine was part of the Levantine area. That
confirmed my decision to drop the Ashkenazic style of transliteration.

It must not be supposed however that every Jewish community in Europe or the United States
has dropped the Ashkenazic dialect by any manner or means. It is still used. But if you went to
the State of Israel, your Ashkenazic dialect will hardly be understood, any more than you could
make heads or tails out of the Sephardic dialect if you happened to be an Ashkenazi.
It is rather as if someone born and bred in Northumberland or Yorkshire could make much sense
out of the Cockney accent used in parts of London. Some Australians have a version of the
Cockney accent, with all its colloquialisms, that makes them rather hard to understand at first.
But, never let it be forgotten, they are all speaking English - in much the same way that anyone
speaking the Ashkenazic dialect or the Sephardic dialect is speaking or reading Hebrew.

This is the core of the Hebrew language problem of the Qabalah in the simplest possible terms.
So when I have used "Bes" or "Ches" or "Tes" I am referring to the same letters as "Beth,"
"Cheth," or "Teth". Keser and Tipharas and Malkus are no other than Kether and Tiphareth and
Malkuth and so on and so forth.

I still suggest that the student of QBL - as Frater Achad and Frater Albertus choose to term the
subject matter - learn both dialects. He may find one more useful than another in certain specific
areas. When he wishes to discover the numerology or Gematria of his name, for whatever reason
he may have in mind, he may get much further by the use of one rather than the other, and
achieve his objectives more readily.

Israel Regardie

Know the Old to Appreciate the New

Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton is primarily known as the scientist who discovered the law of gravity. It was
not gravity per se, for that was evident since times immemorable, but it was the law underlying
this cause and effect that brought him fame. Little is known about his alchemical investigations
and his laboratory attempts. The reason for this may well be his association with what was
known then as the scientific elite that frowned upon alchemistical pursuits. Nevertheless,
sufficient evidence is available to show his keen interest as his Seven Brief Aphorisms on the
Great Work of Alchemy indicate. Only a thorough study of the Great Work and its detailed
procedures could produce such a summary for him. In the Keynes MS49 at the King College
Cambridge is the original.

Sir Isaac Newton's

Seven Brief Aphorisms
On the Great Work of Alchemy*

The Regimen

Aphorism 1
The work consists of two parts the first of which is called the gross work & by many imbibitions
& putrefactions purges the matter from its gross feces & exalts in highly in vertue & then
whitens it.
 Aph 2
The second part also putrifies the matter by several imbibitions & thereby purges it from the few
remaining feces & exalts it much higher in virtue & then whitens it. For the two parts of the work
resemble one another & have the same linear process.

Aph 3
The putrefaction of your second work lasts about five months & is done by seven imbibitions or
at most by 9 or 10, & for promoting the putrefaction the spirit is drawn of at the end of every
imbibition & digestion.

Aph 4
In both works the Sun & Moon are joyned & bathed & putrefied in their proper menstruum and
in the second work by this conjunction they beget the young king whose birth is in a white colour
& ends the second work unless you shall think fit to decoct one half of it to the red.

Aph 5
The feces which in the second work are separated by ye putrefactions when the Putrefactions are
over & the matter relents into white water, fall to the bottom of the water & must be separated.

Aph 6
The young new born king is nourished in a bigger heat with milk drawn by distillation from the
putrefied matter of the second work. With this milk he must be imbibed seven times to putrefy
him sufficiently & then decocted to the white and red, and in passing to the red he must be
imbibed once or twice with a little red oyle to fortify the solary nature & make the red stone
more fluxible. And this may be called the third work. The first Work goes on no further than to
putrefaction the second goes on to the white and the third to the red.

Aph 7
The white & red sulphurs are multiplied by their proper mercuries (white & red) of the second or
third work, wherein a little of the fixt salt is dissolved.

*Keynes MS49, Kings College, Cambridge. The above is quoted in B. J. T. Dobbs, "Newton's
Copy of Secrets Reveal'd and the Regimens of the Work." Ambix, Vol. 26, Part 3, 145-169,
1979.

The Art of Distillation

John French 1651

FORWARD

By Frater Albertus

The Art of Distillation is indeed an unusual book, insofar as it represents a compilation of

various formulas and experiments diligently gathered by a lover of the spagyric arts in an easy to
follow manner. The reader should bear in mind that such information is at times very sketchy
and cannot be taken verbatim in every instance, as much needs to be added to some statements
that are made.

Let us take a sample to explain what is meant. On Page 50 it reads, "Oil of Tartar per Deliquium,
(i.e.) by Dissolution: Take of the best tartar calcined white according to art. Put it into a cotton
bag, and hang it in the cellar or some moist place, putting under it a receiver."

This would be misleading to one not sufficiently instructed in preliminary alchemistical

procedures. The outcome of the above experiment would yield nothing else but a dissolved
potassium carbonate. It is not oil of tartar as the alchemist knows, which is not mentioned here.
This is brought to the reader's attention here at the very beginning in order to avoid
disappointment to any who may page casually through the book.

Another important fact should not be overlooked. It is not necessary to duplicate the instruments
shown in nearly all the drawings in order to bring about the results for which these instruments
were constructed. Most of the experiments and modes of preparation can be performed more
safely with modern laboratory equipment. However, the pictures are most revealing when one
considers the relatively primitive method of the construction of these instruments compared to
present day standards, but above all that these former alchemists, pharmacists, and chemists were
able to produce what in our days are still difficult things to come by, in spite of our advanced
knowledge in technology and chemistry.

Last, but not least, those who treasure old books, and especially their alchemistical or spagyric
texts, will find in The Art of Distillation a most welcome addition to those textbooks that give
practical directions, of which there are very few on the market today. Most books of such a
nature tell us what others have been able to accomplish previously, but not how they were able to
do it. This book will help to lighten this task considerably, especially for the novice who will
enter into practical experimentation in his own makeshift laboratory.

Reading alone, without attempting any practical work, will prove most interesting to most
because of the insight the text provides into a period of time when man, being closer to nature
than he is presently, did accomplish considerable feats in the preparation of remedies we know
very little about today. A greater appreciation of the know-how of what went on centuries ago
could open wider vistas, even in our sophisticated research programs that have not yielded as yet
many things of importance in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical fields that were known
many generations ago.

Is it indifference, carelessness, or is it sheer ignorance that has prevented modern science from
seeing what it failed to recognize because things were only looked at? Nothing had been seen
that waits to be rediscovered only by eyes that penetrate more deeply than the sight of those who
claim that there is nothing to be seen.

The old saying, "There are none so blind as those who cannot see", may take on a different slant
and, above all, a deeper meaning for those who make attempts to see what is presently not seen.
Undoubtedly, this book on distillation does provide us with spectacles that may fit some to see
even better.
- Frater Albertus

Inquiry

1. In a recent class a tincture of ammonium chloride was made which tended to green in color.
We were told this is superior to a more red tincture. In nature, unripe fruit is green and ripe fruit
changes to yellow, etc. Can these be reconciled?

A. What about watermelons, spinach, apples, pears, etc.? This green state is obtained from a
yellow to orange sublimate showing, in your way of thinking, "ripe" colors.

2. As the moon has considerable effect on fluids and antimony is supposed to remove "bad
humors" from the body, is it best to take antimony tincture with the phases of the moon to remove
toxic substances; for example, fixed tincture with waxing moon and unfixed tincture with the
waning moon?

A. This is a matter of great importance. Unfortunately not enough evidence is on hand because of
insufficient testing in a scientific way and not enough antimonial tinctures available to the
therapeutic practitioners.

3. Rudolf Steiner, when asked about a vegetarian diet in comparison to a carnivorous one,
answered that man as he evolves should spend less energy digesting food, and rather save it for
"spiritual" activities. Do you agree that a vegetarian diet is a natural progression on the
evolutionary path?

A. Yes.

4. Is "primum ens" of a substance equivalent to the "quintessence" of the substance?

A. In most instances, yes.

5. The laboratory aspect of these courses is to demonstrate the laws involved in alchemy. You
mentioned in passing that all of these laws are encompassed in one law. What is this one law?

A. Evolution.

6. If we were to take the egg white and ferment it, would it yield a spirit?

A. If you can ferment, it will yield a spirit. Any fermentation frees spirit.

7. If spirit of wine is unfixed and vinegar of wine is fixed, what is ether and acetone?
A. Not fixed.

8. If acetone is made by pouring acetic acid over calcium carbonate which gives calcium acetate
and acetone, could we deduce that acetone is a fixed or unfixed Mercury or Sulphur of calcium
or calcium carbonate?

A. It is unfixed but leaves a fixed salt behind (calcium acetate).

9. Is acetone the true vinegar of the sages?

A. No.

10. If we wear clothes of a certain color, does one absorb the energy of that color, or does it
reflect the same energy away?

A. It absorbs what is needed and gives off its excess.

11. Is the so-called Philosophical Mercury that people often make from commercial lead acetate
the true living Philosophical Mercury?

A. It can be made from it, but it is not usually obtained at first.

12. Am I correct in believing that it is God who speaks and that is heard sometimes as the "still
quiet voice"? Which God is this that speaks in this way to us individually? The God that is the
ONE that is IT and ALL, or is it the intelligence of the planet Earth or the intelligence of the
Sun?

A. It has been said that God can even speak through a child, which means that when av perser.
becomes conscious of what is conveyed and "gets" that inner rapport which is unmistakably
different from what one imagines or forms an image thereof, that consciousness from a source
different than found in the recipient is evident. There is but One all-encompassing consciousness
which is realized through different ones and which is expressed or made known by different
ways and means. God can "speak" through or with anything by infusing a different state of
consciousness from that which is generally prevailing.

13. What role do color, sound and shape play in manual laboratory work?

A. All three are of great importance. Just look at the feature article in this issue and see the color
plate on the cover. You will begin to get involved into such dimensions that the average person
does not even dream about.

14. If one uses Acetone of the Wise to extract an oil from an oxide of a metal and there is no
carbon available, how can an oil be extracted?

A. The metal actually is the catalyst that transmutes the acetone into an oil just like lead or
mercury is by the catalytic action of transmuting powder changed.
15. Was Amo an alchemist and why choose his story to read? What connection does he have to
the Paracelsus College or to you?

A. Yes, he was an alchemist as any initiate is. Why his life story was chosen to be to some in
class was because it explained that such thorough schooling is possible.

16. What is the difference between "being awakened" and becoming a "conscious assistant"?

A. One has to either awaken by himself or have someone by sound or touch be brought to a state
of awakening. One can only assist in any way or manner when one knows or is conscious of
what is going on.

Essentia
Volume 2 Summer 1981
 Exemplar- Dr A. K. Bhattacharya
Circulatum Minus of Urbigerus - Prof. M. M. Junius
Hermetic Cabala in the Monas Hieroglyphica and the Mosaicall Philosophy - M. T. Walton
The Calendar, The Seasons and The Sidereal Zodiac - S. Marshall
Inquiry

Our Cover Photographs

In the Prima (first) class at Paracelsus College instruction is given on how create a herbal stone, a
reunification of separated and purified elements from the vegetable kingdom which is so evolved
that, without extensive laboratory processes, it will separate another herb into its alchemical
components. The body of the herb drops to the bottom while the alchemical sulphur and mercury
rise to the top. This issue of Essentia contains an article on how make an evolved solution which,
like the solidified stone, can accomplish this separation.

The top photograph in the cover series shows how the oil of Chamomille floats on the surface of
the "wet work" after the separation. The bottom left photo shows the Chamomille in a test tube in
the process of being separated. The bottom central photo shows an early stage in the separation
of Hibiscus with the layer of oil beginning to form on the top. (Unfortunately, a slide provided
by Professor Junius which showed a later stage in this Hibiscus separation was too dark for
reproduction here,) The remaining slide shows the separation of rose petals in the liquid "stone."

To the best of our knowledge these are historic photographs. We are not aware that any other
photographs have ever been published showing the operation of an herbal stone or the wet work.

Dr. A. K. Bhattacharya
The Ayurvedic healing arts are one of the greatest, but least known, assets of ancient Indian
civilization. The Ayurveda, which is best translated as "Science of Life," is a practical system of
medicine having eight important divisions. These cover therapeutics, surgery, toxicology,
psychiatric knowledge, pediatrics and pregnancy, rejuvenation of worn out bodily tissue,
knowledge for increasing virility, and a section which relates to diseases of the eye, ear, nose,
mouth, throat, etc.

Ayurvedic medicine flows from, and is totally integrated with, the ancient Vedic philosophy
which postulates that the world of matter can only be understood and dealt with in connection
with subtler levels of existence. The Ayurvedic medical practice, therefore, pays great attention
to the way that the elements of air, fire and water interact with the "earth" of the human body
according to ancient concepts of the law of polarity.

Modern Western civilization knows very little about Ayurveda. Only two of the classic texts on
Ayurvedic medicine have ever been translated into English and there are but a handful of English
commentaries available, mostly in libraries as they are out of print. Not having sufficient
information, and lacking the background to deal with its philosophy, the medical profession in
the West has tended to view Ayurvedic medicine as a mass of primitive superstitions. The Indian
Doctor we are honoring in this space has done much to overcome this unwarranted prejudice.

It is true, however, that the West has been influenced by Ayurvedic medicine without
appreciating the source. The better known system of Chinese acupuncture with its notion of five
dynamic forces (or elements) and its practice of pulse diagnosis has obvious similarities with,
and foundations in, the Ayurvedic tradition. Many schol ars believe the Ayurvedic pre-dates and
has influenced the Chinese system. Also Tibetan medicine, which Western doctors are now
studying with great interest because of its effectiveness in healing, openly admits that its origins
are to be found in the Ayurveda.
Some historians even claim that Western medicine unknowingly adopted some Ayurvedic
practices during the Middle Ages, and not the best ones at that or with full understanding. These
specialists say that during the so-called Dark Ages, scholars associated with the Unani medical
system of the Middle East translated Ayurvedic texts into Arabic. When these scientific works
were re-translated into Latin, starting in the 11th century, they played an important role in
establishing the conceptions and practice of modern medicine.

However, one contemporary Indian Doctor has made tireless efforts to consciously bring to light
and to the Western world the essentials of the ancient Ayurvedic healing arts. His name is Dr.
Amiya Kumara Bhattacharya. He was born on May 11, 1926, in Baroda, Gujarat State in India,
the son of the famed physician Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, Ph.D., and Shrimati Labanya Maya
Devi.

Dr. Bhattacharya's father, Benoytosh, was his primary teacher laying the foundation for his son's
education in Ayurveda and modern homeopathy. (Homeopathy is still a major and respected
tradition in India, as it is in Great Britain, although in the United States it has almost vanished
due to the prejudices of the American Medical Association). Out of the developing collaboration
between father and son came a number of books which demonstrate that the Ayurvedic system
can shed much light on modern experiments involving healing with magnets, healing at a
distance with radionic techniques, and new methods of combining the potentized substances used
in homeopathic medicines.

For example, in his book Tridosha and Homeopathy, Dr. Bhattacharya opens up a whole new
approach for modern medicine as he discusses how the elements of air (v, for Vaya), fire (p, for
Pitta), and water (k, for Kapha) are each dominant in certain medicinal preparations and can be
used, therefore, to overcome faults in corresponding aspects of the human body. "Tridosha"
translates as "three faults" and the Ayurvedic physician is concerned with dynamically balancing
these three subtle elements in the living organism instead of merely overcoming the symptoms of
disease. (Those familiar with the curriculum of Paracelsus College will recall perhaps that the
P,V,K factors spoken of by Dr. Bhattacharya are useful considerations when doing the herbal
work.)

Dr. Bhattacharya's books on healing with magnets give detailed procedures which show how the
polarity of magnets can be used to influence the polarity of the life source. While giving full
credit to the work of many others involved in magnetic healing, and even coauthoring a work
with the American researcher Albert Roy Davis, Dr. Bhattacharya makes unique contributions in
this area.

Dr. Bhattacharya passed his Doctor of Medical Science examination at Baroda College in 1949.
He started his homeopathic practice in Baroda in 1950 and moved thereafter to Naihati in West
Bengal. In 1954 he married Shrimati Manasi Devi. They have one daughter, Tapasi. At Naihati
he started a charitable dispensary at Shastri Villa. A recent letter from Dr. Bhattacharya reveals
that last year almost 16,000 persons were given free consultations and medication at this clinic.

Among the books in which Dr. Bhattacharya explores the relationship between ancient and
modern science are: Power in a Magnet to Heal; Magnet Dowsing; Gem Therapy; Magnet and
Magnetic Fields, or Healing by Magnets; Septenate Mixtures in Homeopathy; Tridosha
Homeopathy; and The Science of Cosmic Rays or Teletherapy. Many of these books are
available through the Publication Department of Paracelsus College.

Dr. Bhattacharya is a member of the Liga Medicarum Homeopathica Internationalis and

President of the World Teletherapy Association.

In the repeated associations of Frater Albertus, President of Paracelsus College, with Dr.
Bhattacharya at the Ashram in Naihati, Frater has personally observed the Doctor and his staff
assisting the afflicted and impoverished with useful homeopathic remedic. while making
extensive use of gem therapy and other effective methods rarely practiced in the Western World.

Persons like Dr. Bhattacharya deserve all the support possible, both financial and moral, to
continue their unselfish work among humankind.
- Frater Albertus and Art Kunkin

The Circulatum Minus of Urbigerus

Professor Manfred M. Junius

Only a small section of classical alchemical literature is dedicated to the Lesser Work, the Opus
Minor, consisting of the alchemical work in the Plant Kingdom.

This may seem surprising as the two ways of the Opus Minor (Via Sicca: the "dry way" leading
to Stones; and Via Umida: the "wet way" leading to Circulata) are not only very suitable
preparation excercises for the ways of the Opus Major, but their results are of great value in the
Art of Healing. For example, Johannes Isaac Hollandus in his Opera Vegetabilia says: "Thus, my
child, I have taught you to make the Vegetable Stone, which is the best among all the three
Stones.1"

The practicant of the Opus Minor becomes acquainted with alchemical concepts and practice. He
learns the Encheria (handwork, craft technology) and, if he works with sincerity and devotion, he
is rewarded with either the Plant Stone in case he desires a result of fixed (solid) consistency, or
with the Circulatum Minus if he prefers a liquid result of truly spectacular nature.

The first number of Essentia in the Spring of 1980 reported on some of the different ways of
making the Plant Stone. The present paper is dedicated to the Circulatum Minus, the Liquid
Stone.

In 1690 there appeared a remarkable treatise on the Circulatum Minus by Baron Urbigerus,
which was printed by Henry Fairborne in London. In 1691 there followed a German edition
printed by Johann Caspar Birckner at Erfurth. This was followed by a reprint in Hamburg in
1705. The original English title is: "Circulatum Minus Urbigeranum, or the Philosophical Elixir
of Vegetables with The Three Certain Ways of Preparing it, fully and clearly set forth in One and
Thirty Aphorisms by Baron Urbigerus, a Servant of God in the Kingdom of Nature."

The German title speaks of "Three other ways of preparing the Vegetable Elixir based on
personal experience."

The attachment of his own name to the Circulatum Minus is an evidence that the Baron looked
upon the three ways of preparing it as original and entirely his own.

The actual text consists of a dedication to all sincere souls and lovers of Hermetic Philosophy, a
copper plate, the thirty-one aphorisms and an appendix which is a commentary on the copper
plate.

It is suggested that readers procure themselves the text of Urbigerus, if possible the edition by
Frater Albertus2.This contains Frater's own valuable commentary as well as Urbigerus aphorisms
regarding the making of the Grand Elixir.

In what follows, it is presumed that readers are familiar with the Art of Separation in the Plant
Kingdom although we will take care to define certain commonly used procedures.

What is a Circulatum?

Circulation, according to the German alchemist Andreas Libavius 1555-1616), means the
"Exaltation improvement, uplifting) of a liquor liquid) through a continuous dissolution and
coagulation in the Pelican circulation vessel) with heat as the agent (energy)."3

Circulation therefore is an improvement of liquid substances, which are continuously brought

from the liquid to the gaseous state and then returned to the liquid state. Various operations come
together in the Art of Circulating, which may include Digestion, Sublimation, Distillation and
Cohobation.

Digestion

Digestion means a ripening in mild digestive warmth, through which a substance is made to
actualize and yield its inherent forces. Maceration in mildly warm temperature may also be
called Digestion. Through Digestion thick liquids become subtle, their crude state is modified
and that which is opaque becomes transparent. The impure, which settles at the bottom, may then
be separated.

The substance to be digested is enclosed in a suitable container, which is then put into an oven or
upon some suitable heating equipment. In hot climates Digestion in the Sun is also practiced.
The old masters often digested in horse dung. The time required for Digestion may involve a few
days, a Philosophical Month (forty days and nights) or even longer.

Specially suitable for Digestion is the so-called Pelican.

 The Pelican, with two necks for continuous distillation, took its name from the bird.

The substance is put into this container, ideally filling about two thirds of the lower half. The
Pelican is set into horse dung up to its "waist line" (or it may be placed upon some suitable
heating equipment). A thermostatically controlled sand bath or ash does very well. The liquid
evaporates into the upper portion of the Pelican where it codenses again because of the lower
outside temperature; it then flows back through the arms and along the walls.

The modern alchemist may use a suitable reflux system (a boiling flask with a condensor
mounted on top), or even a soxhlet extractor. If the equipment can be thermostatically regulated
it can be left without attentance for considerable time.

It is important that there is sufficient space for expansion in the upper part of the reflux system.
The oment of expansion which is followed by contraction is the main cause of the Exaltation of
the liquid. The following sketches suggest suitable equipment for Circulation.

A Soxhlet extractor (left) or an adapter with a Kjeldahl Trap can be used for circulation.

Sublimation takes place when an extract is driven upwards into the sublime (upper) part of a
container and precipitates there.

DistiIlation is used principally to separate volatile from non-volatile substances. Through heat
the more volatile liquids are driven out in the form of vapors. In a special cooling system known
as a condenser they are recondensed into liquids which are then collected in a special receiver. In
this way solid substances can be separated from liquid ones, or two liquids from each other if
these have different boiling points and the temperature can be controlled adequately. Continued
refining through Distillation is called Rectification.

Rotation and Cohobation

Closely related to Circulation are Rotation and Cohobation, the second term often used instead of
Circulation.

Rotation means boiling a liquid for a certain period in a reflux system. The heat is then switched
off and the conents allowed to cool. After this it is reheated and again allowed to cool, this cycle
continuing as needed. A Rotation is basically a rhythmical Circulation.

Cohobation means a series of successive Distillations of a solvent over the substance or

substances which have been dissolved in it. After each Distillation the Distillate is reunited with
the residue which remained in the boiling flask, and the Distillation is repeated. According to
alchemical concepts this process leads to a loosening of the structure of certain materials, each
time the solvent taking with itself a little more of the solids which thus become volatile. (The
Alchemist is little interested in the fact that this may involve certain chemical changes in the
original substances, since substances in Alchemy can appear in many forms.)

The technique of Cohobation is very frequently used in alchemical work and Urbigerus also
proposes it for his Circulatum Minus as the actual Circulation. (See aphorisms XIV and XV)

The Retort, a long necked apparatus resembling a wild goose, was used for gentle
distillation and cohobation.

Before we dedicate ourselves in detail to the process of making the Circulatum Minus we should
know that the term is also used in Alchemy as a general term for the alchemical work in the Plant
Kingdom. The term, in the wider sense, may also stand for a number of preparations such as the
"Temperatum," the "Aqua Solvens" of Paracelsus, the "Secret Spiritus Vini of Raimundus Lullus
and the Adepts," the "Aqua Mercurialis," the "Spiritus Mercuri Universalis," and others.

We shall now come to the actual preparation of the Circulatum Minus of Urbigerus. Relevant
text portions are quoted.

I.
"Our Circulatum minus is only a specificated Elixir, belonging to the Vegetable Kingdom,
by which without fire, or farther Preparation of the Vegetables, we can in a Moment
extract their true Essence, containing their Virtue, Quality and Property, which is a great
Chymical Curiosity, performing wonders in the Practice of Physick, and in demonstrating
some Works of Nature."

II.

"We call it Circulatum, because tho never so often used in any Extraction, or Chymical
Experiment what-ever, it loses nothing of its Quality, or Property: which is a Prerogative,
pertaining to the Universal Elixir, called also the Circulatum Majus, because it commands
in all the three Kingdoms of Nature; whilst this, being restrained to one only Kingdom, is
for that reason stil'd Minus."

"We differentiate between the Circulatum Majus and the Circulatum Minus. The latter is
an Elixir which can perform in the Plant Kingdom what the Circulatum Majus achieves in
all the three Kingdoms Plant Kingdom, Mineral Kingdom and Animal Kingdom): the
Separation of the Three Essentials, Sulphur, Mercury and Salt, of a Mixtum.4"

It is true that the Circulatum Minus, if correctly and well prepared, does not lose anything of its
vigor even after repeated use. A Circulatum, which the present author made in his laboratory a
number of years ago, still separates instantly any fresh plant immersed in it into its Essentials.

III.

"Out of Diana's undetermined Tears, when Apollo has appeared, after the Separation of
the three Elements, Determination, Digestion and glorious Resurrection, we can, without
the Addition of any other created thing, prepare this our determined Elixir: Which is the
first, noblest, and secretest way of the Philosophers."

The "Tears of Diana" is the Mercury, the undetermined or pure ethyl alcohol, i.e., ethyl alcohol
which has not yet been specified by adding any mineral salts to it (fixed Earth).
 The original title page of the Urbigerus pamphlet on the wet work showing the copper
engraving which provides a visual key to the laboratory operations
See : Golden Manuscripts: Circulatum Urbigerus for larger graphic.

"When Apollo has appeared" after the volatile Sulphur, i.e., the essential oil, has been extracted
from the plant species, for instance through steam distillation. The appearance of Apollo, the
distillation of the essential oils, is always the first step in Separation.

Urbigerus states that the Separation of a species into its Three Essentials (here called the
Elements) is necessary for the work. The Mercury is then determined by adding the other
purified substances, i.e., the Salt and the fixed and the unfixed Sulphur. This is followed by
digestion and subsequent Distillations. In this way we can prepare the Circulatum Minus out of
one thing without any addition. Urbigerus considers this to be the noblest way of preparation.

IV.

"The Determination of our Diana's Tears consists only in their perfect and indissoluble Union
with the fixt Vegetable Earth, philosophically prepared, purified, and spiritualized: for the love
of which they are forced to leave their first universal undetermined Property, and be clothed with
a determined particular one, which is required for our Circulatum Minus."

Urbigerus tells us clearly what he means by Determination of Diana's Tears. But the Salt from
the plant body (fixt Vegetable Earth) must be prepared alchemically, i.e., correctly calcined,
purified and spiritualized: made volatile). By this procedure, their nature is changed.

V.
"Our second way of preparing this our Vegetable Elixir is by a right Manipulation of a
Plant of the noblest Degree, standing by itself or supported by others: after the Preparation
of which, and its Putrefaction, Reduction into an Oil, Separation of the three Principles,
with their Purification, Union, and Spiritualization, the whole is to be turned into a
spiritual ever-living Fountain, renewing every Plant that shall be plunged into it."

Urbigerus refers to the Vine. During the so-called Opus Vini, the Work with the Wine, there
comes a stage where the practicant may choose between a volatile liquid result or a fixed result, a
Stone. For the "Reduction into an Oil" the reader may also refer to Glauberus Concentratus,5and
to the Opera Vegetabilia of Hollandus.1 This procedure would be too lengthy to be described
here, so we shall concentrate on the first and the third way of making the Circulatum.

VI.

The third and common way is only a Conjunction of a fixt Vegetable Salt with its own
volatile sulphureous Spirit, both to be found ready prepared by any vulgar Chymist, and
since in their Preparation the purest Sulphur, containing the Soul, has suffered some
Detriment by their not being philosophically manipulated, they cannot be inseparably
joined without a sulphureous Medium, by which the Soul being strengthened, the Body and
Spirit are also through it made capable of a perfect Union."

The conjunction of a fixed vegetable salt (obtained from the plant body through Calcination and
subsequent extraction and purification) with its own sulphureous spirit serves for the preparation.
The volatile sulphureous spirit is an alcoholic essence distilled from a plant. ("Sulphureous
Spirit" always means an alcoholic distillate which contains the essential oil, the volatile Sulphur
of the species.)

These aromatic alcoholates were frequently sold by chemists and a number of treatises on the Art
of Distillation refer to them. The famous "Water of Carmelite" and the "Water of Elizabeth of
Hungary" are compound examples of these. However, these "Waters" or sulphureous spirits are
distillates. Therefore they lack the fixed part of the Sulphur which, because of its nonvolatile
nature, could not be distilled and therefore was discarded. From the alchemical point of view this
fractionation is unphilosophical, since the fixed part of the Sulphur contains the other part of the
Soul. (We shall see later that the organic acids it contains are the key to the secret of volatilizing
the Salts.)

Since the organic acids present in the distillate do not suffice for the operation, more have to be
added from outside. In this way the Sulphur is strengthened and acts as a catalyst in bringing
together the Body and the Spirit, the Salt and the Mercury.

In the following aphorism Urbigerous tells us what this sulphureous matter is and from where we
can obtain it.

VII.
"The proper Medium, requisite for the indissoluble Union of these two Subjects, is only a
sulphureous and bituminous Matter, issuing out of a Plant, living or dead, which is to be
found in several parts of the World, and is known to all manner of Men (the Copavian we
find to be the best, and after that the Italian), by which, after it has been separated from its
feculent parts through our Universal Menstruum, all the Pores and Atoms of the fixt Salt,
which is extremely fortified by it, being dilated, it is made capable of Receiving its own
Spirit and uniting itself with it."

Urbigerus clearly refers to resins. These are complex mixtures of mainly aromatic substances
with properties of acids, further alcohols, phenols, strongly unsaturated substances. Resins are
closely related to terpenes. We obtain resins by injuring certain trees, mainly pines, firs, larch
trees and a number of exotic species. A special variety of resin is amber. The German text of
Urbigerus contains a decisive sentence: "und von allen Arten derer Meerfischen (Meerfischern)
erkandt wird" [and is recognized by all kinds of sea fish (sea fishermen)]. This obvious reference
to amber put the author on the right track. (Succinic acid, which amber contains, is a marvellous
catalyst.)

Volatile spirits were distilled through vessels with slender necks resembling the ostrich.

But Urbigerus himself tells us which kinds of resins he considers particularly suitable for the
operation. First the Copavian (i.e., Copaiva Balsam obtained from Copaiva Balsama). Next to
this he recommends the "Italian" resin, taken from the characteristic Italian pines abundantly
found in the country. The pine is often mentioned in Italian poetry and even in music (Ottorino
Respighi: I Pini di Roma). This resin has to be purified from its feculent parts by water. The best
method of purification would be a proper distillation. Le Febure in his work Chymischer
Handleiter describes this process as follows:6

"The resin is to be pulverized and mixed with three parts of pulverized bricks and one part of
common salt which has previously been completely dried by heating. The whole is then given
into a retort and distilled constantly increasing the temperature. Some of the oily distillate can bc
used as it is. The distillate can also be rectified by adding once more three parts of common salt
and by distilling again."

The easiest procedure for us is to buy readily clarified resins, such as Copaiva Balsam (balsams
are mixture resins and etheric oils, partly with aromatic acids) or Canada Balsam, of the North
American Abies Balsamica), which peaking, a turpentine. It contains about 24 percent of
essential oil 60 percent of resin soluble in alcohol and 16 percent of resin soluble in ether.
The author experimented with resins while making his Circulata. Because of the excellent results
obtained with Canada Balsam he would like to recommend this to his companions in the Art.
Canada Balsam is used in microscopy and is available in highly purified condition. Whatever
resinous matter you decide to use, make sure that it is natural and not fragmented. Natural
Canada Balsam is easily available, although certainly not the cheapest

If you carefully look at the copper plate you may observe that there is a hole in the tree, from
which resins flow. In fact, the river into which Apollo and Diana have to step is resinous. Notice
that Diana comes out of the river on the other side with Apollo's Sun in her hand; they have
become one being.

VIII.

"To fortify the Sulphur, and open the Pores of the Salt, no other Method is to be used, but
to imbibe the same with the bituminous Matter in a moderately digestive Heat, as if one
would hatch Chickens, and as the Salt grows dry, the Imbibitions are to be repeated, until
you find it fully saturated that it refuses to imbibe any more of the Matter."

"To fortify the Sulphur:" this indicates that the Salt and the Sulphur have already been put
together. We now add of the resinous matter, imbibing our mixture of Salt and (volatile) Sulphur
with it. The whole is then exposed to moderate heat (digested). The imbibition is repeated
whenever the matter becomes dry.

Before adding the resinous matter, the practicant stands at a crossroad. He can choose at this
point whether he wants to take the dry or the wet way. In the first case the Salts of the fixed part
of the Sulphur obtained by Calcination would be added. These would not volatilize the Salt of
the body, and the result will be a Stone. (Frater Albertus has described the process in his
commentary to Urbigerus in aphorism VIII.)

IX.

"In the Course of Imbibitions the whole Mass is at least nine or ten times a day to be
stirred with a Spatula, or some other Instrument of dry Wood, by which reiterated Motion,
the bituminous Matter receives a better ingress into the Body, and perfects the Operation
sooner."

X.

"Great care is to be taken, that in the performance of the Imbibitions, no kind of Soil or
Dust fall into your Matter, for the prevention of which your Vessel may be kept covered
with a Paper, prickt full of holes, or any other suitable Covering, and that nothing come
near it, which has its own internal Sulphur: for the Pores of the Salt being very much
dilated and opened, it may easily determine itself to any other Subject, and so spoil your
Undertaking."
Since at this stage we already operate with highly purified substances, care must be taken that no
impurities spoil the work. The author has obtained good results with entirely closed and rather
large flasks. Periodically the flasks were opened for some time to allow for fresh air. They were
then closed again. The danger of contamination is reduced considerably by working in a closed
oven (incubator).

XI

"If in three, or four Weeks time at the farthest, your fixt Vegetable Salt does not manifest
its full Saturation, it will certainly he in vain for you to go any farther with it: for you may
assure yourself, that you either err in the Notion of the Salt or the real sulphureous
Medium, or in the Management of the Imbibitions."

XII.

"When your Imbibitions are fully performed, your Salt will then be in a convenient
readiness to receive its own Spirit, by which it is made volatile, spiritual, transparent, and
wonderfully penetrating, entering of a sudden into the Pores and Particles of every
Vegetable, and separating in a moment their true Essence of the Elements."

If everything has gone well, we can now pour on the Mercury, i.e., the rectified ethyl alcohol.

XIII.

"Altho the Salt is fully prepared for the Reception of its own Spirit, yet unless you well
observe the right Proportion of them (which is, that the volatil always predominate over
the fixt) you will never be able to make any perfect Union between these two Subjects,
contrary in Quality, though not in Nature."

The alcohol must dominate in proportion over the fixed. The author has achieved good results by
a proportion of 6:1 or even 8:1.

XIV.

"Before you begin your Distillations and Cohobations, after the Addition of the Vegetable
Spirit to its own Salt, a Putrefaction of eight or ten days is to precede, during which time,
the sulphureous Spirit, strengthened by the bituminous Matter, and finding the Salt fit for
Conjunction with it, has the power to enter into its Pores, to facilitate its Volatilization, and
Union."

During this "Putrefaction" which nothing else but a further Digestion, there is a change in color
and the Salt appears almost like some slime. The strengthened Sulphur and the Spirit now act
upon the Salt, beginning to make it volatile. After this we begin our Distillations.

XV
If after six or seven Distillations and Cohobations of the distilled upon the Remainder, you
do not find your Spirit to be extremely sharp, and the Remainder in the bottom altogether
insipid, it will be an evident Sign that you fail in the true knowledge of the Vegetable Spirit,
which, being exceedingly volatil, has in Nature power to volatilize its own Body, and unite
itself inseparably with it, finding it capable of its Reception."

The Distillations are to be carried in the water bath. Between Distillations and after Cohobations
(when the distillate has been poured over the residue), an occasional period of Digestion is
useful. After seven Distillations you will find your distillate to have a characteristically very
penetrant odor and a corrosive taste.

XVI.

"It is to be observed, that in the Progress of your Distillations the sulphureous Medium do
not in the least ascend: for as it is a real Medium, concurring to unite the Body with the
Spirit, before the Spiritualization of the Body, and without the Concurrence of which no
perfect Union of these two Subjects is to be expected; so on the contrary in the Progress of
the Work its Concurrence would be highly disadvantageous to them both, and totally
subvert the Operation."

To avoid this we make all our Distillations in the water bath. If the temperature would be too
high the result would also rather be a fixation the volatile parts on the Salt instead of a
volatilization. Careful slow distillation is needed in all attempts volatilization.

The Alembic, resembling a dancing bear, was used for distillation.

XVII.

"The ascending of the sulphureous Medium, when the Spirit begins to carry over its own
Body, to unite itself inseparably with it, evidently and certainly signifies, that you do not
regulate your Fire, as you should, and that, instead of giving a gentle vaporous Heat to
facilitate the Union, you give a violent one to destroy it."

XVIII.

"When your Salt is brought to its perfect Spiritualization, and real Union with its own
volatile Spirit, then you will have in your power your Circulatum Minus, or Vegetable
Elixir, and Menstruum, with which you will be able to perform wonders in the Vegetable
Kingdom, separating in a moment not only their Principles or Elements, but also at one
and the same Operation the Pure from the Impure."

If you have worked correctly you will now have made the Circulatum Minus according to the
third way. At the same time you now understand the first way, since all you have to do is to
prepare it from the same plant species from which you took your resinous matter, for instance
from pines or firs. You can extract your resinous matter from small branches of Pine or Fir by
steam distillation. This is how natural turpentines are obtained. For the rest you proceed as
above.

In the following aphorisms Urbigerus informs us what the Circulatum can do.

XIX.

"If into this your Vegetable Elixir you put any green Vegetable, shred in pieces, it will in
less than half a quarter of an hour without any external Heat putrefy, and precipitate itself
into the bottom quite dead, which is nothing but the cursed Ecremental Earth) and on the
Top will swim a yellow Oil, containing the Salt and Sulphur, and the Elixir will be of the
Color of the Plant, comprehending its Vegetable Spirit: which if it does not, this a sign, that
your Operations have not been Philosophical."

When you immerse a freshly cut green plant, for instance a leaf or two of Peppermint, you will
first notice that the liquid becomes milky and even totally opaque. This is the sign of an
emulsion. If you allow it to stand for some time, the tiny oil drops will gradually ascend to the
surface and finally form a layer of yellow oil. This oil contains the Salt and the Sulphur of the
species immersed in the Circulatum.

The author's experience has shown that the color of the oil varies from species to species. (See
cover photographs.)

In the next aphorism Urbigerus tells us about the therapeutic value of this oil.

XX

"One only drop of this yellowish oil, given in Distempers according to the Virtue and
Quality, attributed to the Plant, every Morning and Evening in a Glass of Wine, or any
other convenient Vehicle, will infallibly and insensibly cure those Distempers, corroborate
the vital Spirits, if constantly taken to purify the Blood in sickly and infectious Times."

Aphorisms XXI - XXIV tell us about further use of the Circulatum Minus. It will extract the
tincture from corals (XXI); it serves for making the Elixir Proprietatis if equal quantities of
Myrrh, Aloe and Saffron are immersed in it (XXII). It also dissolves all kinds of Gums, Oils and
Balsams, separating their Essence (XXIII). It also extracts the tincture from a number of metals
and minerals (XXIV).
Aphorism XXV finally tells us that we can recover the Circulatum after use through gentle
distillation, so that we may use it again when required.

References

1. Hollandus, Opera Vegetabilis, Vienna 1773, Chapter 40.

2. Frater Albertus' Golden Manuscripts: Circulatum Urbigerus, Para Publishing Co., Inc. Salt
Lake City, Utah, 1973.
3. Andreas Libavius, Alchemie, 1597. Reprint Weinheim, 1964.
4. Mixtum: species in which the Essentials are mixed. For instance, a plant species.
5. Glauberus Concentratus, Leipzig and Breslau, 1715. Reprint Ulm, 1961, p. 9.
6. Le Febure, Neuvermehrter Chymischer Handleiter, Nurnberg, 1685, p. 566.

Hermetic Cabala in the Monas Hieroglyphica and the

Mosaicall Philosophy*
Michael T. Walton

The word Cabala appears frequently in sixteenth and seventeenth century Hermetic writings.
Though Hermetic philosophers apparently attached significance to Cabala, the nature of the
relationship to Hermeticism is largely an unexplored area. It is the purpose of this paper to
investigate two Hermetic treatises, one by John Dee and one by Robert Fludd, and the Hermetic
Cabala found in them.

The words Hermetic Cabala may seem unfamiliar as non-Jewish Cabala in Europe is often titled
Christian Cabala. The difference between Christian and Hermetic Cabala is, in this writer's mind,
one of purpose. Christian cabalists like Johannes Reuchlin and William Postel used Cabala as a
weapon to bolster Christian theology whereas Hermetic cabalists like John Dee and Robert Fludd
approached Cabala as a tool to be applied in understanding nature.

In both Christian and Hermetic Cabala two subdivisions existed which were derived from their
Jewish parent. One was practical Cabala or Cabala masith, a type of magic, and the other was
speculative Cabala or Cabala iunith. In the works to be discussed, neither Dee nor Fludd
concerned himself with feats of magic performed by means of practical Cabala. They used
Cabala, rather, to describe nature. It is to the methods and cosmology of speculative Cabala that
one must turn to understand the cabalistic ideas found in the Monas Hieroglyphica (Antwerp,
1564) and the Mosaicall Philosophy (London, 1659). The following discussion of Cabala will
limit itself, therefore, to the methodological and cosmological idea's of speculative Cabala.

Within the narrow limits prescribed above, it is hoped that the important question of why
Cabala was adopted by Hermeticists will be answered in part.1 The subjects of this study
were chosen because they illustrate two different applications of Hermetic Cabala. John
Dee was enamored of the mathematical ideas of Neo-platonism. In his Monas
Hieroglyphica, he approached Cabala as a means of explaining the cosmos in terms of
geometrical symbols. Robert Fludd, though influenced by mathematics, was a physician
and practicing alchemist. Cabala was applied by him in the Mosaicall Philosophy to
validate a scientific view of the world primarily based on an alchemical interpretation of
the Bible.2 It will be seen that Cabala had within it concepts which were adaptable to each
approach.

Robert Fludd's interpretation of the traditional Sephirothic Tree of Life.

The Hebrew word Cabala means tradition. Jewish cabalists believed that Moses received its
teachings from God. Unlike the law of Moses, Cabala was to be given only to a select circle of
adepts. Joshua and the seventy elders of Israel were said to be the original group. In truth Cabala
can only be traced to about the ninth century A.D. and the writing of the mystical treatise Sepher
Yezirah or Book of Formation.

Yezirah was incorrectly attributed to Akiva ben Joseph (fl. 130). Saadiah Gaon (d. 942), a
leading Talmudic scholar, wrote a commentary on Yezirah as did the famous Neo-platonist
Soloman ibn Gabirol, the Avencebrol of the Fons Vitae. The attention given to Yezirah by these
prominent scholars helped to establish it and its mystical views as important aspects of Judaism.
Yezirah contains ideas which became basic to Cabala. Besides being a standard text for Jewish
mystics, Yezirah influenced Christian cabalists. It was translated and published in Latin in 1552
by William Postel, a Christian. Two more Latin and several Hebrew editions appeared between
1562 and 1642.

Yezirah is a description of the formation of the universe. Numbers, letters and words, all aspects
of the Hebrew Alphabet, were the instruments of the formation. This alphabetic view of creation
became an integral part of later cabalistic works like the Sepher Bahir and the Zohar. Yezirah
was a source for the cabalistic belief in ten Divine emanations or Sephiroth. Each emanation in
Yezirah was equated with a letter of the alphabet and represented a step in the act of formation.
Later cabalists described theSephiroth as attributes of the supreme Deity giving them names like
wisdom and love.

The first Sephirah was the Spirit, Ruach, of the living God, Elohim.3 The source of this
emanation was later called the En Soph or boundless. The Ruach Elohim was the origin of three
lesser emanations, Air, Water and Fire, which were thought to correspond with the letters
Aleph, Mem and Shin. Six final Sephiroth arose in turn to complete the heavenly realm. They
were Light, Depth, East, West, North and South. The ten Sephiroth existed in a celestial world
and were eternal like their boundless beginning. Yezirah explains, "their end is in their beginning
and likewise their beginning is in their end ...."4

In its most developed form, Jewish cabalism taught that three other worlds, identical except in
their nearness to the En Soph, arose from the Sephirothic world: the Briatic world, the habitation
of the angel Metatron, the archetypal man; the Yetziratic world, the home of the angelic host; and
the Assiatic world, the realm of the spheres, of matter and the residence of the prince of darkness.

Cabala declared that man, an inhabitant of the lowest world, was the microcosmic image of the
archetypal man. The Zohar states, "The Heavenly Adam who emanated from the highest
primordial obscurity (the En Soph) created the Earthly Adam."5 Cabala's strong adherence to the
macrocosmal-microcosmal analogy is further developed in the Zohar. It compares the letters of
God's name, the Tetragrammaton (Yod Hay Waw Hay) to the major parts of the body; the Yod
represents the head, the Hay the arms and shoulders, the Waw the breast, and the final Hay, the
back and legs (fig. 1).6 This macrocosm-microcosm analogy and the idea of a dark world of
matter, it will be seen, were especially appealing to Fludd.

Cabala validated the alphabetic view of creation by equating the alphabet with physical reality.
The seven double letters of the Hebrew alphabet were shown to correspond to the seven days of
the week, the seven planets, the seven heavens and the seven gateways of the body. The twelve
simple Hebrew letters were found to be the source of the twelve zodiacal signs, the twelve
months and the twelve members of man.

Cabala was scientific in that the correspondence between the visible world and the letters used in
its formation was believed to be not just symbolic but actual. Cabalists were convinced that the
study of numbers, letters and words yielded the underlying realities of the heavens and of the
earth. This attitude was adopted by Christian and Hermetic cabalists.

The resemblance between the macrocosm-microcosm analogy of Cabala and ideas started by
Plato in the Timaeus and the Phaedrus gives an indication of why Cabala was acceptable to
Hermetic philosophers. Hermeticists as adherents of Neo-platonism would naturally seek out and
adopt compatible ideas. The Hermetic belief in the Neo-platonic macrocosm-microcosm doctrine
found an ally in Cabala.

Robert Fludd 1574-1637

There are also similarities between cabalistic concepts and the Pimander of the Hermetic corpus.
The Pimander relates that the divine Nous created the world by an emanation or Demiurge
brought forth by his word.

"But the divine Nous . . . existing as Life and Light brought forth by a word another Nous, the
Demiurge, who as god over the fire and the breath fashioned seven Governors who encompass
with their circles the sensible world . . ."7

The series of seven governors originating from a word is much like the Sephirothic doctrine of
Cabala. The idea of a decending order of creation from the celestial to the sensible world is also
paralleled in Cabala. In the Pimander, as in Cabala, the divine emanation is said to be reflected
in man. The macrocosmmicrocosm relationship is thus established.

The connection between the divine Nous, light and the creation found in the Pimander is of
importance, for the role of light is also stressed in Cabala. The Zohar supposes a view of creation
similar to that of Hermes when it says, "The most mysterious struck its void, and caused this
point (the first emanation) to shine."8 Cabala further teaches that man's soul is the image of the
macrocosm because it is composed of light. The phrase "in our image" refers to light, declares
the Zohar.9

In this writer's opinion, it is in the similarity between the doctrines of Cabala, Neo-
platonism and the Hermetic corpus that the reason for the rapid acceptance and wide
diffusion of Cabala in the Renaissance and early modern period is to be found. Cabala was
a tool with tremendous appeal for men like Dee and Fludd. Because Cabala claimed to
originate with Moses, an assertion also made for Neo-platonism and hermeticism, and
relied on the Holy Scriptures for its doctrines, it had the added recommendations of age
and divinity.

Up to this point Cabala has been examined from the standpoint of its cosmogony and cosmology.
Of equal importance are the methods by which cabalistic truths were wrested from Holy Writ.
The tradition which Cabala claimed to represent was one of teaching holy men the techniques
necessary for understanding the true and recondite meaning of the scriptures. Both Jewish and
Christian cabalists saw the true message of the scriptures as:

"Like a beautiful woman, concealed in the interior of her palace, who when her friend and
beloved passes by, opens for a moment a secret window and is seen by him alone, and then
withdraws herself immediately and disappears for a long time, so the doctrine only shows herself
to the chosen . . ."10

Three techniques were applied to discover the hidden woman: Notaricon, Tsiruf and Gematria.
Notaricon is the art of decomposing words found in the scriptures and using their letters as
abbreviations for other words or ideas. The notariconic method would interpret the letters of the
phrase B'reshith, in the beginning, to mean "in the beginning God saw that Israel would accept
the Law."

Tsiruf is the division and/or transposition of the parts or letters of a word into all possible
permutations so as to form other words. By applying Tsiruf, B'reshith is found to yield B're, he
created, Shith, six. The phrase he created six was used by cabalists to support the doctrine of the
Sephiroth.

Gematria is the technique of employing letters as numbers. A gematriatic example is Genesis

38:2 where the words "Lo three men stood by him", are found to have the numerical value of
701. The sum of the names Michael, Gabriel and Raphael is also 701. The conclusion is that they
must have been the three men.

Cabalistic methods of exegesis are not limited to Jewish theology. They can, in fact, be used to
prove almost anything from the scriptures. Christian scholars quickly recognized this fact and
adapted Cabala to Christian theology. Hermeticists did not remain ignorant of Cabala's
malleability. They used it to prove their mystical-religious theories of nature.

Before turning to Hermetic Cabala as developed by Dee and Fludd, it would be helpful to look at
the Christian Cabala of Johannes Reuchlin, an early popularizer of Cabala who greatly
influenced Fludd. Reuchlin is important because he recognized the harmony between Cabala and
Neoplatonism, explained Notaricon, Tsiruf and Gematria, and transmitted the cabalistic
cosmology in his widely circulated works.

In his first cabalistic treatise De Verbo Mirofico (Basel, 1494), Reuchlin identified the
Tetragrammaton as the true source of the Pythagorean tetrad. By comparing the tetrad with God's
name, Reuchlin demonstrated Greek philosophy's dependence on Cabala. The first letter of the
Tetragrammaton, Yod, has the appearance of a point so Reuchlin saw it, in the Pythagorean
sense, as the beginning and the end of all things. The second letter, Hay, numerically equal to
five, was the sum of the trinity's union with nature, the duad. The numerical value of the third
letter, Waw, is six. The number six was the symbol of perfection to the Pythagoreans. The last
letter, also a Hay, symbolized the human soul which was between heaven and earth as the
number five was in the decade. Reuchlin's belief that Cabala was the source of Greek philosophy
opened fruitful paths for its application to the explanation of philosophical and theological
doctrines.

John Dee 1527-1608

In addition to philosophical Cabala Reuchlin practiced a Christian oriented cabalistic spiritual

exegesis, an example of which was deriving the names Father, Spirit and Son from the letters of
the Hebrew verb he created.11 Reuchlin is valuable in understanding both Dee and Fludd. Dee
saw mathematical possibilities in Cabala as did Reuchlin. Fludd appears to have been directly
influenced by the cabalistic cosmology imparted by Reuchlin's works. His writings often cite
Reuchlin's De Arte Cabalistica (Hagenau, 1516). Reuchlin also provides a standard of Christian
Cabala against which the goals and usages of Hermetic Cabala can be measured.

II

In his "Mathematical Preface" to Euclid's Elements, John Dee cites Boethius that God created all
from number. He reasons that if all was derived from number, we can by means of mathematics:
". . . behold in the Glasse of creation the Form of Forms, the exemplar Number of all things
numerable both visible and invisible."12

Dee's view that nature originated from and can be discovered through mathematics is
representative of Renaissance Neoplatonism. His views are especially like those of Nicholas
of Cusa whom he quotes in the "Mathematical Preface." Cusa in Of Learned Ignorance
propounded the view that mathematics is a means by which God can be understood.13 Both
Dee and Cusa agreed that mathematics is a useful tool because it allows a comparison of
the finite with the infinite.

Dee saw mathematics as an intermediary between the natural and the supernatural. Mathematical
things were not as perfect as the ideal world but were also not as gross as the natural world.14 At
its highest level, Dee believed, mathematics leads to a knowledge of the formal or celestial world
of Platonism. It was Platonism's concentration on the ideal rather than on the practical that
accounted for its lack of popularity, said Dee.15

Dee translated Euclid's Elements as a preparation to lead people from practical mathematics back
to the true science of Plato, a science which discovered the nature of the universe.16 It was in an
attempt to explain the celestial realm and its order through mathematics that Dee made use of
Cabala in the Monas. He treated Cabala as an adjunct to mathematics. To him true Cabala was
mathematical rather than linguistic. In the Monas, he interpreted his monad by means of
Notaricon, Tsiruf and Gematria.

Dee believed the hieroglyphic monad to be a geometrical symbol in which the organization and
reality of the entire universe was represented and from which the whole of creation could be
derived. The role of the monad is analogous to that of the Hebrew alphabet in traditional Cabala.
The monad, said Dee, "imbued [the astronomical symbols] with immortal life" and allowed their
meaning to be expressed "most eloquently in any tongue and to any nation."17 The monad could
express all because the external bodies of the celestial sphere were reduced to "their mystical
proportions" in it.

Dee did not consider the monad to be his original discovery. It was, rather, a symbol based on
the alchemical sign for mercury sent to him by IEOVA, the Tetragrammaton, to rebuild and
restore astronomy. The monad was to be viewed as a new dispensation or restoration of a
preexistent art of writing which had become extinct. These points are made clear in the Monas'
"Preface to the King."

"Mercury may rightly be styled by us the rebuilder and restorer of all astronomy [and] an
astronomical messenger [who was sent to us] by our lEOVA so that we might either establish
this sacred art of writing as the first founders of a new discipline, or by his counsel renew one
that was entirely extinct . . ."18

It seems that Dee equated the monad or its component parts with the origin of alphabets. The
monad was, therefore, the ultimate source of alphabetical Cabala. He pointed out that the letters
of the Latins, Greeks and Hebrews, like the monad, were derived from points, straight lines and
the circumference of circles.19 Divine power was viewed by Dee as the source of the Hebrew
alphabet and the symbolism represented by its vowel signs and letters.20

A corollary to the view that alphabets originated in geometrical symbols was the idea that
alphabetical Cabala is inferior to mathematical Cabala. Cabala is most productive when applied
to deriving knowledge from mathematical symbols. Dee stated that the investigation of the
monad, like the investigation of the Hebrew letters, through Notaricon, Tsiruf and Gematria, is a
holy art.21

Dee's purpose was not only to understand the mysteries of visible and invisible things by
interpreting the monad with Cabala but also to demonstrate to the Jews, in a missionary
sense, that God is benevolent to all, i.e. he has endowed Christians with great wisdom.

". . . then (compelled by truth, if he may understand) he [the Jewish cabalist] will call this art
holy. too; and he will own that, without regard to person, the same most benevolent God is not
only of the Jews but of all peoples, nations and languages."22

It was, then, not without some religious zeal that Dee discussed Cabala with the Jews. The
Monas' Christian tone is especially obvious in the preface where Dee, like Reuchlin, states that
Cabala is not opposed to the Trinity.23 He viewed non-Jewish Cabala much like Reuchlin and
believed it to be the true Cabala, a point he hoped to make to the Jews. Dee was even more
precise than Reuchlin in his definition of true Cabala. He selected mathematical Cabala as the
highest means of knowing truth. Still Dee considered the alphabetic form to be important.

"... no mortal may excuse himself for being ignorant of this our holy language, [the cabalistic
interpretation of the monad] . . . (which) I have called the real cabala, or of that . . . other and
vulgar one, which rests on well known letters that can be written by man . . . "24

Real or mathematical Cabala "explains the most obtruse arts" and was used in the Monas as a
key to the universe. The Monas applies Cabala first as a geometrical form of Notaricon. Dee
describes each part of the monad as a symbol for a cosmic reality (fig. 2). This corresponds to
alphabetic Notaricon wherein each letter represents a word or concept.

Theorem One states that all things happen by means of a straight line and a circle. The monad
embodies this basic reality for it is made up of lines and circles. Theorem Three says that as a
circle is derived from a point and a line, Theorem Two, the circle and point of the monad
represent the geocentric universe. Because the sun is the highest perfection of the universe, the
circle and the point also represent it.

The use of Notaricon is extended to explain the monad's joining of a half circle to the solar
circle. The half circle represents the moon. The meaning is that on an evening and a day, the
duration of the creative period in Genesis, the light of philosophers was made. Two final
examples of notaraiconic interpretation are the rectilinear cross and the sign of Aries. The cross
represents the mystery of the four elements from which the world was made by the action of fire,
symbolized by Aries.
The technique of Tsiruf was used by Dee to derive the signs of the planets from the component
parts of the monad. As in alphabetical Cabala, Dee permuted the parts of the monad to form new
and meaningful symbols. Theorem Twelve states that the signs of the planets are derived from
the symbols of the moon, the sun and Aries. The accompanying diagram shows that Saturn can
be derived from the rectilinear cross with one half the symbol of Aries attached to the lower right
quadrant. The construction of Jupiter is said to be opposite to that of Saturn (fig. 3).

Theorem Thirteen deals with Venus and Mercury in a similar vein. Venus is made by attaching
the solar circle to the cross and Mercury is the same as Venus with the lunar half circle added
(fig. 4). The majesty of the sun and its relationship to the moon and the zodiacal signs are
demonstrated in Theorems Fourteen and Fifteen .

The word Tsiruf appears in Theorem Twenty-three as a precise term to describe the permutations
of the numbers which Dee associated with the monad.25 It is clear, however, that the derivation
of the planetary symbols from permutations of the monad is a correct general application of
Tsiruf.

John Dee used Gematria or numerical interpretation to a considerable extent in the Monas.
Numbers are derived from the monad in Theorems Sixteen to Twenty. Theorems Twenty-three
and the concluding Theorem Twenty-four, however, are the sections where the gematriatic
method is most clear and intelligible. The discussion centers on the rectilinear cross of the monad
and its relationship to the Pythagorean quaternary.

Using Tsiruf Dee determines that the numbers one, two, three and four have twenty-four possible
permutations. By means of a gematriatic interpretation, Dee links, in Theorem twenty-four, the
twenty-four permutations to the hours of the day; the six wings of the four Gospel beasts found
in the Apocalypse of John; and the twenty-four elders mentioned in the same Apocalypse. This
section is particularly worthy of reproduction as an example of Dee's application of the cabalistic
method.

"Thus we shall now at last, in this our twenty-fourth speculation, consummate and terminate the
permutations of the quaternary, to the honour and glory of Him who (as John . . . witnesses in the
fourth and last part of the fourth chapter of the Apocalypse) sits on the throne and around Whom
four animals (each having six wings) speak day and night; ... Whom also twenty-four elders, . . .
falling prostrate from twenty-four seats . . ., adore . . ."26

The Monas' mystical explanation of the universe gains intelligibility when approached from
the standpoint of Cabala. John Dee, as did the writers of Yezirah and the Zohar, explained
the universe in symbols which had reality to him. The monad cabalistically interpreted
served its function well of embodying all the symbols related to the universe. The lack of
Sephiroth and angelology in Dee's system indicates how "rational" and "mathematical" he
sought to make it. He used the cabalistic method but not the cabalistic cosmology.

The primary goal of the Monas seems to have been the symbolic quantification of the universe.
The religious aspects of the system should not be overlooked for God was recognized as the
source of truth and the origin of all things, the Form of Forms.
Dee's role in developing a mathematical form of Cabala which could be applied to nature seems
to have been recognized by contemporaries for his monad appears in Libavius' Commentariorum
Alchymiae (Frankfurt, no date) and in Steeb's Coleum Sephiroticum Mainz, 1679). Reuchlin's
theological Cabala which proved the superiority of Christianity is in marked contrast to Dee's
geometrical Cabala which discovered celestial relationships. Just how mathematical Dee's
cabalistic system is can be best appreciated when it is compared to Fludd's alchemical universe.

III

The Monas' description of the universe did not stress the macrocosmal-microcosmal
relationship or the material world. Dee's greatest interest seems to have lain in knowing the
celestial or formal world. Robert Fludd's emphasis in the Mosaicall Philosophy was quite
different. As a physician and alchemist, Fludd was occupied with matter and man. He
concerned himself with the celestial realm as it related to its material image. In the
Mosaicall Philosophy he sought to elucidate and apply knowledge gained from the Bible of
celestial influences to the material world and to the microcosm. It is through alchemy and
cabala that the Mosaicall Philosophy attempts to explore the connection between the
heavenly and the earthly worlds.

Fludd did not believe that alchemy was the only science that could describe the universe. Three
mystical sciences; Cabala, natural magic and alchemy, were capable of illuminating the creation.
The universe which these sciences were meant to explore consisted of three worlds: the
Intelligible, the Celestial and the Elementary. The Mosaicall Philosophy emphasizes the roles of
alchemy and Cabala in describing these worlds.27 The book develops the relationship between
the three mystical sciences, the three worlds of the macrocosm and the three corresponding parts
of man cabalistically.

"[Cabala, Natural Magic and Alchemy] . . . are the three mystical sciences, which are by wise
men appropriated into the knowledge of the three worlds; I mean, the Intelligible, the Celestial,
and Elementary, represented, according unto the Cabalists by these three Letters of the name of
Adam. Also the three parts of man, termed the little world, to wit, alteration and corruption, as
also the elementary part."28

Of importance in this passage are the cabalistic equation of the letters of the Hebrew word for
man with the tripartate macrocosm and the emphasis placed on the alteration and corruption of
the elementary world. The Mosaicall Philosophy and its use of Cabala may be viewed as an
elucidation of these themes.

Fludd begins his description of the universe with a cosmogony based on Genesis which
resembles doctrines found in the Pimander, in Cabala and in Paracelsus. The universe was
created by the "Eternal spirit of wisdom" or the Ruach Elohim, a term found in Yezirah, who
"doth operate by his Angelicall Organs of a Contrary fortitude, in the Catholic Element of the
lower waters."29 The contrary actions referred to are those of condensation and rarefaction. It
should be noted that Paracelsus gives a similar view of creation by separation and coagulation in
his Three Books of Philosophy Written to the Athenians.
The angelical organs of the Ruach were the sun, governed by the 'potent angell' Michael, and its
subservient forces the four winds, each also governed by an angel. The sun by "celestial
Alchimy, or spagerick vertue of the divine illumination" divided the waters into upper and lower
parts.30 The upper waters, the home of good angels, "were obedient unto bright Divinity, and
were converted into a fiery nature" whereas, the lower waters, Satan's habitat, "being fecall,
gross, impure, and therefore more rebellious unto light" were converted into an elementary
nature subject to change.31

Fludd demonstrated the sun's role in the rarefaction of creation by pointing to the action of a
weather glass. In sunlight the water in the glass expands, but in darkness, the cold north
influence of the elementary world, the water contracts. Between the upper waters and the lower
waters existed the third part of the universe, the firmament. The firmament was the mediator
between the dwelling place of the Ruach Elohim and the fecal world.

Above the firmament, all stood in the changeless similitude of God while in the world below the
action of contraries led to change. As an example of the existence of opposite actions in the
elementary world, Fludd cited the heart's systole and diastole, contraction by the cold nature of
matter and dilatation by the act of formal light.32

The trilevel universe which Fludd described is primarily in interpretation of God's division the
the waters in Genesis. God's use of an intermediary Ruach Elohim suggests both the Pimander
and Cabala. The Pimander's influence on Fludd is seen in his unpubished work A Philosophical
Key (1618).

The Key's discussion of the creation turns on a Demogorgon which worked by means of two
intermediaries, chaos and eternity. The elementary world was described as the Litigum, abortion,
of chaos. It was the realm of evil and was fecal in nature. The Key like the Pimander also
stressed the role of light in the creative process. The Mosaicall Philosophy continued the Key's
fecal analogy and view of light but substituted the Ruach Elohim and angelology of Cabala for
the Demogorgon and its agents.

A most significant aspect of Fludd's cosmogony is its similarity to the alchemical process of
distillation. The Divine emanation is viewed as an alchemist who used beams of light to
separate the primordial waters into their constituent parts. The finest material rose,
leaving behind the fecal debris of the elementary world. In distillation Fludd believed that
he had observed the process of creation described by Moses in Genesis. The weather glass
was an experiment which supplied convincing proof of the role of light in rarefaction. This
explanation of creation based on experiment was the true mosaical philosophy.
A Table of Planetary Influences which shows how each hour of the day is ruled by a certain
planet differing for each day of the week. A diagram used by Robert Fludd when treating
diseases.

It is difficult to determine how much of Fludd's general scheme was taken from Cabala. Creation
by light's emanation, the macrocosm-microcosm doctrine and angelology are all found in Neo-
platonism and the Hermetic corpus as well as in Cabala. Fludd's extreme reliance on alchemical
processes indicates that he probably used Cabala as a support for ideas developed from non-
cabalistic sources. Cabala's similarity to his beliefs gave him a covenient proof for his views. In
the matter of particulars, Cabala, perhaps, added more to his thought. This is especially true of
the macrocosm-microcosm analogy. Fludd displays good cabalistic form when he states that the
"aevaill or angelical effect, is the image of the eternal Idea, and the temporal world, is the
similitude of the aeviall."33

It is true that in any macrocosmal-microcosmal system the two worlds are identical, but the
interspersion of a series of three worlds is reminiscent of the cabalistic cosmos. The universe
developed in the Mosaicall Philosophy is more like the three sub-Sephirothic worlds of Cabala
than the seven level cosmos of the Pimander. The Mosaicall Philosophy's use of light
corresponds to Cabala. Fludd's statement that each "world was made by the sending forth of
God's bright Emanation"34 is paralleled in the Zohar. The three worlds of the Mosaicall
Philosophy like the Zohar's differed only in that each had a "lesse proportion of light than
other."35

Fludd's terminology and angelology in the Mosaicall Philosophy seem to be drawn from Cabala.
As the cabalistic Sephiroth correspond to the divine attributes so does each angel in Fludd's
cosmos perform a necessary function to God's nature and his creation. The attribute Elohim, for
example, sends down the power of cold effects to Saturn while the attribute Jehovah Sabaoth
pours forth the beams of concupiscibility.36

Even in this, his most cabalistic of moods, Fludd leans heavily on ocular demonstration. The
means by which angels influence the world, he compares to the sympathetic action of a
lodestone.37 Angels do not work directly but rather through intermediaries in the firmament.
Angelical beams proceed to the stars. Each animal or vegetable has a particular star "that poureth
out upon him his proper influence.38 The topic of celestial influences on the elementary world as
demonstrated by lodestones is the subject of the last portion of the Mosaicall Philosophy.

The doctrines of Cabala and alchemy are thoroughly mixed in the Mosaicall Philosophy.
Fludd, perhaps, did not distinguish the two because their cosmological teachings were so
similar. Both systems were, after all, sciences which should yield the same results in
studying the universe. The scriptural interpretations of Cabala lent divine authority to
Fludd's alchemical views. His free combination and equation of Cabala with alchemy
resulted in a system which was a homogenous mixture of the two approaches.

The Mosaicall Philosophy's discussion of the doctrine of anima mundi or world soul illustrates
this homogeneity. The pagan concept of anima mundi, said Fludd, was the same as the Catholic
soul of Christianity and the angel "mitattron" of Jewish Cabala.39 Anima mundi, Catholic soul
and Metatron were simply three terms for the same truth. Seen in this syncretistic light the
cabalistic elements in Fludd's philosophy make a good deal of sense.

In reading the Mosaicall Philosophy, a question arises, how much first hand knowledge of
Hebrew and Cabala did Fludd possess. This question grows out of serious errors made by him in
his cabalistic interpretations of Hebrew phrases. One near comical error which he committed was
in referring to Zohar as a rabbi.40 Another obvious misuse is found in part two of the Mosaicall
Philosophy where Fludd tries to prove his three level cosmos by Notaricon. He asserts that the
phrase "the heavens",mem yod mem shin hay means the heavens or the firmament, are between
fire, the upper waters and the lower waters. According to Fludd, the spelling reads mem yod
mem shin aleph=a shamaum. The Aleph and Shin, signify esch, fire and mayim, mem yod
mem, represents water.41

Fludd is correct, esch is fire and mayim water. Cabalistically they could mean that the heavens
are between fire and water. Unfortunately the interpretation is based on a mispelling, "The
heavens" is spelled with a Hay, and not an Aleph. Such an error invalidates his conclusion and
casts doubt on his knowledge of Hebrew.

This writer has been able to find no usage in Jewish Cabala where "the heavens" is interpreted
using an Aleph instead of a Hay.42 If a check of the cabalistic sources cited in the Mosaicall
Philosophy indicates anything about Fludd's knowledge of Cabala, it was derived in large part
from Johannes Reuchlin's De Arte Cabbalistica.43 Reuchlin, in fact, is the only cabalist
mentioned in the book.

In light of Fludd's linguistic defects, it is strange that he, like Dee and Reuchlin, claimed his
Cabala to be the true one. After discussing how the world was created by twenty-two spiritual",
letters, he calls the Jews to repentance by saying that Hebrew is "much spoken by the learned
Rabbis of our age, but little known or understood by them."44 A similar indictment could be
brought against Fludd. One should note that a critique of Dee's knowledge of Hebrew is more
difficult to find than one of Fludd. Nowhere in the Monas does he betray his cabalistic sources.
He actually used Hebrew but once and only then in an unintelligible phrase.45
In defense of Fludd, it would appear that his purpose in the Mosaicall Philosophy was not
to show a mastery of Hebrew or of Cabala but rather to integrate a system dating from
Moses into his alchemical view of the universe based on the Bible. If Moses received both
Genesis and Cabala from God, should not Cabala be used to understand Genesis. Fludd's
major tool for discovering the mosaicall philosophy was alchemy and not Cabala, however.
The Mosaicall Philosophy's views were conditioned primarily by the physical theories of
alchemy and its ocular proofs. To these proofs were fit compatible doctrines of Cabala. In
its own way the Mosaicall Philosophy was as successful a mystical scientific work as Dee's
Monas Hieroglyphica. Its physical explanation of the universe took into account all the
factors which Fludd considered necessary for scientific validation: Holy Writ, alchemical
knowledge, and the cabalistic tradition.

The systems which Dee and Fludd developed indicate two uses to which Cabala could be put by
Hermetic scientists. The intensely mathematical approach of Dee found in Cabala a tool to
explore cosmical relationahips. Fludd on the other hand saw the cabalistic cosmology as a proof
for his alchemical view of nature. Within Cabala's doctrines and methodology were the seeds for
both interpretations.

It was natural for Dee and Fludd to use a system of the supposed antiquity and divinity of
Cabala. Cabala's teachings, especially those concerning the creation and the macrocosm-
microcosm, were welcome because of their harmony with the Neo-platonic and Hermetic
doctrines upon which mystical science was based. The cabalistic approach was deemed scientific
by both Dee and Fludd. They believed it, like mathematics and alchemy, revealed the underlying
processes and realities of nature.

The difference between Hermetic and Christian cabalists lies in the Hermetic attempts to
integrate Cabala into an explanation of nature. Reuchlin and his genre sought to prove and
illuminate Christian theology with Cabala, not to found a scientific world system. Both Dee and
Fludd stepped into the theological arena in declaring that theirs was the true Cabala and that the
Jews would do well to heed their teachings, but this proselytizing of the Jews was a secondary
consideration. Understanding two applications of Cabala to Hermetic science only begins to shed
light on the broader issue of Cabala's role in Hermetic thought. For the historian of science, a
knowledge of Hermetic Cabala can increase his understanding of the goals, the doctrines and the
methods of Hermetic scientists.

FOOTNOTES
*Some of the material on John Dee is contained in Michael T. Walton "John Dee's Monas
Hieroglyphica: Geometrical Cabala" Ambix, vol. 23, pt. 2, July 1976, pp. 116-123.
1. For a more general presentation of Cabala in the Renaissance see F. Secret, Les Kabbalistes
Cretions de la Renaissance, (Paris, 1964). A general discussion of Jewish Cabala is found in G.
G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, (Jerusalem, 1941).
2. That Fludd was steeped in the mathematical tradition is seen in his Utrinsque Cosmi
(Oppenheim, 1617). In that book on page 164, he describes a tri-level cosmos based on
Pythagorean and Platonic views. Much of the book is based on a mathematical description of the
world. In his use of Cabala, however, Fludd did not select out its mathematical aspects. He
adopted, rather, Cabala's way of describing the physical order of the universe. The distinction
between Dee as a mathematician and Fludd as a alchemist is, then, somewhat limited to their
Cabala.
3. Cabalistic terms like Ruach Elohim were much used by Hermeticists. Henricus Khunrath in
his Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum (Mageleburg, 1599) refers to the Ruach Chochmah-El,
Spirit of the wise God.
4. Sepher Yezirah, trans. by Knut Stenring (London: Wm. Rider and Son Ltd., 1923), p. 22.
5. Zohar ii, 70 b, trans. by Christian D. Ginsburg in The Kabbalah, (London: 1896).
6. Zohar ii, 42 a, Ibid.
7. Hermes Trismegistus, The Poimandres, trans. by Hans Jonas in The Gnostic Religion (Boston:
Beacon Press, 1963), pp. 149-50.
8. Zohar i, 15 a, trans. by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon (London: Soncino Press, 10949).
9. Zohar i, 22 b, trans. by Ginsburg, op cit.
10. Zohar ii, 99 Ibid.
11. For more on Reuchlin's Cabala see Christian D. Ginsberg, The Kabbalah (London, 1896), pp.
206-13.
12. Euclid's Elements, introduction by John Dee (London: Leyborn, 1661), p. 3.
13. Nicholas of Cusa, Of Learned Ignorance, trans. by Fr. Germain Heron (Yale Press, 1954),
chapter 11.
14. Elements, p. 2.
15. Ibid., P. 1.
16. Ibid., p. 1.
17. John Dee, Monas Hieroglyphica, trans. by C. H. Josten, Ambix, XII, p. 121.
"Ibid., p. 122.
"Ibid., p. 127.
20. Ibid., p. 127.
21. Ibid., p. 133.
22. Ibid., p.133.
23. Ibid., p. 127.
24. 1b id., p. 135.
25. Ibid., p. 209.
26. Ibid., p. 217.
27. J . B. Craven in Doctor Robert Fludd points out that in section one of De practernaturi
utriusque mundi historia in sectiones tres divisa (Frankfurt, 1621) Fludd discusses Cabala. The
ideas Fludd set forth there are very much like Zoharic doctrines. He compared the
Tetragrammaton to the parts of the body and used the Zoharic names for the Sephiroth. The
Yeziratic doctrine of a creation from earth (Aleph), fire (Shin) and water (Mem) was also
developed. Cabala is mentioned in other works by Fludd but only the system of the Mosaicall
Philosophy will be discussed here.
28. Robert Fludd, Mosaicall Philosophy (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1659), p. 155.
29. Ibid., p. 59.
30. Ibid., p. 193.
31. Ibid., p. 192.
32. Ibid., pp. 193-94.
33. Ibid., p. 197.
34. Ibid., p. 198.
35. Ibid., p. 172.
36. Ibid., pp. 193 and 196.
37. Ibid., p. 196.
38. Ibid., p. 196.
39. Ibid., p. 145.
40. Ibid., p. 155.
41. Ibid., p. 155.
42. An identical cabalistic interpretation of the phrase "the heavens" is found on page 4 of Georg
von Welling's Opus Mago-Cabbalisticum et Theosophicum (Homburg vor der Hohe, 1735).
Welling may have drawn it from Fludd or some other cabalistic work unknown to this author.
The fact remains that the interpretation is a misuse of Hebrew.
43. Two of Fludd's many references to Reuchlin are in Ibid., pp. 61 and 137.
44. Ibid., p. 161.
45. Monas Hieroglyphica in op. cit. p. 127.

The Calendar, The Seasons and The Sidereal Zodiac

Steve Marshal

The seasons and the astrological cycles have been inextricably linked as marking the passage of
time throughout the history of the human race, from the far distant past of primeval humanity
even to the present day. By studying the origins of our knowledge of astrological cycles in
relation to the history of the calendar, one may come to a better understanding of the principles
behind zodiacal influences in both the tropical and sidereal systems.

One of the most ancient calendar systems was delineated by the phases of the moon. In this
system there were thirteen moons or months in a year. Each one bore a title which reflected the
activity of the season in which it occurred. Vestiges of this system are still apparent today in the
so-called "harvest moon". The Indians of Borneo still use this system to mark the passage of the
days, and determine the time for the planting of their hillside rice.

The use of the calendar in ancient times not only marked the passage of time, but determined the
times for planting and harvesting in harmony with the seasons. The ancient Egyptians from
whom we have obtained much of our astrological knowledge, noted the passage of the seasons,
the flooding and receding of the Nile, by the heliacal rising of certain stars and constellations. A
star rose heliacally when it could be seen on the horizon near the sun in the wee hours just before
dawn.

The Egyptians divided the arch of the heavens along the path of the sun into twelve
constellations corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac. The calendar system of the
Egyptians divided the year into twelve months according to the heliacal rising of these twelve
constellations, and it was this twelvefold division of the year which formed the basis of the
modern calendar we use today.
Because of the connection between the passage of the seasons and the twelve-fold division of the
heavens, certain constellations became associated with certain seasons. If one reads any of the
books on ancient star names most all of the constellations in the belt of the zodiac bear titles
reflecting the season which came with the heliacal rising of that particular constellation. Titles
such as the proclaimer of rain, "the maker of the seed," and others were common names for these
constellations in antiquity. It was believed that the constellations gave off influences which
affected the seasons. This belief, however, did not take into account the changes due to the
precession of the equinox.

In order to better understand these changes it is necessary to describe exactly what the precession
of the equinox means. "Equinox" is a Latin term meaning "equal night". There are two points on
the ecliptic (the path of the sun) where the ecliptic intersects the plane of the equator. The
equator is a band extending around the middle of the earth. If one were to slice the earth in half
along the line of the equator and were to extend in all directions the flat surface produced, one
would have the plane of the equator. If this surface were extended until it reached the path of the
sun, where the sun passed through that plane would be the equinoctial points. The following
diagram helps to ilustrate this.

As can be seen in the preceding diagram, the sun passes through this plane at two points: the
vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox. The sun's passage to the vernal equinoctial point
marks the beginning of the season of spring, and this point on the ecliptic also marks the
beginning of the sign of Aries in the tropical zodiac. Because of the wobble of the earth as it
revolves around the sun, the equinoctial point appears to move backwards through the divisions
of the heavens; thus, the sun could reach the equinoctial point beginning the season of spring,
yet, by the precession of the equinox, be aligned with a wholly different constellation than it was
many, many years ago. The precession of the equinox is so slow that, outside of certain mystery
schools which preserved the science of celestial mechanics, this motion was not widely
recognized until modern times.

Because of this precession of the equinox one finds that in studying the ancient star names that
the constellation referring to the spring rains changes as one goes back in history. During the
time that the equinox point appeared in the constellation of Aries, that constellation bore titles
reflecting the spring season. As one goes back in antiquity one finds that the constellation of
Taurus and then Gemini bear these or very similar seasonal titles. From this, one begins to see
that the cycle of the seasons is indeed independent of the zodiacal division of the heavens.

Despite the independence of the seasons from stellar influences the seasonal titles of the
constellations reflect the fact that the main concern of the ancients was not the influence of the
constellations in themselves but the seasonal influences associated with them during a particular
period. The cycle of the seasonal influences is the basis of the tropical zodiac beginning with
zero degrees Aries at the point of the vernal equinox regardless where it happened to be in the
heavens. It is this zodiac which is used to plot the places of the lights and planets in the modern
ephemeris. It cannot be denied that seasonal influences affect organic life on this planet; thus the
tropical zodiac considered as providing a system of interpretation based upon the cycle of the
seasons cannot be ignored.

The tropical zodiac seemed to account for the seasonal influences affecting the planet; but the
ancients also noted that certain esoteric influences emanated from the stars themselves, subtly
altering the influence of the rays projected from the planets when a planet passed between the
earth and these stars. The division of the heavens into twelve signs or constellations, and making
a one-to-one correspondence between these signs and the signs of the tropical zodiac created the
sidereal zodiac. This sidereal zodiac and the precession of the equinox are the basis of the grand
cycles taught during the curriculum at Paracelsus College.

The signs of the sidereal zodiac, although similar in influence to their tropical counterparts are
different in their effect. This can be demonstrated in that the passage of the sun through the
tropical sign of Aries influences the earth so as to begin the season of spring in the northern
hemisphere and the season of autumn in the southern hemisphere. The difference of the seasons
between the northern and southern hemispheres is a demonstration of the law of polarity in the
cycle of the seasons and the influences of the tropical zodiac. The fact that the influence of the
sidereal zodiac affects the earth in a manner different from that of the tropical influences is
demonstrated in that, although the tropical zodiac affects the seasons, the sidereal zodiac does
not.

Although the influences of these two zodiacs manifest differently, both of them are important in
analyzing the exoteric and esoteric influences in an astrological chart.

One of the problems in the sidereal system is that, although the beginning point of the tropical
zodiac is firmly fixed, the beginning point of the sidereal zodiac has been a subject of debate
from culture to culture throughout history. Some authorities give the beginning point such that
the vernal equinoctial point entered the cross over point between the sidereal sign of Pisces and
Aries at approximately 221 A.D., others at 290 A.D., and others as late as 499 A.D.

All of these differences in the epoch year are the result of choosing a different star in the arch of
the heavens for the calculation of the cusps of the sidereal zodiac. Some use Spica in the
constellation Virgo, while others use Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus. These stars are
called "working stars".

The zodiac utilizing Aldebaran as a working star, giving 221 A.D. as an epoch year, is the
starting point used by most modern day sidereal astrologers, although many Hindu astrologers
still use the 290 A.D. epoch year for the sidereal zodiac. These epoch years give the beginning of
the Aquarian Age as not occuring until 2371 or 2440 A.D. Anyone who has studied the solar
cycles in relation to human history can see that this is not correct.
In studying the grand cycles as taught at Paracelsus College in conjunction with the present
astronomical knowledge concerning celestial motion, one finds that, like the tropical zodiac, the
sidereal zodiac is also independent of any fixed point in the heavens just as the equinox point of
the tropical zodiac is determined by the motion of the earth around the sun where the path of the
sun intersects the plane of the equator, the beginning point of the sidereal zodiac is determined
by the motion of the sun around the star Alcyone, completing this revolution every 259,200
years.

There is a point corresponding to the equinoctial point in the sidereal zodiac where the plane of
the ecliptic intersects the sun's path around Alcyone. This intersection occurs at two points
during the pivoting of the stars and the sun around the central star Alcyone. At these points of
intersection the position of the equinox point marks the cusp of the sidereal zodiac upon the
ecliptic along which the zodiacal longitudes of the planets are measured.

Whereas the vernal equinox point marks the beginning of the Influence of Aries in the tropical
zodiac, the corresponding point in the sidereal zodiac begins the influence of Sagittarius. This
correlates with Hindu astrology where the beginning of Purvashadha at 0 degrees Sagittarius was
anciently the beginning of their sidereal zodiac. The vernal equinox point intersected this sidereal
point in 19,717 B.C. Counting backward through the zodiac in equal arcs of 30 degrees, the
equinox point entered 0 degrees Aries in the sidereal zodiac in 277 B.C. In order to determine the
position of the planets within this band of sidereal influences, the number of years from 277 B.C.
to the date of the chart is multiplied by fifty seconds of arc; the figure is then converted to
degrees and minutes of arc which is subtracted from the tropical position as calculated from the
ephemeris.

Although both the sidereal and tropical zodiacs are independent of the actual stars and
constellations, the ancients are still quite clear about there being a subtle influence radiating from
the stars themselves. Modern astronomers have also validated this idea in their detection of high
frequency radio waves emitted by these stars. These influences manifest in the conjunction of
planets and house cusps with the fixed stars along the zodiacal belt. Conjunctions in zodiacal
longitude seem to be sufficient for their influencing the house cusps but conjunction in right
ascension and declination seems to be A necessary for the stars to influence the planets.
Calculating the latter conjunctions requires a thorough knowledge of spherical geometry and
trigonometry, so I will not discuss the calculations in this article.

For further information on the fixed stars, I recommend The Stars by L. Edward Johndro and The
Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology by Vivian E. Robson. The influence of the fixed
stars and the sidereal zodiac as yet have not been fully researched. It is hoped that this article will
serve as a basis for others interested in the astrological cycles to help compile further data on
these influences so that conclusions may be derived.

Inquiries by students ...and answers

Q. One of the many qualities of comfrey is its ability to heal broken bones by its gummy,
mucilaginous allantoin contents which strengthen the epithelial formation. With the vodka
extraction we seem to keep this slimy condition. However, the product of the alcohol extraction
is not slimy. Has the allantoin essence been lost or only its body (the slimy appearance), which
we then have purified with the other salts? Allantoin is a cell proliferant binding mucilage.

A. The slimy condition mentioned is due to the approximately 50% water portion of the vodka.

Q. At what point in the lunar cycle should I expose my Salt to the celestial influences in order to
obtain the Virgin's Milk? Also, what weather conditions give the best results?

A. A lunar cycle can be the waxing and waning period. Cardinal, Mutable and Fixed also
represent cycles. For an extraction the waning period is preferred by some, while for distillation
the waxing of the moon is used. The seasons rather than the prevailing weather conditions are
much more important. An undertaking of your kind needs some careful planning.

Q. When working with Yew Berry, is the tincture harmful?

A. Any herbal tincture can be harmful if improperly applied.

Q. When working with sublimate of sulfur to obtain the oil, ether was used for extraction. The
result was clear semi-crystals. Is this the oil? Is there a better method to obtain the oil in usuable
quantities?

A. Try collecting the fume of burnt sulphur and condensing it into an essence.

Q. Concerning drying agents used with alcohol. Can any drying agent be used or must it be only
calcined tartar?

A. Almost any water absorbing substance not soluble in alcohol will do.

Q. Upon using a "Mapp" gas torch to calcine antimony, the product was a fine white "cotton" on
the crucible cover. The glass was crystallized. Was too much heat used?

A.Yes.

Q. Have experienced dizziness, no energy, and depression since the first of the year, about the
time I ran out of my seven basics. Is this part of the process, inner cleaning, etc.?

A. Could be, but every other possibility has to be considered which could have produced such a
condition as you state.

Q. Does an eclipse result in any particular influence on the individual? If so, how do we
interpret this?

A. An eclipse interferes with electrical and cosmic emanations.

Q. Which would be the most powerful menstruum: sal ammoniac on alcohol "KM" or alcohol
poured over liquid salt of tartar?

A. Both may be powerful, in one way or another, depending on what substance the menstruum is
working upon.

Q. Basil Valentine, Triumphal Chariot, page 270, states: "Sublime antimony with Sal armoniac."
What kind of salt is this? In the original German text it reads "mit Armenischen Salz" in this case
referring to a Balkan Country - Armenia.

A. It is sal ammoniac in this case. Either ammonium carbonate or chloride is understood under
this designation.

Q. Something bothers me when it comes to alchemy. We are taught laboratory alchemy but at the
same time there is also mental alchemy. Why is there not more emphasis on mental alchemy?

A. Practically all available teachings are based upon the mental concept. Hardly any practical
alchemistical laboratory is taught openly anywhere. It is for this reason that the Paracelsus
College emphasizes the validity of laboratory alchemy. Actually the practical instruction should
be an outcome of theoretical investigation. Since so much of the theoretical aspect is emphasized
everywhere else, this is why. However, the College in its Electives is teaching also the mental
aspect to bring both into harmony.

Essentia
Volume 2 Fall 1981
 Exemplar - Hans Sterneder
Boyle, Newton and Van Helmont: On The Transmutation of Water and Air
The Work in the Laboratory: A Paradox
Physical Immortality
Inquiries by Students ... and Answers
On Deciphering Alchemistical Language

Hans Sterneder
To the English reader the name of Hans Sterneder means very little because his works have not
been translated into the English language. However, his books have been published by the
hundreds of thousands and it is safe to say that the majority of Europeans over the age of fifty
who are even slightly interested in the deeper meanings of life have read at least one of his
books. The most widely known is undoubtedly Der Wunderapostel.

Sterneder's writing is unique. His simple poetic expression is of such extraordinary depth and
feeling that it is difficult to translate into other languages. Born in Austria in 1889, the
illegitimate son of a wealthy landowner, he was raised by his grandmother. Although very poor,
she managed to have Hans attend the Gymnasium. Eventually he graduated and became a village
schoolteacher.

Hardly anyone else has described his love for the most intimate association with nature in his
Austrian Alpine county with such intensity than Hans Sterneder. Eventually he began to write
about his experiences but his attempts to get published were without success. One day, however,
as he walked in the evening in Glodnitz, where he taught school, a stranger began to talk to him.
In the conversation the young teacher spoke about his discouraging efforts to get his writings
published. The stranger told him to write to a well known publisher. Sterneder said that he had
done so but had received a rejection notice from them also. However, the stranger persisted with
his suggestion for some unknown reason, even giving Sterneder a specific name to address at the
publishing firm.

When Sterneder did mail his manuscript off again according to the directions of the mysterious
stranger, a letter of acceptance immediately came and Sterneder's works were subsequently
published with great success. He stopped teaching school and began a writing career which
brought him in contact with the literary elite of his day. Eventually he became so well known
that even the doors of royalty were open to him.

The extremes Sterneder experienced in his road from poverty to fame left a deep imprint on his
life and were also a foundation for his masterful writings.

Having known Hans Sterneder personally for many years, not only being his guest whenever we
were in Europe but actually experiencing with him another home at his villa in Bregenz
overlooking Lake Constance, has woven a beautiful bond of friendship between us. In his own
words, we were Seelenbruder, brothers of like soul.

Hans Sterneder passed on in March of this year after returning from his usual afternoon walk to
the lake. We look forward to the time when his works will be found in the English language and
he will experience a well deserved resurrection, bringing immense joy to still another generation,
especially through his Wunderapostel.
- Frater Albertus

Boyle, Newton, and Van Helmont

On The Transmutation of Air and Water
Michael T. Walton*

"And one of these vegetables, cherished only by water, having obtained a a competent growth, I
did, for tryals sake; cause to be distilled in a small retort, and thereby obtained some phlegme, a
little empyreumatical spirit, a small quantity of adult oyl, and a caput mortuum ..." (Robert
Boyle, Sceptical Chymist, part II).

J. B. VAN HELMONT's experiments in plant growth which seemed to indicate that water was
transformed into plant matter intrigued Robert Boyle.1 Because Helmont's chemistry rested on
concepts of aetherial ferments and other intermediate states of matter which seemed indistinct
and old fashoned in light of the growing popularity of atomism, Boyle had to re-interpret the
hydroponic experiments in terms of his atomic or corpuscular philosophy.2 He believed that the
seminal principles, a concept not unrelated to the ferments of Helmont (see note 20), in plants
drew atoms from water and recombined them to form the substance of plants. Boyle felt that the
process of drawing atoms from fluid media like water and from the air not only explained the
growth of plants but also the respiration of animals and the formation of minerals.3
Important to Boyle was the fact that his explanation of the transmutation of water not only
accorded with the experimental data and his cherished corpuscular philosophy, but that it also
agreed with the account of the Creation found in Genesis.4

Boyle's ideas concerning the transmutation of water and air probably influenced his friend Isaac
Newton, who used similar conceptions in the Principia to explain the role of comets in the
cosmic order.5 The existence of such chemical ideas in Newton's greatest work indicates their
importance to his world view. The interplay of experiment with the atomic hypothesis and with
theology in the development of Boyle's theory of transmutation provides an insight into some of
the thinking which conditioned his world view. Newton's use of that theory demonstrates his
acceptance of the essential elements of the "new" chemistry which Boyle and other "virtuosi"
were elucidating.6

The many references to Helmont in Boyle's works prove that Helmont influenced him, but the
extent of that is difficult to assess. In spite of the difficulties involved, Marie Boas Hall's opinion
that Boyle was more taken by Helmont's experiments than by his obscure theorizing appears to
be largely correct.7 Whatever his disdain for Helmont's speculations, however, Boyle acquired
some of the Netherlander's interpretations in accepting certain of his experiments.8 This is
especially true of the experiment in which Helmont grew a tree under controlled conditions and
found that it gained weight not by assimilating soil but apparently by transmuting water. The tree
experiment and the conclusions which Helmont drew from it became important factors in the
Sceptical Chymist.

In part two of the Sceptical Chymist, Boyle undertook a discussion of why substances separated
from bodies by chemical process were not necessarily the pre-existent elements of the bodies, as
the "chemists" believed. The thrust of his argument was that, as atoms in a body could be
rearranged into new structures by the chemical art, it was difficult to determine if the substances
derived from a body through chemistry are its true elements. It is in this context that he mentions
Helmots and his own experiments in plant growth. Boyle noted that, when plants were grown in
earth or in water alone, they appeared to derive their substance primarily from water. On
chemically reducing such plants, he found the "elements" earth, oil and phlegm. Boyle asked: if
such "elements" could be produced from plant matter which was only water transformed by
seminal principles, were they actually elements or rather concretions of the true elementary
particles, atoms? 9

II

The realization that his adherence to the doctrine of water transmutation identified him with
Helmontianism was very unsettling to Boyle. This was especially true in the light of his opinion
of Helmont's The Magnetic Cure Of Wounds as resting on "extravagancies" and untruths".10 As a
result sought to disassociate himself from Helmont. He did this by placing the origins of the
transmutational theory prior in time to Helmont, though he credited Helmont for his experiments
and development of the doctrine.

In his attempt to separate what he believed to be the empirically provable phenomenon of

transmutation from the "extravagancies" of Helmontian theory, Boyle followed an interesting
line of thought. He sought to show that the idea of the transmutation of water into solid matter
reached back in time to antiquity. 11

'Yet this much I shall tell you at present, that you need not fear my rejecting this opinion for its
novelty; Since, however, the Helmontians say in complement to their master, pretend it to be a
new discovery, yet though the arguments [experiments] be for the most part, his, the opinion
itself is very ancient.12

As proof for the antiquity of the idea that water was primary matter, Boyle invoked a genealogy
similar to that which another Englishman, Walter Charleton, applied to the atomic philosophy.13
He reminded the reader in the "Sceptical Chymist" that Thales, Homer, and Hesiod thought that
water was the substance from which the world arose. The Greeks, however, were not the
originators of the transmutational hypothesis. They adopted it from the Phoenicians.14 While
identifying the Phoenician origins of the transmutational hypothesis, Boyle noted that Strabo
attributed atomism to Moschus the Phoenician.15 The juxtaposition of water-transmutation with
atomism indicates that Boyle viewed them as complementary doctrines rooted in the same near
eastern cosmology.

In Boyle's opinion, the origins of both the transmutational hypothesis and atomism extended
beyond the Phoenicians to the Hebrews.16

" 'tis known that the Phoenicians borrowed most of their learning from the Hebrews, and among
those that acknowledge the Books of Moses, many have been inclined to think water to have been
the primitive and universal matter . . . "17

As a pious Christian, Boyle had studied Hebrew and Greek in order to read the Holy Scriptures
in their original.18 It is little wonder, then, that in the light of his and Helmont's experiments, he
turned to the waters of the Creation as a support for his scientific ideas. His training in Hebrew
had a direct bearing on his interpretation of God's method of creation as he presented it in the
Sceptical Chymist.
"[the world] whose component parts did orderly... emerge out of that vast abysse, by the
operation of the Spirit of God, who is said to have been moving Himself as hatching females do
(as the original Merahepet, is said to impart) upon the face of the water . . ." 19

Boyle's Biblical literalism was qualified by his predisposition to the atomic hypothesis. He could
not say that his simple or earthly water was the substance referred to in Genesis. To him the
waters of the Creation were a mixture of seminal principles, vague organizing powers coexistent
with but somehow separate from atoms, and corpuscles which God's "production incubation
activated.

'For I see no necessity to conceive that the waters mentioned in the beginning of Genesis, as the
universal matter, was simple and elementary water; . . . we should suppose it to have been an
agitated congeries or heap consisting of a great variety of seminal principles and rudiments, and
of other corpuscles fit to be subdued and fashioned by them...." 20

Although Boyle perceived the waters of Genesis as being different from common water, his
experiments convinced him that "elementary" or common water retained some of the creative
water's propensity to be transmuted when worked on by a seminal influence. This continued
trans mutability was due to water's mixed corpuscular composition. The fact that what the
"chymists" believed to be elements could be derived from plants grown entirely in water
appeared to support his view that the commonly defined "elements" and water were mixtures of
corpuscles.

Even with his commitment to Biblical truth, Boyle was not comfortable mixing theology with
natural philosophy. After discussing the relevance of his experimental data to the Creation, he
wrote, "But you, I presume, expect that I should discourse of this matter like a naturalist, not a
philologer. "21 Though he felt that the theological and the natural scientific aspects of his thought
were best separated literally and methodologically, Boyle's comments on Genesis leave little
doubt that his science took into account both experiment and Holy Writ.

III
Boyle's investigations into transmutations were not limited to water. He recognized that other
substances contained a variety of atoms and were thereore capable of transmutation. He found
that air was, perhaps, the most 'heterogenous Body in the world." 22Special atoms in the air
sustained both flames and living things, though in time they were exhausted, as bell jar
experiments demonstrated. Like water, air was a substrate which supported regular
transmutations of its atoms into other substances. Experiments with water and air seemed to
prove that rearrangeable atoms were the basis of all material objects. The experiments with air
further indicated that transmutability was limited by the availability of atoms.

It is in the context of Boyle's work with water and air that his influence on Newton'sPrincipia23
can be seen. Newton apparently accepted as a fact continuous transmutation of water and air and
the consequence, implied Boyle's work, that, in time without an influx of new atoms the two
substances would be exhausted. The problem of the exhaustion of the seas and atmosphere
became an important aspect of his discussion of comets in the Principia.

To solve the problem of a continual reduction of transmutable fluids, Newton proposed that the
tails of comets resupplied the atmospheres and seas of the earth and planets with new matter. <P"
... so for the conservation of and fluids of the planets, comets seem to be required, that, from
their exhalations and vapors condensed [by gravity] the wastes of the planetary fluids spent
upon vegetation and putrefaction, and converted into dry earth may be continually supplied and
made up..." 24

That Newton was directly influenced by experiments on plant growth and respiration is proved
further on in the text

" ... for all vegetables entirely derive their growths from fluids, and afterwards in great measure,
are turned into dry earth by putrefaction...I suspect, moreover, that it is chiefly from the comets
that spirit comes, which is indeed the smallest but most subtle and useful part of our air, and so
much required to sustain the life of all things with us."25

The conjectures about the need to replenish the earth with matter from comets tie the Principia to
the Opticks. In the Opticks Newton speculated that particles and their attractions were behind all
chemical and colour phenomena.

Now the smallest Particles of Matter may cohere by the strongest Attraction, and may compose
bigger Particles of Weaker Virtue ... and so on for divers Successions, until the Progression end
in the biggest Particles on which the operations in chymistry, and the colours of natural Bodies
depend.26

Chemical processes, thought Newton arise from the motion and attraction of particles just as salt
was formed in the sea through the action of water and earth.

"As Gravity makes the Sea flow round the denser and weightier parts of the Globe of the Earth,
so the Attraction may make the watery Acid flow round the denser and compacter Particles of
Earth for composing the Particles of Salt . . . " 27
In the formation of salt, both earth and water became tied up and needed to be replaced if the
process were to continue. The discussion of comets in The Principia suggests how that
replacement occurred.

The theological content of Newton's chemical ideas is also clarified in the Opticks. Like Boyle in
the Sceptical Chymist, Newton saw the validation of this thought in its close approximation to an
accurate description of the Creation.

"It seems probable to me, that God in the Beginning, form'd Matter in solid, massy, hard,
impenetrable, moveable Particles, of such Sizes and Figures, and with such other Properties,
and in such Proportion to Space, as most conduced to the End for which he formed them. . ." 28

Only the non-mechanical seminal principles of Boyle do not appear in the matter oof Newton's
Creation. They were replaced by the properties which Newton conferred on his atoms. Still
Newton concentrated on the same kinds of processes as did Boyle. His atoms combined and were
used up in chemical actions as were Boyle's. The reality of transmutation is similar in both views
of the Creation.

Isaac Newton

Newton was obviously very concerned with transmutation and its relevance to life processes and
theproduction of earth or he would not have discussed them in both the "Principia" and the
speculative sections ofthe "Opticks." His association of transmutation with his impressive system
of the world gave the chemical doctrine added prestige. Not only was transmutation seen as
compatible with the atomic hypothesis but also with the universal laws of gravitation and
celestial motion.

Newton's conjectures on the "usefulness" of comets were still identified as important features of
his system in the early eighteenth century. Henry Pemberton paid homage to them in his
popularization of the Principia.
The discussion of this appearance in comets [the irregular shape of the tail] has led Sir Isaac
Newton ito some speculations relating to their use, which I cannot but extremely admire, as
representing the strongest light imaginable the extensive providence of the great author of
nature, who, besides the furnishing this of earth . . . so abundantly with every thing necessary for
the support and continuance of the numerous races of plants and animals . . . has over and above
provided a numerous train of comets . . . to rectify continually, and restore their gradual decay,
which is our author's opinion concerning them. 29

CONCLUSION

Helmont's tree experiment stimulated Robert Boyle's thoughts on transmutation and led him to
experiments which he believed confirmed his ideas about the nature of elements and the verity of
the atomic hypothesis. Furthermore, the experimental data seemed to agree with the account of
the Creation presented in Genesis. Unlike Helmont's "extravagant" views, Boyles's
"experimental" chemistry was acceptable, with a few modifications (e.g the omission of seminal
principles) to contemporary natural philosophers.

Isaac Newton seems to have been among those who were influenced by Boyle's chemical ideas.
Like Boyle, he believed that the transmutation of water and the air was a continuous process, a
process which resulted in a diminution of water and air. Newton solved the problem of the
eventual exhaustion of the seas and atmosphere by suggesting that matter from the tails of
comets replaced the transmuted atoms. Newton fitted the doctrine of transmutation into his world
system with its neat mathematical laws. The authority of Boyle and Newton served to establish
the doctrine of transmutation as a plausible explanation of certain important chemical processes
established by the wisdom of "the great author of nature".

REFERENCES
*I wish to thank Allen G. Debus and an anonymous referee for their valuable suggestions on improving this essay which was originally published in the
march 1980 issue of Ambix, The Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry.

1 Allen G. Debus has noted Boyle's respect for Helmont in 'The Chemical Debates of the 17th Century: The Reaction to Robert Fludd and Jean Baptist van
Helmont, in Reason, Experiment and mysticism in the Scientific Revolution, ed. by M. L. Righini Bonelli and William R. Shea, New York, Science
History Publications, 1975, pp. 43 and 44.

2 This is not to say that Helmont was an alchemist or a Paracelsian. He rejected the macrocosm - microcosm analogy of both views and developed his own
physiology. He also developed a theory of substances based on a series of transitions from aetherial ferments to coarser materials like gases and water.
Helmont's was a system somewhere between the Paracelsian and the new atomic chemistry which Boyle and his colleagues were developing. For an
excellent summary of Helmont's doctrines, see Walter Pagel, "The Religious and Philosophical Aspects of Van Helmont's Science and Medicine",
Supplement to the Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 1944, no, 2. The relationship of Helmontianism to atomism can perhaps be seen in the intellectual
growth of Walter Charleton who translated Helmont's The Magnetic Cure of Wounds into English. At a later date he rejected Helmont and translated
Gassendi's treatise on atomism.

3 Boyle's adherence to atomism or what he called the corpuscular philosophy did not mean that he totally rejected earlier chemical traditions. He was well
read in both alchemical and Paracelsian literature. He tended to accept the experiments of "chemists" but rejected their theoretical considerations, adapting
their data to atomism. Boyle's ambivalent position towards alchemy explains, at least in part, his belief in the reality of the transmutation of base metals by
earlier workers and his interest in duplicating their successes which culminated in his petition for exemption from the Parliamentary act against
"multipliers". Attempts to transmute by Boyle should not be taken as a sign that he was a traditional alchemist. All of his experimental aims were justifiable
in terms of the chemical separation and recombination of atoms. Boyle's interest in transmutation is discussed by Muriel West in "Notes on the Importance
of Alchemy to Modern Science in the Writings of Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle", Ambix, 9, 102-114, 1961. For an insight into Boyle's efforts at
transmutation and Newton's reaction to them see D. Geoghehan, "Some Indications of Newton's Attitude Towards Alchemy", Ambix, 6, 102-6, 1957. Betty
Jo Teeter Dobbs has discussed Boyle's belief that certain experiments resulted in the transmutation of silver into gold, see The Foundations of Newton's
Alchemy, Cambridge, 1975, p. 200.
4 "The importance of religion to Boyle's natural philosophy is discussed at length by J. E. McGuire in "Boyle's Conception of Nature", Journal of the
History of Ideas, 33, 523-42, 1972.

5 "That Boyle indeed influenced some of Newton's chemical thinking is seen in the Opticks (London, 1704), p. 374. There Newton wrote "Water by
frequent Distillations changes into fix'd Earth, as Mr. Boyle has try'd." The present paper seeks to trace in detail some of the ways in which the chemical
ideas of Newton were similar to those of Boyle. Newton was not, however, influenced by Boyle alone. He was personally interested in Helmont and had
read his Opera omnia (1667). This is demonstrated by King's College, Cambridge, Keynes, Newton MS. 16, which contains his notes from Helmont's
Opera. Debus in "Chemical Debates", p. 45, comments on the manuscript. In addition, Newton was himself well versed in alchemical thought, as the recent
work of Richard Westfall and Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs demonstrates. Of interest to Newton in his chemical thinking was the idea that this earth resembles a
great animal or rather inanimate vegetable and draws in aethereal breath for its daily refreshment... and thus a great P{ar}t if not all the moles of sensible
matter is nothing but aether congealed. Newton MS> Bundy Library-Sotheby Sale Catalogue n 516, quoted in P.M. Rattansi, "Newton's Alchemical
Studies", in Science, Medicine and Society in the Renaissance, ed. by Allen G. Debus. London, 1972; pp. 167-83. Boyle's thought was, however, as this
study will attempt to show, a catalyst in Newton's opinions concerning transmutation; see Geogehan, "Some Indications of Newton's Attitude Towards
Alchemy (3)

6 A chemistry based on rigorous experimentation and the atomic theory is what is meant by the term "new" chemistry. Boyle, Hooke, and others
consciously sought to free chemistry from what they saw as unsound doctrines based on broad generalizations drawn from a few experiments or simply
reasoning by anology. Dobbs in Newton's Alchemy (3), p. 203. notes the importance of Boyle's "Of Formes" to Newtons"Mechanical Ideas", especially his
ideas on universal matter and transmutation. Newton's mechanical philosophy and acceptance of Boyle's chemistry poses a problem for Dobbs in"Newton's
Alchemy". To her it appears anachronistic in light of his mechanism that Newton searched for the "mercury of metals". The solution of the difficulty may
lie in a further similarity between Newton and Boyle, their interest in and acceptance of the experiments of many traditional alchemists. It is logical, though
necessarily true, that Newton incorporated earlier terminology into his writings. There is no necessary contradiction in applying words for processes,
changes and substances from one system to another.

7 Marie Boas, Robert Boyle and Seventeenth Century Chemistry, Cambridge, 1958, p. 55. Allen C. Debus in The Chemical Philosophy, York, 1977,
provides the best account of the relationship of Boyle to Helmont and earlier chemists that this writer has encountered.

8 Boyle realized this relationship between experiment and theory in accepting Helmont and tried to break it, This will be discussed below.

9 The preceding is a distillation of Boyle's position in part two of the Sceptical Chymist and should not be viewed as a paraphrase of the text.

10 Sceptical Chymist (1860), Everyman Library P. 68.

11 Boyle was well aware of the alchemical teaching that the world was distilled from water. He seems however, to have differentiated between Helmont's
experimental proof that plants transformed water and the alchemical reasoning by analogy from the process of distillation.

12 Sceptical Chymist (10), p. 70.

13 Danton B. Sailor in "Moses and Atomism, Journal of the History of Ideas, XXV pp. 3-16, 1964, discusses at length Charleton and others who sought to
vindicate atomism from charges that it was pagan by tracing it back to Moses. Sailor notes that Boyle presented similar arguments in the Sceptical Chymist,
The Excellency of Theology and Some Specimens of an Attempt to Make Chymical Experiments Useful to Illustrate Motions of Corpuscular Philosophy.

14 Sceptical Chymist (10), p. 71.

15 "Ibid., p. 73. See Sailor, "Moses and Atomism" (13), for details on the acceptance and impact of Strabo's opinion.

16 Sailor in "Moses and Atomism details the notion, widely held in the seventeenth century, that Moschus and other Phoenicians learned from the Hebrews.
He points out that Moschus was often held to be a corruption of Moses.

17 Sceptical Chymist (10) p. 71. Most alchemists and Paracelsians believed that the creation in Genesis referred to a chemical separation from water. Boyle
was, however, doing more than just mirroring this time-worn view. He seems to have believed that the novel experiment of Helmont and the atomic
hypothesis supplied the keys which opened the door to the true explanation of how that separation took place.

18 "This is a point which Boyle himself makes in Some Considerations Touching the Style of the Holy Scriptures.

19 Sceptical Chymist (10), pp. 71 and 72.

20 Ibid., p. 75. As this passage indicates, Boyle was somewhat of a "sceptical atomist". He believed that atoms alone were too mechanical and insufficient
to explain chemical phenomena. To augment the atomic theory, he hypothesized seminal principles as activating forces. The importance of the seminal
principles to Boyle's view of chemical processes places him closer to Helmont and his ferments than to his fellow atomists and indeed Newton who
emphasized innate attractive and repulsive virtues in atoms. This aspect of Boyle's chemistry has not been well developed by scholars but Debus touches on
it in The Chemical Philosophy (7), vol. 11, p. 477.
21 Ibid., p.75 Though Boyle uses the term philoger, it is apparent his discussion transcends the bounds of determining the meaning of the Hebrew word,
Merahephet and enters into theology.

22 Robert Boyle, Tracts: Containing 1. Suspicions about some Hidden Qualities of the Air, etc Much of the following discussion is based on a paper by
Douglas McKie. "Some Early Work on Combustion, Respiration and Calcination" Ambix, 1, 143-65, 1938. No attempt will be made here to discuss
Boyle's interest in the transmutation of metals. Of interest to the present writer is the relationship of the transmutation of water and air to Boyle's religious
position and to Newton's Chemistry.

23 Though much has been written about the importance of alchemy to Newton by Richard Westfall and B. J. T. Dobbs, the following discussion will
attempt to show that corpuscularian chemistry similar to that of Boyle was the most direct chemical influence on thePrincipia A general discussion of
Newton's ideas and their relationship to his researchs and speculations on matter is found in McGuire, Transmutation and Immutability: Newton's Doctrine
of Physical Qualities. Ambix, 14, 64-95, 1967.

24 Isaac Newton, Mathematical Principles trans. by Andrew Motte and revised by Florian Cajori. Berkeley, 1966, pp. 529-30, in the first edition of the
Principia (1687), p. 506. The idea of the circulation of matter was not new to Newton, in the Principia. Earlier in his correspondence he had written of the
atmosphere being supported by exhalations from the earth (Correspondence, 1, p. 365-6). The Principia saw this view applied on a cosmic scale. Newton
was not the only one to link the replenishment of lost matter to celestial bodies. William Simpson in his Hydrologiaor the Chemical Anatomy of fhe
Scarborough and other Spaws in Yorkshire London, 1669, pp. 303 and 304, wrote on the growth of vegetables. The earth can no more produce Vegetables
or Minerals without the connatural circulation of water replenish'd with Celestial influences..." Debus notes Simpson's work in The Chemical Philosophy
(7), vol ii p 498.

25 Principia (24), P. 530.

26 Opticks(5), p. 394.

27 Ibid. p.386. The fusion of alchemical and "new" chemical terms mentioned in reference 6 is seen in Newton's statement "note that what is said by
chemists that everything is made from sulphur and mercury is true, because by sulphur they mean acid, and by mercury they mean Earth" (De natura
acidorum, cited in Correspondence, III, pp. 206 and 210, and in Dobbs Newton's Alchemy, p. 220). It is obvious that acid and earth were ultimately
corpuscular to Newton in spite of their original alchemical meanings

28 Opticks(5) p. 400. Newton's philosophical, rather than chemical, attitudes regarding the creation are discussed by Martin Tamny in ' Newton, Creation,
and Perception", Isis, 70, 48 - 58. 1979

29Henry Pemberton, A View of Sir Isaac London, 1728, pp. 243-4. The subject of Newton's theory of comets is discussed in an unpublished paper by
Phyllis J. Richardson'Newton's Comet Theory and His System of the World'. An interesting discussion of the fate of Newton's chemical ideas in the
Eighteenth century is found in Arnold Thackray's 'Matter in a Nut-shell; Newton's Opticks and 18th century Chemistry, Ambix, 15, 29-53

The Work In The Laboratory: a Paradox

Frater Albertus

A paradox seems to reveal its when one begins active work in a laboratory. It is not very
noticeable the beginning because chemical experimentation is supposed to result identical results
under identical conditions. However, this is not necessarily the case when it comes alchemical
attempts.

We are not speaking here of that initial experimentation in both strict chemical and alchemical
endeavours which is always subject to trial a error. However, when we are past that experimental
stage and a repetition of a proven formula or procedure is to expected, the alchemical aspirant
very often confronted with unexplainable failures. For example, one may have witnessed, and
then proven by personal experience, an occurrence in the laboratory - only to find when the same
procedure is performed at a later date, perhaps at another location (but possibly even in the
original setting) that the result is not the same.
Is it possible that alchemical procedures come under different laws than ordinary chemistry?
This is very unlikely when we consider that every action is based upon a cause and every
causation is based upon law. If a law needs no vindication because it has the inherent property of
a predestined result why, then, does the student of alchemy get unexpected results?

This paradox has puzzled many students of alchemy. Some say, for whatever it is worth, that
"higher forces," have their hands in the results. What "higher forces," one may well ask? Others
claim that the equipment or materials have been handled by others and thus are "contaminated."
There are many rationalizations of this kind.

Yet is it only too obvious in daily life that so-called routine work does not always proceed in a
routine manner. There seems to be times when one experiences "a streak of bad luck." other
words, things just don't occur correctly no matter how one tries, while at other times everything
runs smoothly. Since this takes place in everyday life, why should we believe, that the work in
the laboratory must always satisfy our expectations?

Actually there is no difference between the laboratory and the world outside. Success or failure,
no matter where the place, are always based upon prevailing circumstances. These circumstances
are a major cause of the actual results obtained.

Failure, even repeated failure, is the result of ignorance of the laws involved. Since a law in itself
does not change, the application of the law can, and does, make all the difference. This is the
main reason why insufficient knowledge causes failure in alchemical laboratory pursuits. Merely
observing another working and then trying to duplicate the procedures does not always create the
same results. If it was that easy there would never be any failures when an onlooker tried to
repeat a procedure.

It is practice, constant practice, by oneself that develops a person as an adept in an undertaking!

Since the approach alone can be sufficient indication of impending success or failure, it is a
necessity that alchemical work requires alchemical thinking. In many instances, a gradual shift
from alchemical concepts to chemical interpretations creates the cause of failure in the
laboratory. Not enough attention is given to the precept, "Know the Theory first before
attempting the Praxis!"

Any attempt at practical laboratory work is dependent upon the knowledge we have. It may seem
that we are "doing the same thing over again" but our way of thinking has changed, if have added
our own interpretations and explanations, we probably are not doing the "same thing" at all.

Another aspect may be added here which is not "scientifically" acceptable but still very much
evident. Circumstances over which we have no control have something to do with our laboratory
results. We are not referring to physical circumstances such as temperature and ph but to celestial
mechanics and celestial laws about which we are still very ignorant. It is here that we may have
to look for an explanation of our difficulties in the laboratory as these celestial influences could
possibly affect both the operator and the substances under consideration. Although the modern
scientist is likely to ignore such factors, the interplay between cycles and celestial influences
most likely holds the key to unexplainable results developing procedures.

When identical results do not appear from a repitition of the same experience there is no better
known way to solve the paradox than by learning to think as an alchemist thinks. No violation of
law is involved! Instead, one will then function with a knowledge of laws that modern science,
unfortunately, does not consider as factors in its approch. One will then not indulge in hopeless
rationalizations which necessarily fail to open up new avenues for experimentation. Finally this
new alchemical approach, this new understanding of law, will lead the aspirant to properly
modify procedures accord to the real circumstances. Thus the aspirant can achieve the desired
alchemical results: the evolution of substances and not simply new combinations.

Physical Immortality

Richard and Isabella Ingalese

Editor's Note: One of the most fascinating personal experiences in the long history of alchemical
research is that of the twentieth century American lawyer, Richard Ingalese, and his talented wife
Isabella. In this introduction to their essay on physical immortality, we will only briefly recall
their story for the reader who might not be aware of the small book which documents their
experience.

Richard and Isabella Ingalese were prominent writers in the early 1900's with several insightful
and useful books about personal transformation to their credit. In 1921 they decided to turn their
brilliant minds to the study of laboratory alchemy. Their goal was the production of the
legendary Philosopher's Stone and medicinal means to extend physical life. According to their
account, they knew no one who could personally instruct them and worked entirely from the
available English (Waite) translation of Paracelsus. Isabella did their first laboratory work while
Richard went back to work as an attorney to finance their efforts.

After several years Isabella succeeded in extracting the necessary oils from metals. Richard then
joined her in the laboratory research. After more years of work they finally produced and
successfully tested a primitive medicinal stone with a group of friends known as "The Renewal
Club." In 1928 Richard Ingalese gave a public talk about this experience with laboratory
alchemy in such honest and open terms that it is impossible to doubt his integrity. It is this
inspiring speech which was later printed as a limited edition booklet.

To this editor's knowledge, the following essay, excerpted from the 1930 edition of their book,
The Greater Mysteries, is the only writing of the Ingalese's appearing after the 1928 speech
which hints at their alchemical nowledge and provides valuable clues about the usage of
"alchemical elixirs in conjunction with the tools of Mental Alchemy and ordinary hygienic law.
If any reader has further knowledge about the life and researches of this remarkable couple and
would communicate such information to us, or could merely indicate posible sources to contact
for this purpose, we would be exceedingly grateful.

In 1981, when the ordinary scientific research commented upon by the Ingalese's has reached a
point where it is anticipated that normal humans may have a 600-year life span by the end of the
century, the following comments by two profound thinkers about the possibility and methods of
achieving immortality deserve special attention.

There is a phase of immortality which appeals to many minds at this time. We refer to physical
immortality.

The chemist, the physician, the masseur and the electrician are all drafted into the army which is
arrayed against old age and death. Many magazines are devoted to the subject of physical
culture. Every hamlet, town and city has its teachers of deep breathing and its beauty doctors.
Every city, school, college and pleasure resort makes provision for athletic exercises or out
sports. Every city has its Board of Health working, more or less intelligently and successfully, to
lessen the death rate. All these things are indicative of the popular and growing desire for
longevity or physical immortality.

Then, in the realms of metaphysics we have many teachers who are endeavoring to demonstrate
over old age and death and who are attempting to teach their followers how to attain physical
immortality through mental means. These tremendous demands going forth into Divine Mind, as
desire, prayer and conscious effort, must in time bring results to those demanding. But, since the
majority of people do not believe in physical immortality, and only hope for prolonged youth and
longevity, their demands will doubtless be met in this way.

In point of fact there cannot be a literal physical immortality in the present gross forms, because
even if the body could be renewed indefinitely, the time will come when the earth and all such
forms upon it will die and disintegrate. By physical immortality, hen, is meant the renewal and
retention of the body for as long a time as may be desired, or the transmutation of the physical
body into a finer form of matter. Those who believe in such physical immortality and desire to
have it, will have their demands met, when they comply with the Laws of Life.

According to Occultism there are six things that must be done to acquire socalled perpetual
youth. First, eliminate all bad Karma. Second, frequently make the demand of Divine
Consciousness for perpetual youth, using the renewing Cosmic Forces to aid the materialization
of the demand. Third, prepare and use either an alchemical elixir or a vegetable compound which
will renew the tissues of the body as rapidly as its normal waste requires, or transmute it into an
ethereal form. Fourth obey the hygienic laws. Fifth, conserve mental and physical forces. Sixth,
sleep from seven to twelve hours out of each twenty-four.

It is not an easy task to preserve youth and to live the strenuous lives that most of us do at this
time in our evolution. Merely to live is not altogether desirable, though many there are who do
prolong their lives to, and beyond three score years and ten; and there are a few who have lived
beyond their century cycle. But usually, after this age has been reached, the body then becomes
cumbersome to its possessor and a trial to his associates and friends. "Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans
taste, sans everything is merely physical existence and not that Perpetual youth which is desired.
An old alchemist eating the apples of immmortality

If one should observe the last five requisites and still have or make bad Karma, the power to
renew youth would prove unavailing, for "the wages of sin" or ignorance "is death."

It matters not what power one may have to renew one's body, if one is guilty of infractions of the
moral code, then the Law would pay the wages of sin. To live a moral, harmonious life is the
first and greatest requisite toward attaining perpetual youth. It was these characteristics which
enabled the Nazarene to escape the dominion of death; and we cannot think of that Divine
Personage as an old man. Thought stamps itself upon the body and particularly upon the face. A
sin-stamped face is never youthful, it always suggests experience and age, no matter what art or
science may do for it. It is ignorance of this requisite that has caused so many people in the past
to fail in their attempts to prolong their youthful appearance, though they had considerable
knowledge of some of the other requisites.

It is also necessary to make the demand of Diety for youth. This demand, in itself, is helpful both
as an autosuggestion and as a means of putting the law into operation to meet the demand. The
conscious use of Cosmic Force is always constructive to the body, because it brings new and
necessary atoms and elements into it. Those who know nothing of the Occult Forces in Nature
accomplish the same results, only in a lesser degree, by demanding, or praying for health and
youth, or by asserting in a creative way the possession of these qualities.

For example, a Christian Scientist, with a limited knowledge of the law, will accomplish good
results by denying old age and death and affirming the possession of youth and life. A student of
Occultism would not only make the same affirmations but would also consciously draw into
himself the Cosmic Force which would help to objectivize the desire.

But the use of mind alone, either consciously, as in the manipulation of nature's finer forces, or
less consciously, as in denials and affirmations, will not prolong youth or life except in very rare
cases of powerful and trained minds. But even when such minds do accomplish this purpose, so
much time and force is given to the self-treatments that not much is left for the accomplishment
of any other purpose. In other words, mere existence is maintained by using nearly all one's force
to hold an old worn-out body.

This is not intended as a criticism of those metaphysical schools of thought which disapprove of
the use of physical means to heal the body or to aid in maintaining its youth. All these schools
are but different aspects of ancient thought applied to modern conditions. They are all good and
helpful in their way, but by reason of their recent origin, are necessarily passing through an
experimental stage. In time they will, through experience, discover that since food is necessary to
maintain the body at all stags of its development, so, after fifty years of age, special preparations
are necessary to maintain youth and to promote longevity.

No modern school of metaphysical thought has yet reached a point where any of its members or
leaders can successfully claim to have maintained youth one hundred years or even to have
prolonged physical life, with full faculties, beyond that period. Occultism, however, has ages of
experience to its credit. In the Orient, where it is more generally known, tradition is rife with
accounts of lives prolonged hundreds of years. And even in the Occi dent there are traditions of
magicians who brewed and drank the elixir of life, and thus lived from age to age. And even as
late as the end of the eighteenth century Comte de Saint Germain and other Occultists, even'
according to the prejudiced, vilifying writers, produced evidence of having lived two hundred
years or more, and were well preserved at the time of the French Revolution. This great age they
attributed to an alchemical elixir of life which they possessed.

Whenever there are legends which persist age after age, among different people, you may be sure
they have some basis in fact, whether it be a legend of a flood or of the elixir of life. The
Occultist says there are both vegetable and alchemical compounds which will renew the tissues
of the body. The masters of Occultism give their alchemical secrets only to their very advanced
students, or to initiates who would not misuse the knowledge thus received. But it is interesting
to know that our chemists are becoming so expert that persons wishing to prolong youth can
obtain many material aids from them.

Where one has the knowledge and power to maintain youthfulness, generation after generation,
in time it becomes a question of desirability to do so. Styles change in bodies as well as in
raiment. Each generation produces better bodies and brains than the previous one. The seat of
civil ization changes also. With these changes, an adept under an old regime might feel
unpleasantly conspicuous in a differently colored, or different kind of body in a new civilization.

To the person who can, at will, per petuate or lay down his life, the prolongation of youth and
life are but matters of convenience to facilitate his evolution. In most people, back of the desire
for physical immortality, is the fear of death, and yet such life can never be gained until that fear
has been conquered.

Occultism differs also from certain other contemporaneous schools of metaphysics in regard to
hygiene. It true that mind can dominate matter and control physical conditions an environment,
but conditions also affect the mind. The Occultist thinks that it is a conservation of mental force
to obey hygienic laws, rather than to remonstrate over the conditions that arise from disregarding
them.

Inquiries by Students ... and Answers

Frater Albertus

Q. It seems that not all classes receive the same instructions. Why is it that some are shown how
to make an emerald green tincture from antimony and even a bright blue one while others never
get to see them?

A. A great deal depends on those present in a class. Since every class is working on a joint
project to begin with from the Prima to the Quarta (or formerly from the Prima to Septa at the
Paracelsus Research Society), some receive more or somewhat different instructions because of
their joint efforts. Some students are only concerned about what they can use for personal gain
and not what can be done to assist in the work. The degree of individual consciousness while
engaged in the work is the deciding factor.

Q. There is much talk about the phil. mercury among the students, but little or few results are to
be had as to its effectiveness according to all that can be found in the literature. Why is that?

A. First of all, there are many alkahests. The phil. mercury is of special interest to those engaged
in alchemistical research because of the greater energy found in it. When we have shown in the
laboratory and openly declared in our literature the preparatory steps to get a crude starting
media, it does not mean that the final or end result of the phil. mercury has been given. This has
been and will be reserved, as has been in the past, for those who have proven themselves ready to
receive it. Those who know about it will decide whom they shall entrust with it.

Several have approached me and wanted to know why it has been withheld from them. The
answer is obvious. They will have to prove themselves to receive it. It has turned out to be a
blessing that some of those who thought that they should automatically receive such information
have turned against us. It is a sign that speaks for itself as to why such knowledge is reserved for
others.

Q. There are letters circulating that indicate the College is going out of existence and that all
teachings have stopped. There has been no reply forthcoming about all sorts of talk and
accusations against Frater Albertus and the College. Can we expect an answer?

A. Here is your answer. The Paracelsus College is as active as ever, if not even better and more
so than before. Attendance is excellent and class results even more productive than before since
changes in the administration have been made. Any statements made by individuals or groups or
the media have their origin with them and not with us.

We have no control over anyone as to what is written, said or printed. Statements have appeared
in the media that I am the greatest living alchemist. Such statements were not made by myself.
Others say I am a dangerous person, a liar and a cheat. Anyone can form an opinion about the
teachings of the College or my person as it pleases or not pleases them. It is suggested that
anyone contact the sources of such information directly. We here at the College, including my
person, have other and more important work to do than reply to all kinds of statements and
gossips.

You may perhaps recall the statement made in the book "The Occult Explosion" that the PRS
taught in a two weeks course how to transmute lead into gold. Many suggested that we should
sue the author and start legal proceedings against him. We did not even deem it worth our time to
write to the author about such misleading statements. We have more important things to do than
respond to malicious propaganda of individuals whose ulterior motives are only too evident.

Q. Rumors are circulating that most students who previously attended classes at the former PRS
have not returned. Is this so, and why?
A. This is correct. Anyone who has attended any College or University and received the
instructions one set out to receive has finished that aspect of their lives. They are thereafter on
their own, as it is said. This applies likewise to both the PRS and now Paracelsus College.
However, many students have studied and remained in close contact with the College after their
regular study groups. We still enjoy the presence of those who were even with us in the very
beginning when we came into the open. That is now over twenty years and a truly noteworthy
sign one has reason to rejoice about. It is very unlikely that a majority of students would ever
maintain a lifelong affiliation with their respective Alma Maters.

Q. Are you still going to teach in other foreign countries?

A. Yes. Commitments are already made for 1982.

Q. Will you personally supervise the special Elective Classes to continue this instruction after
the Quarta class?

A. Yes, until other help is trained to assist me at home and abroad.

Q. Why do students have to come from foreign countries to Salt Lake City. Would it not be better
to go to them? You now have students coming from Africa, Australia, Mexico and other
countries.

A. We have been invited to teach in other European countries besides Switzerland and Austria.
We would like to do so but there is a time factor. There is just not enough time available to teach
more classes. Anyone who is interested enough in receiving what we have to offer will have to
find ways and means to reach us. That is how it was formerly and most likely will be in the
future. Besides, we are not proselytizing and trying to get members for Paracelsus College as no
memberships are available. Teachings for those who make an effort to find and to receive them
are available free of charge, as these teachings cannot be paid for with material ways and means.

Q. There is a correspondence between the three Gunas (Satva, Raja, and Tama) and what may
be called Proticity, Neutricity, and Electricity. Is it presumptuous to extend this correspondence
directly to the Alchemical Salt, Sulphur and Mercury?

A. It is not presumptuous to extend this correspondence directly with the three alchemistical
essentials.

On Deciphering Alchemistical Language

R. W. Councell

The claims of the alchemists are twotold: first, that a law of evolution obtains in the mineral and
metallic realm; and second, that its working has been practically demonstrated. Modern writers
on chemistry, and modern critics of alchemy, do not definitely deny the possibility of evolution,
but they do assert that the practical proof of the existence of such a law has not yet passed
successfully through the crucial test. Yet the truth of the alchemists assertions is vouched for in
the most solemn language possible. Without any obligation to do so, writers have pledged their
hopes of eternal salvation upon the truthfulness of their statements.

If he reads many alchemic books, the unbiased man will be unable to avoid one conclusion that
the alchemist had 'one that which he solemnly asserted he has actually accomplished, viz,
produced gold which was not previously in existence. The whole possibility turns on this point:
Is gold a compound body?" Chemists can only say they have not yet succeeded in splitting it up,
if indeed such a statement is true. It could also be said that it acts like a simple body. This latter
is not a suffcient argument for many compounds - take for example, ethyl and ammonia - act as
simple bodies to form bases, salts, amalgams and so on. These compounds were formerly
considered to be simple.

In order to understand the alchemic writer it is necessary to follow his mental processes, to enter
into the same mental view. It is obvious that the alchemist dared not openly name his materials in
the practical part of his book; neither did he describe in detail his first handling of these
materials. These important points he apparently hinted at in a very circuitous way in his theory or
philosophy.

In nature it often happens that the obvious is false and the concealed is true. So it is in the speech
of the alchemists. It would indeed, in some respects, be easier to follow their methods, if blank
spaces, or mere letters of the alphabet, were substituted for most of the names given. The student
would then - instead of wasting his thought, time and means on the wrongly named materials - be
compelled to guide himself by the properties of the things. As matters are, he probably works on
things which, though indicated, or even named, by the alchemic writers, could not possibly
accomplish the work, because they are not in the true evolutionary path to silver or gold. The
following points should be considered. -
1. The place where the substance is found.
2. Whether liquid or solid.
3. How treated.
4. Any change when heated.
5. Its action in contact with other bodies.
6. Does it solidify, or liquefy, on exposure to air?
7. Does it evaporate?
8. Is it easily distilled or with difficulty, and great heat?
9. Its scent or taste.
10. Its ordinary outward appearance.
11. Is it acid or alkaline?
12. On mixture does it evolve heat, or produce cold?
13. If a fluid, does it swim on, mix with, or sink in other fluids? These and other signs will aid in
determining whether or not the worker has succeeded in "spotting" the materials used by the
alchemist.
All this is very elementary; but apparently students usually rush at the thing which the writer has
called antimony - for instance - and try to force from it the signs and reactions described. If much
more thought were used, before the actual practice began, these blunders would be less frequent.

The curious names used - since the writers cannot use the real names indicate, as before
remarked, properties cognizable by the senses; if this be kept constantly in mind, it may be that
the correct name (or names) will fit into the proper place. By the association of ideas in the
student, it is quite possible to alight on the association of ideas which led the writers to select
these obscure but permissibly relevant terms.

In the present day, however, we are seriously handicapped by our scientific training in our
attempts to probe these tergiversations. We are taught to attach one meaning to one word, so far
as the limits of language allow. We strive to get the "currency of thoughs as pure and
unadulterated as possible. Thus we naturally fall easy victims to an apparent simplicity and
candour (the critics call it ignorance), which is in reality a deliberately designed subtlety.

The trouble is not entirely with the parables and the analogies, many of which are of as much
force and appropriateness now as then: it is also with the names of chemicals, and the difficulty
of estimating exactly what substances they knew. Again, it is certain that the handled things
which were then unnamed, things which today are well known. It is of assistance to get the most
ancient books on chemistry such as Boerhaave, Macquer, and work up through Ure and other
men to the present day. Also books on mining and metallurgy from Basil Valentine, and so
consecutively to the 20th century.

When the sage speaks of a single simple sulphur, and a single simple mercury, it is necessary to
remind onself that, for all we know to the contrary, the substances may have been compounds,
which the alchemist could not analyze further. Even if they were compounds, it would make no
difference, for if the working were the same method as used by the alchemist we should get the
same results, if operating on the same subjects. But it might make a difference mentally, when
trying to discover what these "simple" things might be. Thus it is evident that the correct
interpretations of the words and phrases of the alchemists is the only key which avails to unlock
the mystery.

(Excerpted from "Apologia Alchymiae," London, 1925.)

Essentia
Volume 2 Winter 1981
Cover photograph
The beautiful specimen of antimony ore from Rumania is reproduced from the book, Zauber der
Mineralien, compiled by Kurt Bluchel and Dr. Olaf Medenbach, and published by Ringier & Co.
AG Zurich. The original specimen is 42 by 34 mm.

Exemplar - Nikola Tesla

The Wonders of Antimony
Preparing the Vinegar of Antimony
Inquiries by Students ... and Answers

Nikola Tesla
1856-1943
Tesla's life reads like a Hollywood fairy tale. Here is a man who possessed mysterious powers of
mind and became one of the truly great scientific geniuses of our time. And yet Tesla is
relatively unknown today, essentially written out of the history books. His critics claim that this
is so because Tesla's final work was bizarre and impossible of realization despite all of his
previous achievements. Tesla's supporters, on the other hand, are adamant in their belief that his
work was deliberately suppressed because it definitely threatened the very existence of many
powerful companies in the area of energy production. Furthermore, Tesla's devotees insist that
the rediscovery of "Tesla's secrets" will bring about unlimited supplies of cheap or free energy, a
hitherto unknown abundance of goods, the end of war and the beginning of a new golden age.

In his workshop at Colorado Springs, Nikola Tesla created lightening bolts of many millions of
volts with resonating electrical storms. This famous scientist claimed that in these experiments
he discovered a method for producing standing waves of energy around the entire planet which
could be picked up at any point with a simple radio-like receiver.
Tesla was born in what is now a section of Yugoslavia. He came to New York in June 1884
when he was twenty seven years old, later becoming a citizen of the United States. It is said that
upon arrival this immigrant only had four cents in his pocket (because his other money and
luggage had been stolen en route), a book of poetry, designs for flying machine and a headful of
other ideas. Among these ideas was a fully formulated plan for a motor consisting of a spatially
rotating magnetic fie: created by two alternating currents out of step (or phase) with each other
which would then spin an iron rotor. Four years later, in 1888, Tesla was invited to read his
paper, A New System of Alternate Current Motors and Transformers, before the prestigious
American Institute of Electrical Engineers in New York. His rotating magnetic field motor had
proven successful. For the first time a machine had been built which involved more than obvious
mechanical linkages, being initiated and sustained by magnetic forces invisible to the human
senses.

In 1890 an international commission of scientists was formed to plan the transmission of power
from Niagara Falls to the city of Buffalo, 22 miles away. Thomas Edison, the well known
electrical inventor, advocated the direct current system which he had been developing for many
years and which represented the state of the electrical art at that time. However, since Edison's
d.c. apparatus could only transmit the electricity several thousand feet before requiring
cumbersome booster stations, the project seemed prohibitively expensive. Other impractical
plans advocated direct mechanical shafts or the piping of compressed air over the many miles
between the Falls and Buffalo.

Tesla (backed by industrialist George Westinghouse) at this time overcame all the difficulties of
the other proposals by designing a complete system of alternating current generators, distribution
system and even the final motors. Buffalo had its electricity and for the first time the world had a
system of energy which put the power right where it was needed, hundreds of miles from its
source if need be. Due to Tesla, industry was no longer dependent on local conditions - and
could be located far from rivers and sources of raw materials. Due to Tesla, people on farms or in
cities could have light, refrigeration, heating, washing machines, power tools and all the other
amenities of modern civilization at the flick of a switch.

It should be noted that Edison was originally opposed to Tesla's plan. Edison bluntly said at the
time, "My personal desire would be to prohibit entirely the use of alternating currents. They are
as unnecessary as they are dangerous." But it was not long after Tesla's first success at Niagara
Falls that Edison's General Electric Company fully adopted the Tesla system of alternating
current and became a prime manufacturer of a.c. generators and motors. This partially explains
why in the popular mind Edison, rather than Tesla, is credited with the modern utilization of
electricity.

Tesla was still a young man. He had unique mental abilities which allowed him to so thoroughly
see the operator of mechanical and electrical devices in his mind that he could correct their
design before putting a sketch on paper or before building a working model. In the next years
Tesla made fundamental contributions to radio, developing the electronic detector tube and
finally working system of wireless communication even before Marconi (who is commonly
credited with this invention). Tesla also designed remote controlled radio devices, pioneered
improvements in x-ray technology and medical diathermy, developed fluorescent lighting, metal-
melting high frequency induction furnaces, electric clocks, robots with electric brains anticipated
radar, etc. Many develoments commonly attributed to others had their origins in Tesla's genius,
his pioneering experiments and the teachings which he provided.

In 1899 Tesla built an electrical research laboratory at Colorado Springs. Here Tesla produced
artificial lightning, in the course of his experiments with high frequency phenomena. These
incredible lightning bolts were as long a 135 feet, the greatest point to point electrical discharge
ever achieved humans. This was done with a version of his famous "Tesla coil," an air core high
frequency oscillation transformer with its primary and secondary windings tuned to resonance. In
1929, much before the development of the modern cyclotron, the Carnegie Institute of
Washington used a five million volt Tesla coil in one of the first attempts to smash the atom.

Tesla eventually focused his genius on devising a method for the world wide transmission of
power by modifying the electric charge of the entire planet with stationary waves similar to those
he detected during a lightning storm in Colorado. For example, Tesla claimed that he was able to
light 200 electric bulbs located 26 miles from his laboratory through a wireless transmission of
electricity. But in 1905 Tesla went bankrupt and the financial support that he had been receiving
fron such economic giants as J. P. Morgan and Westinghouse was strangely withdrawn. The
supporters of Tesla claim that this happened because Tesla was intent on developing a method
for the production and distribution of essentially free energy, a goal that was totally unacceptable
to those who were profiting from the existing energy system. These supporters say that Tesla's
name was gradually removed from the history books not because he had become failure but
precisely because he was so close to achievements that would alter established economic
structures.

Nikola Tesla in his laboratory.

One indication that Tesla may really have achieved a revolutionary and functional system of
wireless transmission of energy is contained in a 1967 interview with Peter Savo, a nephew of
Tesla, conducted by Derek Ahlers, an aeronautical engineer. Savo claimed in this interview that
in 1931 Tesla and he test drove a car in Buffalo, New York, which had its original motor
removed and was powered only by an electrical receiver containing 12 radio tubes and six-foot
antenna. This power receiver, mounted in the dash, was connected to brushless electric motor
installed under the hood in place of the normal gasoline engine. Savo drove the car 50 miles the
first day at speeds up to 90 miles an hour, the total tests extending over days.
There are also a number of suggestive hints in Tesla's more than one hundred patents that he had
a very clear conception of how to deliberately create oscillations in the electrical fields of the
entire planet that would allow anyone with a simple receiver to have virtually free power in
unlimited quantities for whatever purpose desired.

Many independent researchers all over the world have been involved in experiments to
rediscover the principle of Tesla's free energy system. In 1981 Thomas Bearden, a retired U.S.
Army Lt. Colonel with expertise in nuclear physics, published a small pamphlet called Solutions
To Tesla's Secrets* which may provide a basis for further research. This paper is based on
Tesla's many statements that he had detected, and was designing, apparatus involving an entirely
new kind of electric wave or field that measurably moves faster than the speed of light and did
not dissipate over distances as do ordinary electromagnetic waves. (As early as 1900 Tesla stated
that power from his transmitter passed over the earth at a speed of 292,830 miles per second.)

In his own investigation of this "scalar" wave or field, Bearden suggests that Tesla may really
have discovered a more fundamental component of the universe than anything previously
known. He claims that this new field is always around us but detectable only by modern
interferometry techniques because "scalar" fields normally couple rapidly to form ordinary
electromagnetic vectors. Bearden concludes that the utilization of this new wave or field may
lead to practical consequences as great or greater than the discovery and utilization of "normal"
electricity (which, it must be noted, also has always been part of the human environment but was
never really utilized until the Nineteenth Century).

Tesla himself said repeatedly in the last years of his life that he had arrived at solutions for a
source of relatively free and unlimited energy, of force fields that could shield cities and prevent
wars as we have experienced them, of a functional means of interplanetary communication and
of electrical control of the weather. Tesla also suggested something of specific interest to those
seeking to integrate the transmutational researches of the ancient alchemists with the knowledge
of modern science. He claimed that his own line of high frequency electrical research had
provided him with a new concept of "primary substance" and revealed how humans could create
and annihilate material substance in order to create desired forms.

It is obvious that Tesla should be restored to his proper place in the history books of our time.
This should be done not only in honor of his demonstrably great achievements but to provide
coming generations of young people with an inspirational model and a level insight that will aid
in the evolutionary progress of humankind.
-Art Kunkin

*Available from the Tesla Book Company, 1580 Magnolia Avenue, Millbrae, California 94030

The Wonders of Antimony

Frater Albertus
Antimony in its natural form displays an exceptional external appearance. (See our cover
photograph!) Its raylike extension in every direction impresses us as a manifestation of energy
from a core of enormous potency. There is no metal known that appears in nature like antimony.
Several minerals have similar characteristics (uranium ore, for example, which is known to
contain enormous amounts of energy, sometimes has an antimonial appearance) but no mineral
displays the outstanding spearlike lustre of antimony.

However, to the average person antimony is of little significance. One may have beard of it as an
elemental metal, being of a poisonous nature, like arsenic, but beyond this usually little is
known. As to any medicinal value of this poison, even less emerges. What, then, is so wonderful
about antimony?

The ancients knew about antimony, praising it very highly for its hidden medicinal virtues.
During medieval times, a rediscovery of these virtues by Basil Valentine and the Father- of
modern medicine, Paracelsus, caused considerable renewed interest. Both found antimony to be
of extraordinarily curative potency and wrote extensively about it. Valentine called antimony one
of the seven wonders of the world, praising it as the best blood purifying agent available. He
claimed to have used it for the cure of many diseases, including cancer. These claims were
substantiated by Dr. Kerckring of Hol land about two hundred and fifty years later when he
prepared and used ant monial tinctures in his medical practice. Since that time, the Latin
translation of Basil Valentine's Triumphal Chariot of Antimony by Dr. Kerckring and subsequent
publication in other languages including English have caused considerable interest in antimony
and its therapeutic virtues. Unfortunately, attempts to reestablish and confirm these early claims
have proven fruitless for a hitherto unexplained reason.

Failure has stalked modern attempts to verify the medicinal potency of antimonial tinctures
because of insufficient knowledge of the original alchemistical terminology and symbolism used
by Valentine and Paracelsus. When modern chemistry replaced some of the archaic sounding
names and symbols with terms that conformed to modern chemical theory, the modern
researcher was not able to fathom the true meaning of the original concepts and hence was
unable to duplicate the procedures so clearly outlined by Valentine. It is here where the
controversy begins, (This does not mean that in former times there were no misconceptions
about antimony. On the contrary, ignorance as to how to purify antimony of its powerful
poisonous nature so that it could be safely used as a medicine was even in medieval times a
stumbling block for those who failed to carefully follow the instructions of the alchemists.)

Contemporary research has established the fact that to unravel some of the alchemistical jargon
requires a deep insight into the thought-world of the former alchemists. Only when the meaning
of their wording and terminology has been uncovered, a difficult task as there are of ten great dif
ferences from presently established nomenclatures, is it then possible to begin making
interpretations and verifications of the results claimed by the alchemists. Those who have made
sincere and diligent efforts to establish the validity of the ancient claims about antimony are
literally amazed by the diversity of the procedures involved and their results. Then one
appreciates why Valentine calls antimony one of the seven wonders of the world and states that
one person's life is not long enough to explore all the wonders of the substance.
Nevertheless, the claims made by those who say they have accomplished the freeing of the
potencies inherent in antimony give rise to many questions. First of all, why is so little known
about antimony if it was once so famous? If it has great curative powers, where are the results of
these investigations? If antimony preparations do exist, why is more not known about them?
Why is this medicine not used to prove its efficaciousness7

There is sufficient literature available about antimony to fill many bookshelves but,
unfortunately, modern inerest has concentrated on the commercially profitable metallurgical
exploitation of this substance. Very few people have made attempts to probe beyond the
poisonous characteristics of antimony and master the proper formulation necessary to reveal its
medicinal qualities. Evaluations can only be made after the substance to be tested is sufficiently
available and there is hardly enough to be had for this serious clinical evaluation. So it is not
surprising that so little is known about the wonders of antimony.

For several decades Paracelsus College and its predecessor, the Paracelsus Research Society,
have placed considerable emphasis on the preparation of antimony for therapeutic evaluation.
Experiments and tests have shown that careful contemplation is required before any laboratory
attempts are undertaken. As statements by former alchemists do not find substantiation in
modern textbooks and appear from the outset as impossible because of linguistic
misunderstandings, modern researchers understandably face difficulties and even shy away from
such an undertaking. Nevertheless, considerable progress has been made. Efforts being made
continue to produce gratifying evidence and further substantiation of the methods advocated by
former alchemists for the production of antimonial tinctures and essences.

To produce medications that have their formerly inherent toxins removed so as to become
harmless places a tremendous strain on the novice who wishes to enter into this field of research,
particularly when no previous alchemistical studies under competent guidance have been
completed. If it was not for the evidence at hand that this can be done, at least to a certain extent,
the frustration of present-day researchers would be even greater.

However, if the potencies in antimony are so profound, why has modern medical science not
made greater efforts to find out more about it, particularly when small quantities of antimonial
tinctures have become available for clinical evaluation. The fact is that attempts to place these
tinctures into the hands of those legally qualified to test them have failed because authorities
such as the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have no testing reports to pass
judgement upon. Such required testing involves enormous amounts of money and time extending
over several years. Unless other ways and means become available, it looks like the wonders that
are hidden in antimony will remain concealed even though Dr. Kerckring proved in his medical
practice that much of the suffering of mankind can be alleviated by antimony.

However, modern medical science considers that the cures claimed by Dr. Kerckring are
impossible. This prejudice, and the alchemistical connotations of the work of Valentine and
Paracelsus, have prevented serious contemporary scientists from researching the area of
antimony as a medicinal substance. Whatever the case may be, there is sufficient evidence on
hand to prove that non-toxic and beneficial essences and tinctures can be prepared from
antimony, What is lacking is only appropriation and approval by those qualified to legalize
medicines. Only in such a way can the Wonders of Antimony be made available to suffering
mankind.

Preparing the Vinegar of Antimony

Lawrence Principe

The preparation of Basil Valentine, with some adaptations, the vinegar of antimony, was
prepared from antimony sulphide. It was found that the native ore did not give a yield of vinegar
superior to that from the chemically prepared sulphide. Furthermore, the vinegar's constitution
was investigated, although its unwillingness to form well defined compounds impeded such
study.

The vinegar of antimony is mentioned in many alchemistical texts, but it is Basil Valentine who
gives what is probably the first account of its preparation In his Triumphal Chariot of Antimony
he writes:

The ore from which antimony is melted and made pure must be ground most subtly and finely.
Put this ground material into a round glass which is called a Phiole, and has a very long neck,
and pour distilled rainwater over it until half the glass is filled. Place this flask, well sealed, in
horse-manure in order to putrefy until the ore begins to ferment, and generates a foam which
floats atop. Then it is the time to take it out, because such is the sign that the body has opened
itself up.1

This first step in the preparation is the digestion. In later editions of the work, Kerckring adds
that "six pounds of antimony require 14 pounds of distilled water 2. . ." In order to carry out this
operation, two small volumetric flasks were taken (as they have a shape most approaching the
Phiole, but when larger amounts of vinegar are being made, a Kjedahl flask would be even
better) and into each flask six grams of antimony trisulphide were introduced. One sample was
native stibnite, the other, chemically prepared sulphide. Fourteen mIs. of distilled water were
poured over each, and then the flasks were sealed. Since putrefying dung generates a temperature
of about 40oC, a hot water Path was prepared to maintain this degree. A common fish-tank heater
keeps the temperature reasonably constant, and an inverted flask maintains the water level. These
flasks were placed in the bath so that the water levels inside and out were equivalent.

Although Valentine gives no period of time requisite for the completion of the reaction, another
text states that six weeks is sufficient.3 After six weeks had passed, no foam had appeared, only a
very slight scum floated on the surface of the water. The flasks were left for another six weeks,
but still no foam appeared.

Such a foam would probably be produced only with larger quantities in more capacious vessels.
This foam would be composed of hydrogen sulphide which is generally produced by the long
term action of warm water upon finely ground sulphides of metals with chemical characteristics
similar to antimony.4
The next step is the distillation. Valentine continues with the process:

Now put this digested material into an alembic, well closed, and draw the water off. Thus it will
taste a little sour ... '5

Here Kerckring notes a special caution in distilling.

... when we wish to distill it after digestion, there is a certain manipulation to be observed, upon
which the success of the whole work depends. Thus, the alembic is to be set up so that its beak
touches the water which is in the receiver or which has passed into the receiver through
distillation. Otherwise, the spirit of antimony is dispersed, and the most part thereof is lost, in
which case much more time is required for the work to be perfected.6

In accordance with this behest, the distillation train was set up with the takeoff tube's end under
the level of water placed in the receiver. When the apparatus had been prepared, one of the flasks
was opened, and the contents transferred to the round bottom flask. At this point only a very faint
odor of hydrogen sulphide was noticed. The receiver was kept cool, and the flow of gas through
it was monitored carefully to avoid too rapid an evolution of whatever volatile substances might
be present. After all the liquid had distilled over, the most part of it was removed and quickly
sealed in a bottle,' only enough was left in the receiver so that the end of the takeoff adapter was
under the liquid's level.

The sublimation follows next, for Basil states that "... when all the water comes over, then
augment the fire so that a sublimate comes forth.7 Kerckring gives a more definite procedure in
his commentary.

When all the water has passed through the alembic, the fire (as the author advises) is to be
increased, and continued without intermission for three days and nights.8

Thus, the electric heating mantle was turned up to the highest setting which could be maintained
with safety. The temperature, as recorded by thermocouple, rapidly rose to 400oC. This
temperature was maintained for the required three days. By the end of this alloted interval, the
head was covered with a coating of sublimate whose color varied from yellow to vermillion to
deep red.

A repetition of the operations results in fortification of the "vinegar" Basil writes:

Grind this material under the feces, and pour the water upon it again, and distill it off again, and
thus it becomes sharper. This operation must be repeated so often until the water becomes as
sour as ordinary sharp distilled winevinegar, and the sublimate becomes less and less.9

And Kerckring adds:

Then let it cool, and, as he teaches, let the sublimate be mixed with fresh antimony. Again go
through the work for three days and nights, and thereupon repeat this thrice, and then your
water will be acidic like common vinegar.10
Accordingly, the brightly colored sublimate was scraped from the head, and the glittering array
of crystals of antimony sulphide which had sublimed in a ring just above the limit of the heating
mantle were mixed and finely ground together. At this point two methods can be followed, for
when the distillate is poured over the material, the slurry can either be allowed to stand for a
while, or be distilled immediately. The latter plan is much to be preferred even though it seems
logical to think that digestion would produce a greater product yield. This is not the case,
however. There should be no delay in distilling the material during the repetitions. if, in fact, the
vinegar is left on the material for a day or two, it will actually be weaker after distillation.

Nonetheless, if the digestion is allowed to continue for a day before distillation, the matter in the
flask will resolve itself into three distinct substances during the sublimation. These are: 1) a red
amorphous powder in the head, 2) the array of black crystals at the limit of the mantle, 3) a tan
compound at the bottom. Analysis shows the red sublimate to be the common red allotrope ot
antimony sulphide; the black crystals are, of course, antimony sulphide of the black form; and
the tan powder (a substance which is not changed by high heat, and is insoluble even in aqua
regia) was SB2, (OH)2, S2,

However, if the distillation is done immediately, little or no hydroxysulphide is formed. In this

case, the vinegar increases in pungency, at which point I will caution investigators that inhalation
of the vapors of the "vinegar" will result in violent Headaches.

The Constitution of the Vinegar

A reasonable mode of proceeding in the determination of the constitution of the vinegar would
be to first ascertain whether its chemical composition is that of common products arising from
sulphide reactions. There are three sulphur compounds which are routinely produced from
sulphides. These are: 1) hydrogen sulphide, H2S, 2) sulphurous acid, H2SO3, and 3) sulphuric
acid, H2SO4.

Hydrogen sulphide is easily produced from metallic sulphides by mixing them with acids, and
can be quickly recognised by its powerful and sickening odor of rotten eggs and, in solution, by
the precipitation of metallic salts as sulphides. This foul gas could be produced by the effect of
water on heavy metal sulphides over a long period of time, but the vinegar of antimony neither
exhibits this odor, nor provokes any blackness from lead acetate. Although some odor of this gas
was faintly detected on opening the digestion flask, whatever quantity was present passed off
before or during distillation, and was not at all present in the distillate. As stated previously,
larger quantities of the sulphide would most likely evolve a foam or scum of minute bubbles of
this gas during the "putrefaction."

Both sulphurous and sulphuric acid could arise from the decomposition of metallic sulphides.
The sulphurous would be quite predominant, however, and the sulphuric acid would be
generated mostly through the air-oxidation of the aqueous solution. Both acids can be detected
by their precipitating solutions of salts of the alkali earths, particularly barium. An aqueous
solution of barium chloride was not affected by the "vinegar."
Titrations with NaOH in order to form identifiable salts failed since the vinegar's acid refused to
remain combined with the alkali. An endpoint by phenolphthalein is readily found, but on
standing, the color grows more intense, and the acid (which is quite volatile) escapes into the air.

The "vinegar" also refuses to precipitate any metallic salts in aqueous solution, and has no visible
effect on organic reagents.

At this point it seems inevitable to conclude that the acidity and odor of this so-called "vinegar"
is due to a complex sulphur acid with a very low K2. A technique to analyse this compound is
now in progress, but the manipulations involved in its concentration and isolation are complex,
as they rely upon a delicate form of fractional distillation coupled with fractional condensation. I
propose that this compound is a highly volatile liquid boiling at about room temperature
composed of only sulphur, oxygen, and hydrogen. Further isolations should yield further data,
especially concerning the mechanism of its formation, its exact formula, Ka, and metallic salts.
Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance studies are in progress, but at this point they have not
yielded any important results.

REFERENCES

Note: All translations are those of the present author made from the first editions of the original
works.

1. Valentine, Basil, Triumph-Wagen Antimonii. Johan Tholde, Leipzig, 1604, p. 223.

2. Kerckring, Theodore, Commentarius in Curru Triumphali Antimonii, p. 290.
3 Weidenfeld, Johan Segeri, Secretis Adeptorum, G. Schultzen, Hamburg, 1685.
4 Mellor, J. W. A Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic Chemistry, Longmans & Green Co.,
London, 1929, p. 522.
5. Valentine, p, 223.
6. Kerckring, p. 290.
7. Valentine, p. 224.
8. Kerckring, p. 290.
9. Valentine, p. 224.
10. Kerckring, p. 292.

Inquiries by Students ... and Answers

Q. Frater Albertus, what good is it to find out about the various methods to prepare plant or
mineral medications when one does not know how to use them?

A. The 'good' thereof becomes only manifest when thorough tests have proven its goodness. For
example, what 'good' does all the learning from a cook book do, and even the final preparation of
some meals, when there is no one to benefit from them? There is presently still no other way
available besides trial and error. Methods as to how to go about to find the results may vary and
may be accepted or rejected, still all have but one aim: namely, to find out what is good or not
good in a given instance.

Q. After finishing all the classes at the College what is one to do with the knowledge obtained?
How can one use all this enormous amount of knowledge received?

A. Everyday life gives each of us the opportunity to use what we know. What we do not know is
a hindrance one way or another. The more we know the better we are equipped to understand the
'Why of the How." The more we know the better we have, or should have, control over our
actions in life.

Q. The teachings in theory and in the laboratory have proven to me the great value of spagyric
preparations. Since all the attention was given on spagyrics nowhere have I received any
alchemistical instructions. Can these be had only in the direct way or can one receive them also
through others who know about them and will teach those who are ready for them?

A. You are correct. The teachings given by the former PRS and now Paracelsus College did
stress this very plainly. The reason for it is that without the spagyric process no alhernistical
endeavor will succeed. It is not very well possible to enter into Algebra, Math, Calculus, etc.,
without the fundamentals of the simple timetable of arithmetic.

The Alchemy you speak of may be transmitted to those who are 'ready' to receive the teachings.
But who is it that determines when one is ready! That is the question. Only this much can be said
based on personal experience: 'When' the pupil is ready, the Master will appear. There is no
mistaking about this, except if one claims by self accreditation that such a one is ready.

Q. How can the College exist and take care of all its obligations, even help those in need while
attending classes to buy their food by giving them the money, or even waive the dormitory fees
for those who can't afford them. What is the secret, if any?

A. No secret. We keep going as long as we have something to give. As to distributing what we

have, this can take place only for as long as there is something to distribute. A distribution rests
upon contribution. If you are concerned about the "secret" know that there is none as long as you
love your neighbor as thyself. Maybe the "secret" only becomes noticeable when one loves
oneself so much that there is nothing left to give to one's neighbor. When everything is thus kept
"secret" one does not have to distribute any of the things one is entrusted with and is steward
over. It still is and will be more blessed to give and distribute than to receive. Perhaps it can also
be said 'Woe unto the 'Moochers' who only ask how much is there in it for me?' and by taking it
let others take if there is anything left.

Q. Frater Albertus, is it really wrong to give others of the spagyric medications which I have
prepared?

A. This depends on various things. First, no one is allowed by law to dispense any medication if
not legally qualified. However, if one offers a visitor a cup of tea or some homemade goodies as
a beverage and food supplement in form of a gesture of good will or as a present, this is not
illegal. If you were to give a friend a jar of homemade preserves with the explanation what it
contains and how to use it, you are not doing anything illegal. However, if you were to sell it,
you would need a license to do so as you would be vending a product. You may recall one of the
sayings here at the College: 'If you are in doubt don't.'

Essentia
Volume 3 Spring 1982
 Exemplar - Heavy Ion Reseaech
Inquiries by Students ....... and Answers

Unveiling the secrets of matter.

The successes achieved by the Society of Heavy Ion
Research.
We bring in the following an article by Rolf H. Simen befitting 'Exemplar,' because it is an
example of present day accomplishments that were considered next to impossible not too long
ago. The word gold has since times immemorial attracted the attention of mankind. Because of
its rarity within nature, it is highly esteemed when compared with other minerals and metals. To
make it more available for general use, because of its corrosion resisting qualities, attempts have
been made to transmute inferior metals into gold since times immemorable.

Present day attempts notwithstanding, this age old dream is coming closer to realization.

Gold is occasionally manufactured by the Society of Heavy Ion Research (GSI), Darmstadt,
Germany, although the process used is hardly what one could call viable. But then gold is not the
main interest: it is the findings obtained which help us to better understand the 'stuff' our world is
made of. The most efficient heavy-ion accelerator in the world bearing the name 'Unilac' has
been operating at this major research centre in the Federal Republic of Germany for some five
years or so. Around it are grouped some 30 experimental structures. The results so far can bear
scrutiny.

What once fascinated medieval man as element-changing alchemy wrapped in mystery, has
literally become a routine manufacturing process at GSI. After all, 'Unilac' is, in part, nothing
more than an 'element-converting plant' some 150 metres in length. Here, heavy atoms in their
electrically charged state are 'fired' as heavy ions at maximum energy level at other atoms. The
manner in which they recombine on impact, the effects of which can be arranged in highly
varying ways, is then established. In this way, the more or less 'perfect state' of the elements is
reconstructed from the 'schrapnel' of these deliberately engineered impact-catastrophes in a
microcosmic world. Light is thrown on the secrets of their inner composition and their capacity
to change, and those laws of nature are sought which dominate and control all processes in the
physical world.

This was proved in the case of Thulium 147 and Lutecium 151, metals from group of rare earths.
Over and above this, atomic nuclei were created with 107 protons and the Mass-Number 262
meaning that is had proved possible to obtain evidence of the heaviest chemical known element
hitherto - thus 'out-doing' Mother Nature (well, on earth at least).

By means of many crafty tricks of the latest in applied physics and chemistry, not only are the
'final results' of such reactions examined (reactions which take place in inconceivably short
periods of no more than 100 trillionth of a second (10 -20s), but also reaction processes. Other
nuclei, for instance, are caused to spin at high speed (by more or less 'light bombardment')
through the powerful electric field of the heavy ions out of the accelerator, thus containing clues
as to their inner structure and their exact composition. Inter alia, for instance, the experts
succeeded in proving that these fields could even trigger off nuclear fission whereby the so-
called Coulomb Nuclear Fission was discovered.

What is more, the GSI experts have even succeeded, for incredibly brief periods, in raising the
'ghosts' of chemical elements which do not exist and which may never exist. If heavy ions hurtle
past atoms at very close range, the latters' electron shells can combine into the shell of a 'ghost
atom' corresponding roughly with the combination of atoms shooting past each other. In this way
it has proved possible to almost double the number of atomic shells examined so far. Although
these 'quasi-atoms' merely 'flash' as they fly by, the experts have already managed to obtain
important information on atomic shells with a 'nucleus' even up to Proton-Number 188. A
'nucleus' of 188 protons corresponds more or less to a combination of the elements uranium and
curium.

In practical terms, the findings eventually led to the use of heavy ion radiation in the processing
of work materials. Thus, for instance, by means of heavy-ion bombardment and subsequent de-
corrosion of the 'firing channels', it proved possible to manufacture filters of a hitherto unknown
quality and to achieve the finest of structures in semi-conductor materials. Experiments with
living cells provided basic contributions to radio therapeutics and radiation protection.

It is a matter of great supposition as to what new possibilities the present increased performance
of 'Unilac' will bring. By early 1982 it will be twice as 'powerful' as at present and be able to
accelerate at a maximum of 20 million electron-volts per nucleon (MeV/u).

The basis of this modern alchemy is the fact that the 'components' of a chemical element (such as
iron) are identically composed atoms: the 'components' of the atoms, in turn, are uniform for all
atoms. Protons and neutrons comprise the atomic nucleus around which the electrons create an
extensive energy shell which, in turn, is solely responsible for determining the properties of an
element. The number of electrons with a negative electric charge is determined by the number of
protons with an equally powerful positive electric charge. If, for instance, one proton in the
nucleus 'drops out,' one electron in the atomic shell becomes untenable' and the atom itself is
converted into that of another chemical element. A gold atom with 79 protons and 79 electrons,
in an atomic shell incorporating the chemical 'properties of gold', turns into mercury if one
proton is added to its nucleus. Conversely, gold turns to platinum if one proton is removed from
its nucleus. Adding or removing one neutron, on the other hand, leaves a gold atom unchanged.
It merely becomes lighter or heavier, as the case may be, but remains a species of gold: a gold
isotope. On earth, at least, nature brought this unitgame of chemical elements to an end with
uranium, the most complicated of the atoms: its isotope Uranium 238 consists of 92 protons
(hence: Element No. 92) and 146 neutrons (hence: Mass Number 92 + 146 = 238)

An exact examination of the possibilities of this 'nuclear unit system' of nature is, as a result, just
as interesting as an investigation of the atomic shells and their related properties. This, of course,
applies to the naturally occurring elements as much as it does to those created artificially: the
obvious question which arises, as a result, of course, is to what extent the composing game,
brought to an end on earth with Element No. 92 by nature, can be further continued, and to what
extent nature herself has further developed this game (quite possibly) somewhere or other in the
universe.

Against this background, the normally highly 'abstract'-sounding reports by the GSI scientists
(and their .countless guest-researchers from all corners of the globe) take on plastic form: they
have already discovered and investigated more than 75 isotopes, including the lightest group of
atomic nuclei which still decay through the ejection of helium atomic nuclei. A completely new
type of element change via radio-active decay has also been discovered: here protons are ejected
from the nucleus. Up to now only the ejection of helium atomic nuclei (Alpha Decay) and
electrons (Beta Decay) was known - apart from spontaneous fission, of course.

Inquiries by Students
Q. One would assume when alchemistical tinctures have been prepared that the results would
immediately manifest. Why are they so slow forthcoming?

A. "Assume" is right. One may "assume" to have an alchemistical tincture, but it may turn out to
be only a spagyric one and that not even meeting spagyric requirements 100%. Thereafter one
may again "assume" that a certain ailment or affliction is bound to be healed with one's
preparation and it is not at all what may be required. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Again, slow is a relative concept. One has to be sure what is obtained and for what it is to be
used.

Q. If it was not for your saying 'Easy does it' I could go crazy at times. Things don't move fast
enough for me in the lab and within me. What can I do to get results faster and better?

A. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, enthusiasm gets the upper hand and we forget that
there is work to be done. That requires patients who are patient, because we are ill and
incomplete as a whole. One may even become discouraged at certain times when "Everything
goes against me," or, I don't know what is the matter with me lately," or "Let's forget the whole
thing." Alchemy is a life's work and not just an interesting pasttime. That is why there are so few
apprentices, not to talk about journeymen and masters in this Art and Science. Just simmer down
and you will find out for yourself "Easy does it."

Q. What can one do individually to develop the ability to enable one to receive an appearance
like the Hermit (Amo) received through Master Z?

A. There is an old saying: 'When the pupil is ready the Master will appear." Empasis should be
placed upon "ready;" thereafter "appear" will fall in line all by itself. A common misconception
is that people wait for the appearance of a Master. One has to work towards the ability to get
requirements set by a Master. An appearance can be variegated because what appears to be is not
necessarily what it appears to be, but is a helpmate, a tool, a way, or the means to convey what
needs to be conveyed. Even a "visitation" (viso = face), showing one's face or countenance, is
used as a verification. It is not so much what one sees or hears but what the intended meaning is
thereof that is essential. The how and whereby is incidental.

Q. With the help of the Ephemeride I have calculated that the death of Amo on May 22, 1943 was
right after the Wesak Moon in the night of 19/20 May, 1943. Has his passing any significance
witness this event?

A. One may speculate and one may also draw some plausible conclusions. However, there is
always the possibility of missing something while in search of it. In this case the birthday.

In this case the physical aspects are an enormous help to attain to a more advanced consciousness
with the help of the physical ways and means that have been obtained.

Q. In the Elective Classes is anything else taught besides each student's own lab project?

A. Yes. It depends on the time available between lab work and other assignments. We will
release gradually more and more information on little known subject matter. Students in Elective
classes are the first ones to know about it. The article on the New World Calendar is such a
disclosure taken up in an Elective Class in Australia before being published in this issue of
Essentia.

Q. All life is one. What all men have in common is the four elements, life and soul. Is 'Persona'
Soul? Would this mean that each man is different, one from the other?

A. Yes. 'Persona' refers to Soul. Each man differs from one another according to the degree of
intelligence inherent as an attribute of soul. One may look at a bunch of roses and see that all are
roses but each is somewhat different from the other. Outer natural apperances of mankind
reflects such interior differ ences likewise.

Q. In class you mentioned a relationship between the sun and evolving Persona. Could you
please clarify what is meant by "evolving"? How does one develop the Persona, by what
relationships? Is there a possibility to change the seemingly bad parts in our character in order
to prepare the way for such evolving to surely take place?

A. Evolving is not changing or turning into something else. Evolvement is an inner realization,
expansion and increasing in consciousness. In such manner control over actions is increased,
mistakes are avoided and decisions made are based upon greater knowledge. A choice made will
be more carefully considered and an increase in energy enables Will to function in harmony with
established laws.

Q. In the last Essentia, "The Wonders of Antimony" are emphasized. Why is there not more
known about it? My question to you, Frater Albertus, is: "Why?" You certainly should have an
answer as I don't know of anyone who has more information on it.

A. You are stretching the issue somewhat. Perhaps in one aspect of it I may know a little more
than the average person, but that does not mean that others don't know as much or more about
Antimony than I do. Some of our laboratory results have shown some things that are not
mentioned in alchemistical literature concerning Antimony. Only constant research and
improvement upon such results will answer more of the 'why'. We need all the help and means
possible to accomplish a program that will make it feasible to make the wonders of Antimony
legally available to all who suffer and have presently no medication available. Antimony
preparations could be used to alleviate such suffering.

Q. Will there ever be a time when individuals have enough time, after earning their daily bread,
to do what they really would like to do? Most people have to work for a living. All this is mainly
to sustain their physical needs. What about one's inner progress? The work that needs to be done
there?

A. Under present conditions one has no alternative but to take the time available and do all one
can within this allocated time span. It may be of interest to you to read the article on the new
calendar for the 21st Century. Granted, this is still some time off, but then, one can at least look
into the future.

Q. With all the various Gurus appearing in the Western World, why is it that each has something
else to offer. If there is but one Aryuveda, why all the differences and so-called miracle
performers?

A. It would be an injustice to say that for all of them added prestige not available to them in their
own countries and material means to affording them luxuries-would be the main reason for their
appearing in the West. There are still some who give unselfish service but, unfortunately, they
are very few and are difficult to find, that do agree among themselves as there can be no
misunderstanding among them. That is 'Why'!

Q. In a recent book about Fulcanelli by Kenneth Johnson (published by Neville Spearman in

London), it appears that you gave an interview or some information to the author who then says
that you have made or witnessed a transmutation with Fulcanelli.

A. I have not talked to the author of this book. He did not interview me, nor did he get such
information from me personally.

Q. When will Paracelsus College give a diploma of graduation and/or a bachelors degree to
students who have finished the four years of classes?

A. The College could issue such a degree now, but what good would it be? Very many
institutions grant degrees which are not accepted for credit by accredited institutions of learning.
This particular knowledge of Parachemistry is only of use in teaching or where spagyric and
alchemistical work is performed. Any pharmaceutical company manufacturing such products
would require personnel who have had spagyric and alchemistical training in theory and practice.
Since no chair at any University is presently open or available for such teaching it is up to the
Paracelsus College to lay such ground work. The Paracelsus College is presently the only
registered institution available to teach this science legally in the State of Utah and is registered
with the Federal Government as such. As we wish to gain respect and recognition for this work
from other academic sources and government authorities, it is mandatory that we proceed
cautiously and not harm decades of preparatory work by bestowing a bachelors degree of
Parachemistry upon anyone who has not in all sincerity completed and passed the requirements
for such.

Soon we will make a bachelors degree of Parachemistry available to students who have
completed the minimum four-year course of study and have undergone verbal, written and
practical two weeks examination here at the College. A definite announcement will be made in
Essentia, the official College publication, in the near future. Later a Masters and Doctorate
degree will be granted after exhaustive studies and requirements have been completed to meet
the necessary academic and respective government regulations.

Q. Where would you say the work is progressing more right now? In the United States or in
foreign countries?

A. Since you stipulated 'right now', it would be down under, in Australia. However, at various
times others also were going strong.

Essentia
Volume 3 Summer 1982
 Exemplar - Albert and Emmy Riedel
On the Generation of Animals
The Ring of Paracelsus
Inquiries by Students ... and Answers

50 Years of Sharing - Albert and Emmy Riedel

It is no little chore for a couple to reach their 50th Wedding Anniversary. To accomplish such a
feat requires much giving and receiving between husband and wife. Add to this relationship the
responsibility of raising 5 children and you can say such couple has had a full life.

Exemplar is pleased to honor Albert and Emmy Riedel upon celebrating their Golden Wedding
Anniversary August 2, 1982. However, this couple has accomplished much more during their 50
Years of Sharing. History records a list of people who, at great personal sacrifice, gave of
themselves in order that others could benefit. Albert and Emmy Riedel should be added to such a
list. This exceptional couple has imprinted throughout the World their influence upon many
people. While most of us are limited during our lifetime to a small circle of people this couple
has expanded their relationship to reach people of most nationalities by founding the Paracelsus
Research Society that today has evolved into the Paracelsus College. This non-profit educational
research center has been the nucleus for them to share freely with all people their understanding
and wisdom.

Over the years many have found their way to the college and its teachings. The enthusiasm runs
high upon experiencing such teachings, but often overlooked the sacrifices by Albert and Emmy
to provide such blessings.

The buildings and grounds that greet each offers a clean inviting atmosphere in which to receive
the teachings. To maintain such an appearance for over twenty years, after thousands of people
from all walks of life attending, has been a major task. I am sure neither would care tell the hours
of work they put into building and maintaining such an environment. It is the little things that go
unnoticed for the experience of something Great. Little things that have to be repeated over and
over again to allow for the Giving. Building, cleaning, teaching and giving to complete one class,
and when completed commence over again, cleaning, teaching, and giving.

To experience No Privacy in your own home and surroundings for over twenty years, because
you have been willing to open your door and even the telephone to all who are in need of
assistance, is something very few have experienced. To invite all who are led to you into your
home and for one reason: To give, to share, to offer out of love gifts that will change a person's
life for the better if applied sincerely and diligently; this is what 50 YEARS OF SHARING
personally and openly Albert and Emmy Riedel have accomplished.

They have not requested to receive this honor from Exemplar, for such is the case in the list of
people who throughout history have given, in order that others might be benefitted. Their
thoughts are not upon what is in it for them, but rather what they can give that will make life
better for others. Their rewards are found in the reflections of those who have received of their
gifts and are in turn giving of what they have received so other,, may benefit. It requires one to
Give First that another might have the opportunity to receive.

50 Years of Sharing by Albert and Emmy Riedel has allowed many to receive. Each of us that
has had such an opportunity should pause, think, and penetrate as deep as possible into the core
behind the reason for this couple to sacrifice, and endure all these years in order that others might
benefit. As we become more conscious of the purpose behind their giving, we should be willing
to sacrifice and give of ourselves in a like manner so that this reflection of Love will continue to
expand and live on long after all of us have left this plane of expression.

Exemplar is honored that it has this opportunity to express its gratefulness to this couple that
have endured through the years the pain, suffering, and sacrifices required to allow so many an
opportunity to receive.

In openly discussing the pain, suffering, and sacrifice by this couple, one could think this is to be
a pessimistic writing. Do not make such a mistake. It is the opposite that's seldom discussed to
allow for the most optimistic rewards.

In closing think about the many areas of giving that has been required of this couple over the
years. Little things so many do not think about, but take for granted. As you recall such areas and
extend that over 50 Years of Sharing you will know the reasons Albert and Emmy Riedel are
honored by Exemplar.

Exemplar salutes you, Albert and Emmy Riedel, for all that you have given; will continue to
give, and build as a living testimony to your lives.
 On the Generation of Animals

Joseph C. Lisiewski, Jr.

In the writer's first article which appeared in this Journal, entitled "The Analytical Technique
Applied to the Water Work: A Modern Aproach",1the objectives were to:

1. Confirm the existence of the substance termed Gur, as delineated in the Golden Chain of
Homer2.
2. Present the physical characteriztics of this substance.
3. Evaluate the role of electrical phenomena in relationship to the production and structure of the
Gur.
4. Define the variables that effect the production of this substance as a function of modern times.

While these objectives were being met they were preliminary to further experimentation along
the guidelines as established in the Golden Chain of Homer, and expanded upon by oral
instructions given at the Paracelsus College.

The content of the text cited and instructions given deal with the generation of the 3 Kingdoms
of Nature, i.e., the Animal, Vegetable and Mineral. Accordingly, these 3 Kingdoms can be
generated in a somewhat artificial manner through imbition of the substance termed Gur, or
Preadamic Earth as it is also termed3 with various combinations of water from which it is
derived. The writer's interest lies exclusively in the generation of the Animal Kingdom, and it is
to this extent that the experiments in this second phase of laboratory research were confined.
A total of 37 experiments, conducted over a 3-year period, were attempted. Success came on the
35th, 36th and 37th undertaking. While the number of variables are admittedly enormous, in the
end, analysis offered a workable combination. The results are microcosmic animal-like
organisms.

The purpose of this present paper is to explain fully and in complete detail the methods used:
those which brought successs as well as those which ended in failure. In Science, failure can
teach as much, if not more, than success.

Since this is the second phase of the experiment, it seems a brief review of the first article, "The
Analytical Technique Applied To the Water Work, A Modern Approach" is desirable. Without
being repetitious, it is intended to provide present readers without access to its original format
with key points of explanation, as well as provide a complete whole of the experiment between
two covers.

THE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE APPLIED TO THE WATER WORK: A REVIEW

In any scientific presentation, exact reference points must be provided to allow accurate
evaluation of the methods, variables, and conclusions drawn. To this end, the methods of water
collection and preparation as laid down in the Golden Chain of Homer are quoted here:
Take a quantity of dew, rain, snow or hail which you like, but the most expeditious way is if you
can take rainwater from a thunder shower, receive it into clean glazed vessels and filter it, in
order to separate the dirt from it which intermixes from the roofs of houses, and you will after
filtration, have a Clear, Crystalline water, of no particular taste, in fact a fine clear water, fit to
be used like any other fine water. Place this collected water in a warm garret, where neither the
sun nor moon can shine upon it, cover the vessels with a linen cloth, to prevent the dust from
getting into it.

Let it stand a month unmoved, and if the place is warm enough, you will by this time receive an
alternation in the water, because this water begins the power of the implanted spirit to grow
warm although imperceptably and to break; it begins to ferment and Putrify and acquires a bad
smell, and you will observe that it becomes turbid, although it was perfectly clear at first, and a
brown spongy earth ascends swimming at the top, which increases daily and from its weight falls
to the bottom.

Here you see a separation, occasionad by the ingrafted spirit of the gross from the subtil. The
separated earth is brown, spongy or like wool, slimy and slippery and this slimy earth is the
Universal Gur of Nature.4

This Gur, of Preadamic Earth, is the base material from which the 3 Kingdoms of Nature are
generated.5

I. Water Collection

The practical application of this is the collection of the rainwater as the first step. This was
accomplished using a section of 12'x100' of polethylene sheeting, suspended between wooden
slats. This resulted in a 1200 square foot receptacle. During a violent electrical thunderstorm, a
total of 125 gallons of rainwater was collected. Although the second step would normally be
filtration followed by putrifaction, the rainwater was filtered and checked for acid contamination
by distilling a 500 ml. sample in a conventional distillation train. (This procedure was introduced
due to the current high levels of acid rain which are prevalent throughout most of this country.)
While the distillate was clear, the residue remaining in the distillation flask was a murky
yellowish to reddish color. Subsequent analysis by chromatographic methods showed an
admixture of nitrates, sulphates, and a mixture of generally acidic components, thus establishing
the presence of acid rain. Quantitative analysis of the contaminant yielded a concentration of
0.05 grams per liter, a relatively high concentration which could adversely effect the purity of the
Gur. Hence, it became necessary to distill all the rainwater prior to putrifaction. However, since
the classical distillation train method is prhibitively extensive in terms of time and economy, a
high speed steam distiller was used. This device, which is capable of producing 11 gallons of
highly purified distilled water in a 24-hour period, completed the task in less than 12 days.

II. Water Re-Electrification

The second factor of consideration is the electrification of the water. As stated in the Golden
Chain of Homer, the rainwater is to be collected during an electrical thunderstorm, the natural
electrical phenomena adding an electrical charge and high niter content to the water. However
due to the metallic construction of the high speed steam distiller (common to all makes and
brands), as well as their grounded electrical features, negation of the electrical charge component
can result. As such, it became necessary to reintroduce that charge. The mode of reelectrification
chosen was electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graff generator. (See photo l.)
This is a device which produces high voltage electrical energy through the interaction of electric
fields. The unit used here was rated at 500,000 volts at 50 microamperes. It is easily adaptable to
eletrifying water by the simple expedient of attaching a platinum electrode from the charged
sphere directly to the water. The water is then electrified over a 12 hour period.
Photo 1: 500,000 Volt, 50 microampere Van De Graaf Generator used to re-elictrify the distilled
waters.

III. Gur Production

The entire quantity of distilled and re-electrified rainwater was placed into 10 plastic food grade
containers, each with a capacity of 15 gallons. Two controls were established, as follows:

Control 1-10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof of a house. It was filtered but not
electrified.

Control 2-10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof of a house. It was filtered and
electrified.

All containers were covered with a finely porous percale material and set aside in a dark place at
75-80o F. for 90 days to putrify, although 30 days to 45 days will do as well.
At the end of 90 days, the containers were opened and the results analyzed. The 10 containers
which had been distilled and re-electrified showed a 28% per container higher yield of Gur when
compared to Control 2, and a 41%, higher yield per container when compared to Control 1. In
addition, the Gur obtained through distillation and re-electrification had a much deeper reddish
color, as well as a highly repetitive matrix structure. The Gur from Controls 1 and 2 lacked these
properties. In addition, the Gur from Controls 1 and 2 showed the presence of acidic components
when analyzed by chromagraphic methods, thus establishing the carry-through of the acids to the
Gur formation.

IV. Conclusion

It has been shown that rainwater available today is highly likely to contain acid components due
to industrial processes. As such, it must first be distilled prior to putrifaction. The electrical
charge component must then be re-introduced, either by the means given, or similar means.
Putrifaction in a warm, dark place follows next, which yields a highly turbid condition in the
water. The final step is the distillation of the waters which separates the Gur from them.

We now enter the second phase of the experiment: the generation of the Animal Kingdom of
Nature Proper.

ON THE GENERATION OF ANIMALS

1. Experimental Procedure-Evaluation of the Method used in Animal Generation according to

the Golden Chain of Homer.

A. Water Separation

Once again it is necessary to estabour reference points by quoting from the Golden Chain of
Homer:
Now pour your troubled Water and Earth into a large glass body which place in an earthen pot,
fixed into a charcoal distilling furnace, apply a large alembic and receiver and light your fire,
which keep so gentle that only the Steam or Vapours rise. Let this all come over first as a pure
water, which contains animated Air, that is, Air and Fire. Distill no more of this very volatil
water over, than what will go over with the gentlest degree of Heat, whilst the subject in the body
only vapors away but must not be suffered to boil; in this manner you vapour over about the 1/4
part of the whole or less.

Take the receiver off with this Very volatil water; This water, the more so, if you afterwards
rectify it per se over a Steam Bath, is more luminous and clearer than common distilled water,
which is proof that it contains much Air and Fire.

Now apply another receiver and continue the distillation raising your heat sufficiently, so as to
cause the thickish water in the glass body to boil, and in this manner you must distill all the
water over, which will appear like water and in drops in the alembic; continue the distillation
until it remains in the body like melted honey and looks brown, but beware of distilling until it
remains dry, because you would burn the young and tender Virgin Earth in the bottom of the
Vessel, which is not yet fixed. Take the distilled water away and put it by as the Element Earth.

The honey like matter or the moist Earth remaining in the glass body take out cleanly and put it
into a china basin and set it on the Sun to evaporate until it is perfectly dry; then grind it in a
glass mortar to a subtil Earth now you have Separated the Elements out of your chaos.

Now it remains to be proved that they are truly Elements or else it must be false what I have
written, that all sublunary subjects proceed from them. To produce heavenly subjects out of this
chaos or Metheors,as this water itself is a Metheorical production let no one undertake; but we
will demonstrate that animals, vegetables, and minerals may and can be generated, and that is
what we preter.d and no further.6

There are several points discussed in the manuscript which require further elucidation. The
following should clarify the process, such that its reproduction in the laboratory will be more
profitable.

1. The 1/4 part of the water which is to be collected by the gentlest degree of heat should be kept
at 95-98o C, Upon even heating of the distillation train, a "sweat", i.e., water distillation without
boiling, will result.
A good quality, calibrated themometer is essential.

2. The first 1/4 part is termed the Water of Fire and Air, but appears in parts of the manuscript as
simply tne Water of Air. It must be remembered that when the term Water of Air is encountered,
a Water of Fire and Air Combination is actually indicated.

3. The second 3/4 part is the Water of Water, and should he distilled over by rapid boiling, but
not too vigorously. A temperature of 102oC will accomplish this without burning the Gur.

4. After distilling over the second part of water, immediately pour the reddish brown liquid
(which contains the Gur) left in the distillation flask into a narrow porcelain container, the
bottom of which should have as small a surface area as possible. Next, place the container and in
a sandbath at 75-80oF to dry gently. (Containers with a large surface area tend to disperse the
Gur so thinly, that the heat of drying, even though gentle, will cause it to burn.) With the narrow
container, the resulting Gur will be powdery and reddish in color.

a. Water Separation and Gur Production

The initial experiment dealt with the separation of the Water of Fire and Air and the Water of
Water by distilling 10 liters of putrified rainwater at any given time through a conventional
distillation train. (The conventional distillation train was tried at this point due to the continual
refluxing of water which high speed steam distillers require. This results in a high degree of
uncertainty that the most volatile first 1/4 part is truly coming over first.) Heating was
accomplished using heating mantles driven by 10 ampere variable transformers, which provide
high degrees of regulation.
The first 1/4 part, i.e., the Water of Fire and Air, collected measured 2500 ml. Total time of
distillation: 88.5 hours. The water was placed in Pyrex flasks, stoppered with cork topper to
insure lack of contamination due to sulphurated rubber stoppers. The pH of the first 1/4 part was
6.99. (All pH measurements were made with a digital electronic pH meter, calibrated against
standard reference solutions, and adjusted for slope and temperature conditions.)

The second 1/4 part, i.e., the Water of Water, was boiled over at 102oC and stored in the same
manner as the first 1/4 part. Its pH was 6.78. The total time of distillation was 12.75 hours. The
residue in the distilling flask was poured rapidly into a 250 ml porcelain crucible, and placed in a
sandbath at 80oF. Complete drying occurred in 18 hours. 4.85 grams of reddish, powdery Gur
was received. It was finely ground, and prepared for electron bombardment.

In any experiment such as this, it can be argued that bacteria, spore, or larvae present in the
putrified and distilled water could account for positive results. And rightly so. Therefore, a
means of sterilization of the Gur was necessary. Electron bombardment was chosen due to its
effectiveness in destroying the organisms mentioned. Essentially, the Gur was placed in a Pyrex
vessel, evacuated to 27" Hg continuous, with the vacuum pump having a Cfm at 0" Hg of 4.0.
The electronic and vacuum jet were connected to the vessel by ground glass joints, sealed with
high vacuum grease. 50,000 volts at 25 microamperes were applied for 6 hours. (See Photo 2)

Photo 2: Electron bombardment of the Gur, using 50,000 Volts at 25 microamperes.

FinalIy, the Gur was added to a watchglass which was previously strerilized by autoclaving. (See
Photo 3)
 Photo 3: 1 Gram of Electron bombarded Gur in sterilized watchglass ready for imbibition.

b. Animal Generation According to the Golden Chain of Homer

Once again, in order to give a complete rendition of the procedure as laid in the Golden Chain of
Homer, an exact quote is:

Take your before mentioned dried and powdered Earth, pour first together 1 part of Water and 3
parts of Air, with this mixture humect your Earth so copiously that it may become like liquid or
melted honey, place the glass body which contains this mixture on the air where it is warm the
sun may shine on it but not too hot, nor at the meridian, and the glass is left open.

You will perceive that in a few days, there will be different kinds of small vermine in the thick
water; when the water diminishes and dries up, you must humect it again, so that it may remain
of the same consistence like syrup, as before; and you will perceive that the first small vermine
will die and loose themselves, and others will be produced who will feed on their putrifaction,
and become larger and more in number.7

In order to comply with that which is given, 1 part of the second 3/4 and 3 parts of the first 1/4
were combined and used to imbibe the Gur in an open-air condition in the laboratory. (Although
this would seem to negate the sterilization procedures carried out previously, we shall see later
through additional controls this was not the case.) The technique of imbibition is such, that the
Gur must maintain a honey-like consistency. This poses a practical problem in that the Gur, once
imbibed, must not be allowed to dry out less the imbibition cycle be started over again. This
necessitates careful observation of the process. (Through experimentation however, it was found
that 1 gram of Gur could be brought to this honey-like consistency by imbibing 4.5 ml of the
water mixture. At an average room temperature of 70oF the Gur will dry out in 65 minutes,
thereby requiring re-imbibition every 50 minutes to prevent this.) The watcthglass and contents
were kept in indirect sunlight for 72 hours, while the consistency was maintained.

The result of the experiment: negative. Neither living organisms on the surface nor beneath it
could be detected. This basic procedure was conducted 10 times. Each time, the results were
negative. In an attempt to isolate possible variables, water was procured from various parts of the
country and the process conducted an additional 15 times. Each time analyzing and changing
such factors as temperatures of distillation, lengthening and shortening times of imbibition,
varying drying procedures, etc. All results were negative.

c. Conclusion

From the numerous experiments conducted, it was concluded that modern atmospheric
conditions causing acid rain, and/or the means used to rectify the waters' conditions negated the
experiments. Hence it became necessary to investigate other variations of the process of Animal
generation.

II. The Analytical Experimental Approach

Upon analysis the variables whicl presented themselves for further consideration were:
A. Water transformation through acid contamination.
B. High speed steam distillation of the water.
C. Re-electrification of the distillrd water prior to putrifaction.

In an effort to test these variables two additional experiments in each category were run. In
category A, rainwater with an acid component and a pH of 4.95 was filtered but not distilled. or
re-electrified. After putrifaction, its pH was 5.02. The waters were separated, Gur obtained and
sterilized by electron bombardment and imbibed. Results: negative. In category B. rainwater
with a pH of 4.87 was distilled by high speed techniques, resulting, in a pH of 5.20. After re-
electrification it was putrified and yielded a pH of 5.31. Gur was obtained, sterilized and
imbibed. Results negative.

In category C, the experiments were divided into 2 parts: Rainwater; pH 4.87 was filtered,
distilled by conventional distillation train, which yielded a pH of 5.05. It was not electrified. In
C2. rainwater was filtered, distilled by a high speed techniques, electrified. and re-distilled by
conventional distillation train. It yielded a pH of 5.41. Both waters when putrified yielded a pH
of 5.22. Again, waters were separated and the Gur obtained, sterilized, and imbibed. Results:
negative.

Conclusion

The experimental variations seem to indicate that these variables were of no import in
contributing to the negative results. Rather, it seemed that the process as interpreted in the
Golden Chain of Homer should he Suspect.

III. The Analytical Experimental Approach-Process Review

At this juncture, the Golden Chain of Homer was reviewed, in an effort to find something which
may have been overlooked. One point, concerning the re-distillation of the first 1/4 part, to bring
about increased "luminosity", was considered.
In this attempt, 10 liters of rainwater (pH 9.2) was filtered, distilled by high-speed techniques,
electrified, nd resulted in a pH of 5.25. Upon putrifaction, it gave a pH of 5.53. the Waters were
separated: The first 1/4 part yielded a pH of 6.82. The second 3/4 part gave a pH of 6.96.
However, while distilling the first 14 part, it was noticed that the pH of the first 1/2 of the first
1/4 part have a pH of 5.50, i.e., near that of the original putrified water. The second 1/2 of the
first 1/4 gave a pH of 8.16. This interesting development prompted the labeling of the first 1/2 of
the first 1/4 part as the Water of Fire, and the second 1/2 of the first 1/4 part as the Water of Air,
due to volatility considerations. The second 3/4 part was not re-distilled its pH was 6.96.

The Gur was prepared as in all previous cases, and imbibed. This time however, the 3 parts of
the Water of Fire and Air were produced by combining 1.5 parts of the separated Water of Fire
with 1.5 parts of the Water of Air, to the standard 1 part of the Water of Water (the second 3/4
part), to give the final 3:1 ratio. After 72 hours of imbibition, the results were negative. The
experiment was conducted a second time, with the same results.

Refering once again to the Golden Chain of Homer, a statement was seen in a new light: "Let it
all come over first as a pure water, which contains animated Air, that is Air and Fire."8 In
keeping with this, the 34th experiment was run by sweating over 9.8 liters after standard
procedures of preparation of the 10 liter quantity of putrified water, whose pH was 5.56. After
separation, the pH of the first 1/2 of the first 1/4, the second 1/2 of the first 1/4, and the second
3/4, were approximately as those in the last experiment. The residue in the flask after first
sweating the 9.8 liters over was judged to be meaningless and disregarded. The Gur was
prepared by electron bombardment, and the 3:1 water ratio produced as in the last experiment,
and the Gur imbibed. After 80 hours, the results were negative.

In the 35th experiment, the residue left in the distillation flask after sweating 9.8 liters of the
water over was dried in standard fashion and added to the Gur that was obtained after separation
of the water, which was conducted in precisely the same manner as given for the last experiment.
pH measurements of the first halves and second 3/4, again, were approximately as those in the
previous experiments. The Gur was sterilized and the water mixture produced again as in the
previous two experiments, and the Gur imbibed over an 80 hour period. Results: Something
entirely different occured this time. Visual observation showed the presence of 2 miniature
worm-like organisms in the Gur. One possessed little motion and kept mostly beneath the
surface, while the second, a much lighter brown in color than its viscous surroundings, moved in
and out of the Gur freely. (See Cover Photo and caption.) In that photo, the organism at the 5
o'clock position, moving from the interior to the surface of the Gur, is the one indicated as
possessing the most mobility. No more than 2 organisms were detected throughout an intensive
period of observation.

After 32 hours, the Gur was allowed to dry out, and was then reimbibed to test for regeneration,
but in larger form, as stated in the Golden Chain of Homer. An additional 80 hours of re-
imbibition yielded negative results: the organisms did not regenerate.

The 36th experiment, conducted precisely as the last, yielded 2 organisms also, both quite rapid
in movement. When placed under a microscope, individual details of their structure were ill
defined due to their body densities. One feature that did stand out was an elongated body with 4
tentacle-like projections, i.e., 2 at each end. Upon return to their environment, the Gur was dried
out and re-imbibed. No new, larger generations were detected. At the same time, 4 other trays of
Gur, imbibed with the first 1/2 of the first 1/4 of water, the second 1/2 of the first 1/4, and the
second 3/4 of water, and an original mixture of the combined 3 parts of the Water of Air and Fire
(unseparated), respectively, were imbibed at the same time and exposed to the same
environmental conditions. These controls gave negative results, thus verifying the positive
results received were not due to contamination. The 37th experiment took place using the same
controls, plus two others: one watchglass of Gur was distilled rainwater, the other with tap water.
All six controls gave negative results, while the main experiment, repeated exactly as the 35th
and 36th, brought forth organisms, although no more than 3 were detected. Upon drying out and
reimbibing, no regeneration occurred.

Conclusion

The fundamental purpose of these experiments was to test the thesis of animal generation as
originally set down in the Golden Chain of Homer. Extensive experimentation has shown that
the core of the thesis is correct, although the process differs. That is where the analytical
technique, as exemplified by scientific procedure, demonstrates its essential role in furthering the
goals of the experimentalist.

It is hoped that readers of this paper will undertake this pursuit as outlined. Independent
confirmation is not only desirable, it is essential.

REFERENCES

1. Paracelsus College, Essentia, Vol. 1. Winter 1980, p 6-7, 10.

2. H. Nintzel, Compiler, The Golden Chain of Homer, 1723, Restoration of Alchemical
Manuscripts Society, Richardson, Texas 1978.
3. Paracelsus Research Society, Parachemy, Vol. V, No. 2, p 429, 1977.
4. H. Nintzel, Compiler, The Golden Chain of Homer, 1723, Restoration of Alchemical
Manuscripts Society, Richardson, Texas 1978, pp 3536.
5. Paracelsus Research Society, Parachemy, Vol. V, No. 2, p 129, 1977.
6. H. Nintzel, Compiler, The Golden Chain of Homer, 1723, Restoration of Alchemical
Manuscripts Society, Richardson, Texas 1978, pp 36-38.
7. Ibid. p 39.
8. Ibid. p 36.

About the Ring of Paracelsus

By DR. PHIL. M. SKOPEC

Beginning with a description of the so-called "Ring of Paracelsus" handed over to the Medical
Society in 1965, commemorating the 600 year celebration of the University of Vienna and which
is now kept in the department of History of Medicine, it shall be considered in the light of all
available documents and facts, if the ornament (a stone dating back to the Romans, with a setting
of much later date) was actually in the possession of Theophrastus Bomnbastus von Hohenheim.
A period of about 200 years has to be bridged, as the earliest document connected with it is a
letter dated 1754 in Linz, Upper Austria. Neither the writer of this letter or anything about his
family has been established, so that at the present time this question cannot be answered. In
addition, during the second half of the 18th Century a Paracelsus adoration started that could
have contributed to the connection with this ring.

If you expect scientific documentation of this theme from me, I have to disappoint you. The
history of the Ring of Paracelsus is similar to the life of Theophrastus Bombastus von
Hohenheim (1493-1541) where much is still in darkness. It is difficult if at all possible to shed
light upon either subject. Fritz Eichler (1887-1971), the then Ordinarius of the Institute of
Archaeology of the U. of Vienna, described the Ring as follows: "The oval on the outside sloping
Signat Ring is a grey Jaspis on one place broken like an oyster shell. Its size is 13:12mm. The
face of the imprint is 11.5:95mm. The description of the flat topside of the engraved picture
begins with the impression which gives the position of the hollow enerraving. A youth with a coat
thrown over his shoulders approaches a Goddess in a long dress standing upon a rounded
pedestal, to cover her with a wreath he holds in his left hand, with ribbons hanging to the
ground. The picture of the Goddess shows her face from the front with both arms in a
symmetrical pattern somewhat bowed, and her dress like a shaft covering her from the breast
down, with the seam and very few folds showing in her clothing. The head cannot be recognized
because of the totally impressionless presentation except for a stick-like appearance above the
head. The youth has his head covered and carries a forked object upon his shoulders. Both
figures rest jointly on a level groundline. The coarse rounded technique gives only a general
impression without any details in the engraving to characterize the Idolized Goddess, and cannot
be explained other than those of similar sculptors of antiquity where one adores a Goddess. The
stone dates back to approximately the 3rd Century A.D. At that time those who did wear such
stones were more cocerned about the artful presentation than any magical or protective powers
of such stones."
The stone is set in silver mounting of a much later date and is a simple silver ring with a cavity
which this stone fits. The bottom of the ring face is engraved and its side is decorated with a
wreathed border. This makes it impossible to assign the setting to a specific period; however it
could be from the very time of Paracelsus. By no means is it older than that. This would show a
relative low value for the object itself, although the silver setting was of greater value at the time
of Paracelsus than it is today. In addition to the description of the Ring, it should be mentioned
that the diameter (of the Ring) is rather small as it measures only, 17mm. and would fit only the
hand of a woman or a small man. The description of the skeleton of Paracelsus that was
originally at the Poor Peoples Cemetery at St. Sebastian Salzburg, where he had found his last
rest, showed incomplete bones of a small man of advanced age and of delicate stature. Thus the
small Ring diameter is not a contradiction but is also no evidence of the genuiness of the Ring.
To find an answer to this question, if the Ring described in the letter of 1754 was related to
Paracelsus, as mentioned, and (was) actually in his possession, would require a re-construction of
the previous possessors thereof. We shall try this chronological order in reverse.

On April 3rd, 1958, the Widow and Orphan Society informed the Vienna Medical Doctor
Collegiate and the Federal Ministry of Finances that on March 27, 1958 the Society had been
dissolved. On June 7, 1959 an official announcement appeared in the Vienna newspaper that the
Society had been incorporated into the Medical Society as of Dec. 31, 1958. During this merger,
the last President, Oskar Stracker (1885-1973) presented a seven times sealed small package
containing the "Ring of Paracelsus" and the documents described. All of which were presented to
University of Vienna and its Institute of History of Medicine in 1965.

Inquiries by Students and ... Answers

Q. In the last issue of Essentia you brought out a new world calendar with 30 days each in a
month. What about the Holidays as we celebrate them now, like Easter and Christmas? New
Years Eve would be out as there is no December 31st.

A. Festivals, religious or otherwise, remain as they are. Easter is determined by the moon phase
and can fall at any time, like now, between March and April. Christmas has an arbitrary date set
as Dec. 25th with Christmas Eve as Dec. 24. This can be celebrated the same date also on the
new calendar. New Years Eve would be the day (eve) before New Year or the 1st of January
with some people, or on a different date with other people. The calendar represents a norm by
which all nations would conduct their international affairs. It leaves all the leverage needed for
individual religious festivities intact.

Q. Basil Valentine uses for the tincture of antimony rectified Vinegar. Does he mean by that our
glacial acetic acid (96%)?

A. No. It means acetic acid distilled out of wine vinegar until the strongest acid can be produced
leaving the phlegm behind. Formerly vinegar was put outside in freezing temperature when the
water would freeze and the acid crystalized out. For this it had to be already fairly strong
vinegar.

Q. Concerning the Aludel. I had such an instrument made with three bulbs each over the other.
The total height including flask on bottom is about three feet tall. During sublimation the
anticipated separation into three colors did not show. In the bottom flask the colors of the
rainbow showed but not above. Could the reason be because it was too tall as the sublimate
should have shown in the first bulb. Can you answer this question?

A. Your problem was most likely the heat necessary to raise the sublimate accordingly. Then
there the time factor to be considered. Since none of these are mentioned, it would be good to
check these once more.

Q. What difference is there in the quality when sulphur has been extracted with steam and the
regular way with water or alcohol? How is the steam distilled Sulphur purified?

A. You are referring to plant extracted sulphur. The difference is that steam distilled sulphur (oil)
is purified during the distillation. The other method gives a liquid extract from which, after
removing the menstruum (extraction media), the sulphur can be obtained by washing with
absolute alcohol. An ethereal oil mixes with alcohol.

Q. Can one use as a basis to make the plant stone, (a) only the water soluble salt: (b) only the
water insoluble salt. (c) a mixture of both at the ratio of 1:1. Are the results quantitatively
different?

A. Yes, there is a difference. In plain language, all separated and purified substances of an herb
are to be taken to make a plant stone. When some are left out there cannot be results of
quantitative equality.
Q. Is one to understand that Terra Venetianae is the Venetian Borass?

A. Yes, it is Venetian borax.

Q. After the oil of antimony has been obtained how should it be best stored. How long can it be
stored before it would lose its efficacy?

A. Pure oil of antimony kept in dark glass bottles, well stoppered, should be useable after many
years. The fact is, we have not stored any oil of antimony for a great length of time because we
are using it up almost as fast as we can produce it for experimental purposes. When oil of
antimony has been made into a tincture with alcohol, it will be conserved for a long time when
the alcohol content is about 50 %.

Q. If my recollection is correct the symbol of the Paracelsus College is found without the flask as
the Enneagram in Ouspenki's book "In Search of the Miraculous". Please introduce us into the
meaning of this symbol.

A. It is based upon the nine numerical integers out of which, by combinations mathematical and
other hidden factors, can be determined. This would take explicit explanations of a lengthy
nature and can not be covered here in a few lines.

Q. When the Regulus of antimony with addition of Salpeter and Tartar (Winestone) is obtained,
does it have a different quality (Energy) than with the addition of Tartar only, without salpeter,
as Kerkring describes it?

A. There is a difference which should be obvious.

Q. What clinical results are on hand with Paracelsus Laboratory antinony preparations? What
medical doctors have used it? Can Leprosy and Syphilis be healed with antimony preparations.
Have, up to now, no toxic side-effects been discovered when using Paracelsus Laboratory
Antimony preparations?

A. Results are few and far between, because of the inadequate clinical test facilities. Encouraging
results have been obtained but these are not sufficient to meet the requirements of standards set
by government agencies. We have started as long ago as September 1969 to work with the
National Cancer Institute, but due to lack of funds and competent laboratory help in this
particular field are not able to continue, though we still remain in our standing with the USA
Dept. of Health, in Maryland in regards to cancer research.

As to what medical doctors have concerned themselves with antimonial preparations is a matter
of medical ethics. Some wish to remain anonymous until they feel confident with their results to
make the proper announcements.

Hansen's Disease, the medical term for Leprosy, is supposedly curable with the proper
antimonial preparation. We have not as yet been able even remotely to cover this area for reasons
stated above. This includes venereal diseases for which the essence of antimony or antimonial
vinegar is supposedly a curative agent.

No toxic side-effects have been discovered when taken as prescribed by the qualified physician.
Since toxic salts of antimony are to be found in such extreme minute quantities, related to parts
per million, no harmful side or after effects are likely to occur. From all appearances it is the
dynamic factor as an antimonial catalysate which is the medicinal part thereof and can be related
to a homeopathic reaction.

Q. Is Love the energy, when vibrations of the same kind can be brought into a harmonious
accord? Is this Love?

A. Love is not the energy as the latter is life, but Love is the sum total when harmony has been
established auwhere.

Q. Oil of Egg that has been made was initially a golden amber color, over a period of four
months it became clear. Has it lost its virtue?

A. Very unlikely. Exposure to light usually can cause this.

Q. What is sulphur viva? According to van Helmont it is white and will riot turn black when
burned.

A. It refers to the philosophical sulphur and not common brimstone.

Q. Yesterday you spoke of the over-all consciousness controlling the cell consciousness. In some
eastern countries there are religions that practice celibacy or restrict sexual intercourse for the
pro-creation of a child. Is there any truth in their claim that they transmute their sexual energy
into a higher consciousness and prevent ill health. Or to put it another way, is the practice of
intercourse to show your love for your partner eventually debilitation through giving in to cell
consciousness.

A. Each cell has a consciousness of its own. Man's consciousness (soul) is the sum total of its
own being, therefore is superior to the cells constituting his body. It is similar to a ruler who
governs over many people and tells them what is good for them individually and collectively.

Any energy expended needs to be recovered, as no energy can be lost in this universe. Giving in
to cell consciousness, as you state is subordination. Control over cell consciousness is exaltation.
In the end, the result will show when energy is spent if it has served the very purpose for which it
is intended thereby showing the control of will over substance.

Besides the word love is used indiscriminately and is basically not understood, In practically all
instance, when the word love is used what is really meant thereby is self-satisfaction and self-
gratification needing a reassurance. True love does not ask for anything in return.
Q. The making of the plant stone according to Urbigerus was given in detail in Essentia by Prof.
Junius. I have tried it and as far as I am aware others also, but without result. Do you know
anyone who knows that this process works?

A. Yes, I do. Last March I personally made the experiment with Prof. Junius in Australia and it
works. Within a short time, about an hour, the separation showed very clearly on top. In our
discussion it was agreed that, for whatever reason, there are times, when under identical
conditions it has not worked. We also found that pure oil of cedar does the work of Canada
Balsam. The former costs much less than the latter and is easier to obtain. The wet way does
work!

Q. I understand that in a recent class working with antimony, when pouring the yellow glass, an
image of Paracelsus had been poured. To my understanding the students had this framed and
presented it to you on your birthday this year. Can you bring a picture of it in Essentia

A. Here it is, not bad at all, is it not?

 Essentia
Volume 3 Fall 1982
Cover photo: Gianni Rollin

Exemplar - Dr. Christian August Becker

The Marvelous Chemical- Physical Work of Prince Sansevero
The Hunt for Artificial Gold
The Dry Way
The Sound of Alchemy - Music of the Spheres
Inquiries by Students ... and Answers
A Theory - How Petroleum ... Came into Being
Artificial Medicinal Stones
The Four Seasons in Alchemy

Dr. Christian August Becker, M.D.

Very little is actually known about Dr. Becker. If it was not for his discovery of what he calls the
'Acetone of the Wise' in his work, Das Acetone written in the German language, he would have
just practised his profession like so many medical doctors, with the help of what is available to
them by way of accepted medications. There is not even a picture of him readily available to
show what he looks like.

The outstanding fact is that Dr. Becker made an attempt to discover and - in his way of research
and later application in his praxis - established for himself that which is known as the
alchemistical mercury, is acetone derived in a special way. That is, differently produced than
commercial acetone.

Being a student of Paracelsus and the Alchemists he concluded that there must be a solvent
(menstruum) available to work on minerals and metals that proves itself to be harmless to the
human constitution. As in so many cases to arrive at such conclusions a flash of ingenuity, or
whatever name it may be called, is needed. In Dr. Beckcr's case the resultant manifestations
speaks for itself, which he experienced in his praxis upon his patients.

In 1862, on June 30th, he published a small book "Das Acetone" and in 1867 a second edition
followed, after which hardly anything was known about his work, except for the few researchers
into alchemistical lore who did not anticipate to find anything of importance at such a late date,
because most of the alchemistical literature is found during medieval times. Later attempts are
only repetitious of former writings and expoundations of would-be alchemists with hardly any
practical results of additional discoveries or rediscoveries.

Dr. Becker must have attained to a ripe old age, as he states in his preface that his seventy years
of research made this possible. Even if he started as a teenager it would safely bring him in his
high eighty years of age.

In his preface from which we quote he says that in 1877 he was lead to Paracelsus, but this is a
printers' mistake, as the second edition is dated July 1867, it says:
"The more recent times which provoked the curiosity in historical sciences by assimilating the
past with the present, have also toned down so far as Paracelsus is concerned, but there have
been repeated attempts to gain recognition for his work. However, those works were concerned
more with his system than with his medications, the reason may be looked into and criticized by
the thoughts of any time period, while the knowledge of the medications, hidden behind the veil
of alchemical language, poses very large problems for science and research. Van Helmont has
already proved the error of the Paracelsian system, but held the medications therein in high
regard.

My studies of magnetism in 1877 led me to Paracelsus, whose thorough medical knowledge of

same filled me with admiration. This caused me to work. The darkness of his language made
necessary to look for enlightenment by comparing alchemical tracts and treatises. Then I realized
that the virtually untouched "Feld der Arkane"* had to be the main goal of culture, and the
brilliant healings of Poterius increased my interest even more. The intrigue of the mysterious was
conducted and I was supported tremendously by those two very scientific minded pharmacists,
Drs. Grager and Klauer. I was chiefly concerned with the finding of the pain-killing sulphurs of
vitriol, (Sulphur Vitrioli Narcoticum Paracelsi) when in 1835 I came to the discovery of "Ferrum
corbonicum sacharatum". I also found the "Aurum diaphoreticum Poterii" which by sublimation
of the gold amalgam appeared as a finely separated metallic gold, however, which may be
further separated, as may be seen through a microscope, by a simple precipitation of the gold
solution with "Eisenvitriol" or the Vitriol of Iron.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is very effective, even in small doses, and it proved to be
especially effective against rheumatism, particularly "Rheumatismus Cordis.

I pursued this line of research and discovered numerous medications which are not listed in the
Pharmocopaea, but which nevertheless are efficacious in practice.

I had hoped for additional information in Weidenfeld's writings "De Secretis Adeptorum", but
the main theme, the "Spiritus Vini Lullianus" remained a mystery except for some illusory
glimpses, and only now, after more than twenty years of renewed studies, did I recognize the
idea of the Actetone in the text. This sheds new light on the medication of the Adepts and
brightens many of their writings.

Due to the prejudice of the authorities against alchemistry, I probably cannot count on a large
participation in my cause, but now and then, there might be a colleague who is secretly interested
in this line of research. For this reason and partly because I want to provide a freeing of the
obstructions in this domain and because I desire to leave the 70 years of my research as an
endowment, I make this small writing known to the general public."

Mulhausen, 30 June 1862

Dr. A. Becker

With this seemingly casual announcement Dr. Becker left posterity one of the most important
rediscoveries. It is astounding that this pearl of great price is so little known. But again, no
wonder, who can afford a jewel unless one has earned the price for it so one can call it one's own.
 The Marvelous Chemical-Physical Work of Prince Sansevero

By Isaac Beck

RAIMONDO DI SANGRO
Born January 30th 1710 at Torremagvare and died March 22nd 1771 at Naples, Italy.

While strolling through the old part of the city of Naples in Italy, two friends decided to stop at
the Chapel Sansevero. The narrow streets were filled with loud talking people using their hands
to emphasize expressions. Both had previously been informed about the "two corpses" to be seen
there and soon had reached the chapel whose exterior revealed nothing out of the extraordinary.
After entering they took the right hand stairway leading to the subterranean vaulted room.

A damp atmosphere greeted them and a simple electric light bulb hanging from the ceiling left a
sad glow on the two corpses that appeared even paler in this light.

There they stood, the two skeletons, but what was that wild looking ball of strands spreading
from the heart up and down and all around the skeletons?

Horrified, they felt an unseen force to step aside. Like a stroke of lightening it occurred to them
that these balls of strands were the channels that had the blood pulsate through them. Yes,
pulsate! Flow through them. At the same time they became aware of the law of duality, that life
and death are inseperably connected.

How horrified the preserved eyeballs of the dead woman looked, immovable, into the void; an
endless sadness within them and yet, as if there were no more eyes.

"Out of here, let's go out of here." Both ran out of the chapel into the sunlight, into the light of
life, followed as it seemed by a demon.

Imagine if this would have happened around midnight. Fortunatelly it was a genuine sunny
Neopolitan day.

When personally visiting the chapel I must say that I was not so terribly frightened. Let me
explain what I have found.

Concealed in the old part of Naples is a small chapel. It belongs to an ancient family of nobility,
the Sangro's dating back to the year 808 A.D.

A fantastic member of this family was Raimondo Di Sangro, Prince Sansevero. He remodeled
the family chapel, which also served as a Mausoleum, into its present state. Actually into a
museum, the only one of wondrous kind.
The two anatomical preparations are indeed almost unbelievable. The two skeletons in the
basement of the chapel have each a completely preserved heart and entire circulatory system, but
no more fleshy organs or parts. Even through an opening in the top of the head the arteries within
can be plainly seen. Likewise the veins in the tongue are there.

Actually there are three corpses. A man and a woman with an unborn child. The woman still has
her eyes in the skull. The unborn child has a complete circulatory system and heart but again an
opening in the skull. The placenta rests on the bottom connected with the umbilical cord of the
seated unborn child. The man, besides his heart, has also his gall and bladder intact.

Both, man and woman, had been worked with between 1763 and 1765.

Officially it is said that the anatomist, Dr. Guiseppe Salermo was the originator, as he was a
friend of the Prince. Many believe it was Sangro himself, since both came from the same
environment.

Enemies of the Prince claim to know for certain he had injected the man and woman while still
alive. Only one thing they did not know, how it was done and what was used to "metalize" the
circulatory system. It remains a puzzle to this very day.

During a medical convention in 1975 it was decided that the man died of a cancer in his right
foot. The woman was supposed to have died during a Caesarian Operation. She must have
suffered terrible pains as her hand is holding onto an object. Her arm is still in the same position.
The hypertrophy of the heart is based upon the excessive pain. Immediately after they had died
the corpses were injected.

The Prince had shown his ingenuity at an early age. He studied at the College of the Jesuits in
Rome and when thirteen years of age he was already a Master of Pyrotechnic (Alchemy) and
could among other things imitate the song of birds with fire only, which was followed by many
inventions in various ways. He improved a gun (Arguebuse), a canon seven times lighter than
cannons of the same caliber, carrying the ammunition farther. The cannon was made of a
leatherlike substance. Then a hydraulic pump of enormous capacity. He loved to work on the
completion of things others said were impossible. All of Naples was astonished about his
amphybian vehicle with four wheels in the water that by constant rotation moved the carriage
containing twelve people. Travelers had written about it but could not find out how the wheels
rotated. There is even a picture of this vehicle available. The Prince had discovered a material
that was featherlight, extremely thin and absolutely waterproof (a kind of nylon?). He presented
a piece of this material to King Carlo of Bourbone who used it as a raincoat while hunting.

He could take the coarsest string and change it into a white silk-like thread. He also was
intrigued by the phenomena of color.

His extraordinary ability in mechanics made it possible for him to invent a revolutionary printing
press downstairs in the palace. With just one pressing text and varicolored illustrations could be
produced. His work LETTERA APOLOGETICA came of this press. An original copy can be
marveled at in the BIBLIOTHECA NATIONALE.
He discovered a colored substance that would penetrate white marble and was considered to be
natural. That this is so, anyone can find out.

After his death (?) a stone was placed upon his grave that was formerly somewhere else. Again
this stone is a technical puzzle. The letters are in low relief and white while the rest is now pink.
The entire stone is one piece of marble. At that time nothing was known about this. Some
theoretical specialists claim that, an acid was used and the excess removed. Although no one has
been able to duplicate it until now.

Visitors from the 19th Century report that the stone was a light red. Since it now is pink it is a
sign that it was colored artificially.

In 1750 he became a Freemason and later Grandmaster of the Naples Lodge. The Pope at that
time was not elated about this fact.

For this reason he is still blacklisted and his works including sculpture ignored and discredited.

A casual glance in the chapel appears to be historical and family related symbolism, like over the
entrance door where it shows a person emerging from an open grave with a sword in his hand.
Indicating that some can elude death by disappearing with its corpse (because the grave was
found empty.)

That Sangro had excellent knowledge about the arts shows his selection of artists as is indicated
by three sculpters. There is a dead Christ whose body is covered bv a veil, very thin and
transparent. This is most unusual, since the entire work is made out of one piece of marble.

His anonymous biographer (really his friend Origlia, who belonged to an Illuminate Order) tells
us that the Prince invented an unusual substance that could be poured but quickly solidified like
marble. A piece of such tile is still left.

Let us return once more to color. He could take the color out of gems and make them clear.
Inversely he could darken the color of an amethyst. This specialty was to make Lapis Lazuli at
very little cost. Nowadays diamonds can be bombarded in Cyclotrones bringing about changes in
color only to return to their previous color in a decade or so. Of interest is that his deep blue
"Lapis Lazulie" was retained as background whereas the Cameo was in white.

In his subterranean laboratory he worked on a continuously burning lamp. In a letter of March

15, 1766 addressed to a "Monsieur I'Abbe Nollet de I'Academie des Sciences a Paris" he gives
particulars. In short, after four years of research, when removing stopper of a vessel (sort of a
retort with long neck) and bringing it close to a candle light for further investigation, the contents
in the vessel, that looked like soft butter, burst into bright light yellow flame. The temperature of
the vessel did not increase neither did the content within the vessel diminish.

The material used to begin with was bone. Preferably human bones, especially the skull,
considered the best. The work consisted of extracting the salts from it and to purify them to such
a degree to produce fire. Not ordinary fire but a gaseous one. He meant that such matter would
continuously attract particles of sulphur from the volcanic environment and probably compensate
for loss of weight.

He also produced a white wax out of plants that looked like natural wax.

A porcelain was produced that got its lustre not through a glaze but by cutting similar to the
lustre obtained when cutting rubies, etc. This made the lustre softer and more beautiful. What he
spoke least about was Palengenesis (creation of plants and animals).

His chief laboratory assistant, Felice Piccinino, was watching with greatest attention a Matrass (a
flask with a long and slender neck) standing hermetically sealed upon the hearth when someone
making no noise approached him and trying to scare him, let go with a terrible outcry. Surprised
by the outcry Piccinia turned around and while doing so knocked the vessel over. At once a thick
dark smoke came up from it, in the beginning like an oval and gradually taking on the form of a
naked person. It was olive coloured with a long beard and the hair had some strands of silver.

While those present stared in amazement at what they saw, a plasterer engaged on some
ornamental ceiling work went into a convulsion had to be taken home. He later in a hospital. An
apprentice in his flight kicked over a bucket with dissolved lime, never to return to his job.

Slowly the human shaped form dissolved.

Housewives were elated about invention to coat copper utensils with tin, that had a silverlike
lustre and easy to keep clean. The process of tinning the copper was quick and not the slow
process known then.

Concerning the healing of patients considered incurable, only two of such miraculous healings
are known.

He could change sea water (salt water) into sweet water "without corrosives or the hellish stone".
That no corrosive was used gives food for thought.

What else could it have been except the "Universal Mercury" without which according to the
Alchemists no Stone of the Wise could be produced.

The people of Naples are convinced that the Prince is still alive, because his grave was . . .
empty. A plant is named Sanseviera after him, meaning "not to be gotten rid of".

Did the Prince Sansevero disappear with the corpse out of the grave?

Should you, dear reader, ever get to Naples in Italy, then by all means go to the Via Francisco de
Sanctis, close to the Piazzo San Domenico Maggiore. There you will find the "Capella
Sansevero", the museum full of wonders.

It is not found in the Himalayas or amidst the Gobi Desert or somewhere subterranean, but in a
simple little street in a large city in Europe.
Should you, dear reader, ever see or meet the Prince, please inform him of my highest esteem
and the warmest of greetings.

But, should you ever get to Naples, it might also be of help not to carry too many of the riches
with you, as some Neapolitans are experts to do the opposite of the Prince, instead of enriching
you, let mysteriously (?) disappear out of your purse or pockets what you brought along on
riches.

All this does not change the fact that there remains an unexplained riddle; how anyone could
have accomplished what can be seen, when looking at two corpses that have their circulatory
system intact, including the heart and one carrying still an unborn child.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The preceding article by Paracelsus College student Isaac Beck of Antwerp, Belgium, is of
special interest as the original photo on the front cover of Essentia was obtained by special
permission from Signor Gianni Rollin who was allowed to take the photos, as absolutely no
photographs are allowed to be taken at the chapel. This is the first time the colored pictures are
authorized to be Published in a magazine. Essentia wishes to acknowledge the courtesy of Signor
Gianni Rollin in behalf of the Paracelsus College.

Is There Still Any Purpose In The Pursuit Of Alchemy?

The Hunt for Artificial Gold

By Hans Gerhard Lenz, Ph.D.

During the nineteen hundred twenties, the alchemist Franz Seraphim Tausend attracted
considerable attention. With the help of Alchemy the journeyman plumber born in Bavaria, who
had a whole string of occupations, succeeded in rising to the state of a gentleman farmer and in
becoming the owner of a castle. In 1925, he managed to get access to General Ludendorff and
his party through Secretary of State Meissner, Chief of the Cabinet of President Hindenburg.
Because he asserted that he could undertake the production of artificial gold, he elicited Mathilde
Ludendorffs special interest in him. This way of obtaining gold was meant to raise the funds for
the German reparation payments after World War 1 and to achieve the economic ruin of flooding
the gold market with artificial gold. Under Ludendorffs protection, Tausend founded a company.

Tausend could not produce serious evidence of any chemical or metallurgical studies. He
asserted that he 'had found the "philosophers stone" in 1925, and that with it he had produced
gold as a by-product. He made two attempts under the supervision of the government mint
office. However, when during the second attempt Taisend produced a small grain (or globule) of
gold of one ounce, it turned out that this gold had been smuggled inside. SubsequentIy, he
acquircd further means through the sale of gold bonds. These were to be redeemed later through
the sale of the gold produced by him, together with high interests. The whole affair ended with
an indictment for fraud. True, the punishment was mild, as in the meantime party bosses of the
NSDAP had also gone over to him.

This anecdote seems to be typical for the whole history of Alchemy. The medals from past
centuries preserved in various museums, however, appear to confirm that successful
transmutation bad been accomplished. The inscriptions on medals report that they consist of
transmuted (alchemistic) gold. On the outside the medals have the color of gold, but until today,
no exact examination as to what metals they contain has been undertaken.

Already in earlier years strict standards were applied to alleged metallic transmutations. There
exists a memorial of Landgraf Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel (1532-1592) from the year 1588, in
which he gives precise instructions to a deputy as to what was to be done to prevent or expose
fraudulent manipulations. Thus it understandable that the son of Landgraf Wilhelm IV, Landgraf
Moritz the Scholar (1572-1632), commissioned his personal physicians and not alchemists
traveling from court to court to carry out alchemistic processes. Their goal was to increase an
existing quantity of gold, especially by using antimony, silver, mercury and copper. In the city
library of Kassel we can read many such recipes in the manuscripts of Landgraf Moritz, which
are to this day almost completely preserved.

To whom can the development of Alchemy actually be traced? As the central figure we find in
both the alchemistic and the astrological literatures the name of Hermes Trismegistos, to whom
are ascribed the "Astrologumena", the "Corpus Hermeticum", and the "Tabula Smaragdina" (the
"Emerald Tablet"). Thus Alchemy can be traced to Egypt. It was used by craftsmen in
distillations and metal works as well as in the manufacture of medicines and objects for the
religious cult.

Medieval Alchemy derived its knowledge from the two above mentioned sources, though
large1y through the intermediary of the Arabs Who, beside the church, artisan tradition, also
passed on the philosophic spiritual superstructure. In that way mystical-spectulative Alchemy
received a strong impetus in the age of humanism and the reawakening of Neoplatonism. At that
time, Paracelsus (1493-1541) had probably recognized that it was beyond his abilities to produce
the "Magnum Opus", the 'Philosophers' Stone", the universal medicine. He therefore used the
essential components of the "Great Work" medicinally, for example, the sulphuric part, and
thereby scored successes with his cures. In that way he reformed medicine through the use of
medicines made of mineral substances. Thus he successfully used as a medicine oil of antimony,
which does not contain any antimony but is instead a complicated carbon-hydrogen compound.

The Rosicrucians of the 17th century tried to give the impression that, because of old traditions,
they were in possession of the secret of metal transmutation and that, therefore, thev held the key
to immeasurable wealth. At the same time, they held the alchemistic process to be the perfecting
of metals and considered it to be on an equal level with the maturation process of the alchemist
himself. Both were to desclop to perfection (gold) side by side.

The parallel arrangement of the ideas of alchemy, linked to the thoughts of the Rosicrucians on
the one hand and modern chemical coceptions on the other, leads to a great confusion of
definitions when considered simultaneously. This also leads to the most dcvious speculations in
esoteric circles. The consequence is that some processes and methods of alchemy that are still
useful and noteworthy today, are not heeded but pushed aside in a sweeping judgment as
devious, erroneous or quack-pharmiceutical. Alchemy is called a dubious art, supposed to
produce alchemistic gold by means of mysterious processes, although, it is said, that it has so far
evidendly, never succeeded in doing so. Nevertheless, alchemistic thought provides useful ideas
and practices even today, which should be researched and applied for the benefit of all, for
example, in the chemopharmaceutical industry.

The Dry Way

Manuel Algora Corbi

Wet and dry says: those are different possibilities when in the laboratory. But, what is dry way?
Those who may have had once the curiosity of searching through the "Encyclopedia Britannica"
of Edinburgh, 1771, after Frater Albertus' indications on the Philosophical Mercury, should have
found, page 80:

"This term is used to signify all operations performed by fusion." This was, and still is, the
concept of dry way, both in chemistry and alchemy.

Yet, to understand the raison d'etre of this way of working, we must rise up to the principles of
alchemical science. Alchemy is the metamorphosis operated by spirit in matter. In as much as we
lean toward this, we leave the realm of chemistry and enter into the realm of alchemy. Then
substances begin to show unaccustomed properties and reactions, the later ones which might
aptly be described as Life. This is not the place to enter into a full esoteric discussion of the
subtle forces which may develop their potential through the alchemist's aid. Only brief
indications may be given, as corresponding to the subject of the article. First of all, we have what
are called the etheric or formative forces. These are the forces of vitality, of growing, most
directly related to water, Moon, and the plant kingdom. What about the mineral kingdom?
Ekehard Wagner, in the journal of the anthroposophical laboratories Weleda, poses thus the
answer':

"When one handles plants and minerals, one perceives immediately the polarity which both the
natures constitute. The first ones are a living material, which one deals with as much as possible
under the liquid form. (. . .) For the mineral, on the contrary, time does not play a role, and what
characterizes it typically, is the solid form with its lines and its rectilineal aristas; it has but few
relations with the liquid element. However, when one refers himself to the origin of minerals, a
liquid fusion state of substance is found, from which a solid state has decanted itself. ( ... )
Metals have solidified at the liquid level and have remained out of the influence of the formative
forces of the mineral Kingdom. It is this that quicksilver, the mercury, manifests still very
neatly."

Yes, common mercury, as a liquid metal, still has a contact with living etherical forces (but the
alchemical application of this should form part of a different study).
What is important to retain here is the relation liquid-ether.

The influence of planetary positions on the metals ruled by them has been widely demonstrated
today, but in this case we need to work with the solved metal. In the words of Rudolf Steiner:
"As long as materials remain in a solid state, they are subject to the action of earthy forces.
Since a material is in the liquid state, the action of planets is experienced in it." In a wet way,
one works with li quids; in the dry way, fusion is the natural solution of n body into its own
water.2 Thus, in a sense, there is no dry way the liquid elemental ways being indispensable for
any true alchemical metamorphosis. This is the Moon: "Moon the Mother, Sun the Father", the
womb's liquid of alchemical gestations. Are the dry ways of working a modern concept? No;
alchemists of all ages have resorted to it. For example, according to Quercetanus, Extraction of
oils and tinctures of minerals 3: "Have a good pumice-stone, the whitest you may find, powder it
subtly, then irrigate it with good distilled vinegar and dry it; this you should reiterate four times,
and the last one it must be reverberated four hours by a flaming fire, non violent, to avoid it may
fuse. Cimentate afterwards with this powder very thin sheets of any metal, even Sun, and this by
stratification in a great fire of reverberation or of any other kind, as long as 24 hours, and your
powder will invest itself of the metal's color; reiterate this cimentition until your metallic sheets
have been rusted."

Here, a tincture (color, soul, sulphur) is first extracted with a dry menstrum (pumice-stone) in a
crucible; afterwards reduced in a wet way by distilled vinegar (animated with niter through
cohobations); finally, circulated with rectified spirits of wine.

A similar experience may be found in Basile Valentine when extracting the soul of Jupiter, etc.

John Henry Pott is one of those authors which, although officially labeled as chemist, shows the
most interesting and wide knowledge of alchemical secrets. I would recommend the study of his
Chemical Dissertations for those who may interest themselves in the dry workings. For example,
in the Section IX of his first dissertation (On the Sulphur of Metals), he has spoken of dry
menstrua:

"The first one and most common is, undoubtedly, the fixed salt of tartar which, since its fusion,
penetrates every metal and mineral, and takes from them the sulphurous part."

Again, not a singular idea, but one which may be found, for example, in George Starckey's
Pyrotechnics or The Art of Volatilising Alkalis, who also indicates the fusion of the alkali with
the calx of the imperfect metal, in order to extract its sulphur.

Chemistry makes now-a-days use of the coloring of certain salts (such as borax), when in fusion
with metals, with identification views. But, as usual, alchemists went further. For example,
coming to nearer times, concerning another dry menstrum, salt ammoniac, an example is quoted
from Fulcanelli's "Les Demeures Philosophales" (The Philosophers Abodes), thus giving a
knowledge of opportunity for those who may have not read the french edition of said work. The
operation is performed on silver chloride (horned moon of the ancients):
"Weigh, then, your silver salt, which you will mix intimately with three times the same quantity of
pure ammonium chloride. Introduce the whole in a high glass retort, of such a capacity that only
the bottom of it may be occupied by the salinous mixture. Give a gentle heat in the sand-bath,
and rise it by degrees. When the temperature is enough, the ammoniacal salt will rise up and
make a tapestry of a firm layer on the vault and neck of the apparatus. This sublimate, of a snow
whiteness, seldom yellowish, would induce to think that it hides nothing of a particular kind. Cut,
then, dexterously the retort, separate carefully the white sublimate, and dissolve it in distilled
water, cold or hot. The solution having been finished, you will find at the bottom a most fine
powder, of brilliant Red: it is part of SILVERS SULPHUR or LUNAR SULPHUR, separated
from the metal and volatilized by the aminoniacal salt in course of its sublimation."

As Fulcanelli goes on to say, repeating the whole procedure, a total extraction of the sulphur may
be achieved, leaving a grey irreducible ash, from which the specified mercury of silver may be
obtained (this must be understood in the same sense as B. Valentine in the XXIst Chapter of his
Curris Triumphalis when referring to antimony).

A similar procedure would be found in Pott's dissertation, sublimating with quicksilver, which
takes off silver's sulphur in the form of a cinnabar.

Even metals were considered as solvents, as under their liquid state they are a water, a mercury
in the alchemical sense, most resembling common mercury indeed. Gold, for example takes off
from Venus its celebrated tincture, by repeated alloy, (by fusion) and separation (by means of
aqua fortis, for example); thus, it becomes increasingly red, because it has partaken of copper's
sulphur.

Dry Ways in the Opus Magnum

Here again, dry ways of working are possible. To witness that we are dealing with ancient
alchemical procedures, not modern inventions,we will look after, once more, for a reference.
This we may find in Helvetius, who performed a most knom transmutation. Asking Helvetius
how the lapis philosophorum was produced, he was told by the adept who gave it to him.4 "The
menstrum is a celestial salt, or of celestial virtue, with the only benefit of which Philosophers
solve the terrestial metallic body, and after having solved it, they educe from it the noble Elixir
of the Philosophers. The operation, however, was performed, from beginning to end, in a
crucible in an open fires all the work, certainly, does not begin and consumate in may days, but
in four days, in which work no more than 3 florins are spent." Thus, this kind of work has also
called the brief way, though it be noted that preliminary operations, which require some more
time, are previously necessary. There is a variety of workings in this dry way, but I will restrict
this to one I have worked myself, that of Fulcanelli, and his known descendants, first E.
Canseliet, then Severin Batfroi, Guy Beatrice, and others, who would not like to be mentioned.5

But, to come to an understanding, resort must be made once more to those archetypal higher
principles of alchemy, will find afterwards different concrete expressions when in the laboratory,
according to personal likes and knowledges.
Due to the Fall, man has become gradually imprisoned in matter, blind to nature's spiritual
essence. The first ancient alchemists, on the contrary could contact, in their soul life, with nature
spirits, which represented unto them their dynamical character in the form of symbols. When this
faculty was lost by degrees, the language of alchemists became also less symbolical and more
technological, more materialistic. Still in an alchemist of highest genius, such as B. Valentine,
we may find an indication of the importance of contemplation, to penetrate into the essence of
things, and unveil their secrets. This is not just rational thinking, but a true faculty, of the soul.
Today, the reverse way may be walked, for the meditation on the practical laboratory work may
lead to a state of communion with nature, to a revival of soul's life, in which the archetypical
principles and processes of alchemy may be internalized to produce a psychic catharsis and
rebirth. (But this would be a different story, not up to the point.)

What is important to consider here is that the ancient alchemical symbol are really the best way
of expression for alchemical living invisible realities: the subconscious imaginations of Nature
which manifest themselves in the laboratory, just as our own imaginations, by their magical
power sooner or later do manifest themselves physically. These symbols and archetypical
processes, which have their reality, in a higher level of existence, may manifest themselves
physically in many different ways. Just as the gods of ancient mythology may be related one to
another as corresponding to the same archetype, though manifest under a different guise in
different cultures, so there is, say, a differen mercury in the plant, animal and mineral kingdom.
Actually, there is but one mercury, which expresses itself through several bearers. Thus, in
alchemy, different ways of working are possible, as long as the material and procedures may
become the physical manifestation of the psychical archetypes and forces.

The Great Work is a journey from Moon to Sun, unconscious to consciousness, a true Opus Solis
which shows the archetypical initiation of the Twice Born, the lapis being the Universal
Medicine, and healing being an attribution of the solar sphere of Tiphareth in the qabalistic Tree
of Life. I will restrain myself from entering into an endless series of relationships showing the
nature of the work on hand, but, coming to the point more down to earth, thanks to Eirenae
Philolethes, natu Angli, habitatione Cosmopolitaes6.

The Stone you seek, we said and still affirm is only gold, brought to so high perfection, as it is
possible which though a firm compacted body is, yet by arts direction, and nature's operation, it
is made a tingling spirit which will neve fade.

Similar indications may be found in all of Philalethes works, for example in his Exposition upon
St George Ripley's Vision (London 1677), where the lapis is said to be gold digested to the
highest degree to which Nature and Art may bring it. Again, not a singular idea but one
witnessed, for example, by Johann Joachim Becher7, which calls it a subtle gold, with plenty of
tincture which it may communicate to others.

"Sun the Father". To ritualize the rebirth of Sun in the laboratory, we need Sun to begin with: red
man, ferment, etc. Now, there are three kinds of gold, according to Tachenius (Med. de auro):
astral, elemental, metallic; or as The Hermetic Triumph details:
"In order that you may desire nothing that belongs to the theory and practice of our Philosophy,
I will tell you that, according to Philosophers, there are three kinds of Gold.

"First one is an astral Gold, whose center is in the Sun, which with its rays communicates it, at
the same time than its light, to all heavenly bodies under it. It is an igneous substance, and a
continuous emanation of solar corpuscles which, being in a perpetual flux and reflux, because of
the movement of the sun and the stars, fills up the whole universe. Everything is penetrated by
this Gold in the immensity of heavens upon earth, and, in its bowels, we breathe continuously
this astral Gold, this solar particles penetrate our bodies and are ceaselessly exhalated from
them.

"The second one is an elemental Gold, that is, the purest and most fixed portion of the elements,
and of all substances composed by them; so that every sublunar being of the three genera
contains in its center a precious grain of this elemental Gold.

"The third one is the handsome metal, whose brightness and inalterable perfection give it a
price, which make it to be considered by all men as the sovereign remedy for all evils and needs
of life, and as the only foundation of greatness and human power." etc.

Many have worked with the third kind of Gold (Au of the chemists): B. Valentine, Philalethes,
D. Mueller, Cyliani (who extracts its essence by means of a mineral spirit acuated with a metallic
salt, which requires a long preparation). In our own times, the English alchemist Lapidus.8

The first kind of Gold has to be related with what the ancients called the Universal Spirit. On the
particular, we find in Johannes Trithemius:

"It is a Universal Fluid, a living one, extended throughout all Nature, which penetrates all
beings; it is the most subtle of all things, incorruptible in its essence, and permeating the infinite
space ( ...). The sun and planets are but condensed states of this Universal Principle, distributing
their abundances through their palpitating hearts, and sending them to the forms of the lower
worlds and to every being, acting through their own centers, and impelling those forms to a
higher state in the path of perfection ... This spirit may be obtained in the same way as it is
communicated to earth: from the stars The forms in which this living principle becomes fixed,
become per fect and permanent ... Thus, the philosophal stone is the ultimate that can be made
using it, making that which is volatile to become fixed."

Thus, the first kind of Gold might be condensed into the lapis philosophorum, and this, as
Limojon de Saint-Didier, again, will instruct us, by means of a gold of the second species:

"The gold of the wise is proper the gold of the second species; for, when this gold is perfectly
calcinated, and exalted to the cleanness and whiteness of snow, it acquires, by Magistery, a
natural simpathy for the astral gold, of whom it has become visibly a true magnet, it attracts and
concentrates in itself so great a quantity of astral gold and of solar particles, received from the
continuous emanation of them done in the center of Sun and Moon, that it is in a disposition near
to become the living gold of the Philosophers."
This is what the dry way now under study does, and here is its raison d'etre: getting a magnet
(elemental gold) to attract the solar corpuscles (astral gold), and condensate them in solid form.

Those who know Alchemie und Heilkunst, by Alexander von Bernus, should have found, ending
the chapter on "Das geheime Feuer und der gcheime Weingeist der Adepten" (The secret fire and
the secret spirits of wine of the Adepts), the indication of a similar idea. It is presented there in a
different form, but the idea is the same.

Reading The Golden Chain of Homer, the idea is found again on the possibility of materializing
subtle principles, of fixing what is volatile:

"The Universal Fire fills that immense space of the universe between the Heavenly bodies, and
as a power to become material, it generates a subtle vapor or invisible humidity, its first passive
principle. It causes therein a gentle reaction, and a most subtle fermentation takes place
universally, and by this reaction the universal acid is everywhere generated, which we can call
anything else than a most subtle incorporated NITRE; it is inwardly fire and outwardly cold.

"Thus this spiritual NITRE or universal ACID we call the second invisible change of the
universal Fire, generated out of the chaotic invisible HUMIDITY; and as this approaches the
atmosphere of the Heavenly Bodies it becomes gradually more and more material, until it meets
an alkaline passive principle, wherein it fixes itself and forms native Nitre, so that from universal
spiritual Nitre it becomes material Nitre. "Thus we say without good reason that the Solar Rays
of light are nothing else than a most subtle spiritual Nitre it becomes material comes more and
more nitrous as it approaches the Earth."

It is obvious that to get that condensation of Universal Spirit, special conditions of weather are
required, as A. v. Bernus has already indicated himself. There is a cosmic breathing. and the
Universal Spirit descends to Earth at Spring, and returns to heavens at Autumn. Lets read again
The Hermetic Triumph:

"Several Philosophers indicated the most propitious season of the year for this operation. Some
made no mystery of it; other more circumspect ones only did explain this point by means of
parables. 'The first ones mentioned the month of March and Springtime. (...) Cosmopolita, to
indicate the most propitious season for the Philosophical work, says it is that one in which all
living beings, sensitive and vegetable, seem to be animated by a newfire, which impels them
reciprocally to love, and to the multiplication of the species, that Venus is the godess of this
charming island, in which he soon discovered all the secrets of nature; but, to indicate more
clearly this season, he says that lambs and bulls were seen to pasture in the meadow,
accompanied by two young shepherds, thus expressing clearly with this spiritual allegory the
three months of Springtime, by means of the three celestial signs corresponding to them: Aries,
Taurus, Gemini."

L. Kolisko, in her study "Spirit in Matter"9, has shown the particular forces which play through
solved metals at springtime. By sinking the tip of a filter-paper into a solution of silver nitrate, a
precipitation is made on the paper as the solution rises up through it. The experience done in
winter, no forms will appear. At spring, soft radiating forms appear in the precipitate, thus
showing the presence of etheric forces.

The alchemist of the dry way knows how to attract and fix these etheric forces into a salinous
substance, the secret Fire. When this is done, a green tincture ensues, which is worth noting
when considering the relationships Venus-Spring-Prana; The green energy of Osiris, etc. That
this green tincture is truly the color of immature astral gold, and not explicable by current
chemical knowledge, has been proved to myself by experience. Working in such a polluted city
as Madrid, only a slightly yellowish color ensued, which is what could be expected from the
chemical point of view, greenish tinctures seldom appearing. At the same time, a friend of mine
worked in the country, performing just the same operation, and a most beautiful emerald green
appeared. By an over-exact work, the increasing in weight of the secret fire, because of the
condensation of the Universal Spirit, may even be determined.

Those who have read Frater Albertus' meeting with Eugene Canseliet in The Alchemist of the
Rocky Mountains may read it again with this article in mind, and will surely find it more
understandable.

Now to the question, "what do you understand under philosophical mercury?" the reply of
Canseliet comes:

"The soul, this is the minute part, that can be obtained from the mass during the sublimating in
the dry way. This is also called the little fish (LA REMORE) that becomes a stone."

The 'little fish" is the magnet attracting astral gold, will be the lapis philosophorum. To produce
this magnet, a gold of the second species, "the purest and most perfect portion of the elements,
and of all substances composed by them", must be extracted from a metallic body. Both metals
and salts are required here as dry menstrua, the extracted soul been finally treasured the secret
fire. Thus, the works Fulcanelli begin to have some meaning unto us. For example, when
refering to the fruits of the Garden of Hesperides (elixir vitae and transmutation stone):

"Each of these fruits is the rest of a progressive condensation of solar fire by secret fire,
incarnated word, celestial spirit corporified all things of this world." So much could be said . . .
there is enough food for thinking. Thus, those who may be interested in developing the immense
possibilities of Alchemy in this area, may thus find a way of entrance to dry workings, workings
which are not fancies, but experienced by many as laboratory realities at present, ad majorem
Dei gloriam.

REFERENCES

1 Christmas 1978, No. 40, Medicines with metals.

2 For those interested in magic, an advise never found in modern books, is to melt the metal you
are working with when producing a talisman. Thus, the metal contacts the chosen astrological
influence at the time of the operation, and, when solidified, keeps it forever.
3 Receuil des plus curieux et rares sec touchant ld Medecine Metallique & Minerale tirez des
Manuscripts de Feu M. Ioseph du Chesne, sieur de ]a Violette (Paris, M.DC.XLI.) p. 29-32.
4 Vitulus Aureus quem Mundus adorat orat, in quo tractatur de rarisimo Naturae Miraculo
Transmutandi Metalla.
5 Please, let it be noted this does not mean I am in complete agreement with ideas of this
"school"; nor, completely with those of any "school" and living practitioner I have known (and I
know some). But whatever one has made in laboratory is not refutable; and Canseliet has
(several others also).
6 The Marrow of Alchemy, (1654), First book of the second part.
7 Auctorum laboratorii Chymici Monacsensis seu Physicae subterraneae, 2nd supplement,
chemical thesis VI.
8 I would like to make use of this opportunity in order to state that Lapidus, whom I know well,
is NOT Stephen Skinner (in spite of what was suggested in - Parachemy).
9. Spirit in Matter (A Scientist's answer to the Bishop's queries), issued by the Kolisko Archive,
Rudge cottage, Edge Stroud, (England, 1948).

The Sound of Alchemy

Music of the Spheres

By DAHN KANEIGH

MUSIC OF THE SPHERES: It is exactly that: whole spheres, orbs in outline, circles within
circles, causing subtle angles at interceptions, vesica piscis of birth and crosses of death.

MUSIC OF THE SPHERES: It is music without sound, music as a vital light in a universal
vacuum, music beyond our human ability to hear. It is the music of light and color without
reflecting or resonating agents. It is beyond us, about us, throughout us; a silent and eternal
pulse.

Man is a catch-all of the cosmos, ever trying to assimilate and synthesize these kinds of
realizations, most of which most of which go for self-improvement through technology or
comfort. Yet for our inner purpose, these inner realizations are refined for awareness an self-
development in a universal and spiritual context.

The MUSIC OF THE SPHERES is a laughing matter, perhaps amusing to the muses alone
because of our human obsession with sensual beliefs in hearing. This music is a total process of
molecular motion, variatipon and change. Its perfection lies in harmony, its imperfection in
dissonance.

Perhaps "Harmony of the Spheres" or even more simply "Harmony of the Circle" should demand
our attention, for the duty of this subject is to clarify the nature of universal harmony itself. We
must consider an active and functioning cooperation of elements which create equitension or
cohesion among elements, be they of audial or light qualities.

The Music of the Spheres is beyond our foot-tapping acknowledgement of rhythm. It is beyond
our subjective debate of beauty's definition. It is beyond earth pulses or rhythms which satisfy,
affect or soothe our emotions. Participation in this music is to BE it, to fulfill our ontological
oneness. This music has nowhere to go, no line or melody to follow, no cadence to fulfill. It is a
three dimensional unit of equal balance, resonating in itself, participating in neither indulgence
or sacrifice. It is beyond the condition of our human awareness in most respects.

Solid objects of Light cause interplay in balances, perhaps only measurable in proportion, ratio
or angle. Rays from those perfect channels of Light are reflected in other objects of form. These
essences are cognized and then, and only then, is outr human-physical kingdom recognized. As
above, so below, as without, within. Our process is a resonant factor of the archetype. Our songs
are faint replies to our essential, eternal impulse.

In the first century, a Palestinian Greek, Nichomachus of Gerara, wrote prolifically on the
subject of Music of the Spheres in his INTRODUCTION TO ARITHMETIC: Book One:
For it is clear that these studies are like ladders and bridges that carry our minds from things
apprehended by sense and opinion to those comprehended by the mind and understanding ... and
from those material, physical things, our foster-brethren to us from childhood, to the things
which we are unacquaintd, foreign to our senses ... but in their immateriality are eternally more
akin to our souls, and above all, the REASON which is in our souls.

Isadore of Seville, at the beginning the 7th century, continues these thoughts in a somewhat less
verbose way in his EYTOMOLOGIES:

Nothing exists without music; for the Universe itself is said to have been framed by a kind of
harmony of sounds, and the heaven itself revolves in the tones of that harmony.

Isadore is simply westernizing the Hindu concept of "Sound Creation" as mentioned in the early
Vedic texts and the important 13th century treatise, Samgitaratnakara or Sarangdeva. This
Ocean of Music begins with a detailed cosmogony, gradually narrowing its scope to the human
body and the stages of pregnancy from month to month, before it is concerned with the birth of
sound itself. It is the first cry of AUM in the cosmos, whereby the beginning was the WORD.

Marsilo Ficino (1433-1499) and Robert Fludd (1574-1637) speculated about and developed the
basic harmonic theories of Pythagoras in the grand assumptiveness of the High Renaissance.
Perhaps the most thorough recorder of Pythagorean theory and Platonic solids in relation to the
universal spheres was Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). In Harmonies of the World, Kepler
discusses how the five regular solid figures can serve as a basic primer for all harmonic
understanding. Kepler not only implies the alchemical marriage of these basic forms, but also
rationally relates these figures to the ratios of the Pythagorean monochord. His association of
these forms to his astronomical research creates an interesting and fundamental vocabulary for
music conversation in the harmonic field.
Our modern sense of tuning is so tempered in the keyboard contexts that it is difficult to
understand the basic laws by which we came to them. Simply, Pythagorean tuning techniques
deal with ratios of string length: 1:2, 1:3, 3:4, 4:5, 5:6, 8:9 and so forth. These are based on an
overtone series which is the common law ruler of sound in every human musical/acoustical
system. It is at this point that most musicians and the majority of esoteric speculators cease their
investigation. The overtone series is the crux that unifies all systems and validates the law of
harmony in its natural mathematical state. It is only here that our diverse paths as musicians,
scientists, mathematicians, symbolists, alchemists and philosophers come together for
confirmation of our factual intuitional selves.

It is a tendency among writers to and speakers on esoteric subjects to define their own
terminology in regard to music and its correspondences on inner levels. To challenge them is
proper, not particularly for the enjoyment of debate, but for the exercise toward truth. An
analogy can be made with alchemical laboratory work. Tinctures may be read about, recognized
for their associations and qualities and yet remain abstract and non-tested substances. However,
to actually prepare a tincture thoroughly by picking the herb, drying it and continuing with all the
steps through personal usage brings an inner understanding into the process. Wisdom is the
sought result and then more difficult and challenging steps to making a herbal stone may be
undertook. The same is true for music. We must not simply take correspondences for granted as
truth, we must test them. Even if musical correspondences vary from teacher to teacher, we can
learn their process by approaching their results with an investigating mind.

It is often said that the trinity of music in alchemy is melody (Sulphur), harmony (Mercury), and
rhythm (Salt). Yet they all contain each other. Melodies are horizontal, harmonies are vertical
and rhythm is the cohesive element among and between the first two in regard to time and space.
We are dealing with an abstract that cannot exist out of time and remain musical to our human
ears.

We know how difficult it is to explain the essence and power behind alchemy to a scientist using
strictly conventional possibilities. I believe the same is true in regard to music, and yet we really
do not separate the cosmic nature of music from the repertoire of the radio. Perhaps to clearly
approach the alchemy of sound, we must begin to use terms like "philosophical melody,"
"philosophical harmony" and "philosophical rhythm."

Chemical elements take on different characteristics depending on the other elements with which
they form combinations. The same is true musically. We can make an assumption about the tone
G (sol) only in regard to its relationship to other tones: it may be the tonic or root of a chord, it
may be the first tone of a melody, it may be the sixth overtone in a series or the fifth of a minor
triad. The power and dominance of the tone G is completely dependent on its relationship to all
other sounds heard both vertically and horizontally at the same time. 'An harmonic structure, we
can also see the power of an unheard tone: other tones lead us toward it and demand a resolution
toward it.

Often statements are made in relationship of a tone to a color. This presents a relative problem in
both the area of sound and sight. We accept that the tone A is now tuned at vibrations per
second. However Europe there is a common use of vibrations for the same tone, and I look back
over the past three centuries there is a wide margin on the tuning of the pitch A. Its historical
variation is so wide that it would move up or down two or three half steps as we know them
today. So the question of the true nature of vibration per second pitch is an essential one.
Similarly we are challenged by the quality of color. What is true red? What is the most red of all?
Can we debate the power of a tone by the instrument which produces it?

The Alchemy of Sound is just as demanding and perplexing as those in the chemical arts. Yet we
are just pioneering the remarkable possibilities of defining sound and music in such exact terms
that musicians can approach the Music of the Spheres without being led astray by the vague
musical and visual conveniences which have pillowed our intellects. We can now begin to
contemplate our spiritual ancestry through solid figures in musical holographs, dimensional
Kabalistic trees and in precise alchemical definitions. The Music of the Spheres is right here.
Active perfection and participation in it simply awaits our undivided attention. Shall we begin?

A SUGGESTED READING LIST

Addey, John M., Harmonics in Astrology, L. N. Fowler & Co., Essex, England, 1976.
Blair, Lawrence, Rhythms of Vision Croom & Helm, London, 1976.
Hamel, Peter Michael, Through Music to the Self Shambhala, Boulder, Co., 1979.
Hersey, G. L. Pythagorean Palaces: Magic and Architecture in the Italian Renaissance. Cornell
University Press, Ithaca. 1976.
Kayser, Hans, AKROASIS: The Theory of World Harmonics, Plowshare Press, Boston, 1970.
Kahn, Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Mysticism of Sound Serwire, Holland, 1979.
McClain, Ernest G. The Pythagorean Plato: Prelude to the Song Itself, Nicolas Hays, Stony
Brook, NY., 1978.
Rudyar, Dane, The Rebirth of Hindu Music, Weiser, New York, 1979.

Inquiries by Students ... and Answers

Q. Amo means love in Latin. It is especially interesting, in the light of the mcssage of Love he
gives. Is it possible, that his teachers gave him this name with a foresight i.e. to express his true
nature and mission?

A. Yes, indeed.

Q.What effect have the planets on the extractions of the tinctures and oils from antimony?

A. This depends on their aspects to each other in relationship to the mineral antimony, which
differs at given times.

Q. In making the glass of Antimony, why is it so much easier to make glass now?

A. Because of the equipment available and the control of the temperatures.

Q. Could you please explain, what the true potable gold is, as many authors call it or obtain
from different things. After the gold has been dissolved in the philosophical mercury does it
require further Purification: by what means?

A. Potable (drinkable) gold has to be so prepared that no poisonous salts are found in it. It is its
essence, alchemical spirit and sulphur, that make it possible to distill from it its colored essence
and becomes potable.

Q. I still cannot get it clear in my mind the value of using the acetone of the Wise as a menstruum
to extract oil of calcium rather than making an acetate and distilling out the oil. I assume the
acetone method must be superior for our classwork but don't see it clearly. Would you please
comment?

A. There is a difference. The acetone of the Wise extracts its sulphur from calcium whereas the
acetone extraction gives you a catalysate, meaning a change in acetone from calcium as a
catalyst.

Q. This is just a personal observation but it often seems that the great music of the past is a kind
of doorway to an augmented awareness of reality, coming by way of the heart. One feels that the
music of the great composers conceals mysteries that perhaps even they were not aware of and
that there is more true magic, for instance, in a Beethoven Symphony or Wagner Opera than in
many an occult book. If sound creates, isn't such music a creation of great influence, and isn't a
performer, in a way, celebrating at a sacred ritual?

A. Absolutely.

Q. What is the easiest and most efficient way to extract the mercury of Antimony from the Red
Kermes?

A. With its own vinegar.

Q. When a soul comes into this life, does it know when it will leave? Is it true that when it wants
to leave nothing can keep it here?

A. To the first part of your question the answer is: As a whole, No. Regards part two: The answer
is: Circumstances over which it has no control may prevent it from leaving, but it can even fight
this.

Q. You state in "The Alchemist of the Rocky Mts." that the Prince of Peace will appear May 7th,
1986. Will gender be important here or could this person be a female?

A. A quotation was given in the book which uses the word prince (positive-giving forth), not
princess (negative - recipient).

Q. You cautioned us in the Prima Class not to apply the saying, "If a little does a little good - a
lot will do a lot of good", to the tinctures we make and take daily. Question: Now that we've
taken them for a year could they be a little stronger or could we take a little more dosage, or
should we still use caution?

A. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Use great caution.

Q. Did you say last year that there was a way of determining from our horoscope whether or not
we should at meat?

A. No.

How does one discriminate between Imagination, Actuality and Reality?

A. By experience.

Q. Frater, in your book "The Alchemist of the Rocky Mountains" you've mentioned various
persons by name. Are these ficticious characters or real ones in your life?

A. They are real. The names Farnsworth, Syndergaard, etc. are real. Except the name of the
couple, Gunderson has been changed, as one of the two is still living at an advanced age. As an
example this picture is an actual photo of the late Dr. Hyrum Syndergaard. This should answer
your questions and close this matter for good.

Q. On the color plate #4 of "Men and the Cycles of the Universe", all dates from 19,717 B.C.
through 277 B.C. add up to a number '7', and all dates past 277 B.C. total 11 or 2. This date of
277 B.C. began the Piscean age during which the Christed One entered this world.
1. Is there any connection between His entrance in this world and the number value change? If
not - then:
2. What is the significance of this dramatic numeral change, for chance happenings I doubt
could explain it.

A. Seven plus two equals nine. The last and highest of all integers or the indication of the
completion of an epoch.

Q. Was there some reason why you said Amber was found in the Baltic Sea?

A. Because so much has been and still is found there, besides other places in the world.
Q. How is the fire regulated? How cautious must one be in regulating the fire as one approaches
the different colors one may obtain from Antimony?

A. This depends on the equipment available. In an electric muffle furnace a pyrometer measures
the exact temperature. Various clay cones that melt at a certain temperature can also be used.

Q. When speaking of arriving at the proper proportions of sulphur, salt and mercury in the fire
stone, for example, is this an equivalence relation? And is this by weight? i.e. weight of salt =
weight of sulphur weight of sulphur = weight of mercury?

A. During the entire process nature finds in its closing steps its own proportions, if allowed to do
so.

Q. Last year you said that homeopathically preparations contained only the salt, this may be so
with non soluble metal preparations, but herbal potencies are prepared from, standard tinctures.
It seems that these would contain the mercury and sulphur instead of the salt. Would you please
explain?

A. Your statement is correct. But there are preparations going under that name that are not
prepared spagyrically. This was the gist of my statement. Your next to the last sentence answers
your own question.
 ARTIFICIAL MEDICINAL STONES

Pharmacopoeia Londinensis. Or, the New London Dispensatory. In Six Books 5th edition by,
William Salmon, Professor of Physic. London, 1696.

Chapter Xl, page 564, #53 Lapis Vegetabilis, The Vegetable Stone

Rx. Take a dry plant, digest it with its own distilled water: draw from it the flegm, spirit, and oil;
from the feces extract a salt (by calcination) with the flegm: then draw a tincture from the same
kind of herb with the spirit; impregnate the salt with the tincture, and add as much of the oil as
the salt so impregnated can swallow up, then coagulate like a stone. (Salmon) "It has all the
virtues of the herbs exalted from whence it is extracted."
 The Four Seasons in Alchemy

Adapted from the French of the wise Benedictine Dom Antoine-Joseph Pernety 1716-1801

Translated by Prof. Kjell Hellesoe

In analogy to the four seasons of the common year, the Philosophers also have their four seasons;
but they are rather different. In fact, by seasons they understand the diverse successive states in
which the matter of Art finds itself during the course of operations. And these seasons renew
themselves each Philosophic year, i.e. each time one reiterates the operation order to arrive at the
perfection of the work. Their winter is the time of dissolution and putrefaction: spring succeeds
and lasts from the time the black color begins to disappear until the white color is perfect.

Their summer consists of this whiteness and the saffron color which follows. The red color
which comes afterwards is their fall. For this reason they say that winter is the first season of the
year, and this is why the work has to be started in the winter. Those who recommend to begin in
the springtime, only have the matter with which the work has to be done in mind, and not the
beginning of the Artists work, since this may be done any, of the vulgar seasons.

Winter. Sometimes the Sages have given this name to their mercury. But usually it is intended in
an allegorical sense, to denote the beginning of the work, or the time preceding putrifaction. This
is why they usually say that one has to start during the wintertime and finish in the fall. Just as
nature seems to be dead during the wintertime and does not yet produce anything; in the same
way the mercury of the Sages only disposes towards generation, which will not occur without
corruption, and corruption will only happen by way of putrefaction. Thus the regimen of the fire
has to be of the first degree. The mercury dissolves its body, and the Philosophers have said that
the degree of the fire has to be similar to the heat of a chicken hatching; others to the heat of the
stomach, to the heat of manure; others again, to a heat similar to the solar heat during the month
of March, or when the sun is in the sign of Aries. This is why they have said that the work has to
be started in the sign of the Ram, while the moon is in the sign of the Bull. And all this signifies
nothing but the heat philosophically moderated at the begining of the work.

It is during this philosophical wintertime, that the mercury is mortified, that the earth conceives
and changes its nature.

Spring. This is the time when the mercury takes on the warm and humid temper and constitution
of air, which is achieved by a fire of the second degree. This heat should be moderate and
tempered, but stronger than the one of winter. During this regimen the sulphur dries up the
mercury. It produces the philosophical herbs and flowers, i.e. the colors preceding the whiteness
itself. The matter can then no longer be destroyed. In order to redetermine this passage from
black to white, the Philosophers have called it spring, as well as the matter itself.

Summer. This signifies the matter at the white stage, or the regimen of fire at the third degree. Its
constitution is igneous. This third degree fixes the mercury, and its heat is similar to the sun in
the sign of the Lion. It must be continued to the red stage. Then this red has been completely
digested. It is so fixed that it no longer fears the fire. Our Dragon, says Philaletes, is then adorned
by all celestial and terrestial virtues. Remember also that each of the fires must be double of the
other. It is during this regimen that the fruits appear, and that it ascends to heaven in a chariot of
fire; for then the red will appear, which will be permanent during all revolutions made by five
coctions after the true white.

Fall. This is the time of the year when the Artist reaps the fruits of his labors. Its constitution is
cold and dry. Hence remember that one must dissolve during the winter, cook during spring,
coagulate during summer, and reap the fruits during fall; i.e. to bestow the tincture.

Essentia
Volume 3 Winter 1982
Our cover picture is by the renowned European artist Siegbert Hahn of Cologne. It is entitled
"Patience" and symbolizes the emergence of a Being with the potentials (wings) given it, capable
to rise above the earth after it has paused and learned to patiently observe its surroundings first,
before making a decision when to rise and what direction to pursue.

Exemplar - Hans Nintzel

Pure Sulphur of Nature from White Phosphor
The Acetone of the Wise
Amber: The Gate to Mineral Alchemy
Gypsy Alchemy
Questions and Answers

Hans Nintzel
During medieval times alchemical literature became first a novelty, then a serious study to be
discarded later as nonsense and a waste of time. To this very day it is considered an outmoded
type of chemistry long since superseded by modern discoveries, both in science as a whole and
especially in pharmacy and medicine. Be it as it may, any subject that still arouses so much
controversy, when on the one hand it is declared as impossible while on the other hand both
laymen and noteworthy scientists are still attracted to it, must have a reason. When formerly
metallic transmutations were the main reason for its study it became evident that the entire
process of nature is but an evolutionary or alchemistical procedure not confined to the mineral
realm only but likewise to the plant and animal kingdom.

Various attempts had been made to prove this in theory and practise, but not always successfulIy.
With the process of modern science alchemistical theories and laboratory, practices have aroused
the curiosity of researchers and established some pertinent facts that cannot be ignored any,
longer. However, some of this literature became more and more difficult to obtain and so the
thought was voiced by some students, when browsing through the pigskin bound books and other
rare manuscripts available to them at the former PRS and now College, to make these and others
available to the public. Among them one student showed much interest in this matter and began
to lay the groundwork for such a venture. It was Hans Nintzel of Texas.

When asked how all this came about he said: "R.A.M.S., Restorers of Alchemical Manuscript
Society, was an idea that germinated around 1976 and produced its first fruit in 1977. This was
the Bacstrom translated "Golden Chain of Homer". Sigismond Bacstrom, an alchemist, extracted
items he thought of importance from the Boehm (publisher) versions of the "Golden Chain." The
material seemed to be important. In fact, I asked Frater Albertus during my Secunda Class, "If
the building was on fire, what book, if you could only save one, would you save?" "

"He smiled and said, 'The Golden Chain of Homer'. I asked if he therefore thought this to be one
of the most important books on alchemy. He replied: "Yes. IF you can understand it!" Finding
the Bacstrom (English)gave me the impetus to "restore" this manuscript and R.A.M.S. was now a
seed. Typing was done by a friend in Albuquerque.

"Later, as other manuscripts came to hand. I enlisted the service of many friends all over the
world to aid in this project. Some provided funds to obtain the documents and pay for materials.
Others helped in typing or proof - reading. Others were kind enough to spend long hours in the
translation of these documents. And most of those people treated this as a labor of love, that is,
were not recompensed for their efforts, and considerable efforts they were. Now, many of them
were not even aware that I had, for fun, "lumped" them together under the name R.A.M.S. This
name was, as said, for fun and it was also appropriate since I am an Aries! Besides, everyone
loves acronyms these days.

This then, a loosely known group of people often unaware who all was working with them on a
particular document, contributed to the production of over fifty manuscripts. Some of these
R.A.M.S. items are collections themselves in that they contain many tracts or treatises. Some of
these have been translated from German, French and Latin. We are now working on an Italian, a
German and a French manuscript."

When these publications appeared he graciously dedicated his efforts to the then PRS where the
thoughts for this venture originated.

It is persons like Hans Nintzel that take the time and make the efforts to be of assistance unto
others to help bring more light among mankind by rekindling the flame others wanted to
extinguish. For this, Essentia expresses its appreciation publicly to Hans Nintzel and his wife
Jody who so understandingly supports him in his work to republish important alchemical
manuscripts.

May his work with the help of his associates continue to prosper for the benefit of all concerned.
The Paracelsus College needs more of the type of Hans Nintzel to establish its work firmly
among sincere searchers of the ancient and contemporary wisdom to be found in Alchemy, by
using all legal and honorable means available.

LABORATORY REPORT

Pure Sulphur of Nature from White Phosphor

By Ludwig Wriesing, Austria

Beginning of Experiment: June 16, 1980 Sun in the sign Taurus. Planet at hour of beginning was
Jupiter. Moon in first quarter.
Preparation and Collection of the following equipment.
Asbestos Cover: Serves as protection on table.
Glass Plate: Placed upon asbestos cover to retrieve small particles of pure sulphur.
Small Asbestos Sheet: This is a protection for the glass plate.
Small Corning Ware Dish: This small heat resistant dish is placed upon the asbestos because of
possible increase of heat thereafter.
An Iron Wire: This iron wire will later be heated to ignite the stick of Phosphor. I would like to
call special attention to the fact, when using a small glass bell the stick of Phosphor should be in
proportion.
A Large Glass Bell: This large Glass Bell has to be transparent and is needed to observe the
combustion process.
A Large Bucket: The large bucket is a safety precaution because it has to be large enough to be
placed over the glass bell in which the Corning Ware dish has been placed with the phosphor.
The large bucket is only used when too much beat should be generated because the glass bell is
too small and will break. Phosphor can only be extinguished when no oxygen gets to it.
A Burner and Tripod: This Bunsen or Fisher burner and support serves to hold a pan similar
when melting lead or tin. This fire serves to heat the iron wire to ignite the phosphor in the tube.
A Tube: In this tube is the mixture to be ignited with a match and it will not smoke.
This smokeless flame makes it possible that the iron wire will not turn black.
A Clamp: This clamp serves to get hold of the small piece of phosphor broken off the larger
piece.
Napkins (Wet): The napkins serve to close the opening on the rim at the bottom of the glass bell.
This is a precautionary measure as the pressure in the glass bell when the phosphor is burning in
the corning ware dish can develop some gases that could escape.
Some Still Larger Buckets: These should be of several sizes so that they can be placed one over
the other to avoid oxygen getting to the phosphor. (Extra precautionary measure)
Safety Goggles: this is a required laboratoty ruling.
A Pair of Asbestos Gloves: It is a foregone conclusion to work with gloves in the lab.
A Ventilator: A Ventilator is most important while working in the home by an open window.
Any accumulation of gases in the room can endanger the health.

Procedure
I place the large asbestos on the table. Upon the asbestos I place the glass plate.
Upon this glass plate I put a small piece of asbestos.
Upon this asbestos I place the coming ware dish or pyrex dish.
With the clamp or pincers, I take a small piece of phosphor out of the water container.
This piece of phosphor I place in the dish.
Over the dish in which the phosphor has been placed I put the transparent glass bell.

The piece of phosphor will soon begin to smoke. It is actually not smoke, but rather a white
vapor (gas). This white "Dove" (gas) is caused by the air (oxygen) still remaining inside the glass
bell.
Now I light the Bunsen or Fisher burner, while squeezing a piece of the mixture out of the tube
on the little pan, ignite with a match to heat the iron wire.
Now I lift the glass bell on one side and ignite the phosphor in the dish on the broken off end
with the iron wire. This ignition can only take place from the top.
The piece of phosphor will ignite at once and a snow white gas mill form inside the bell which
whirls in clouds upward.
During the ignition of the phosphor inside the glass bell pressure will back up, because the wet
napkins under the rim are not yet hermetically scaled. The pressure will lift the glass bell
slightly.
As soon as the napkins are moistened with water again no gases can escape. It will be noticed
that the heat inside the glass bell will hardly go higher than the hand can bear. The gas formation
will last about an hour.
When I notice that no more fume, form inside the glass bell, I will lift the glass bell on one side
and with a wooden spatula rub the remaining phosphor that had not ignited and it will
immediately start to burn. I notice underneath the rest of the phosphor that had not ignited a
liquid with a skin color, light red appearing.
The rising fumes (vapor) form on the inside of the glass bell, on the glass plate and asbestos
shield as well on and in the coming ware dish as redyellow natural sulphur.
This red-yellow collection on the described parts relating to this experiment I wash at once with
pure water and as ail end result I have the wonderful pure sulphur of nature which I place in a
large neck flask and save for future experiments.

The Acetone
Dr. Christian Augustus Becker
In the last issue of Essentia under Examplar, Dr. Christian Augustus Becker was mentioned. His
research proved to him what was known as the Mercury of the Wise, was a special Ketone known
as Acetone. The following is in part what Dr. Becker has to say in his book, over a hundred years
ago, long since out of print and hard to come by. It was written in German. An English
translation was attempted by the publishers of rare alchemical texts under the name of Rams in
Texas, of which this is an excerpt. Being personally conversant with the original German text for
many years and its described experiments and tests, what follows should prove of great
importance to advanced students. (Ed.)

Das Aceton

This is the place in the whole book where the behavior of the residue is described this clearly,
and after having been lost in dark words for years, all of a sudden I was enlightened. The
characteristic to burn like a tinder made it clear beyond doubt that the coal-like residue has to
result from the destruction of an acetone salt. Thus the secret of the Spiritus Vini philosophici
was discovered and all the products from the distillation were correct.

Now the Aqua ardens with the quintessence became a simple chemical fact, and the only thing
surprising that was left was how the old chemists had been able to work with it for centuries
without this becoming known. Of course everybody put a curse on whoever would give away the
secret, and this curse seemingly represented a moralistic power because Weidenfeld in a book
that was to be published later on indicated hope for the discovery, but the book never came out.
And Pott, who had thorough knowledge and who did not have to fear the curse says, that whether
because of a promise or because of envy: the preparation is easy, but it is a secret.

The tinged yellow residue is dissolved with vinegar, evaporated to rubber and distilled. The
residue is again treated with vinegar and also distilled. The distillates are poured together,
combined with the previous one, left 14 days to digest, and then distilled. At first the Spiritus
ardens passes over, which is then rectified until it is so strong that a linen cloth soaked in it and
ignited will burn. During these rectifications a white oil appears on the surface and a yellow oil
also remains, which is being distilled with a stronger fire. The sublimate in the neck of the retort
is being pulverized and is placed to melt on an iron plate in a cold place. The liquid is filtered
and a little Aqua ardens is added, whereby a green oil will separate and settle at the surface.
Then it is distilled. First water and then a thick oil appear. The Water is distilled in another
recipient and evaporated in the water bath until a thick, oily substance, like melted tar, remains
on the floor. This black liquid substance is treated further with Aqua ardens, however, which is
not explained any further here.

The Gold Tincture

Just as gold is considered the finest metal, the hermetics also thought of it as the finest
medication, and that is how the Aurum potabile was put on a throne upon which it remained for
many centuries. But as much as they revered it, their secret dissolution against was honored as
much and maybe more, and they called it gold too. In his old age Raimund, for his strength,
prepared the raw oil from the lead and said that it was more delicious than gold. Basilius
Valentinus, who describes the preparation of the Spiritus Vini philosophici under the cover of the
distillation of the vitriol, called the raw oil "heavy as gold, as thick as blood, burning and fiery,
the real liquid gold of the philosophers".
The ideal of the alchemists and the masterpiece of the art was the Lapis Philosophorum, the
stone of the wise ones. For its preparation the most needed metal was the gold. The customary
gold was not suited for this purpose because it was dead due to the firm closure of its particles,
and it therefore had to be animated first. This was achieved by treatment with the Spiritus Vini
philosophici, whereby the soul, the characteristics were separated from the impure body and
dissolved. This gave then the philosophic gold, Aurum nostrum, the quintessence, the radical
dissolution without corrosion, which was achieved through the raw oil of the Acetone, called the
Acetone aerrimum and the Dissaeveus Auri.

This dissolving power is confirmed by experiment reported by Fuchs (Geschichte des Zinks, pg.
200). Hellot distilled acetic zinc. At first a lightly acetic phlegm transformed; then stripes
appeared, and then followed a sublimate in white, fragile flowers. Then white vapors arose
which were condensed in the top of the flask into whitish-yellow, then dark green oil. The
recipient contained a liquid which ignited just like Spiritus vini. Poured onto water, it first swam
at the top then mixed with the water, and only a few drops of a reddish, spicy oil remained at the
top. The residue of the distillation was of the color of ashes. On it the acetic phlegm was poured
digested for 8-10 days, then drained and distilled, leaving a resinous substance at the bottom. The
process was repeated until enough resin was obtained. This in turn was then distilled in a small
retort and heated to the point of glowing, whereby a yellow liquid transferred, followed by thick
white vapors. When the distillate was poured on the white sublimate in the neck of the retort, it
dissolved the sublimate immediately, and so drops of reddish oil separated on the surface. This
oil was then rubbed onto gold and silver trays, which within 4 hours dissolved at the covered
areas.

Alchemy through shady lab assistants, crooks and dreamers has gained such a bad reputation
over the years, that in general it is considered to be superstition, cheating, or fraud. Only in more
recent times have individual voices of the educated world turned to the expression of Marsilius
Ficinus, saying that the old and new philosophers, as the natural scientists called themselves
then, have spent much effort and work in order to explore nature, and they have subsequently
recognized the honorable effort of the old chemists. It was natural in its old form. As a basic rule
it was established that all bodies are composed of the three chemical elements: salt, sulphur and
mercury. The names which are meant only as symbols, and which mean something quite
different, would equate with the following in today's terminology:

mercury = hydrogen
sulphur = carbon
salt = oxygen

Missing is nitrogen whose existence as a simple element, however, is still doubtful.

The theory said that the differences of the metals is based on the qualitative proportions of these
three elements, and that through changes in these proportions, it is therefore possible to alter the
metals up to a perfection of gold and silver. Since the proportions of the mixture were
determined only hypothetically, the experiment was only empirically technical; but since all
metals and many minerals had been used in the experiments, it presented an opportunity for
many chemical discoveries which served the sciences in general. The old experts and highly
respected persons, like Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon, analogously to the efforts of today's
science, tended to dismantle the bodies and to create new connections. The old chemistry, using
the transmutation of the metals, arrived at no confirmed positive results, whereas modern
chemistry not only calculated the atoms, but also their abberations.

The chemistry, which was taught freely in Arabic sciences and which was protected by the
caliphs, encountered mistrust and suspicion with its transition to the Christian World. It was
derived from the non-believers whose actions were connected with the world of magic and the
devil; was persecuted by the Church. Working with it was, therefore, socially dangerous, and
physically the vapor of the minerals and the vast effort were not advantageous for the health.
Large incentives were needed to find followers and disciples, but they were not scarce. Just as
the Church promises its believers eternal happiness, alchemy promised retention of health by
means of the lapis and with that longer life and large richness heaven on earth; in addition the
was the secret with its mysterious appeal. Permeated by the grandeur of their ideal, the
alchemists drowned themselves in religious mysticisim; everything started with God and
everything was done under his protection, and only through God's grace and enlightenment could
the stone of wisdom be obtained.

The radical dissolution of the gold, which was caused without corrosives and from which the
metal could not be reduced, was the true Aurum potabile, the quintessence. Rupescissa says, "the
quintessence of the gold is Aurum Dei and part of the lapis, and it is completely transformed into
nutriment. The genuine gold is not transformed into nutriment, but it is excreted in the form in
which it taken in. Aurum alchymicum, which is composed of corrosives, destroys nature;
therefore the Aurum Lapidis is called Aurum Dei.

Paracelsus explains that the quintessence in the gold is very little, but that it has the color in the
power, and when it is extracted the remaining metal has lost its power. It differs from Aurum
potabile in as much as it may not be reduced to metallic gold a second time, while the Aurum
potabile may be transformed into a metallic body; therefore its quintessence is finer.

Raimund gives the following eloquent, but complicated statement:

1. Spiritus philosophici is distilled three times over Sal Tartari, and this distillation is kept in
digestion for 50 days, at the end of which a yellow residue appears on the bottom.

2. The gold and silver are now separately calcinated, that is amalgamated and the quicksilver
evaporated.

3. On the remaining calcinated metal each separately we pour three fingers' width of the sharp
spirit No. 1, and then first hold in a water bath, and then in the ash-bath at boiling temperatures.
The dissolution of the gold is yellow and it is carefully decanted; also the dissolution of the silver
is green or blue and it is carefully decanted.

4. The residue of the metals is repeatedly treated in the same manner until everything is
dissolved.
5. These solutions are each kept 40 days in digestion; then the solvent is distilled-out in a water
bath, leaving the metals behind just like oils. The distillate is poured back over the oil, left to
digest in the water bath for 24 hours and then distilled.

6. The distillate is at first gently distilled in a sand bath, whereby the water goes over, then at
higher temperatures the spirit goes over, and even at higher temperatures a part of the oil
transforms.

7. The water that went over at first in the water bath is added to the distillate, digested, distilled
in the sandbath, and this is repeated as often as needed to have all the gold and silver go over.

8. The solutions are rectified in the sand-bath seven times.

9. Now both are mixed and circulated for 60 days.

With this the great solvent is prepared, which dissolves all metals radicalIy.

Now other gold, which has been amalgamated and calcined through the evaporation of the
quicksilver, is digested with the solvent No. 1, and after its distillation it is submersed by
Menstruum majus to dissolve the gold. When this is done it is drained. On the residue a fresh
Menstruum majus is poured for complete dissolution, and that is then combined with the
previous one. The solution has the color of a most beautiful ruby or carbuncle. It is circulated for
20 days in a water bath and 20 days in an ash-bath. Then you will find the gold transformed at
the bottom into beautiful rosin, and the water on top may be carefully drained. The rosin is
soluble in any liquid. This is the true Aurum potabile.

The procedure is described so clearly that with the exception of the secret solvent agent it is
totally understandable. Noteworthy is that not only gold, but also silver is needed.

Rupescissa's procedure is simpler. Gold amalgam is finely atomized by evaporating the

quicksilver, and then after adding Acetum philosophorum it is placed in the sun. This causes the
oil film on the surface which is taken off as it is forming, and which is placed into a glass with
water. The water is evaporated and the quintessence of the gold, which contains the highest
sweetness, remains.

A similar case should be the Essentia dulcis of the orphanage in Halle. According to the report
by Dr. Richter, its inventor, the essential element is a subtle red gold, which dissolves quickly
and without residue or turpidity in the "spirit of wine". When the alcohol (spirit) is taken out, a
blackish powder remains which may easily be transformed into a light, fragile, purple red and
sweet powder: there is a slight weight loss during this process because the most subtle, even at
low temperatures, rises in the form of vapor, which when caught, condenses into red drops.

The way to prepare the gold is very different from the usual method, and even though harmless
minerals are needed for the preparation, all foreign additives are so separated that all samples can
prove that no corrosives are contained therein.
Half an ounce of the ordinary essence costs 2 "Taler".

Half an ounce of the concentrated essence costs 8 "Taler", since the latter contains four times as
much gold. The substance was considered to be too expensive and it was said that the gold part
hardly amounted to 1/8 of the price. The gold is, however, the least, but the other expenses and
the efforts for the preparation, which keep several people busy year after year, are such that the
price in comparison with prices of other medications should be set higher.

In Crell's records of 1747 the doctor of the orphanage, Dr. Richter, a grandson of the inventor,
states that the process will be revealed in time. I cannot find any news in regard to this and an
explanation is to be expected from Halle.

This information is very little, and therefore a more eloquent report by Wollner Diss. inang. de
Epilepsia ejusque medicamento specifico Essentia dulcis adpellato. Lugduni Batavorum 1706,
4.p.22) should be mentioned. According to him it is prepared from purest gold, which is so
refined that even the simple Spiritus vini rectificatissimus will dissolve a large amount of it and
then turn ruby-red. The characteristics attributed by chemists to the radically dissolved Auro
potabile are found also in the Essentia dulcis, that is, it cannot for the most part be reduced to a
metallic body, but it evaporates like smoke even with medium fire. When a large enough amount
of water is poured onto this essence, it turns turbid at first and then a very fine powder sinks to
the bottom, which when dried in mild warmth, shows a yellow color and a bitter taste. It is
however of such finesse that when added to spirit of wine, it dissolves completely like wax and it
represents again the Essentia dulcis in color and taste. This indicates that the color of the
Essentia dulcis originates from this powder or the finest Crocus Auri. When this powder is
heated at medium temperature in a glass over coals, there will every once in a while be very fine
coins of reduced gold, but the largest part of the residue seems so dissolved, refined and freed
from all metallic chains, that it may not be reduced to metal because as the powder feels the fire,
the larger part flies away in smoke, leaving a fine powder which may not be reduced with
"Spiessglanz" (antimony glance, stibnite) or with lead but which forms a highly red purple
colored salt when melted with Sal Tartari. This salt will even perpetrate the Tiegel and color it
purple on its outside.

In 1723 Kleinfelder in Koenigsberg issued a statement against this essence, saying that it was
nothing else but a tincture of burned sugar, and he said that the sugar tincture that he invented
was as effective as the Essentia dulcis, even if it really contained gold. Later it was believed that
the black, coaly residue of the prepartion, when lengthened with ether to become a reddish-
brown tincture, and when mixed with Franzbrantwein, was the Essentia dulcis.

It seems that the procedure done according to Lullius: an indication for that is the preparation
from the black residue in the distilling of the ether. The wrong interpretation may have resulted
from the fact Lullius calls the substance for Spiritus Vini philosophici in many places Nigrum
nigrius, and after distillation of the acetic salts a black substance like melted pitch remains.
Maybe a spy in the laboratory overheard something about this black residue in the retort, and
thought to have discovered the "wine spirit-coal" in it.
The earlier hermetics used their acetone in many ways, partially for chemical procedures in
connection with acids and salts, partially for the preparation of medications. From the vegetable
substances the quintessence is extracted within 3 hours when it (acetone) is used. An interesting
observation of Rupescissa is that the Laxantia through this become more effective and are
therefore administered in smaller dosages.

Among the later chemiatrics Quercitanus used it for the preparation of the Antipyreton and a gold
tincture, and Agricola too manufactured several medications with it without realizing that he
already possessed the Menstruum Lullii, which he desired so much to obtain.

We should mention here:

THE HEALING FROM PODAGRA

which the Count Onuphrio de Marsciano tells of in his hermetic writing, of 1774, p. 30. When
he suffered a severe case of Podagra he placed the spirit oil the swollen and extremely painful
foot, and "Oh Wonder! he says, the pain disappeared and I started to dance for joy, to the
astonishment of my friend. After that the Podagra has not pained me again, and didn't have the
least bit of complaint thereafter, but I have been completely free and healthy like before; but
from then on, I started to take 20 drops in the morning before eating for 15 days in order to
completely clean the blood since there is no blood cleansing like it in the whole world. He calls
the substance only spiritus simplex, but in the hermetic experiment on page 161, where he cites
from Lullius that the quintessence heals all tiredness and sickness, and removes all weakness,
protects from all sicknesses and retains the youth, he clearly says: And I swear the truth that I
have seen wonderful things done by this Simplici Spiritu Vini philosophici, and I have even
healed the Podagra completely with it, as many have seen and has, been ashamed by.

The newer chemistry has again taken up the research since Chevenix found the acetone as
Spiritus pyraceticus; this research, however, dealt only with analytic interests, disregarding its
medical costs; and medicine was left empty-handed without its due share.

The alchemists rectified the pure acetone repeatedly in order to eliminate the water, and to arrive
at a concentration that would burn like alcohol. The more modern chemists dehydrate the
acetone with calcium chloride, which we however cannot approve of, since the latter combines
itself with the wood alcohol which is analogous to the acetone. This combination does not
dissolve at 1O0oC; this condition proves disadvantageous when the product is used as a
medication. This process seems also unnecessary since the Aqua ardens (das Aceton) is more
volatile than the spirit of wine, and it merges already at 48o in veins, while the water follows only
at higher temperatures, and the two oils do so at an even higher temperature.

The entire distillate was kept in digestion for several weeks in the warmth of horse dung (30o),
whereby especially the oil the quintessence, is separated on the surface and it provided a very
pleasant smell. This oil consists of two oily substances: one, a distillate according to Fittig
(About Acetone 1858. page 48) at 90o; the other one, Dumasin at 120o. These two oils form the
core of the medication; therefore the substance is an acetonium oleosum and correctly should be
called an
 ACETONOL

The pure acetone, as provided by the chemical industry is of little medical value. It is clear and
light as water, burns completely, but has no trace of oil on the surface. The oil, however, is still
inside because if you place the acetone in mild digestion over an extended period of time, the oil
appears and surfaces. I already observed this reaction in the past, and I have repeated the
experiment now. I placed 1/2 ounce pure acetone in a glass that was not tightly closed on the
back burner. After approximately onehalf had evaporated, a trace of oil appeared, and after two
months, when only 1/2 Drachme remained, a visible layer of a clear oil was on the surface.

The pure acetone may be quite good as a chemical preparation, but therapeutically it constitutes a
weakened oil-poor product, which only has the appearance, like vanilla beans, of which the
aromatic Benzo-resin has been drained.

For medical application purposes, it will be advisable and required that it is prepared with the
same method used by the hermetics. It takes a of time and patience and under current situation of
the business, these may not be expected because already in 1668 during a discussion of
Weidenfeld Spiritus Vini Lulliani, Jungken complained that the modern chemists are not able to
produce anything extraordinary since they start to work in the morning, but stop again at night,
which is the wrong way, because a good thing takes time.

AMBER
The Gate to the Mineral Kingdom
By RAFAL T. PRINKE
Poznan, Poland

" ... it is well known to all that medications prepared from herbs are less potent than those
prepared from mineral . . ."
Frater Albertus

When reading The Alchemist's Handbook by Frater Albertus it occurred to me that the process
for producing the herbal elixir described there might be applied to the Mineral Kingdom, too.
However a major difficulty in doing that is the fact that most minerals (and especially metals) do
not resolve in alcohol and therefore cannot be worked upon in this way. It is also difficult to
estimate the curative value of those minerals which do resolve in alcohol and it might be
dangerous to apply the resultant elixirs to people without making many tests of their usefulness.
It would be therefore much easier and safer to start working with mineral alchemy from a
substance which is neither mineral nor vegetable (or which is both at once) and the curative
properties of which have already been tested by others. There is such a substance and I believe it
may change and expand the field of contemporary alchemical practice. The substance 1 have in
mind is amber.

Amber is considered to be a semiprecious stone, but in reality it is not a stone. It is fossilized

resin from the forests which were flooded by the sea millions of years ago and can be found in
several regions of the earth, most notably on the coasts of the Baltic Sea. Not all amber is the
same. Its color ranges from milky-white or almost transparent through the most usual golden hue
to deep brown and even black, It depends partly on the tree, the resin of which gave the material
for the amber, partly on the amount of impurities it contains (insects, plants, etc.) and partly on
the conditions in which it underwent the process of fossilization.

Most of the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean area knew amber and used it in many
diverse ways. In Egypt, for example, small pieces of amber were placed under the skin of the
mummy to ensure its safe passage to the other world and possibly also to prevent its
decomposition. Persians believed it to consist of solidified Sun rays. In classical times Greeks
were fascinated by a strange feature of amber: when rubbed against cloth it draws towards itself
small pieces of wool, feather, paper, etc. Perhaps because of this the great philosopher Thales
claimed that amber had a soul. Both Greeks and Romans utilized amber (or "electron" as they
called it) for a number of magical, curative and alchemical purposes, besides the obvious
decorative ones. The gladiators' talisman was a piece of amber with the words "I will win"
written on it. Ancient merchants undertook long and dangerous journeys to the Baltic coast in
order to bring "the gold of the North". There were three main routes leading to it from Rome,
Greece and Asia Minor, and the Phoenician sailors used to visit the coast of the Baltic as early as
1000 B.C.

According to tradition the astrological correspondences of amber are the sign of Leo, the Sun,
and everthing that is ruled by them, which also includes gold. As producing gold is the ultimate
goal of material-plane alchemy, it may be supposed that amber is a possible prime material for
accomplishing that. This hypothesis must be confirmed in practice and there is nothing else that I
can say about it. However much more can be said about the medicinal use of amber which is
believed to cure a great number of diseases. Its virtues have been the subject of research carried
out by members of two Polish organizations: the Association of Dowsers in Poznan and the
Association of Radiesthetes in Warsaw. Jan Podbielski, a catholic priest and an engineer, as well
as an eminent dowser, has found out that amber contains a large number of free electrons which
act as a bactericidal agent. Wearing necklaces of rough amber (never polished amber, as the
process of polishing deprives it of the healing property ties) next to the skin helps to keep up
good health and good feeling. Jan Podbielski is 97 years old now and still in good physical and
mental condition, which he ascribes to the fact that he has rubbed his hands with 2-3 drops of
amber tincture twice a day for almost his whole life. He believes it strengthens both the physical
organism and the aura. Rubbing amber tincture on various parts of the body is also believed to
cure such diseases as flu, rheumatism, headache, etc., while wearing amber necklaces heals
disorders of the thyroid gland. Another researcher, the late Czeslaw Klimuszko, a Franciscan
monk and a recognized clairvoyant, advocated drinking 2-3 drops of amber tincture with boiled
and cooled water twice a day.
It is the power of this tincture that I think could be increased by alchemical means. I have not
done any practical work in that direction yet but I believe my ideas might be interesting to other
alchemists and therefore I decided to write them down and hope to bear from those who will try
them out.

The procedure which 1 would like to suggest is based on the processes described by Frater
Albertus in his Alchemist's Handbook though there are some noticeable differences. The first
step is to prepare the ordinary amber tincture which is done as follows:

1. Take 20 grams of small pieces of amber (if possible), they should be of the same kind,
especially the same color, in order to get uniform results when working with the same kind
again), place them in n bottle and pour 0.3 liter of pure 90 or 95% alcohol over it. Close the
bottle hermetically and leave it for ten to fourteen days, shaking occasionally (at least once

After ten days there should be no more change of color in the tincture (by then it will be of deep
golden hue) and it is poured out in another bottle. The remaining amber is ground in a mortar and
the above process is repeated again.

:3. Pour the two tinctures together (the second part should be filtered to prevent any small solid
pieces from entering the tincture). The remaining amber powder is placed on a porcelain dish and
lit. Then it is ground again and calcined One's own judgement and experience should be used to
estimate the length of this calcination. When it is finished the ashes which are left, and which
constitute our Salt, are stored in a container for later use.

The next step is to separate our Sulphur from our Mercury, both which are contained in the
tincture. In order to do that the tincture is to be distilled several times until we obtain pure,
crystal clear Mercury. After each distillation there will remain an oily substance in the flask
which should be taken out and stored separately. This oil is our Sulphur.

Separating the three alchemical principles constitute the 'Solve' part of the process. Now they
have to be re-united in the 'Coagula' phase. In order to do that the apparatus shown on page 34 of
Alchemist's Handbook will be used. The Salt (amber ashes) is placed into the lower flask,
Mercury (distilled tincture) is poured over it, and the Sulphur (the oil left from the distillation) is
placed in the thimble of the extractor. Then the circulation is started and any changes in color of
the substance in the lower flask are observed. This process should continue until there is no
further change in color or until the whole of the Sulphur (oil) is absorbed by the Salt. The
resultant substance is the Amber Elixir.

I expect to carry out the process described above soon and to write about my results for Essentia
if these results will be interesting enough and may be a contribution to the Science and Art of
Alchemy.

Gypsy Alchemy
We are indebted to Prof. Hancock from the University of Texas who called our attention the fact
that the gypsies also had in their Zigetmersprache (Gypsy language) an alchemical vocabulary.
This may come as no surprise when one considers their uncanny knowledge handed from
generation to generation concerning the metaphysical knowledge and its various ramifications
which shows in their knowledge of chiromancy (palm reading).

Sudents of alchemy will wonder how the laboratory terminology can be explained, when gypsies
are constantly on the move and laboratory procedures require some considerable time for their
completion. No wonder that genuine gypsies are considered a strange lot of people whose origin
is still a matter of great dispute.

What follows is a dictionary of alchemistical terminology up to now unknown to the general

public.
 Questions and Answers
Q. We were told to use 50 % alcohol and 50% water to make our tinc tures for our seven basic
herbs. If one were to make tinctures for medicinal use for others, does this formula still hold true
or is it more efficacious to follow the proportions of alcohol and water as layed down by the
Pharmacopea?

A. Follow the Pharmacopea.

Q. Is it true that in making the plant stone, and in carrying out various alchemical processes that
one is making the human stone by using that knowledge?

A. If by human stone you mean your body and its subsequent separation of dross from it,
followed by purification, yes, this analogy will hold.

Q. If a person were to make a perfect plant stone, and that person were to die, would the stone
still be able to separate other herbs? Should a person make provisions as to what to do with the
plant stone or the Philosophers Stone after that person dies? Would either stone ever come to
have less power?

A. Either, as you state a "perfect" stone would not loose any of its efficacy, when used properly.

Q. For some evenings now, I have been having dreams which are unusual and even outrageous.
At least one other person here has had dreams with the same quality of strangeness. Could this
be due to inhaling antimony?

A. Very unlikely. One's thoughts are so much occupied during the study periods, that much of it,
which needs clarification, is carried over in our dreams. Q. According to the cycles: It seems
strange that the signs are going one way and time is going the opposite way. Will you please
explain? A. One of the Cycles goes with the rotation of the earth from West to East, while the
other goes in the opposite direction (like the shadow on the sundial) from the past into the future.
It is the law of opposites that provides movement between creation and evolution.

Q. On page 96 (of the Triumphal Chariot of Antimony) Kerckring says in his note at the bottom
of the page, after reheating the glass and circulating with spirit of wine to distill off the spirit of
wine. Is this disillate red or is what is left in the flask (the undistilled substance) red?

A. The distillate is red when properly conducted.

Q. You tell us not to mix the kingdoms, yet Kerckring tells us to pour mercury of wine (vegetable)
over the glass of antimony (a mineral).

A. That answer referred to making a stone.

Q. Would you share with us, how you came to know the things you teach us?

A. By personal revelation.
Q. Re-deionized water: We have been told that deionized water is almost the same as distilled
water. We saw an electrical device "dionizing" the water at Paracelsus Laboratories. Would you
please explain basically what's being done to the water?

A. What you have witnessed was an ionexchange where the water between the electrodes was
demineralized (reversed osmosis.)

Q. After extracting all the tincture of unfixed Antimony with KM, do you then distill off all the
KM and add alcohol, or do you leave the KM with the tincture?

A. The ratio is 1 part by weight of extraction media to 1 part by weight of solvent (menstruum).

Q. What are the proper assignments of the Alchemical Elements and the contemporary ones?

A. Your question is vague. As to alchemical elements, these Fire, Earth, Air and Water. 0
contemporary atomic chart showing the elements, the alchemical element earth (solids) is shown,
in black letters. Water shows the elements in blue (liquid) like Mercury, Gallium, Bromine
(gases) yellow like Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine, Helium, Argon Krypton, etc. Fire (red) is
actually the thermal (heat) emision or fire. This is not marked red on the atomic chart, but
yellow, as it represents also a gas the form of Hydrogen (flammable - fire).

Q. Are "orders" like the Rosicrucians (Amorc) and Freeman Lodges recommended as Guides for
spiritual schooling? In earlier centuries according to some literture they worked with "black
magic". Is this the case still today?

A. All so called orders that teach how to uplift mankind are to be extolled. Unfortunately, there
not enough. Formerly, as well as today, the opposite can enter under the guise of such orders. A
good axiom is: By their fruits shall know them. The orders have mentioned when taken their
original concepts are belonging to the first. Please be aware that much takes place under name
Rosicrucian and Freemasonry that are anything but what is originally represented by them. It still
holds: By their fruits ye shall know them.

Q. Ouspenski writes about the four ways. Could Paracelsus College be included in the fourth
Way.

A. Yes.

Q. What is clarified sugar?

A. Refined sugar. Formerly sugar cones or loaves were dark and not fined containing other
substances than pure carbohydrates.

Q. How does Schuessler's Cell Salt System differ from Hahneman's Homeopathic System?
Besides the Astro - Pulsation correspondence that is recognized and included the Biochemic Cell
Salt System?
A. The names indicate it. Cell salts are found in the blood before entering tissues and can be
triturated according to homeopathic systems. Homeopathic remedies are attenuated according to
their pathological origins. A substance similar to causing an illness is used to cure it. Cell salts
(minerals) have been attributed also to the twelve signs of the Zodiac referring to basic minerals
associated with them as related to planetary influences found within the signs.

Q. We learn in the lab that a fixed cannot be unfixed. If one's mercury is in a fixed sign and in a
fixed house does this indicate a fixed mind. If so, how can fixed become unfixed so that one may
open up one's mind?

A. By trial and error.

Essentia
Volume 4 Spring 1983
Cover: Flora; Siegbert Hahn, Cologne/Germany

Exemplar - Siegbert Hahn

Opinion on Paracelsus - H.R.H. The Prince Of Wales
Process for the Extraction of Oil of Iron
The Body Spectrum
Nonsense in Metaphysics
Musical Logic
Book Reviews - Attic Poems of an Emmigrant - Pharmacopoeia Londinensis
Questions and Answers

Siegbert Hahn
Among the thousands of accomplished persons within the arts a certain degree of achievements
is noticeable and thus gives recognition of results above the average. However, there is another
category of artists that have achieved recognition that exalts them above their former peers.
These are not numerous but outstanding. In music, sculpture and painting this becomes very
noticeable. A distinct individualistic expression characterizes such individuals. In
surealisticpaintings names like Hicronymus Bosch and Salvatore Dali are noteworthy. The
former master from the Netherlands and the latter from Spain in our own times, are now joined
by another of German birth, Siegbert Halin, whose works speak for themselves. Not only the
precise craftsmanship but the unusual themes and concepts of a vivid imagination reveal a great
artist!

Our cover picture has been selected among the many paintings because it reveals what the title of
the painting indicates, "Flora". Self taught Siegbert Hahn deserves special recognition as a great
talented artist who has much more to give to the world, as the future will show. This prediction is
well founded upon the evidence available.

.
Siegbert Hahn's acquaintanceship with painting began when he was a child. His mother was an
enthusiastic amateur and painted naive pictures in her spare time. When he was sixteen, he
discovered the fascinating world of museums, which, in his own words, opened up for him a
realm of explorations and adventure. For hours at a time, especially during the school vacation,
he would wander through the museums and art exhibitions in Berlin, where he soon was a
wellknown and welcome young visitor. At this time he also began to take photographs.
Photography offered him the opportunity he was looking for to engage in some kind of creative
activity. He won several awards in competitions for young photographers.

He graduated from High School in 1957 and went to work for a film company having decided to
make film producing his profession. For almost three years he worked as a production and
camera assistant. Through this job he had plenty of opportunity to travel, on one occasion
spending weeks accompanying deep-sea fisherman on a trip through the Soviet Union and China.

At twenty, he produced his first oil paintings. A year later, in 1959, after some tentative attempts,
came his first "fantastic" paintings. They bear already, as can be seen, the unmistakable mark of
his kind, as it has remained unaltered up to the present time.

He painted in the evenings after work and at weekends. His work with the film company and
other occupations began to take on the character of necessary encumbrances, a means to earn the
leisure to devote to his painting.

For the same reason, his art history studies at the Cologne University, which have undoutedly
left their fruitful mark, were not able to satisfy him. All the time he was painting on the side and
finding here his real fulfillment. His first one-man exhibition in Paris in 1963 brought him
considerable success, and participation in a further exhibition in Paris in 1963 and in further
exhibitions earned him recognition. This finally gave him the courage to break off his university
studies and to devote himself entirely to painting.

Siegbert Hahn does not sketch a painting. He quickly developed an increasing skill in the
handling of color and canvas. A comparison of his early pictures with the later ones reveals
interesting developments.

The idea for a picture, by his own account, materializes suddenly in his imagination. He sees the
finished painting in front of him, in color and in clear outlines. An idea, he says can quite
literally pursue him.

Siegbert Hahn does not sketch a painting first, in the sense of getting the outlines down and then
filling them in with color. He lays the color directly on to the canvas. Working from the
background, the objects in the middle and foreground are painted on with further layers of color.
Since each of these coats, depending on how they are applied, takes from several days to some
weeks to dry, he works on several paintings at the same time.

Siegbert Hahn's work is already voluminous. His paintings hang in many private collections in
Europe, the USA and Canada.
 OPINION on PARACELSUS

From a speech made by H. R. H. The Prince of Wales at the British Medical Association, Jan.
1983.

I have often thought that one of the less attractive traits of various professional bodies and
institutions is the deeply ingrained suspicion and outright hostility which can exist towards
anything unorthodox or unconventional. I suppose it is inevitable that something which is
different should arouse strong feelings on the part of the majority whose conventional wisdom is
being challenged or, in a more social sense, whose way of life and customs are being insulted by
something rather alien. I suppose, too,, that human nature is such that we are frequently
prevented from seeing that what is taken for today's unorthodoxy is probably going to be
tomorrow's convention. Perhaps we just have to accept it is God's will that the unorthodox
individual is doomed years of frustration, ridicule and failure in order to act out his role in the
scheme of things, until his day arrives and mankind is ready to receive his message; a message
which he probably finds hard to explain himself, but which he knows comes from a far deeper
source than conscious thought.

The renowned 16th century healer, Paracelsus, was just such an individual. He is probably
remembered more for his fight against orthodoxy than for his achievements in the medical field.
As a result of his unorthodox approach to medicine in his time he was equated with the damnable
Dr. Faustus. Of the barbers, surgeons and pharmacists he complained that "they begrudge the
honour I won healing Princes and noblement and they say my powers come from the devil!' And
yet in his day and age he was operating as a one man British Medical Association, crit icizing the
abuse amongst pharmacists and attacking the quack remedies - vipers' blood powder, unicorn
horn, and so on. In 1527, by an act of which I am sure today's younger doctors would be proud,
he burnt the famous textbook of medieval medicine, the Canon of Avicenna, which became a
symbol of rebellion against pedantry and unthinking acceptance of ancient doctrines.

Paracelsus believed that the good doctor's therapeutic success largely depends on his ability to
inspire the patient with confidence and to mobilize his will to health.

I know that there are a considerable number of doctors who operate by these kinds of basic
principles, because several have written to me, but nevertheless the modem science of medicine
still tends to be based, as George Engel writes, "on the notion of the body as a machine, of
disease as the consequence of breakdown of the machine, and of the doctor's task as repairer of
the machine." By concentrating on smaller and smaller fragments of the body, modem medicine
perhaps loses sight of the patient as a whole human being, and by reducing health to mechanical
functioning it is no longer able to deal with the phenomenon of healing,

And here I come back to my original point. The term "healer" is viewed with suspicion and the
concepts of health and healing are probably not generally discussed enough in medical schools.
But to reincorporate the notion of healing into the practice of medicine does not nesessarily mean
that medical science will have to be less scientific.

No one of course could be stupid enough to deny the enormous benefits which the advances of
medical science in this century have conferred upon us all. But nevertheless the fact remains that
contemporary medicine as a whole tends to be fascinated by the objective, statistical,
computerized approach to the healing of the sick. If disease is regarded as an objective problem
isolated from all personal factors, then surgery plus more and more powerful drugs must be the
answer. Already the cost of drugs supplied to patients by the National Health Service alone is
well over 12,000 million a year. It is frightening how dependent upon drugs we are all becoming
and how easy it is for doctors to prescribe them as the universal panacea for our ills.

The last word on this subject remains with Paracelsus, whose name should be synonymous with
the common health, which I have been asked to toast this evening. With all the conviction of a
man who follows his inner voice, he made a desperate supplication that "would we humans knew
our hearts in truth, nothing on earth would be impossible for us."

Process for the the Extraction of Oil of Iron

By Baron ANDREA MAZZARIO, Ph.D.

Prof. University of Minitoka

Some natural Pyrite must be finely ground to a light powder.

The powdered Pyrite is then dissolved in nitric (HN03). The acid should not be diluted too much.
Care must be taken because the reaction generates heat: it is therefore slow at the beginning but
increases in speed with time, generating a lot of foam that may pour out of the container (ACID)!
'The reaction generates also brown colored poisonous nitrous gases: it has to be conducted in
open space or under fume hood. The solution of the Pyrite is never complete: some sulphur and
some impurities of the mineral remain undissolved.

The acid solution is filtered. In this way a brown-reddish liquid is obtained.

The Iron is then precipitated from the solution with Ammonium Carbonate. This may be used
(with caution) in powdered form: it will dissolve while generating some gas and will slowly
neutralize the acidity of the solution. When the solution becomes basic, the Iron will start to
precipitate as Iron Hydroxide (Fe 0H3) this process is similar to the precipitation of Kermes, but
there is no generation of dangerous gases like Hydrogen Sulphide.

The Iron Precipitate has to be allowed time to settle, be decanted, filtered and washed. The final
dry powder (reddish-brown, mostly Iron Hydoxide (Fe OH3) is then used for the extraction.

The menstruum used for the extraction is commercial acetone. In order to obtain better results it
may be "sharpened" by digestion with (NH4Cl). This digestion (taking some weeks) will give the
acetone a yelloworange color. Clear acetone must be obtained from the yellow one by
distillation. This clear one may then be used for the extraction.

The extraction for the Oil of Iron may be done using a soxhlet extractor or by simple digestion of
the Iron Hydroxide with Acetone. Different speeds were observed in the coloring of the tincture:
in one instance the acetone was already light orange after the first pouring in the Soxhlet, in
another instance, almost no color was noticable after one full week of extraction.

After the extraction or digestion, the menstruum must be filtered and the acetone must be
distilled out of it. If this process is done in a water bath (at best in a Rotavapor) it will be noticed
that a relevant part of the menstruum will not distil] over, even when the menstruum was not
deeply colored.

The oily substance that does not distill over is an immature oil of iron. It may be ripened by
digestion with Iron Hydroxide, or by circulation. By ripening, the substance will become deeper
in color and more oily.

After this ripening process the oily substance has to be filtered again. The most volatile portion
of it should be distilled with the help of vacuum. What remains is a deep red oil that floats on
water and is dissolved by alcohol.

Under vacuum, with higher temperature (ca. 200oC) and using a retort, a lighter red oil may be
distilled over from the red oil obtained preceedingly, leaving back a resinous red substance.
More oil may be obtained by digesting this resinous substance with alcohol.

The oil has a strong scent. When it is digested and cleaned different times with alcohol it gets a
more pleasant sweet flavor.

The Body Spectrum

by Alan Sherry

The last one hundred years has seen a magnificent expansion of knowledge concerning many
aspects of nature. Much of this new data needs to be interpreted and written down in an
exploratory way for the lay readers. Ills task has hardly begun except in the fields relating to
physics. There is not yet anything in print like a TAO of biology or any work which merges
together energy and the physical sciences surrounding living phenomenon.

The area of focus for this article is the advancing new studies about the living synthesis of matter
and energy inside the organism of man and woman. All students and scientists choose their own
spectrum of studies and interests out of the multiplex array of natures mysteries. Many have a
specific type of language to learn and use, scientific or otherwise, complex or not, with which to
express that which they know and/or understand. While the following is only one among many
ways of viewing the biological nature of man, it has the merit of removing the emphasis on a too
materialistic outlook and placing attention on both the tangible and intangible aspects of life.
Certainly this is a pleasing aesthetic concept and may be found to represent the scientific reality
closely enough to need discussion among those interested. After a century of mere data
accumulation a few attempts at piecing together some of the meanings involved should be
welcomed.

New techniques and devices for experiment have allowed intensive probing into the very heart of
living matter. But substance and energy involved in the processes of life have been brought into
focus by various means. Fields or wave structures relating to electromagnetism are associated not
with subatomic matter but also all substances in nature, including those within our bodies. But
there is very little information about such electromagnetic interactions of genes or cells etc.,
because of the increased complexity of these materials over the inorganic substances to which
physics applies itself in the micro-realms.

In illustration #1 some of the biological and chemical sciences have been related to certain
"Levels of 0rganization". These are the fields study which observe and analyze the structures and
occurrences in the body to which this article is limited. There are of course no hard and fast
boundaries between areas of research. The sciences listed are some (not the only ones) which
happen to have the too and techniques applicable to the selected Levels of Organization in the
diagram.

ILLUSTRATION #1

LEVELS of ORGANIZATION THE SCIENCES

(1) Atoms Atomic Physics
(2) DNA Chemistry
(3) Genes Genetics Biochemistry
(4) Chromosomes Cell-Physiology
(5) Cells Histology
(6) Organs Physiology
(7) Body Anatomy Biology

This illustration displays the inherent relatedness of various areas of modern research. It shows
that the scale of sizes for the organized material of our bodies is an essential and revealing aspect
of natures handiwork. Also, using a scale such as this is a easy method to arrange information
from the sciences into a simple but coherent framework. It also helps remove some of the
apparent fragmentation of knowledge about our own existence.

These Levels of Organization inter-penetrate each other and interact with each other. Each type
of level has certain characteristics and manifestation related to the size range involved. This size,
as well as the internal nature of each substance determine the electromagnetic RESONANT
relations which are shown in illustration #2.
 ILLUSTRATION #2

LEVELS of SUBSTANCE ELECTROMAGNETIC

ORGANIZATION SIZES WAVE LENGTHS
(1) Atoms .000,000,1 mm Hard X-ray
(2) DNA .000,002 mm Soft X-ray
(3) Genes .000,01 mm Ultraviolet
(4) Chromosomes .000,5 mm Visible Light
(5) Cells .02 mm Infra Red Light
(6) Organs 100 mm Microwave
(7) Body 1.7 M Radiowave

In this second illustration is shown the same scale as before with the addition now of the
resonant relations these levels have to the electromagnetic or light spectrum. Note that most of
the spectrum is invisible to the eye but as shown, it is not invisible to the levels of organization
within us. Absorption and emissionof light radiations by living substances within us is called
Bioluminescence. This is a simplified model indicating the future scope of Bioluminescent study.

The measurements given in millimeters and meters are the approximate sizes of the individual
substances named. The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum having wavelengths of that size
range is then listed across from these. This yields a scale of resonant activities within these living
materials. These particular levels of substance are included here because of the prominent part
they are known to play in the biological formation and regulation of an individual organism or
being.

The discussion from various quarters of thought and study, oriented physically or
metaphysically, about vibrations, higher octaves and like concepts could well be referring more
or less accurately, to these very relationships as shown. Present research into such things as
molecular photobiology, ultrasonics and all electromagnetic interactions with organic and
genetic materials is now revealing the body spectrum. The harmonic exchanges and dynamics
between the levels of organization is another whole avenue of study and one which cannot be
pursued in this short article, but is mentioned here to point to the interchange BETWEEN levels.

The applications of this model such as arranging data for clarity are manifold. This view has
been studied in the spectrum above and below that shown here as well as in relation to the output
of energy from the sun and other heavenly bodies, with interesting results.

Some support for this kind of model will be found in many scientific papers and books but
without emphasis indicating its true importance at least as here presented. The technical terms
used herein can be found in good referance books at a library pertaining to these scientific areas
of knowledge. The following have been found helpful in gathering facts and in understanding the
way scientists presently look at these phenomenon, even if differing from that unique view taken
here.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Color and Sound" - Essentia, Spring 1981

"Van Nostrand Scientific Encyclopedia" 6th Edition
"The Living Organisrn" Doubleday & Co., 1965
"The Principles of Physiology" Jensen, 1976
"Histology" 7th Edition - Lippencott
"Matter Energy and Life" 2nd Edition - Baker & Allen
"Cytogenetics of Man and Other Animals" McDermott, 1975
"Molecular Photobiology" Smith & Hanawalt, 1969.
"The Physics of Vibrations and Waves" Feather, 1962.
"Molecules and Life", Fruton, 1972.

Nonsense in Metaphysics
Frater Albertus

Where there is Light, there is Shadow. Unfortunately this shows especially strong in what are
commonly called "spiritual" things. The word "spiritual", when applied in this suggested sense is
totally misplaced, because spirit refers to "Life", whereas "spiritual" actually is supposedly to
mean anything of a mental nature, when used in the context of those talking or writing about
"spiritual" things. Using words like esoteric, metaphysical, psychic and the likes, all is thrown
into one meaningless hodge podge and anyone can fish out of it what one likes according to one's
definition of the word emerging.

It is getting to be nauseating when listening to or reading the utter nonsense parading under the
term "spiritual". Immaterial or supersensitive, says the dictionary, is what is called metaphysical.
Why the word "physical" is attached to "meta", meaning among, between, with, after, behind,
indicating change, of a physical nature, being at the same time, according to the dictionary,
immaterial, certainly needs some further explanation by those who pose as an authority when
compiling dictionaries. No wonder then, that anything goes under spiritual and metaphysical.

Those using such words usually are hiding behind metaphors. The word metaphor, says the
dictionary, is a figure of speech in which a phrase or term is applied to something to which it is
not literally applicable, in order to suggest a resemblance. Under such terminology belong those
who claim to be reincarnated exalted beings, of which the world at present seems to be
abundantly provided with. Take Jesus the Christ, who was/is (?) incarnated as "Father Divine",
who had his "heaven", on the Hudson River in New York not far from President Roosevelt. to
the latter's dismay. Then came from Korea one more Jesus Christ (Moon) and is still dwelling
among "His" people. Right now in London, in the Soho District, is another being incarnated,
supposedly even greater than Jesus Christ.

He was supposedly to have appeared in Spring 1982. When nothing took place, explanations
followed like this one from "Wide Horizons Newsletter" Editor's Column:
In past issues of our newsletter we have been telling you of the Emergence of the Christ which
was predicted to take place in late Spring, 1982. Obviously that time has passed and still nothing
has happened. It seems fitting that we should here update you on the Reappearance. "Ben's press
conference last month revealed the whereabouts of the Christ to be East London, specifically, the
Brick Lane section of London, where many immigrant communities may be found. Immediately
members of differ ent press corps from around the world, as well as some individuals, began to
descend on this section of the city. They searched for the weekly meeting where the Christ
appears and some found it, but most didn't.

"Many of the individuals who searched were members of the Tara Center (the organization
formed to help network Reappearance information in the states) and were closely connected
personally and publicly with the Reappearance. After their failure to locate the Christ, Ben
pointed out to them that were they to discover the Christ, great doubt would be cast over the
whole event since it would seem they were participating in the fulfillment of their own prophesy.

"Some of the press succeeded in finding the meeting and some didn't. It seems the press, at least
symbolically, represents the public and it will be up to them to find Him. At the same time,
however, those reporters who are seeking notoriety, or fortune, or looking for a scoop will not
find Him. Ben has said that only those who ap proach the matter impersonally would receive the
hierarchical aid necessary to find the Christ.

It seems the whole matter at present rests in the hands of three reporters affiliated with the BBC.
Two of the men have attended at least two meetings and the third at least one. The information
which Ben has given corroborates with that which the man they heard gave and that connection
seems fairly well established. These reporters seem to be the primary means of bringing the
Christ before the public.

"At the same time we stand in awe at the great working out of Law. The Emergence must be
invoked by mankind: our conscious decisions, the choices we make are the main factors in the
unfoldment of the Plan. So, we here at Wide Horizons continue working toward that fulfillment
of Law, the Reappearance of the Christ."

And so it goes. Why all this nonsense? People like it that way. Especially, when such people
come from foreign countries like India. This makes it more difficult to find out about them, than
if they were known among their own. Even then, there are those uncounted thousands (?) or
more, who are not satisfied with what they are in this life. They bemoan their present place
among mankind and find solace by trying to find out who they were in a former incarnation. By
regression (?) into their former lives they are to find out what is wrong with them now, because
of their former mistakes. But what about the mistakes that are taking place right here and now!
An excuse is needed. A subterfuge is required. Someone else to blame it on, even on a former
life. And so it goes. Then there are those who have to give "spiritual" messages that will save
mankind. What about all those messages? Who are those messengers? Why all this under the
cloak of a It suggested resemblance", when what needs to be said can be said in the very own
words by those who have to say what they are saving without having to hide behind someone
else, who they suggest to resemble or represent?
the answer to the entire gimmick is: ignorance. Personal ignorance. What I know I do know,
irregardless if someone else knows the same I know. What I know I don't have to believe. It is as
simple as that. If I were to believe that Mr. X is Christ incarnated, then I confirm my ignorance
of not knowing, because I can only believe that he, or for this matter anvone, is such. Whether
the name is Lord Maythrea or what have you, the choice is mine to believe or not to believe. But
this does not give me the knowledge. By contrast, when based upon testimony, one said: I know,
thou art Christ the son of the living God", there was no belief involved. The statement: "Flesh
and Blood have not revealed this unto you" refers to hearsay of others who may have believed it.

Is it not written: There shall come many in my name. "Then if any man say unto you, Lo, here is
Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that if were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."

The German Mystic, Angelus Selesius once said:

"Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, But not within yourself, all is forlorn."

Only by personal experience will we know about our own self. Only by personal experience will
we know (not believe) and by no other way.

If mankind, and especially those who are continuously in search for "psychic phenomena",
would settle down and quit chasing rainbows and instead use their time and energies to find out
more about themselves first, before finding "the Christ" in another person, they would experience
the greatest psychic phenomena of them all: Their own psyche, which is a Greek word and
means SOUL.

As long as a person has not found its own soul, it is indeed a lost soul. One has to find ones' own
first before one can become aware of others. Only after a soul recognizes itself for what it is, can
a conscious effort commence, in the words of Carl Gustav Jung, to "integrate the personality"
into that which IS IT.

A little more sanity will indeed bring wonders to those seeking for psychic (soul) phenomena to
happen.

Musical Logic
By Elizabeth I. Dowling

Essentia published an article about music and light spectrum (Spring 1981). Pythagoras also used
mathematics derived from music to instruct students on philosophy in general. In trying to
explain a system of meditation, and why I disagree with those who believe in only concentrating
on one thing, or "turning off" the mind, the following musical analogies presented themselves.
A melody uses most notes within a scale. As well as the harmony and frequencies involved, the
seven notes in a typical scale also relate to the seven centers, or chakras in the body. All centers,
or a combination of centers, are lightly stimulated in a melody; the entire being begins to be a
receptive channel.

However, in meditation, some like to hold a "one point", one focus meditation, using one
thought, or other concentration point. Well, that may attend to one quality of understand ing (or
one center), but it doesn't serve the whole, except for the fact that when you sound one note.
(Fundamental pitch, 1/1), all other pitches appear naturally as overtones (2/1 first octave, 3/2
perfect fifth, 4/3 perfect fourth, 5/4 perfect major third, 6/5 perfect minor third, etc., Pythagorean
tuning; not equal temperment which is based on irrational number approximations to equal the
distance between the twelve notes of the chromatic scale within an octave. Equal temperment
produces dissonance between any two notes, especially notes near each other. Pythagorean notes
near each other, even one step away, harmonize perfectly because of their rational relationship.)

Many aspirants like to "tune themselves" starting with only one tone, or one idea, or one image.
This is fine, as one is able to "check the tuning" of all ideas to that one idea (as one would tune a
violin or guitar), however; it causes mental dogmatism, closed-mindedness, and can be the
fastest road away from enlightenment. Example: I am part of the Universe: I do not exist apart
from It: I should be giving of myself, as I am part of It: if I want to join with It I should give
away all: I should kill myself. (Opposite of original Idea - an example however of linear logic, or
"tuning to one idea".)

I suggest two methods of meditation taken together:

1) Look at an array of ideas (a melody of thought) and
2) check the "tuning" by seeing how each idea approximately fits or tunes with the others
(respect each idea). These meditations together should prevent one from being a dictator to one
self or others, or from confusing one self with a lot of conflicting nonsense.

The Taoists, especially Lao Tsu say that any action ends in its opposite. Now, if you are being
scientific, the reason (1 know that reason is anathema to intuition, and here is why) that linear
logic composed of correct (perfectly tuned, not dissonant or "fudged") steps ends in an incorrect
(to first postulate) conclusion is that: In tuning, you start with Fundamental note (+). If each step
in your logic is, say, a perfect fifth (3/2), you get the following arrangement (traditionally called
the "Circle of Fifths"):

On the other hand, if logic progresses through octaves and a major third rather than the perfect
fifths, we know that one octave is 2/1, and two octaves are 2/1x2/1=4/1; a major third (in
Pythagorean tuning being 5/4, the major third two octaves above the Fundamental is 4/1x5/4=
5/1 (also expressed as 80/16). This note is not equal to the note pro duced by the Circle of Fifths,
81/16. The further one takes this "perfect logic" to notes further and further from the
Fundamental, the more dissonant it becomes with the octaves and other notes. In Indian music
where tuning is very important, one is told not to sing or play more than three octaves in a piece
so that it doesn't get too much out of tune. But our entire modern science is based on outlandish
out-of-tune and therefore incorrect assumptions. Perhaps this is why it is so hard to "prove
alchemy, and the easily "provable" Relativity theory has a few black holes in it.

Musical/mathematical theory ought to be the number system used in logic. It (not sloppy Venn
diagrams) ought to be the basis for philosophy. Mental structures based on "modern" algebra,
depending on too many logical steps and therefore inaccurate, have caused the rigidity of mind
which has produced fascism and communism and other "isms". Structures of thinking are
important in both personal enlightenment and world well-being. "We are all in one space-time
together."

By the way, if someone "debugs" the Relativity theory using musical mathematics, perhaps they
will see the True Light. The key is simplicity and proof based on more than the limits of rigid
mathematics. Linear logic or equations make errors in the flow of time; where our fear of death
and the beyond pushes all contradictions or dissonance. Notice that alchemy is unafraid of time,
taking its slow passage into account in chemical "equations" based on Relationship. Today we
are beyond the Ptolemaic era. Then why do we use measurment-centric number theory to prove
our physics? It's as if we were trying to send our Voyager spacecraft to Neptune using geocentric
calculations. (It would never get there.)

The mathematics of music is based on frequency and waves. One has to laugh when hearing of
experiments to learn about "energy Particles" by smashing atoms. It is as if the energy or charge
of these particles were meaningless, as if the Sun traveled around a flat earth (their photo-
emulsions used in these experiments) supported by a tortoise (their bubble chambers). What does
it matter? A dogmatic and rigid science is in danger of toppling under superstition. As Lao Tsu
said, the higher you put yourself on top of a pedestal, the further you have to fall. Jesus made
many similar statements.

Book Reviews ...

Dachstubenverse eines Ausgewanderten

(Attic Poems of an Emmigrant)

by Frater Albertus

If you can read German, this little volume of collected poems by Frater Albertus, published in
Switzerland under his real name, Albert Riedel, are more than just some poems and reach far
beyond moments of introspection.
Like notes following each other reaching a crescendo of symphonic dimensions it is not common
poetry but reveals an allegoric lyric of poetic autobiography.

It is not just the sound of poetic harmony alone but the entire structure becomes a bouquet of
flowers where color and scent elevates the reader into a realm, like in the 'Hymn to Night' where
the poet becomes the messenger, and the music of the sphere enraptures the reader.
(Reviewed by Carl F. Frey)
Published by Reflexe Verlag
Blumenstrasse 30 9403 Goldach, Switzerland.

"Pharmacopoeia Londinensis"

By William Salmon London 1696 page 849

Of Making Quintessences

Quintessences are made by a conjunction of all the principles, or pure parts, viz. Spirit, oil and
salt, being extracted apart and united by manifold digestions: of which, since there are plenty of
examples already delivered in Book 4, Chapter5, aforementioned, as well vegetable, mineral and
animal, we shall here desist.

Of Making Elixirs

An elixir in a true sense is a fortified quintessence, for it ought to be a union of the three
principles, salt, sulphur and mercury, together with the essence of the thing you design: but as it
is now received, it is a spirituous liquor of great power, made by the infusion and digestion, of
which the Elixir Proprietatis is an eminent example: but elixirs have various ways of preparation,
of which, the most that can be said is this, that an elixir is an extraction by means of spirituous
menstruum, impregnated with oil and salt; which if it be made of the spirit of the same thing,
fortified with its own oil and salt, is by so much the more powerful: for according to the opinion
of some- very learned men (that as every like draws its like) so every principle draws its part. So
by infusion of rosemary in spirit of rosemary, impregnated with the oil and salt of rosemary, you
shall have at last elixir of rosemary. If the elixir be made of minerals, the body of the mineral
must be so- opened before hand and that it may yield up its essence, to the menstruum (made of
the three principles of the same mineral) in which it is digested.

Questions and Answers

Q. What effect has the Water in the vinegar on the extraction of the fixed tincture from
antimony? What is the difference when the fixed tincture is extracted with glacial acetic acid.

A. Vinegar contains water, but I's not acetic acid. Acetic acid (glacial) does not contain water,
therefore is not vinegar. Water, in this case, with the acid is a solvent while the pure acid is an
extraction media.
Q. Would you touch on Wesak and what we could do on that day as a form of participation?

A. The Wesak Moon Is the full moon in May. At this time it has been suggested to attune with
all those who have the welfare of entire mankind at heart. It is a special occasion originating in
India and is celebrated similar to the Easter Resurrection of the Christians. In the first case no
religious restriction is imposed, as in the Christian sense, as the Resurrection relates to Jesus
Christ only.

Q. What is the nature of true will and what are the laws applying to it?

A. Will is an extension of energy, which, in turn Is an extension of spirit (life). Only after a
choice has been made can energy in form of will be manifested, depending on the degree of
energy available as weak or strong will.

Q. What is the work? What is our place in it?

A. After a person has become conscions of the work per se, one's place will be found in it. To
become conscious of the "Work" means just that. Each group of individuals has a certain work to
perform. To find out what this particular work is has to be ascertained by the individual when
making contact with it. Only after a harmonious integration has taken place will the individuals
place become manifest in the sphere of one's activity.

Q. At what point of our evolution are we ready to meet our twin soul, as was so beautifully
portrayed in "Gently I Answered and Said?" Will there be a conscious recognition on the
physical level, Docs the true union of the two into one being, as described in your book occur as
a merging of the etheric bodies or in another manner?

A. One should be careful when making statements of "twin soul." Too much nonsense has been
attached to it. Just as a natural phenomena based upon the fundamental law of polarity or duality
is everpresent, man can not be excluded. Example: On the keyboard of a piano are seven white
keys. This is not the entire octave as each white key is but one half note. Its corresponding half is
found in a black key to make one whole note. When the proper sound has been established it
may not be recognized as one note to the untrained ear.

Such merging of sound is not easily recognized by the untrained ear. In a similar way will a
merging of two one halfs into one whole take place but can be recognized only when we are
"attuned" to it. When this takes place no one can tell until it happens.

Q. Basil Valentine says to sharpen the antimony with its own salt this being the gum, extracted
by vinegar of antimony from raw ore, and its fixed sulphur separated by KM extraction. Is it
necessary to calcine this salt to whiteness, before sharpening by digestion? When pure, is this
salt the Essential Salt of antimony?

A. It is not necessary to calcine the salt to whiteness. It is Salt of Antimony but not yet the
Essential Salt of Antimony.
Q. Has it been determined once lead acetate has been distilled if the distillate is poisonous?

A. In its purified state it is not poisonous which used for what it is intended.

Q. If a person's number is 10 what path and sephiroth? Does 10 reduce to 1 then add 10 to make
11 or not?

A. There is no lOth. Metzlah, that is why 10 is making it 20, which is reduced to 2 = Chockmah.

Q. Yesterday you handed us the keys to the Golden Casket very freely. Will we find the burden of.
carrying these keys too heavy?

A. That depends on your prevailing strength and courage.

Q. My understanding is that there IS only "one way". But there are many "ways" that lead to the
"one". Since Paracelsus is College is one of the ways, is there any indication that some of the
students are ready to enter the one way.

A. The merging of one path with another automatically becomes one way. There is no abrupt
merging. It is a gently gliding of one into the other, yet very noticeable after it has become one
way.

Q. Many members of this class seem to think that the "mercury" that will come over after the so
called flood is the "thing" we are looking for. I think that this is only the first step in the right
direction to obtain the blessed "Mercury of the Philosophers". Any comments?

A. You are right. It is but the beginning.

Q. So often in metaphysical literature we find the term "Initiation" or "Initiations" casually

referred to. Does this represent a real event in one's spiritual life or is it only a term relating to
stages in one's spiritual progress?

A. An Initiation is just what the word indicates. When one is initiated into the workings of an
object, by training, one is initiated into its intricacies. A mere ritual hinting at something yet to
come but has not transpired is not an initiation. It is only a symbolic ritual. During classes at
College a student is initiated by practical experience into what is to be experienced. Not by
believing or hoping for it to come about. An initiation refers to an accomplished fact.

Q. Does ultra sound have a place in the research program of the college?

A. Very Definitely. Considerable research is going on with ultra sound waves and most
interesting results are emerging economic recession, because of his ability to get things done. We
need a dynamic person to make the funds available for the various projects underway and in the
future.
Q. Don't you think the College is stressing the work on antimony out of proportion when
considering that it is a college that has also other interests such as astrocyclic pulsations,
Qabala, etc.

A. No. The main research of the college will be on antimony We do not know of any other
institution that places such emphasis on this subject, because hardly anyone in the scientific
world knows anything about it. As a result, tremendous efforts have to be expanded to make sure
that what has been written about it can be proven.

Q. Would you please share with us why Rudolf Steiner did not stress the value of antimony in his
writings, when it was made known to him through the alchemistic writings, how important it is.

A. Just recently a student revealed to us that on his death-bed Rudolf Steiner was supposed to
have said that research in antimony should have top priority in the Anthroposophical teachings.
My informant stated that for an unknown reason this had been kept secret, but has just recently
become authentic public knowledge.

Q. Why is it that when making the vinegar of antimony, no frothing shows as Basilius mentioned.

A. It does show. In a very recent class, a student had to cope with so much foaming that he had a
difficult time to distill the vinegar over because it clogged the condensor. Only when changing
over to a reaction vessel was this difficulty overcome.

Q. With all the electronic gadgets available to children, how do the,, influence the learning
capabilitie's of the children. Does this not stymie or retard the brain functions and make children
less capable to think for themselves?

A. Dr. Renate I. Mreschar found that it is no worse because of pocket calculators. Arithmetical
skill of 11,000 pupils tested showed that girls are quicker with fractions. Despite all the croaking
about the use of pocket calculators in mathematics lessons, the arithmetical skill of pupils has not
deteriorated. This has come to light as the result of a study on behalf of the Government. It also
emerged that girls are 10 percent quicker than boys in fractions while boys display greater talent
in estimate calculations. Over the last three years, 11,000 pupil tests and 500 teacher
questionaires completed show that spot checks at schools confirmed these findings which
revealed, inter alia, that every second pupil had a pocket calculator.

The experts were not able to establish any connection between the extent and frequency in the
use of pocket calculators and arithmetical skills. According to Dr. Leonhard Sturm, pupils with
mathematics marks ranging from "Very Good" to "Poor" all used pocket calculators in like
measure. In difficult tests which, on the whole, had to be completed without pocket calculators,
pupils falling back on electronic aids even came off 15 to 20 per cent betterdepending on type of
school. Arithmetical skill increased by just under 30 per cent per year group. Sturm's research
team was, in addition, able to prove that, despite the use of calculators, the pupils' mathematical
skills were no worse than they were seven, fourteen and even fiftyone years ago. The
comparative figures came from studies conducted by chambers of commerce. The results,
incidentalIv, contradict the expectations of the teachers approached: 96 per cent of the latter had
assumed, prior to the test series, that pocket calculators had a negative influence on mental and
written arithmetic.

Essentia
Volume 4 Summer 1983
 Evolution of Parachemistry
Formerly Known as Alchemy
Parachemistry represents an important ray in the spectrum of the healing arts of the future. It
includes both pre-classical and contemporary chemistry, as well as procedures that might be
considered futuristic. At the same time, its principles are so fundamental that they are present in
all aspects of daily living. Everyone engages in a natural kind of parachemistry without being
aware of it. Through a combination of one's own efforts and the influences outside of oneself,
life unfolds in a meaningful and purposeful direction. Parachemistry is analogous with evolution.
All forms of matter are everchanging and in the process of becoming. As examples, the
transmutatation of a caterpillar to a butterfly is a parachemical process and the digestion of
sustenance for our bodily needs is also a spagyric transmutation.

Yet, this process is not easily understood and the knowledge of the spagyric treatment of mineral
and herbal substances is relatively unknown. The reason for this will be explained later. First, a
description of the history of the ancient process will make it easier to comprehend.

The spagyric process deals with "essence." The original meaning of the phrase essence is the
"essential" or the "main contents."The term has it's roots in Greek philosophy. Aristotle (834-322
B.C.) used the expression "quintessence" with the above meaning. Later, the word essence was
applied in a practical sense to name pharmaceutical substances. Theophrastus of Hohenheim, the
famous physician known as Paracelsus (1493 - 1541) was one of the first to apply the term
essence in a spagyric way. According to him everything nature brings forth consists of three
essences. Paracelsus maintained that these three essences or principles could be separated in
physical form, each representing its own particular properties.

Paracelsus called the three essences salt, sulphur and mercury. However, these archalc names are
symbolic and not to be confused with modern terminology.

The word "spagyric" has been in use since the 16th centuery. It is derived from two Greek words
"spao" (to separate) and "ageiro" (to combine). This may seem somewhat paradoxical, however,
this term accurately describes the actual process. It consists of separating the three essences and
recombining them after their purification. This purification, which is not explicitly contained in
the word "spagyric" plays a major role in the process.

The techniques of manipulating a substance in the spagyric way are certainly more complex than
the above representation may imply. Also, the process, can be applied in varying degrees of
perfection. The separation for instance, may be more or less conducted with a greater or lesser
degree of dexterity.

Let us look at an example: a medicinal herb is macerated in one hundred-ninety proof alcohol.
After the oily substance in the plant is dissolved the alcohol, it takes on a dark color. In spagyric
terminology, the oil represents the essence of sulphur (not to confused with common brimstone).
Active ingredients are present in this tincture, and by further treatment they can be purified.
Ethereal oils are an example of such ingredients. Active ingredients are contained within many
pills, drops and tinctures found in pharmacies today. Thousands of allopathic remedies have their
origin in natural substances such as herbs.

The Spagyric process has many facets, and a simple tincture is only the beginning. Another
essence is the "salt," represented by the mineral salts to be found in a plant. It was only, in recent
years that with the addition of vitamins that the importance of trace elements have been
recognized by modern medicine.

Finally, the third spagyric essence is the biological energy or the life force of the plant. This is
generally, deposited during its growth in the form of starch and glucose. This essence referred to
as mercury (not to be confused with metallic mercury), can be released through fermentation in
the form of alcohol, which for centuries has been used medicinally.

According to its definition, a spagyric product should contain all essences. While the simple
herbal extract is still an official part of today's pharmacopoeias, comparable, but more
sophisticateed spagyric preparations are hardly known in our time. There are a few
pharmaceutical companies in West Germany offering spagyrically prepared products at this time.
Some of these companies have been in existance since the early part of this century. The success
of these remedies has been documented and under certain conditions, they are much more
effective than simple extracts.

So far, only the relationship of the spagyric process to plants has been described, but minerals
and metals can also be treated in the same way.

Paracelsus was the first to introduce such preparations to medicine. He started an era, which
historians call iatrochemistry, a term which is still being used in the twentieth century. The term
iatrochemistry means the use of chemistry in medicine which was unheard of before Paracelsus.
He put his main effort into spagyrically prepared chemicals, which apparently was one of the
reasons for his legendary success as a physician.

Why is it that we know so little about these processes today, which made Paracelsus, who
lectured on the subject at universities and treated the nobility with spagyric preparations, the
most famous physician of this time. We may not be able to fathom all the reasons, but two facts
are especially prominent in this respect:

1. Most of the literature which relates to the spagyric matter is in German, which was the
predominant language of science and medicine at that time and for many years. This explains to
some extent why, especially, in North America, the spagyric process is still somewhat obscure.

2. The spagyric field is complex. The writings of Paracelsus and of others who have dealt with
the matter after him, are difficult to understand. Basically they contain a theoretical background
and a technical terminology hardly known today. It is not that today's theories and terminologies
are any simpler, but we are used to them and educated to work with them. Special training is
necessary in order to study the spagyric process in depth.

These difficulties have very recently led to the formation of a special scientific field called
Parachemistry, which is dedicated to the investigation of the spagyric process. The healing
potential of the spagyric technique has been demonstrated for hundreds of years. However, this
potential needs to be further validated by, clinical and laboratory research in order to be
accessible to the healing professions. In addition, more education is needed to enable health
professionals to understand and apply these principles, as well as to use these powerful
substances in their practices. The spagyric process has quite a heritage. Now it is up to our time
to reveal all of its aspects for the benefit of mankind.
- E.W.
 Essentia
Volume 5 Fall 1983
Our Cover:
"Great Events Cast Their Shadows Ahead."
Things still unknown nevertheless do exist. 1984 will be a year of preparation as the signs
portent. Soon someone will appear and open up wide what still remains closed. The art work on
our cover was done by Ross Gathercole from Melbourne, Australia, not by Siegbert Hahn as
credited by mistake.

Editorial - Schools ... Not Monasteries or Ashrams

Exemplar John Ray Christopher
The Snake Stone - Isaac Beck
Harmony and the Line of Least Resistance
Questions and Answers
The R.A.M.S Material - Hans Nintzel

Editorial

Schools ... Not Monastaries or Ashrams

Is there a difference and, if so, wherein do they differ. When taken individually each has a
separate function to perform. At the same time they can also be intermixed where either two or
all three can be found combined. An ashram can be considered an institution where people have
gathered to practice the teachings received, lust as in a monastery both teachings and its practice
can take place simultaneously. By contrast a school has but one function to perform and that is to
teach. Thereafter a student may choose to apply such teachings as one sees fit, without having to
adhere to religious or philosophical precepts. If a school is connected with a monastery, secular
teachings are always prcdominant. Fraternities, as the name in itself would indicate, are likewise
practicing by their rites and ceremonies their respective teachings, so that there is hardly any
difference between a monastery, where one undergoes daily practice, while a fraternity does so
intermittently during a month or year.

For sometime great emphasis has been placed upon secret organizations that offer special
teachings not generalIs, offered to the public, but only to those who promise to subscribe to it
ahead of time not to reveal any of their schooling or instructions. A certain hire are the promises
given to obtain secrets and powers not otherwise known or available. All this is not rim, and has
been going on for quite some time and most likely will continue for as long as individuals are
trying to gain knowledge without much mental and physical efforts. They wait for things to come
to them.

It is interesting to note that those who are of like mind are attracted to each other while opposing
minds are avoiding each other. What is said here is not a matter of deciding which system is right
or wrong, rather is it a statement made wherein Schools, Monasteries, Ashrams or Fraternities
differ.
Krishnamurti, the eminent teacher, who at one time was considered by some to be the
reincarnation of Christ, which he denied, coincides with what has been written here, as will those
who have attained within themselves the realization that only a schooling, which does not deny
an individual the right of free choice, can have preeminence over other forms of schooling or
instructions that require adherence to preconcieved religious or philosophical dogmas.

In an interview by Catherine Ingrain and Lconard Jacobs in the East West journal, Krishnamurti,
now 88 years of age, was asked: "Do you feel that your teaching has made a deep impression?"
To which he replied: "Some have given up their jobs, have said, 'We'll come to your schools.
'They are doing it because they are schools - not monasteries, not ashrams, but schools where
you get a degree course." Later on he continues: "Educators have enormous responsibility
because they hold the future. More than the parents, educators must be concerned with the
holistic view of life. I've talked about it so much. We've got a school in California, a school in
England and five schools in India, and I've spent a great deal of time in all of them."

This sums it up in a nutshell: A school has but one objective and that is to teach laws that apply
to all men guaranteeing freedom of expression and action under the law, regardless of one's
religious, fraternal or philosophical affiliation.

Paracelsus College is such a school.

John Ray Christopher

When it comes to the advocating of the healing power of herbs during the last decades, one name
stands out prominently, that of Dr. John Ray Christopher, of Springville, Utah.
Born Nov. 25th, 1909, he passed on Feb. 6th 1983 into the great beyond. He was a Dr. of
Herbology and Naturopathy and was not only known in the USA, but internationally for his
efforts to stress the importance of herbs for healing purposes. His lectures were sponsored by the
National Health Federation and National Cancer Victims and Friends Association. Dr.
Christopher received the Ann Arbor Distinguished Service Award among others and is listed
under distinguished persons of Provo, Utah. His numerous publications speak for themselves. It
can be said of Dr. Christopher that he was the most prominent of the Master Herbalists of the last
thirty years. He taught the traditional, nontoxic power of herbs to assist in the natural healing
process. He helped popularize herbs on a mass-scale in the face of drug-oriented, "industrial
medicine," and was often jailed and harassed - seemingly on behalf of the pharmaceutical
interests - for "practicing medicine without a license." Dr. Christopher has left "The School of
Natural Healing," "The Three Day Cleansing Prograrn," and "Childhood Diseases," which
include his 37 original formulas, and his remedies.

My personal acquaintance with Dr. Christopher has been a stimulating one, as he showed great
interest in the spagyric process. At one time he brought to the College his herb collection to have
them analyzed for a possible conversion into spagyric preparations. Due to the additional cost
factor involved he said that he had to postpone it until a future time. When he visited the College
on several occasions he was impressed by the research conducted in Herbology and would have
liked to get further involved, but for lack of time, because of his constant lecture engagements,
had to postpone this aspect also.

The world needs men like Dr. John Ray Christopher who fearlessly advocated a principle he
firmly believed in, in spite of opposition until one's principles have been established.

Dr. Christopher is survived by his wife, three daughters, three sons and 17 grandchildren.

The Snake Stone

Isaac Beck, Antwerp, Belgium.
The Land-Rover made slow headway arriving through the African Savannah. Mr. C. R. passed
here and there a small village, where, what we will call civilization, was unknown, towards his
destination to survey a new road. Passing a shrub he noticed a dead cow whose intestines looking
black were protruding out of the animals stomach. He thought a wild beast had ripped it open.
But, approaching closer he noticed that the intestines began to move in a rhythmic motion. He
was startled and scared! Mambas, black Mambas, deadly snakes that bite and will not release its
fangs until the deadly poison has circulated in the body. The Mambas began already to dig their
tail end into the sandy soil. This way they gain support to jump up and ahead faster than man can
run. The cow was peculiarly thin as everything was taken out. Only one eye was left, the other
was a dark hole. With horror R noticed an evil looking snake's head protruding from it. Little by
little - it seemed an eternity to him - and inch by inch, the body-of the yard long black snake
emerged from the cow's hollow eye. His thought whirled, did the split tongue have only one
root? Snakes cannot close their eyes, he thought; don't they ever sleep? Are they always awake?
They shed their entire skin, have no feet, only a spine. How filled with hate and fear these living
creatures must be. Unable to speak, they remain silent and produce venom to give off in a frenzy
of anger. Is there not a teaching about "Serpent Power" somewhere to be found, he mused.

Later Mr. R. began his work as surveyor and several hundred feet down the road was Denis
Ngafi - an assistant occupied with establishing markers. All of a sudden Denis gave forth a
piercing cry. A black Mamba had bitten and would not let go. Being a native he thought he knew
what to do and with a lightning fast move grasped the snake just at the right place below the
head, and tore the snake from his flesh and throwing it to the ground smashed its head with his
shoe. If the Mamba is grasped too far below the ead, a second bite is possible.

He knew the white surveyor had a snake stone on him. That was his rescue. With all the strength
that he could muster he ran as fast as he could. Mr. R. placed the snake stone immediately upon
the wound. The black stone stuck at once to the flesh. But it was too late. If he would have
remained motionless and would have just called for help, "the stone would have come to him."
Because of his over exertion the poison had begun to circulate .through the blood. A few minutes
later his eyesight began to grow dim and in about ten minutes he had died, when the snake stone
dropped off his leg.

The history of the black snake stone is as follows:

In 1880 in a small West European city a boy was born. Twenty five years later, in 1905 he
became a priest. As a Benedictine monk he went to the Dschungls of South America. There, he
learned from a tribal chief the secret about the snake stone, as a token of appreciation for the
unselfish service he had rendered his tribe. He became later the Rector at a South American
university.

On July 8th, 1922 his two sisters died in his homeland, the only ones who knew how to prepare
the snake stone. A short time prior to their death at an advanced age they left this secret with a
monastery.

The Snake Stone is known as "The Black Stone" and measures about 2 inches long and half as
wide. One side is flat and the other slightly rounded. The entire stone looks rather flat, has a
slight lustre and is somewhat brittle. On the surface area it has many small holes, in weight much
lighter than an ordinary stone of similar size. When bitten by a scorpion, snake or poisonous
spider or insect, the inflicted part has to be cut until blood flows and the "stone" placed upon the
wound. As soon as the stone comes in contact with the blood it will adhere to it and does not fall
off until the poison has been absorbed by the stone.

After use, the stone is immersed for a half hour in warm water. When the effervescence has
ceased the stone is placed for two hours in milk and then flushed in fresh water. In this manner
the stone can be used again and again. In severe cases the one bitten may have to endure two
days of fever.
Mostly missionaries, in remote tropical regions, have this stone available to them. Regular snake
serum cannot endure in heat for a greater length of time, sometimes only several days, not to
mention side effects and shock.

The snake stone cannot be obtained or purchased openly.

Out of Our Think Tank

Harmony and the Line of Least Resistance

Gregory Sneddon
Without interference, energy will always take the line of least resistance, forever seeing the
perfect harmony of unity with the other half of its polarity. An example of this can be seen in
electricity's constant desire to return to Earth, its "Other Half" so to speak.

Although this process has a sense of "Rightness" about it, and indeed takes place in a multitude
of different ways throughout nature all the time, without interference, this "Searching" will
always prove unsusccessful of fulfillment. There may be a perfect reunion, but there will never
be any result or manifestation. For to occur, a manifestation requires there to be more than just a
union of complementary energies; it also requires interference from an outside source. There
must be a "Field of Force"; produced only when energy meets resistance.

As could well be expected, differing interference will produce differing manifestations. A lot
depends on the "Angle of Interference". For example, two differing energies running parallel
could be seen as a combined force with the same "direction", but creating the minimum
manifestation, as is the minimum resistance of one energy to the other.

The extreme of this can be seen in the perfectly parallel lines which never meet. If they are
brought into Manifestation in whatever form, by eventually meeting a "wave" of energy traveling
at a different angle, they will manifest at the same time but if perfectly parallel, quite
independently as they have not mixed.

Two violins "Perfectly" in tune should be heard as two separate instruments, as there are two
parallel "Waves", produced independently running around the room together. In practice, there
are only moments when this independence can be noticed, for to sustain perfect tuning between
even two mechanical instruments is virtually impossible. So, two waves cross, we have a
manifestation something should now be present which was not there before. It is in this case
known as an "harmonic", but due to the almost perfect similarity between the two waves, the
manifestation is minimal; the harmonic can hardly be discerned.

It is pleasant to reflect on the name "Harmonic" being given to the "Children" of harmony.
Unfortunately (for the daydream), the offspring of Dissonance are known by the same name.
Any combination of vibrations will produce Harmonies, even if the vibrations be from different
ends of the frequency spectrum (e.g. light waves meet sound waves), or acting through differing
mediums (sound waves-air, meet ear drums-earth).

This tends to expand the definition of the word "Harmonic" beyond that in common usage, as in
this concept it implies the result or manifestation of any meeting of energies, whatever their form
and whatever the nature of their meeting. It should be understood that in nature energy is never
lost, but simply follows the line of least resistance, often changing mediums of manifestation and
thereby leaving our limited perception. Except under specially contrived circumstances; those
whereby an "Artist" contrives an Alchemical reaction to take place, it can be assumed that the
stronger the conflict upon meeting between energies, the stronger the harmonic produced, also
that the energy now "Powering" the harmonic has proportionately reduced the strength of the
parent energies. It has though, not effected the source of these energies, only their uninterrupted
movement through space.

It should be mentioned here, that the reason an Alchemical reaction is different from a natural
one is that a previously unperceived "Outside' energy is drawn to join the reaction. The child
grows in strength, but the parents are seen not to be in any way depleated.

In any energy flow, there are always three principles present. These could be called the Active,
Receptive and Obstructive principles; the active principle in everything constantly searches and
will find its complimentary receptacle. The Obstructive principle is the constantly present
possibility of resistance met along the way.

There is another force involved apart from those mentioned above. This is the "Motivating
Force; that which causes the Active Principle's search to begin in the first place. It's origin exists
outside of the force in question, which until separated into Active and Receptive principles by
the action of this outside stimulation, can exist quite happily as a unified but non-productive
"Duality." This Duality has no knowledge of or interest in potential obstruction waiting for it
"out there"; it lacks any reason to do anything but exist.

So far we have dealt with four principles, energies or forces at work. The Active, the Receptive,
the Motivating and the Obstructive. To these can be added the "Vehicular", or the principle
which provides a medium along which the "Active" travels to reach it's objective. Any force in
motion must have a "path" to travel along, inevitably provided by yet another independent and
unsuspecting energy.

There is a very good reason why the Active principle will always choose, no matter what, to "do
what it aught" and head "home", instead of the multitude of other options (theoretically at least),
open to it. Energy in fact never does what it feels like. It does what it must, as that is the Law
under which it is allowed to exist. This Law is very exacting and tolerates absolutely no
deviation. It is a principle quite different from any other, being at the same time both very
complex and very simple.

The actual magnetism involved in drawing the separated Active and Receptive principles
together after separation, has it's own very specific qualities, reuniting the opposites despite any
hinderance encountered along the way. Imagine a bucket of water taken from a lake by a farmer,
to water his cow during a drought. He carries the water several miles up the hillside, spilling
quite a bit along the way. He drinks some himself, eventually giving the rest to the grateful cow.
The cow drinks her fill, after which the farmer (being a little silly), pours what remains into the
fast flowing stream that runs alongside his house.

If we now follow the course of the water as it makes its way back to the Lake, traveling always
downhill urged on by the dictates of Gravity, we will see the point to this little story.

You see, there just happens to be a water wheel on the creek driving a mill; a little boy who just
loves the cow's milk and a few scattered fennel seeds on the dusty path where the water was
spilt. So as the raised water does its "Duty", heading downhill whenever given the chance, it
meets various obstructions and gives aid to many other processes along the was..

So we have seven principles or forces of energy:

1. The Active.
2. The Receptive.
3. The Motivating.
4. The Vehicular.
5. The Righteous.
6. The Magnetic.
7. The Obstructive.

This is their order when considered in time, or rather as having an "initial" state, a "changing"
state and an "eventual" state.

From another perspective, the Active principle could be seen as the beginning of a new
manifestation. An instant ago it wasn't there, this instant it has appeared, although it hasn't done
anything yet. The moment this active principle appeared, there arose a place in space for it to
exist. Without this "Place", expressible in terms of some form of coordinates (updown - north -
south - castwest; or length-breadth - depth and location, etc.) and having a material nature
whether perceivable or not, the Active principle in question cannot be said to have a stable
existence.

As its name implies, the Active principle is itself but a medium by which "Life Energy" may
pass from one place to another. In essence, all of the "Principles" are powered by this energy,
first brought into being through the Active. The exception to this would seem to be what is called
here the Obstructive principle, mentioned earlier as being an outside force and what would seem
to be a completely independent manifestation. In reality, the instant in time and the particular
place in space chosen for manifestation of the Active and Receptive, automatically determines
the particular nature and effect of the Obstructive principle. It is "Reason" which tells us that we
are independent from our fate. Understanding always shows effects to be totally inseparable from
their causes, just as causes are from their effects.
Simply by coming into existence at a particular Time and Place, the action of Manifestation
through the Active to the Passive Recipient, demands an equal and opposite reac tion. The cause
demands the effect.

So if the Active in conjunction with the Receptive, brings "Life Energy" from somewhere
outside our present world through a Birth Process into Manifestation in our World, the Re action
to this will have to be that of a materialized energy attempting an escape from this world through
the womb. But just as a child cannot re turn to the womb once it has left it, so this Reaction of
wanting to get to the root of things, is doomed to pro duce an effect of its own. So the reac tion
becomes an action, although of a more material nature than before.

The effect of this force upon the Active/Receptive Duality, is to cause a fundamental disturbance
of their state of rest. As this disturbance must take an "Equal and Opposite" form to the initial
action which took place in the instant; in one place and therefore without movement, it must
cause something to move as part of its effect.

What is it though, which moves? Is it the Active or the Receptive or what? If we consider that
the Active is no more than a medium for expres sion while the Receptive is a birth vehicle for
what is passed on through the Active, then perhaps it is neither of them, but the "What" that is
passed on; that "Life Energy" spoken of earlier. But it's nature is slightly different now, in that it
is contained at least for the present in a state capable of specific and definable movement.

At this point-now capable of movement, it quickly expands into a thick custard and sucks up the
universe. No, in reality it fortunately doesn't. Once again the Cause produces an Effect, equal and
opposite to itself. This extremely fine, contained and mobile force, needs direction or it will go
astray. So a perfectly matched facility is provided to send this Energy where it should go, which
(fortunately or unfortunately) turns out also to be where it is needed.

This "Providing" function must have a way both of being told what is needed where, and of
sending the potentially fickle moving energy through space to where it is required, without the
chance of deviation or mistake. This facility, as always, must be correctly equal and opposite the
one before it. Instead of distributing All to the Many indiscriminately, its nature will have' to be
one of selectively re ceiving a particular One to Itself. So the idea of the Union of
complementary opposites becomes manifest, and once put into motion must eventually' result in
the return of the now living energy to its complementary opposite, despite any difficulties
encountered along the way.

This is all very well and could almost he seen as the end of the story, except for two things. First
of all, what of the encounters between this Energy Package and the innumerable others which
make up the universe. Secondly and following on from this, what guarantees are there of the
"Purity" of this wandering force when it finally makes it home?

If we imagine that by now the "Moving Life Force" is heading home at a rate which is increasing
proportionately the closer the polar "Halves" get to each other and that the closer they get the
stronger their attraction for each other, we can see why this is the point chosen to introduce
"Obstacles", "Work" or "Tests"; call it what you like. It is essentially the strength of the Active's
attraction for the Receptive which enables it to overcome any and all obstacles encountered
along the way.

The reason behind the need for what appears to be "The Principle Of The Spanner In The
Works", is that without restriction there can be no growth; without growth there is no potential
for change, without potential for change no Evolution and without Evolution, no "Point" to the
Universe and therefore no Universe.

Without the restriction imposed by the environment surrounding every living being, there would
be no "Reason" for that being to do anything, as it is essentially the constant struggle for survival
that leads beings to "get up in the morning". just as the Obstacles overcome by a Living Being
are the of the Growth of a Being, they are also the measure of the purity of that being at any
given time. For the ability of a being to overcome certain obstacles or difficulties of it's
environment, defines it's level on the "Evolutionary Scale".

The "Level of Purity" of the Energy Package, or rather its lack of contamination by outside
influences, determines its state of readiness to return from whence it came; back through the
"Hole in the Wall" provided by the Active, to the Source from where it began. An impure or
"Influenced" energy will simply not be capable when the time comes of the perfect blending of
complementary opposites required for this return to be successful.

Thus the Obstructive principle performs the function of testing the Wanderer's state of purity,
opening the 'Invisible Door?' if appropriate and allowing the Illuminating journey home of a now
Conscious being.

What has been discussed so far: Energy flow into, around and then out of this world of ours, has
been based on a circular seven-fold system, where one point on the circumference of the circle
represents the Entry and Exit point of Life Energy into the System. But just as any circle can be
divided into seven equal parts, it can just as casily be divided into twelve, three hundred and
sixty, or even two million equal sections, each with its own place on the circumference and angle
to the Entry and Exit point. So the one given point on a circle (say 45 degrees), can be described
in a variety of different ways depending on the particular system of division in use, without
changing in itself one iota.

There is a difference in the appearance of this point to an observer who is at it through different
systems, a the point will take on the character of either more or less of the -)ints around it,
depending on the number of divisions in use in each system. In the seven-fold system we
outlined up to now, each of the "Points" or sections has covered an area of about 51 degrees,
each with areas of maximum strength or focus. These "In Focus" areas would be those that
would answer the description associated with that area most correctly. But in constructing any
system, the influcnce of the out of focus areas of each section must be taken into account when
describing the overall influence of that section.

This weakening of the value of each individual point for the sake of easier system
comprehension, is unfortunate but necessary. The finer the definition a point, the more points
there are in the system that need defining and therefore the more complex the system beomes to
comprehend. A balance needs to be struck when constructing a working system, between these
two factors.

With this in mind, if we take another look at the seven-point "Energy Charging" system outlined
above, it it not too difficult to see points between the points. The most obvious thing to do when
refining a system by increasing the number of defined points, is to give separate descriptions to
the areas most out of focus in the system. These are the points half way between any two points
in the original system.

This would convert our Seven-Point System into a Fourteen-Point System. We would expect the
new definitions to fit comfortably between the old and for the old point descriptions to be
slightly modified in the interests of greater clarity. In essence, nothing must change.

Questions and Answers

Q. If there is but one and only One Supreme Intelligence governing this Universe, how come
there are so many gods from antiquity to the present?

A. From all indications available there is but One such intelligence. Take the 10 commandments
given to the Jews and as accepted by the Christians of which the first reads in substance: I am the
Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other Gods before me." Besides the word 'God' there is in the
bible also the word 'Lord God', indicating some what above a God or Gods. Most religions upon
our earth, past and present, indicate the representation of this universal intelligence by way of an
incarnate personification, such as Krishna, Buddha, Christ, etc. But none of them should take the
place before this Supreme One Intelligence, 'Lord God', or Father, as such names are used to
indicate 'Its' superiority over all things created.

Q. At one time mention was made that students visited the late French Alchemist Armand Bar
bault in his laboratory and that he was to give a lecture at one of the then PRS Symposiums. Did
Monsieur Barbault ever deliver this lecture and what was it all about?

A. Armand Barbault passed on before he could deliver his lecture planned for the 1973
Symposium in Stuttgart, Germany. In a letter written to our European representative, Max
Hinners, whose assignment it was to get the lectures coordinated, Monsieur Barbault wrote the
following:
Armand Barbault
28a Route de Winticuheim
68230 Curckeem Haut-Rhin

April 12th 1973

Monsieur Max Hinners
Duerrenmattweg 64
CH-4122 Neuallschwil BL
Dear Sir,
I am very happy to hear your good news and particularly I am very honored by Frater Albertus'
request, asking me to do a presentation of my alchemical works.

So I am going to devote myself to the writing of a precise text regarding my activities and their
actual evolution, that I can present at the congress. But I cannot assure you, given my state of
health that I can go there. I have very bad legs, severe varicose veins that force me to follow a
strict regimen and also limit my expeditions. Nevertheless, the presentation will be done and if
need be, I could send it long before the event, so that, it can be translated and read by someone
who would be kind enough to present it in my name, if I was forced to stay here. I just turned 67
and if I am fine, my legs are not, but enough of this.

Since last year, I have been waiting for your letter, to answer your invitation and I see that from
your side, you must have been waiting also and that soon you will be able to receive us.

At home, things are in a state of change, after having installed some 'Towibes,' I multiplied them
to increase my production and now, I have more than twelve working. But it was impossible to
work in the basement of my house, so we took new dispositions.

In a small village, in the Colmar area, 9 km on the road to Rouffach at Hallstrat, we bought an
old farm with excellent buildings for habitation in which we will install our laboratories. From
13 to 15 towibes, we must prepare twice as much to accomplish our project. After the gold,
silver, tin and viscum gold, and viscum silver, we must realize all the metals and also extract the
quintessence of the most interesting plants with our new alkahest.

We think we will be able to produce a complete range of spagyric preparations in the next few
years; and the medical doctors who are using our preparations are more and more numerous. The
results are most satisfactory and we have reason to believe that our expansion, in view of the
pollution and allergic reactions more and more frequent to chemical product, are encouragement
to follow our goal.

This is all I want to explain and demonstrate, and also how we proceed according to the
fundamental rules of alchemy and the laws of nature, as I have done in my book published in
1969.

The remodeling job, and installation of our new laboratories were commenced last Fall and I
thought I could get started this Spring but my plans were too optimistic, on one end the costs
have been much more than expected and the means at my disposal too limited. So the largest part
is done and I continue the work according to the funds available, that is to say, according to the
tinctures sold by the medical doctors collaborating with me.

Of course I thought I could remodel the house and dependance with 100,000 frs. that I had, but I
need 50,000 frs. more, however I think I can get 7000 frs. per month if all goes well and I will be
able to move in the Fall.
In France, money is being lent, but not to people like me that are on the margin and older than
55. The people who are willing to lend me money want some options that I cannot agree to, for I
want to stay free and independant.

The medical doctors think that they can sell more products, but the production is slow, in spite of
the case with which I have multiplied the towibes, and the 50,000 frs. that I am missing limits
my expansion.

I am patient, I have worked and waited for 25 years and if God lets me live, I intend to achieve
my goal.

So the year 1973 was a year of change, luckily my son follows me and helps me, because my
wife and I can only do the little jobs in the laboratory.

In what we arc doing, we do not have the right to proceed as anyone else does and judge what
God puts in our hands, or we will end in the hands of the devil and we do not want that.

So, Dear Sir, you can tell Frater Albertus, I will prepare a document and I will send it before the
congress so that it can be translated, and I will do my best to go there and present it myself if my
legs do not give me any problems and I beg you to believe in our best regards.

My wife and I send you our feelings the most fraternal.

Armand Barbault

It clearly shows how deeply interested Armand Barbault was in delivering the lecture which his
premature death cut short. It is a loss to all, as no doubt, some interesting statements would in all
likelihood have shed some more light on his alchemistical endeavors.

Q. During the last symposium at the Congress Hall at Salzburg some reporters did follow you
constantly. One, from the'NIEUWE REVO' from Holland handed you a series of questions to
answer. Have they ever been answered?

A. Unfortunately not. As usual in my office, things are stacked up waiting to be taken care of.
Besides there are things that have priority. This should not mean that such questions should not
be answered. Having the original letter now before me, an attempt shall be made though very
much belated-to answer them.

Q. Frater Albertus, could you please tell us, in short, the story of your life? Youth, school, jobs,
first involvement with alchemy, etc.

A. In various publications as well as in Essentia this matter should have been covered.

Q. What made you change your name into Frater Albertus?

A. To avoid a personal cult, the pseudonym of Frater (Brother) Albertus was used. My name per
se has not been changed, although recently it has been rediscovered on my birth certificate that it
is listed there as Richard Albert Riedel. Why, no one, since my recollection from earliest
childhood, ever had called me Richard, I do not know. I have always been called Albert. That is
why my name appears even on later documents signed by me as Albert Richard. That would be
the only unintentional change.

Q. In my opinion a lot of people don't think much about alchemy because, until now, it didn't
bring much about. Furthermore, alchemistic textbooks often wrap their knowledge in mystery,
and a lot of ancient knowledge is lost. Therefore it will now be even more difficult to bring
something about. Could you comment on this?

A. People don't think much about Alchemy because they hardly know anything about it. Indeed,
alchemistical textbooks are difficult to read and even more so to understand. Only by becoming
conversant with what alchemy is really about will a faithful picture emerge and subsequently
some tangible results of it.

Q. In Salzburg I noticed how some people are fascinated by your person. They venerate you as
some kind of a charismatic leader. Can those people still open their 'selves' for your teachings?

A. No attempt has ever been made to be a charismatic leader or anything of this kind. Why
should one not be able to open up their 'selfs' to the teachings. Besides, such are not my
teachings, as to having originated with me. I am only their teacher.

Q. In Holland people are very suspicious towards movement, sects, communities that appeal to
youth. Therefore I must ask you: "Are pupils of Paracelsus College in any way abused, bodily,
mentally, emotionally or sexually?"

A. Not only in Holland, this applies to everywhere, that people are suspicious towards
movements, sects or communities that appeal to youth. And rightfully so. But the teachings
involved here are not directed to youth per se only, but especially those mature enough to
become involved. This applies, calendar wise, to any age capable to show interest in such
pursuits. Students are definitely not in ariv way abused, as you ask. As student's would testify to
that effect.

Q. What is the essential point in the alchemistic philosophy, in which it differs from other
philosophies?

A. Other philosophies are so manifold and specific. The difference of the alchemistical
philosophy can be best explained that it encompasses the entire range of the evolutionary process
here on earth.

Q. I heard that some of the products of Paracelsus Laboratories were tested on pupils. Could
you comment on that?

A. Such products as are available have been tested by pupils not on pupils. Their reports would
have to speak for themselves in the respective cases involved.
Q. What is, until now, the biggest success Parachemistry attained?

A. An awakening of the enormous potentials to be found in its application and the possibilities
lying before us.

Q. What do you think of the use of nuclear power as a source of energy?

A. Atomic energy, whether produced naturally by the sun or man made, will take an ever
increasing effect upon life on earth. The crude efforts made by man in behalf of harnessing the
atom, can be compared to the first steam locomotive, with its premature explosions and
disturbances in the countryside. Civilization can hardly be envisioned without locomotives of
one kind or another. It is the potential safety factor that has to be taken into consideration. No
application of natural or man made energy is without danger. However, such can be reduced to a
bare minimum eventually.

Q. Where do you think to get the money from for the expansion of the whole enterprise? Do
YOU, for instance, get more big donations?

A. We have not received any 'big' donation regards the Tri-Star project, which you indicate.
When the time comes all what is needed will be made available one way or another.

Q. Frater, does a 52-day cycle unfold in a similar manner as the daily cycle does? Example: Let
us take the 52-day period of change which comes under the influence of the Moon. Does the first
half of this period belong to the sub ray of the Saturn and the second half of this period belong to
the sub ray of Jupiter, etc.

A. When you speak of the first and second half, then we are not dealing with a seven period
system. The fifty-two days would have to be divided again into seven, beginning with the first
one-seventh the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury. Each period would overlap
by several hours, as seven days times seven gives 49 days, leaving three days to be divided into
seven hourwise.

Q. During one of our experiments some time past, Mars was in Leo square to Uranus in Scorpio.
Did this have an effect on our experiment?

A. Everything is in a stage of becoming and subject to prevailing influences.

Q. What is the mother of Saturn?

A. Some Alchemists insisted upon Mercury.

Q. Are other metals and minerals prepared in the same way as Antimony is initially for Alchemic
work? With the Ore? With Calcination? With the production of glass of a singular color rather
than many color possibilities?
A. Not all ores of the metals have to be made into glass. But the opening of the body is required,
no matter what other procedures follow.

Q. What planetary influence governs juniper Berries?

A. Jupiter.

Q. Is there a correlation between Vinegar and Gur of the Vine?

A. No. 'The' gur of the vine is its 'earth', not to be confused with its 'salt'.

The Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts Society Material

Hans Nintzel
 Essentia
Volume 5 Winter 1983 - Spring 1984
 The True and False Unicorn
Exemplar - T. Henry Moray
Operatie Elixiris Philosophici - Michael Sendivogius
An Old Alchemical Manuscript
Alchemical Dictionary
Manufacturing Sulphur Crystals
Medicine and Esotericism
Fango: Known - Unknown
Thoronet Abbey, Provence
Questions and Answers

The True or False Unicorn

The tales of the legendary Unicorn go back through many centuries. The first Unicorns were
found as early as 2500 B.C. in China.

The Unicorn's temperament is said to be fierce and strong as well as full of gentleness and
desirous of solitude.

"Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou has heard me from the horns of the unicorns."
(Psalm 22:21)

The Unicorn has even been said to have been in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve,
comforting them after their fall from innocence.

It was written during the middle ages:

"The Unicorn represents Jesus Christ, who took on him our nature in the virgin's womb, was
betrayed to the Jews, and delivered into the hands of Pontious Pilate. Its one horn signifies the
Gospel Truth, that Christ is one with the Father."
(Le Gesteare Devin by Guillaume)

Well known is the legend of the Unicorn, who, though pursued by hunters would stop when
seeing a virgin maiden and lay its head in her lap.

Even "real" Unicorns were sought after for their horn, which was said to possess healing
properties as well as being able to detect poison. For hundreds of years people believed firmly in
the actual existence of the Unicorn. A famous tapestry illustrates this, showing the Unicorn
dipping its horn into a stream to purify it so that other animals could drink of the purified water.

But ... is this the TRUE Unicorn ?

During the second year classes at Paracelsus College, students test the statements made by
Basilius Valentinus in his TRIUMPHAL OF ANTIMONY. In this work he mentions to make a
certain test with the skin of the true Unicom. Whenever the question is asked, "What is a
Unicorn", immediately the answer is: "A legendary animal with but one horn on his forchead."

What, then, is a True Unicorn ? What does Valentintinus mean by it? To quote him, he says,
"Then hold close to it, yet without making actual contact, a particle of true Unicorn." (Page 59-
60.) It will be noted that he says TRUE Unicorn. This seems to make it even more mysterious,
because he emphasizes the word TRUE. In actuality Aletris Farinosa, a root belonging to the
Lily Family is the true unicorn, while Chamaclirium Lutcum is the false. Both are to be found
listed under their botanical names as such. Valentine gives the TRUE Unicorn a dual polarity of
attraction and repulsion. That is, it repulses poison and attracts non-poison. We may therefore
not be wrong if we attribute Unicorn to Mercurial influences. (We do not have enough evidence
on hand to fully substantiate this.)

So - anyone making attempts to go hunting in a legendary forest to kill a True Unicorn so he can
get some its skin, may retrace their steps and find it right here in the United States in their own
forests.

Then is there a Unicorn existing after all? Yes, even two. A TRUE and false root by that name.

T. Henry Moray
From time to time in the world men of vision receive little or no recognition for their work,
passing on to leave behind a legacy for others to follow. Such men as Slava (a Spanish
physicist), who demonstrated radio 150 years before Marconi; Joshuis Coppersmith, who
preceded Bell; LeBon, who predicted the Atomic Bomb in 1891 and Nikola Tesla, the father of
our modern system of electricity; found themselves isolated from the rest of the world because
they would not accept the dictates of big business and the outside pressure groups.
Very often they became a legend in their own time. Such a man was Thomas Henry Moray, or as
he liked to be referred to, T. Henry Moray. Dr. Moray resented the stories often told about him
that exaggerated the truth. He felt that people needed to know the truth, whether they spoke for
or against him. On occasion he confronted people who were talking about him, telling of his
work when he was aware they knew nothing about it.

He had two favorite quotations. First from Tesla, "Throughout space there is energy - if kinetic -
and we know it is, for certain -, then it is a mere question of time when men will succeed in
attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature." Second, from an old text, The
Nature of the World and of Man,
"Enough energy is coming to the earth to light over 1.5 million (1,693,600) 100-watt lamps for
every human being on the earth today. Without the use of a prime mover, no fuel of any kind
need be taken as a dead load since this energy can be 'picked up' directly by ocean liners,
airplanes, or any form of transportation. Heat, light and power can be made available for use in
all kinds of building and for all kinds of machinery. An example would be to pump water onto
the desert lands, the power source being only a fraction of the weight of any steam plant or any
kind of engine in use today, and all this at a fraction of the current cost."

"A wild dream? No! It's a proven reality, as hundreds of people know who have witnessed the
Moray Radiant Energy invention - powered from the cosmos." So stated Thomas Henry in the
original edition of his book, The Sea of Energy in Which the Earth Floats.

Nikola Tesla insisted the energy of the universe was waiting to be tapped. Great scientists have
mathematicalIy proven its existence. Why has this great source of energy been ignored? Is the
reason political or economic?

It is well documented that he developed a bi-polar semi-conducter as early as 1927, making a

complete disclosure to Dr. Harvey Fletcher of the Bell Laboratories. Dr. Fletcher later became
head of the department at Bell Laboratories that developed the transistor. His (T. H. Moray's)
work dates from he time he was 9 years old (1901), and by 1939 he had successfully
demonstrated that his Radiant Energy Device would deliver as high as 50,000 watts of power.

Dr. Moray, was harassed, threatened, and even shot. Even though eminent scientists examined
his device during and after its operation, and admitted that they could not understand the source
of the power they had witnessed, still he was never able to gain their support for his work.

It is interesting to note that the greatest opponents of his work became the greatest competitors.
Dr. Harvey Fletcher gave an unequivocal endorsement to the Eyring Institute regarding the
Radiant Energy Device and what he had witnessed years before, where he had refused to do so
for Dr. Moray.

Over the 73 years of T. Henry Moray's research, he left behind him a wealth of notes, not only
pertaining to Radiant Energy., but a wide range of scientific research bordering all the way from
the devulcanization of rubber, the influence of mineral reactions in the presence of high energy,
bioelectronic effects (electro therapy), sound pick up, solid state physics, and finally the
detection of energy that constituted the major endeavor of his work.
He established his own research organization which has continued to do his research. Cosray
plans to bring this work to a conclusion as soon as financial assistance will allow. Today Cosray
includes research conducted in two countries following the patterns set down by T. Henry
Moray. Decentralization prevents destruction of the work by opponents. His two sons Richard R.
Moray, and John E. Moray are actively, engaged in this research organization.

The Morays wish to encourage others to enter into this area of research, not to duplicate Dr.
Moray's work. but to show independent verification, thus establishing it in the world. The family
has established a research foundation for this purpose and have republished Dr. Moray's original
book adding 6 chapters of history under the name of THE SEA OF ENERGY.

Today a number of other researchers have entered the field, however, the Morays have refused to
endorse any of their work.

Dr. Moray's corporation still exists and is known today as Cosray Research Institute, Inc., in Salt
Lake City, Utah.

Operatie Elixiris Philosophici

by Michael Sendivogius
Translated by Rafal T. Prinke - Poznan, Poland

Operatie Elixiris Philosophici, according to both ancient and contemporary Philosophers, which
were tried by me and others of my age, are described shortly and truly as follows from the MS
written in 1586 and published in 1965, in Polish with fragments in Latin.

The First Operation

The most ancient and the truest operation of the old Philosophers, but dangerous and long, was
from the amalgam of Sol and Mercury or Luna and Mercury, which we carried out according to
their teaching and with the help of Lumen nature (the Light of nature) in the following way.

We took one ounce of Aurum (gold- purged - purified) by antimony, six ounces of Argentum
which was vivified by sublimation of Mercury, and prepared the amalgam from them in the usual
way. This we pressed through leather until only three ounces of the amalgam were left, that is
one ounce of Aurum and two ounces of Argentum Vivum. Having placed it in a hermetically
closed phial we kept it on a very light fire until after over 40 days it started to pass ad nigredinem
(into the black stage), which Philosophers call Caput Corvi (Raven's Head). Then we gave more
fire until Various colours as in cauda Pavonis (Peacock's Tail) began to appear. Here we made
an error. The fire applied was stronger than it was necessary, and the matter turned red at once
and the precipitate from it was such that no operation (i.e. transmutation) could be performed,
however it was very useful for healing the human body. I understand that this operation could
have been carried to a successful end but regimen Ignis (Mastery of Fire) is very difficult and
dangerous, and requires great perseverance and a very long time.

In this way acted the old Arabs, such as Morigenes, Alphidius, Calid Balilonus, Blemidas,
Adros, Abohali (i.e. Avicenna), Tabid, Chora, Charab, and of the Greeks, Olimpidorus
Alexandrinus, Ostanes, Heliodorus and Albugazai, the teacher of young Plato and among the
more recent and fron the last century Augurellus, Bernardus Trevisanus, Magister Hospitalis and
Beatus Thomas de Aquino, if he is the author of those books usually circulatcd under his name.
In many times this operation was performed in Rome by Jacobus Boncompagnus, the duke of
Sora and Arpino, and by Wernalcon, a great man from Naples, but not one of them arrived at the
correct result due to the length of the process. as at least three years must be devoted to it.

Michael Sendivogius

The Second Operation

Then we performed it with the same amalgam but in another way, since instead of the common
Mercury (Argentum vivum communa) we took live Mercury (Argentum vivum factum obtained
from the Sun and the moon These two we conjoined together with common Mercury, adding the
ferment of gold (fermentum ex Auro) for retainment. Here again an error had been made because
of the fire which in a few months, turned all this into red powder or rather precipitate.

I do not consider this process to be worthless, either, but state that it requires a long time of as
many years (as the previous one) and is dangerous because of the fire.

The Third Operation

Others, with whom he stayed, worked on the amalgam of Sol and Mercury, to which they added
sublimated Arsenic as a medium joining the two extremes, that is Sol and Mercury. However
they also did not achieve anything because in no way could they fix that matter permanently.

The Fourth Operation

Leaving the amalgams in peace, we started working on sublimated Mercury alone, according to
the teachings of Geber the Arab, though we did not understand his doctrine well at that time. We
sublimated for several times ordinary Mercury (Mercurium vulgi) with salt and Vitriol. Then we
put this sublimate in a hermetically closed glass container (Vitro) and sublimated it, bringing
down what had gathered at the top for many times until Mercury refused to sublimate and
remained at the bottom in the form of oil. We thought it had been the oil of fixed Mercury
sublimate and conjugated it with small stones of crystal gold (Lapillis Chrystallinis Auri) and
kept it upon fire until the matter became intensely red. Then we performed projection on Luna
and tinged it considerably to the 24th degree. But we did not achieve anything, as after digesting
the precipitate (cementum) in nitric acid (aqua forti) only one part of it proved to be gold, so that
the long work was not rewarded. Both in this operation and in others a great failure occurred in
fixation.

The Fifth Operation

Thus not having achieved anything, I then performed with Sir Teodor Lacki in Rome another
operation which he had learned from a Franciscan monk. The monk had given him an ounce of
the ready medicine and taught him how to multiply it, but he had not taught him the exact
preparation of it (verum modum operandi). The operation of the monk was the following: he
ordered to take one ounce of Mercury sublimated seven times and four ounces of the Lime of
Luna (Calx Lunae), to rub it together on a stone, and then to sublimate it in a glass vial on low
fire (lentus ignis) for so many times that Mercury sublimates no more and remains on the bottom
together with the Lime of Luna. Later, when this occurs, he ordered to add another ounce of
sublimated Mercury and fixate it as before, and repeat this multiplication infinitely (in
infinitum). Sir Lacki performed all this first at Bologna, multiplying that one ounce he had
received from the monk and transmuting Venera into most perfect Luna. However, when he
wanted to teach this process to Boncompagno in Rome and when it had to be begun from the
beginning, he could not do anything because he was unable to prepare the Lime of Luna (Calx
Lunae). I take this operation to be a true one because it agrees with the true doctrines and
precepts of the Philosophers and also (because) I sold the silver made in this way, while
Boncompagno gave several thousands to Sir Lacki when lie had seen the projection of this
medicine on Venera. However, as Sir Lacki did not know the beginning, which the monk had not
revealed to him, there has been no benefit from this operation since that time.

The Sixth Operation

We also made, and that was our first operation in Venice with the Abbott Jacobo Busenelo (who
is still alive and in whose possession I had earlier seen a little of the powder of the Philosophers'
Stone), the White Elixir from the oil of Arsenic and the oil of Luna, imbibing them with the oil
of winestone (Tartarus) and then dissolving in humidity into an oil (in humido in oleum), and
finally congelating in ash bath. It tinged Venera but did not withstand the trial in fire. There we
also made small stones from the Sun of Mars and Venera (alternatively: from the Sun, Mars and
Venera) and obtained a tincture, but it was impermanent in fire.

The Seventh Operation

We prepared oils from the sun and the Moon, which served for macerating imperfect bodies.
Those from the sur were made with royal water (aqua regis), and those from the Moon with
strong water (aqua forte, i.e., nitric acid), prepared from Vitriol and saltpeter. However, after
long putrefaction they did not become real oils, because they reduced again into metallic bodies.
And we observed that strong waters do not dissolve metallic bodies but only calcinate them.

Also in Venice, we made many, at tempts with Jupiter and Saturn but with no benefits because,
as says Aristotle in the second book of Physics, "Not everything is formed from any given germ
but from a specific one." And the same Aristotle in the book "On Animals", adds: "Nothing is
formed from any germ but from one only, and only from that one."

The Eighth Operation

Afterwards, giving up those workings we drew the tincture of the Sun out of gold with spirit of
wine (per spiritum Vini), according to the teachings of Theophrastus. A heavy and whitish Body
was left on the bottom of the vessel, from which we made live Silver (Argentum vivum), and
then from that live Silver we prepared an oil and conjungated it with the Tincture extracted from
gold, as above. We kept it over Lamp Fire (ad Ignem Lampadis for nine months until it congeall
into a red transparent Stone, so that we believed we had the true Elixir in hand. However, when
we performied its projection, first on Mercury and then on Luna, it evaporated in the fire to our
great disappointment.

The Ninth Operation

Then we set to study the works Raimundus Lullus, which appeared fundamental to us and
described the operations very reasonably. First, prepared his Vegetable solvent (menstruum
Vegetabile), in the following way. We calcinated Tartar (i.e. wine stone) in reverberatory fire
until it turned white and then dissolved it in humidity into oil, and then, after filtering, we
congealled it in an Ash Bath (in Cineribus). Then again we solved, filtered and congealled it,
peating thisfor many times, until th was nothing earthly left in it and until it became as
transparent and bright as crystal. On it we poured the spirit of Wine and extracted the soul of
Tartar by repeated distillation until the Tartar on a red-hot sheet of copper did not give off any
smoke. Then we calcinated the Tartar prepared in this way on the strongest fire for three days
until it got loose like a sponge. Next we put it into a vessel with a long neck, poured animated
spirit of Wine on it and kept it in a water bath (balneum Mariae) digesting for two days. Then we
dissolved the Phlegm which separated from the earth impregnated with its soul (anima). Then we
added more spirit of Wine and acted as in the first instance until the earth absorbed the whole of
the spirit and the soul. Taking it off the bath, we put it in an ash bath and exposed to the fire of
sublimation for twenty-four hours, keeping the same grade of fire. On the sides of the vessel
sublimated the salt of Wine, as transparent as pearls, which Raimundus Lullius calls the
nonfermenting Stone. We took four ounces of this salt and twelve ounces of a most pefectly
rectified spirit of Wine and conjugated them. Then, on distilling it, we dissolved the sun in it and
putrefied it in a bath for a philosophical month. Then we separated the vegetable water and
beneath there was left a gum of gold, which was volatile and therefore it would take a long time
to fix it, so we made a medicine for curing human bodies of it. We did so especially because I
was going to Poland and could not stay there any longer.

The Tenth Operation

Then I prepared, already here in Poland, the animal solvent of Raimundus (menstruum Raimundi
Animale), with which I perfected Mercurial water made from sublimated Mercury and the white
of a hen's egg. This water dissolved also the Sun and the Moon but when I came to the end of the
work, it could not be fixed by any means. With the same solvent made from animal salt and
Mercurial water, I dissolved the Moon and passed it distillating through the Alembic. Then I
dissolved the Sun in that water with the Moon. But when it came to fixation, all the work proved
to be good for nothing. Finally, understanding that the Philosophers took a different Mercury, for
their works, not the vulgar one, I prepared Mercury from various imperfect bodies, such as Mars,
Saturn, Jupiter. I amalgamated the amalgam of Mercury and Saturn with gold, digesting it with
the oil made from common salt and fixed it. After putting it in an ash bath, the gold I had added
was left, but the amalgam of Mercury and Saturn evaporated.

Being unsatisfied with this, I calcinated imperfect bodies of Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, extracting
their souls with the spirit of Wine. Then I calcinated the damned earth (terra damnata), again
added the souls of their Earths, and sublimated from this animated earth the metallic sulphur of
nature, which I treated with oil of the sun, that is sulphur of Saturn and Mars, while that of
Jupiter - with oil of the Moon. I congealled all this together and then solved, repeating this
operation several times. However, all this work was good for nothing and I came to the
conclusion that the Philosophical elixir cannot be prepared from imperfect bodies.

The Eleventh Operation

Next I began working with minor minerals, such as Antimon, Mineral Cinnabar, fixed White
Sulphur, and finally took to Vitriol of Gold, going even to Padua, to Grumi, who had been
working on this vitriol for over twenty years. In all these things I also found nothing but
sophistications and futile excuses, as the old rule says that the one who does not have, cannot
give anything (Nemo dat quod non habet). And everything that was and is done by contempoary
Artists, who do not know - as says Theophilus - that Philosophers make many intentional errors
in their books, does not allow them to reach the end. And therefore says the Senior: "They have
not hidden anything but the preparatory working, because it is the most difficult thing. That is
why when seekers found the proper thing, they did not know how to prepare it. The matter
cannot be realised without knowing the proper way of preparation."

The Twelfth Operation

I also know of others who prepared Elixir from Vitriol and Gold in the following way. They
made oil of Vitriol as usual, and then from the dead Head (Caput mortuum) of this vitriol they
extracted salt with distilled water. This salt was then conjugated with the oil and circulated in a
water bath for a long time. Then they dissolved calcinated gold in it, purified that gold, and
finally congealled it in an ash bath. However, they could not produce any transmutation in this
instance, though it was a good medicine for human bodies.

Others made oil from Antimony and sublimated mercury. When it was well rectified, they
dissolved gold in it. Putrefied and congealled it repeatedly but did not invent anything.

Others made Mercury from Antimonite and metal from Antimony, but none of them reached the
desired end. And I saw various operations of many people, none of whom has reached the
completion of the art. About them says the sixth book of Aristotle's Tropics that they should be
blamed for too literal translation of names and for the style of their work, but not for their
reasoning.

I have made many errors myself and have seen others making them. All of us, as Hali says, have
completed the first part of the work properly but failed to understand the second one, and also
lacked the necessary confidence. Without these the first part cannot be continued. And so we
kept shooting beside the aim and have been left with unfulfilled intentions. The first part will not
be permanent if the second one is not allied to it, because that second part is the key to the whole
work. That is why Balgus says in Turba Philosophorum: "At one time I saw a person who
understood the question of the Elixir in the same way as I do. However, he did not reach his
happiness because of the harshness of his character, misunderstanding the idea of the Key,
impatience in carrying out the process, and excessive hurriednes of, the whole understanding."

Summing up my previous attempts I state that after many experiments and after reading many
books I have understood that the old Philosophers, seeing the difficulty, length and danger of
some operations, and the uncertainty of others, found a safer way which adheres closely to one
and the same law of Nature. However, they wrote so little about it that there is no book in which
there would be a sentence of ten understandable words about it. Because the old Philosophers,
having learned the origins of both generation and multiplying of metals, as well as well as where
their diseases come from (the interference of which causes that less of the Sun or the Moon
comes into being), discovered a means of removing those diseases and defects. They found in
metals a certain substance which protects them so that they are burned neither by fire nor by their
own sulphur so abundant in them. They called this substance the Fixed Philosophical Mercury. It
can be elicited from all metals in the one and only way and by one and only method, without any
separations, solutions, sublimations or fixations, because it solves itself, purges itself, coagulates
itself, sublimates itself, fixes itself, and makes itself fusable without any care or danger. This is
the greatest secret of all secrets, namely that there is no more certain or shorter way than this one
which leads through the fixed Mercury of Metals, because you cannot make any error here, nor
can you damage your work with fire. For one cannot fix that, the substance of which is already
fixed.

Let us (says Geber the Arab in the book "De Perfectione Magisterii") adore the glorious and
highest GOD who created Mercury and gave it substantiality and substantial properties. It would
probably be impossible to find any other thing in Nature which would possess the properties of
this kind and equal power. Mercury is that which is superior to fire: not only is it not conquered
by fire, but it is even friendly towards fire and rests in it with joy.

Aristotle in Tropics: "One cannot reach the truth if he has not known the falseness."

The same in the first book of Ethics: "That one is a good judge who properly estimates the things
which he knows."

Rafal T. Prinke's Comments on the Alchemical Diary of Michael Sendivogius

The text of the Twelve Operations by Michael Sendivogius was translated From the original
Polish version published in 1970 from the MS now in Lvov (USSR). It was written in 1586, i.e.
when Sendivogius was twenty years old, and forms a kind of diary or memoirs of the young
(though mature) alchemist, describing his experiences in laboratory practice up to that year. The
document is of great importance both as a list of experiments and theories current among
practitioners of alchemy at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, and especially as presenting
Sendivogius in a different light than is used to be done.

In the article on the Polish Alchemist in The Hermetic journal No. 15* I tried to explain why
most of contemporary authors treat him as an imposter who stole the tincture and manuscripts of
books from an adept, Alexander Sethon. While all the older writers considered Sendivogius to be
an authority, Michael Maier, a very influential alchemical and Rosicrucian author, included him
among the twelve greatest adepts in history. The cause of that mistreatment of Sendivogius can
be traced to A. E. Waite's Alchemists Through the Ages and further back to hostile French
publications about Sendivogius published in the 17th century. However, there are some notable
exceptions among contemporary writers on Alchemy, such as Manly Palmer Hall or Frater
Albertus, who treat him with due respect.

One of the false opinions about Sendivogius circulated by most modern books on the subject is
that he had been ignorant of the art of Alchemy before he met Alexander Sethon and acquired a
certain amount of the Stone from him. This statement is definitely false as is clearly seen from
the above text. It was written in 1586 (i.e. sixteen years before meeting with Sethon) and shows
Sendivogius to be well versed in Alchemical literature and experienced in laboratory practice.

The first operation he describes was carried out according to the teachings of no less than 17
authorities, both old and new, whom he quotes, and is the traditional process with the usual
sequence of colors, etc. Operations two and three are variants of the first one, and then
Sendivogius goes on to try out the teachings of Geber in operation four. The fifth, sixth and
seventh operations were performed according to the recipes he had learned from people he knew,
the eighth one is according to Paracelsus, the ninth and tenth according to the teachings
attributed Raymond Lull, and the eleventh operation relates his own attempts. Finally the twelfth
operation describes the attempts of Sendivogius's contemporaries, about which he knew, and
contains his conclusions. He is honest enough to state that he has not achieved the desired end
and gives the reasons why, according to him, he was unsuccessful.
The twelfth and last operation contains also the germ of the later theories of Sendivogius,
expounded in New Light of Alchemy, Treatise on Salt, Treatise on Sulphur and his complete
work 55 Philosophical Letters. The key role in those theories is played by saltpeter (KNO3),
which he calls variously "the central salt/sal centrale/", "the salt which floats on the sea of the
world," "the water which does not wet hands and without which nothing in the world can come
into being," etc. This salt, according to the Polish Alchemist, draws to itself "the aerial Mercury"
or "spiritus vitalis" from the air, which is solidified or fixed in it and can be obtained from it. His
descriptions of this vital substance show very clearly that it may be identified with oxygen and
therefore that Sendivogius was the real discoverer of that chemical element. Moreover, he also
describes the function of oxygen in the processes of burning and breathing, stating that its seat in
the human organism is in the blood. He also understood the laws of vegetable life and
encouraged the use of fertilizers, especially, saltpeter, in agriculture.

These few words are enough, I believe, to show that Sendivogius was a true seeker, while the
well documented transmutations which he performed during his life testify that he was
successful in his search.

*EDITOR: Adam McLean, Edinburgh, Scotland.

 An Old Alchemical Manuscript
"Out of the books of old philosophers, where truths lie veiled in hidden symbols and meanings,
not plainly set forth, but nevertheless greatly desired and considered of inestimable value by all
philosophers, I shall lay bare sufficient facts covering an excellent part of this philosophy known
to be most certain and exact called The Rosary. This I have drawn out of the books of the
philosophers as a rose from thorne." These words as well as the following excerpt are found in
An Old Alchemical Manuscript.

Many men are doubtful as to what manner of thing the Philosopher's Stone is because it is never
openly spoken of by any of them. Different men give different opinions. When it is plainly
manifest, it consists of only one thing that which we hold most precious. We are taught that all
other things are unnecessary and should be eschewed; and truly it is manifest by the writings of
the philosophers that the stone is one and no strange thing is to be put into it. For, there is
nothing that agrees with it but that which is of its own nature.

In nature things bring forth their own kind. Man brings forth a man, the lion a lion. Everything
engenders his own kind except the mule, which is of a strange kind, a mixture of many kinds.
Therefore they never mate with their own nor are they engendered like parents but are procreated
of many kinds. Hence, it is necessary that the elements be of one kind, not of many different
kinds, or they will not have action and passion between them inasmuch as one would not come in
contact with the other.

When things are of one kind, their root are one and the diversities are caused by the diversity of
their parts. Therefore know the pure from the impure for no thing can give that which it has not.
Uncleanness cleaves to uncleanness because they are of one kind, but cleanness overcomes
nature and does not permit impurity to enter in. This is because cleanness is of one essence and
free from alteration, but that which is unclean is of many different parts and easily corrupted.
The proof of this is in the Sun and Saturn. Saturn is utterly corrupted but the Sun not at all.
Therefore, all the planets need the Sun's light.

Knowledge of the qualities of the metals (bodies) and of the beginning of their creation makes
this art (the work of the stone) easy. Therefore do not search in nature for that which is not in
her. All things are made according to their nature, and there is more corruption in the things that
are very passive than in things which are less passive. Nature is in the Sun as the heart is in man.
Therefore use this most noble member and things will be more simple for you and it will suffice.
The heart is of the body as the brain is of the head. In the heart is the power of the soul which is
not rational. In the brain is the power of reasoning. That which has the fewest angles is the most
simple as the triangle is more nearly round than the quadrangle because it has fewer corners.
Therefore avold the mixed and use the more simple, for it is the kind of kinds and the form of
forms; it is the first and last of the planets as the Sun is of the stars.

I will now change my speech and talk of that which is homogeneous, that is, of one kind in
nature. These are the strongest, for in using things which arc similar in kind or in accord the way
is made easier. Inasmuch as that wfilch is sought is of the gender of both the lights of the world
(Sun, male, and Moon, female), it behooves us to choose that which is homogeneous to them
both. Male and female gender is appropriate unto men. Therefore, we know this work cannot be
made perfect except by this means.

Aristotle wrote to Alexander the Great, thus: "The crowns of kings are made beautiful with
precious stones, the loveliness of which bewilder the sight. The mind is made joyful, dignity is
increased, and grievous sicknesses are expelled from the body by their virtues. All medicine is
without value or worth without them, so all physicians use them in medicine." This is evidence
that the best stone of all stones is the one whose virtues expel all disease. The stone that is
decocted the most, is heated closest to the fire, and is least broken by the fire is the one that is of
the most value and lasting good. Precious stones, such as rubies and sapphires, are best for they
are engendered in a more intense heat, closer to the fire. So, likewise is it with metals. The Sun
(gold) is more worthy than the Moon (silver) because it is hotter and the Moon is greater than
Mercury or any other metal. As the ruby has in it the virtues of all other precious stones so the
Sun has in it the virtues of all metals that are flattened (malleable) under the hammer, for it
contains all metals in itself and colors and quickens them. The Sun gives his light up to Saturn
and down to the Moon because he is the most noble of all. In him are all things both great and
small as evidenced by the generation of fire in water. Next in nobility is the Moon.

The fault of the other metals (bodies) is their inequalities. In Mars (Iron) and Venus (copper)
cold is lacking. In Saturn (lead) and Jupiter (tin) there is no heat. And none of these four metals
(bodies) can be made gold (Sun) unless they first be made silver (Moon), for you cannot get from
the first to the third except by means of the second. The Sun (gold) and Moon (silver) are equally
made and truly temperate and are more important than all other metals under heaven in the work
of our most precious stone. Of all things in the world the Sun (gold) is the most worthy for it is
the ferment of the elixir without which (the stone) cannot be fully made. It makes the mind
happy, conserves youth, takes away old age and all diseases of the body. It is as yeast is to bread,
rennet is to cheese, and musk is to perfume.

The Sun encircles the upper part of the stone; the Moon the lower part. And so, everything
enfolds its own just as all vegetables, being of one root, are increased by their own kind. The Sun
has the tincture of redness which transforms all metals (bodies); the Moon is a lady of humidity
whose tincture is white. When the spirits of silver (Moon) and gold (Sun) are blended and fixed
with great wisdom, which cannot be done by a dull witted artificer, for the work is accomplished
in accordance with the art of the craftsman, it dies and seems like a dead thing. But afterwards, it
revives, It lives, it grows and is multiplied like other things. Therefore, unless the gold (Sun) be
mortified and converted into spirit it remains alone and cannot be blended; but after its death it
shall bring forth much fruit. When all that it was seems to be lost then that which it was not
begins to appear. Those who cannot distinguish the difference do not understand the laws of
nature.

All metals must be calcined and dissolved with great care for they are not perfect. What need
have you for other metals when you may use that (gold and silver) which is more temperate and
less impure. But if you need to use other metals, they must first be converted into one kind or the
other. Then, you can begin the work. It is possible to do the work with lesser metals, for there is
power and virtue in all metals; but they are not as pure or worthy and they cannot be used until
they are refined and made perfect.

Both the white tincture (Moon) and the red (Sun) spring from the same root, nothing strange or
different coming between. For, the work of the Moon (silver) is whiteness, which is formed of
the purest matter of the Sun (gold). Yet, it holds none of the color of the Sun (gold).
Nevertheless, when the Sun (gold) is lacking in Argentum Vivum, it is separate (not conjoined)
and lacks effectiveness in true generation of matter and form. Therefore, in this art we are
concerned primarily with the Sun (gold) and Moon (silver), but you must use care in their
dissolution and reduction to first matter.

The first matter of metals is a liquid or "water" called Argentum Vivum. Water is the material
principle of all metals (bodies) and all metals can be resolved into it. Ice is dissolved into water
by heat, so all metals may be re solved into Argentum Vivum, or first matter. Therefore, blessed
be the glorious God on high and sublime nature which have given us the intelligence to reduce
things to their first nature.

There are six metals that must be prepared and reduced to their first matter of earth and spirit.
The craftsman can, by art, accomplish in a few days above ground that which it would take
nature 1000 years to accomplish. Therefore if we derive no other benefit from Argenturn Vivum
than this - that it reduces metals to their first nature-it is sufficient, for it is friendly and agreeable
to metals and the means of joining tinctures. It takes unto itself all that is of its own nature and
refuses all that is contrary and unfriendly, for all its parts are homogeneous. Argentum Vivum
overcomes fire and cannot be overcome by it. The strength and power of this commixture
separates the subtle from the gross and that which is made thick cannot again be rarified or made
thin even by intense heat. Therefore those metals that contain the most of it (Argentum Vivum)
are the most perfect, and contrariwise. The final end of this work. is multiplication of Mercury
and fixation. Therefore in this art learn all you can about the blending of spirits and, if you can
make it perfect by itself alone, your study will be rewarded, for the precious mixture will
overcome all things in nature.

In all kinds of medicine, as well as in our precious stone, Argentum Vivum is found, because
there is no change from one extreme to the other but by the mean. In metals the extreme on one
side is Argentum Vivum and on the other side the complete elixir. The mean of these is the six
metals which abide under the hammer. Some of these are more pure than others and more nearly
perfect, as you know. Take care for there is no true tincture except brass. Sun (gold) is brass, but
all brass is not Sun (gold). (Arguing about gender and species is of no consequence.) Likewise,
Sun (gold) is red earth, but all earth is not Sun (gold), for there are no sulphurous impurities in
the Sun (gold). The first change is the appearance of the white tincture, which is the congealing
of Mercury into Moon (silver), and after more digestion by fire the tincture will be red, which is
the transformation of silver into gold.

Do not search for any other stone, foolishly spending money and suffering continual
disappointment, for what you sow you shall reap. Accept the best, be grateful to nature, and pay
no heed to the various names that are given to the changes in color. When it is crude, it is called
Argentum Vivum, permanent water, lead, spittal of man, brass and tin. When it is decocted, it is
called silver, magnesia, and white Sun (gold). When it is red, it is called coral, gold, and ferment.
These and other names are used to describe the excellent nature of these things. But regardless of
the diversity of names, all are one, for nature is not changed or improved except in her own way
and will not tolerate anything alien or incongruous. Keep this constantly in mind in this work and
do not make various attempts with different things.

Our art is not perfected by a multitude of things. Our stone is one, our medicine one, our vessel
one, our reagent one, and there is one nature. We do not add anything alien nor take anything
away. We merely remove that which tis superfluous', for neither in part nor in whole does
anything enter into it which is not brought forth from it. If anything alien enters into it, it is at
once corrupted and we xvill not find what we seek. Therefore, it is one-permanent, clean, bright,
and gleaming, having a heavenly color. If there is anything in "our water" which changes (or
alters) it, that which is sought will not be found.

We honor the Sun (gold) because "our water" is not attained without it and its shadow (Moon-
silver), and with them no teeming venom is engendered. Whoever thinks he can make the
tincture without these two proceeds blindly. Note: A body does not work in a body nor a spirit in
a spirit, for form does not control form nor matter govern matter. Neither do those of one kind
have any control over those of the same kind, because there is no action or passion and also
because neither of them is more worthy than the other. Those things, which are alike do not have
dominion over cach other. So, neither can get the upper hand; but the body takes the impression
(imprint - expression) of the spirit and matter of form, for they are appropriately or fittingly
created together to do and to suffer. The spirit penetrates the body and brings forth a tincture. But
because of its grossness, the thick earthiness cannot produce a tincture unless it is penetrated by
the very thin air (spirit). The Sun (gold) colors only himself until his spirit leaves his body and
becomes sublime (spiritual).

Our "divine water" is like fire burning in the Sun, mortifying the metal and breaking it into parts
better than the fire of the furnace. The more themetal is ground and mixed with the "divine
water", which is living fire, the more disintegrated and thin it becomes. When it is broken up and
made one, it has within itself all tincture - it both has it and gives it. Therefore, I say the Sun
(gold) and his shadow (the Moon - silver) colors and makes our stone perfect. But if the stone
were not of one substance, it would not have action and passion within itself when one (the spirit
of Sun and Moon) touches the other, for stone and wood have no affinity because they are of
different matter. So it is of all things which differ in nature.

It is necessary that the agent (active element) and the recipient be of one kind or species. In
gender they must differ, as man and woman differ in their functions. Matter withstands art, but
form assimilates matter, for matter naturally desires form as a man desires a woman or evil,
good. So the spirit gladly, embraces the body, so that it may attain perfection. Therefore know
the best basic minerals and work with them, for we can only know them by their root or origin.

The Stone of the Philosophers is called an "airy thing" (sublime), for it has in itself and of itself
all things necessary for its perfection. It is found everywhere because all elements participate in
it. The stone is called by many, names to control its nature and worth. It is most vile because of
its corruption; most dear because of its virtues. The sequence of its colors are black, white, and
citrine. Pay no heed to its many names for whatever it is called it is the same stone. Plillosophers
care nothing for names, but only for the meaning of names which enable others to understand.
They give the stone different names according to their concept of its many colors and properties.
The stone is not subject to its names, but the names are limited (subjected) to the stone. Names
only crudely divide one thing from another.

It is necessary that our medicine be white before it is red, for it cannot be red before it is white.
There is no way to change from black to red except by white. Citrine is mostly white with some
black. Therefore the red medicine and the white are not different in essence, but the red medicine
is more subtle because it has been decocted longer and with hotter fire. The end of the work of
the white tincture is the beginning of the work of the red. That which is completed in one is
begun in the other. The work of the gold needs the red ferment. The work of the silver needs the
white ferment.

The work undertaken by Alice Miller and those who helped her in translating this manuscript
from Old English has made it possible for us to share with you at this time some of this material,
throughout which is to be found valuable facts pertaining to the work. Such facts, presented in
the manner they are given in this manuscript, are as a glorious herald of truth-which not only
plainly announce the way but point clearly the way. May there come from this further
realizations which enable us to proceed with our work with more understanding.

ALCHEMICAL DICTIONARY
(As found in "A Lexicon of Alchemy" by Martinus Rulandus)

ABOIT, or ABIT-is White Lead. The same thing is signified by Alkarad, Almachabar, and
Alsiden.
ABLUTION is exaltation by means of successive lustrations, washing away the impure refuse,
and reducing the matter to a pure state. It is also called Imbibition and Cohobation, or digestion.
ABLUVIEN-Cleansing.
ABNELEITEM is Alum; also called Asfor.
ABRIC, KIBRIT, and KIBUZ-are names of Sulphur.
ABESSI is the same as Rebis, to wit, the last matter of the nutriments, which are absorbed by the
body; that is to say, it is the excrement of the bowels.
ACAO is Soot; called also ARAXOS
ACAHI is Alum-water; called also Fefcol.
ACALAI is Salt; called also Alet.
ACARTUM is Cinnabar or Red Lead; called also Azemasor.
ACAID is Vinegar, or sour substances.
ACAMECH, or ACEMECH-is the scoria or refuse of Silver.
ACACIA FERREA-An iron spoon.
ASCAZDIR is Jupiter, or Tin; called also Alkain and Alomba.
ACCATUM is Tinsel; called also Aurichalcum, properly Orichalcum, which is the brass of the
ancients. Accatem signifies the same.
ACHATES, the Agate, first found in Sicily, near the river of that name, and afterwards in other
localities, as testifies Pliny, 1. 37 c. 10. There are various species, each bearing separate names:
Jaspachates, Cerachates, Sardachates, Haemachates, Leucachates, Dendrachates, the veins of
which are like unto minute trees; Autachates, which, when burnt, gives forth fragrance of myrrh;
Coralloachates, distinguished by a golden speckling, after the manner of the sapphire; this
variety is found in Crete. Agates are a safeguard against 'the bite of the spider, and eagles carry
them to their nests to defend their fledglings against venomous animals. They allay thirst and
strengthen sight. Concerning 'the rest, consult Pliny in the place cited, who also relates that
various impressions of figures appear in agates; in some, for example, may be seen rivers,
woods, cattle, beasts of burden, herds, war-chariots, minute statues, and the furniture or
ornaments of horses. In particular, he relates (1. 37, c.1) how Pyrrhus had an agate gem in which
could be seen Apollo and the nine Muses, with their insignias. I myself beheld a gem belonging
to a nobleman, which, however, was not a true agate, but when the blemishes had been
dispersed, it exhibited a rustic and a complete plough. I found also another at Albion Silicem,
near the gate of Tangra, wherein appeared the likeness of a wolf or a lion, near a half-rose, so
clearIv cut bs. nature as though the work had been done by a jeweler. Most credible truly are
those things of Pliny when writing of the impressions upon this kind of stone.
ACIES-Steel.
ACETABULUS-A vessel for vinegar, or a cup-shaped vessel, holding as much as would an
eggshell.
ACETUM-Vinegar.
ACETUM AMINEUM - White vinegar. Aceturn also signifies sour wine, and in this sense
Acetum Amineum would be sour white wine, wine of Aminaca, which was distinguished for
wine culture.
ACETUM PHILOSOPHORUM is Philosophical Vinegar, that is, Virgin's Milk, or Mercurial
Water, in which metals are dissolved. One of its Hermetic names was Sophic Hydor. According
to Theophrastus, the Philosophical Vinegar is the Chemist's Vitriol water, but the Turba states
that it is the water of mercury which dissolves gold. Others affirm that Philosophical Vinegar is
that which is made from fresh shells of tortoises by sublimation and distillation.
ACETUM RADICALE is Radical Vinegar, or Vinegar distilled from its proper radix or matrix.
It is also called dissolvent water.
ACETUM RADICATUM or Radicated Vinegar signifies in some authors that most sharp liquor
of vinegar which remains at the bottom of the retort, after the phlegmatic part has been
evaporated. It is made by distillation in the retort out of the dregs of vinegar. Or good vinegar,
made from wine, may be placed in a retort, distilled gently by a moist heat, often poured back
upon its caput mortuum, and dissolved in dung, after which it must be finally distilled, when that
which is left may be taken and liquefied in a strong fire. The result is radicated vinegar.
ACCORDINA is Indian tutty: called also Alcordine.
ACORTINUS-A lupine, wolfs-bean, or horse-bean.
ACSUO is Red Coral.
ACUS-A needle.
ACUREB-Glass.
ACUSTA-Saltpetre.
ADAMAS, in Arabic Subedhig, in Latin Adamas (Pliny, 1. 37, c. 4), the diamond, which is
found both apart from gold and in gold, contrary to the opinion of the ancients, who knew it only
as native in gold among the metals of Aethiopia. But for the better understanding of this subject,
observe the ensuing scheme, which we have elaborated out of Pliny in part, and in part from
other authorities.
Not found in gold. and of these there are two species
The Indian diamond, not having its birth in gold, is known by its translucid crystal colour and
sexangular sides; it is either cone-shaped at one end or else it has the form of a lozenge; it is
sometimes as large as a hazel. This species is said by Serapion to approximate to the colour of
Sal Ammoniac.
The Arabian diamond, likewise not found in gold, is smaller than the preceding.

Native is the most Perfect Gold.

I. The Greek stone called Cenchron, because it is the size of a millet seed.
II. Macedonian; generated in gold of Philippi; like the seed of cucumber size.
III. Cyprian; found in Cyprus; approaching brass in colour; most efficacious in healing.
IV. Having the splendour of iron sideritis (that is, according to Pliny, a precious stone; according
to others it is loadstone; and again it is the plant (iron wort); surpassing the others in weight, but
differing from them in nature; can be broken by blows, and pierced by another diamond.
The two last are degenerate, and scarcely deserve their name.
The best diamonds are impervious to blows on an anvil, which repel, so that even the anvil bursts
asunder, while they themselves leap away invulnerable. And inasmuch as the diamond is
indescribably hard, it contemns and conquers fire, nor has ever been consumed thereby. Whence,
from its indomitable life and strength, it has the name dopaiw among the Greeks.
That herb which is mentioned by Pliny, (1.24, c. 17), which cannot be torn up, was also called
adamant. The stone, however, can be shattered by the flesh, or rather by the warm blood of a
young goat; more especially when the goat has first drunk wine or eaten rock parsley and
mountain skirwort. For the above reasons, diamonds are much in request among lapidaries for
cutting and shaping gems and other substances, for which purpose they ought to be mounted only
in iron. Other metals they will by no means tolerate, while by lead, wonderful to say, they are
themselves dissolved. Furthermore, the diamond is so hostile to the loadstone that it will not
permit iron to be attracted in its neighorood, and if a magnet at close quarters should have
attracted a peice of iron. the approach of a diamond will cause it to lose its hold.
In short, the diamond binds the magnet and strips it of its virtues. Oh, how wonderful is God in
all His works! For the rest, the diamond irritates venomous animals, drives away frenzies,
lemures, incubi, and succubi; it makes men strong and lively, and it for this rea son called
anachitis (that is, anancitis from the Greek-dv-ayxw, to free from distress). It prevails against
contentions and quarrels, and cures viscous fluxes. Consult Serapion and Evax. Some will have
that the diamond is cold and dry in the fourth degree, others, on the contrary, that it is hot and
dry, inasmuch as it is mixed with warming medicines. Did the matter receive investigation,
doubtless diamonds would be found in our mines, as they have been found in times past: witness
Pliny on the authority of Metrodorus Scepsius. In Bohemia stones of excellent quality are still
seen, which surpass Oriental diamonds in shape and lustre. Consult Salinus, De Adamante, c. 55.
The ancient astrologers referred the diamond to the Moon.
ADAMAS ACUMINATUS- A four-sided diamond point.
ADAMAS QUADRATUS PLANUS-A flat square diamond.
ADAMATUM-A kind of bright stone.
ADAMITA-A species of tartar; a kind of wine-stone or kidney-stone. (Wine-stone, Germ. -
Tartar.)
ADARNECH is Orpiment.
ADARCES, ARTIS-According to some this is a marine flesh, a spongy growth, a froth or
efflorescence, a congealed saliva having birth in sea-shallows, especially of Cappadocia and
Galatia. The Indian species is found among reeds and cane-brakes on the shore. It has similar
qualities to the substance called Halcyon. It termed formerly Pericalamite and Calamoch. Some
physicians make use of these ridiculous substances while they despise more noble things. They
have even gone so far as to obscure names for it, which would be a puzzle to Oedipus himself.
Some having written as follows: Take the fat of the deformed child and the tears of the vine of
Dionysius. Who shall understand this save Oedipus? Who shall quickly interpret the deformed
child to be the she-bear, and the gum of the vine of Dionysius to be the gum of the ivy? The
Adarces here referred to must be distinguished from the true Adarces or Oysters. It is a sort of
thick, salt scum which collects about reeds in marshy places. Its proper name is Adarca, but this
Rulandus confuses with the oyster, and says that its power in diseases is declared by Dioscorides
(1. 5, c. 84) and by Pliny (1. 32, c. 6), who represents it as coming into existence around tender
reeds amidst the spume of fresh water and sea water, and accredits it with caustic virtues.
ADARRIS is the spume or foam of sea water.
ADDERE-To augment; but also used as an equivalent of temperare, to combine in due
proportion, to keep within bounds.
ADDITAMENTA-Addition, increase.
ADEC-Sour milk.
ADER-Fresh skimmed milk.
ADECH is our interior and invisible man, who raises up in our minds the images or archetypes
of all those things which our visible and exterior man copies and forms with his hands. Each
works after his own nature, the invisible things unseen, the sensible, under form sensible, those
things which are within the dominion of the senses.
ADHEMEST, With its equivalents Aiohence and Altohonec, signifies a plate.
ADEPS-A fluid in its final distillation.
ADHEHE-Another term for sour milk.
ADHO or ADHOC-Milk.
ADIDACHOS, ADIDE ALARCOS, ADIDA LARCHOS-Various terms for "mixed with lime,"
slaked.
ADIRIGE-Ammoniac.
ADIDIST or ADEBEZI-The tortoise, also tortoiseshell.
ADIBAT-Mercury.
ADOS-Water in which red hot iron has been plunged.
ADOLESCENS-Young man.
ADORAT-A weight of four pounds.
ADMISURAB-Earth.
ADRAM - Metallic salt, Cappadocian salt.
ADRAREGES is green atrament; also blue sulphate of copper.
ADRARAGI-Garden Saffron.
ADROP, AZAR, AZANE-A kind of stone.
ADSAMAR-Signifies urine, but also lotion, fountain, etc.
ADVERSA VENAE PARS-Against the grain, literally, against the direction of a current; hence,
opposition in general.
AER-Equals breath, breeze, spirit, wind, weather. AES or Copper is attributed to Venus by
chemists. (N.B.-AES signified any Ore; i.e., any metal as it is dug from the earth, but especially
refined copper.) It is a metallic body of a bluish colour with a dark ruddy tinge; it is igneous and
fusible, and occupies a middle position between Sol and Luna, gold and silver. It is composed of
quicksilver, but impure, unfixed, terrestial, combustible, ruddy, and not clear; and, in like
manner, of sulphur wanting in fixity, purity, and density. Bad and feeble sulphur, like a father of
ill complexion and disposition, copulates with a noble mother, that is, with quicksilver, and
generates copper of good quality, a son of bluish colour, tinged with dark red.
This copper is obtained from veins in the mines, where there is abundance of pyrites, or
marcasite, which beget the various species of vitriol, copperstone, copperas, inkstone, tutty, etc.
Out of copper ore when it is melted there are obtained the several varieties of artificial Cadmia,
Pompholyx, and Spodos (Pliny, 1. 34, c. 10-13). In the operation of the furnace, burnt copper is
obtained, and scales of copper indifferently by cooling the heated metal and by hammering.
Finally, verdigris is deposited on the surface of the excocted metal.
There are, broadly, two species of copper,-first, that which is found pure in copper and silver
mines, and is in need of no purifying. Intertwined veins are sometimes met with, and again
whole plates of thin metal which encompass the stone. Of this Albertus was ignorant. The second
species is that which is melted out of pyrites or marcasite, and other substances; such as, slate,
stone, as well as out of various earths and clays; also out of Chrysocolla and Azurite, like gold.
Aes, however, does not always denote copper, but sometimes gold or silver, as they exist in
nature, without any mixture of other metal or stone-a pure, unmixed metal, out of which money
was stamped sometimes, in the same way as from alloys artificially prepared. This substance was
first found in Galilee, but in a small quantity. In our own day it is likewise seen, but rarely, and is
only to be obtained by a miracle. (The German version says: Properly it is called copper, some
call it simply gold or silver ore which has not yet been melted, but has been prepared by nature,
and out of which coins have been occasionally struck.)
(The copper nuggets referred to by Pliny are identified with burnt copper by Rulandus, who also
enumerates, Loaf-shaped copper masses, completely baked; Aes Caldarium, a copper warming
vessel; Aes abstractum, copper extracted from the ore; Aes residuum, refined copper; Aes
liquefactum, copper melted in an iron pipe. There is no context to explain the object of these
enumerations.)
AES HERMETIS is the same as Mercury. It is also Solar Dust, the Head of the Raven, our
copper, citrine earth, the thing containing and the thing contained, our lead. Mirerius calls it Gold
extracted out of Metals; it is also termed Venus; Vitriol; Orpiment; Arsenic; Money; the Soul;
the Green Lion; Green Water, because it germinates; Permanent Water; Wine; Blood. But it is
truly properly an imperfect body, not yet prepared, and in its original state.
AES USTUM, or CREMATUM - Burnt copper according to Dioscorides (1. 5, c.42) is obtained
by arranging alternate layers of copper bars with salt and sulphur, or alum, in an earthen vessel.
The same author enumerates other methods, and burnt copper is made in our own day, out of
copper, sulphur, and salt. Dioscorides praises the aes ustum of Memphis and Cyprus. It is
astringent, desiccating, restrictive; it reduces, draws out, and cleanses and it heals ulcers. It is
serviceable in complaints of the eye: it is a good emetic, when mixed with honey. It is cleansed
like Cadmia, and is regarded as hot and dry. in the fourth degree. The sum or excrement of
copper, prepared after the same manner, has the same virtues in a weaker degree. Consult
Dioscorides as above.
The other species of Copper Ore and Copper are as follows:
1. Pure native copper.
2. Native red copper unalloyed as with other metals, found, clean and solid, in its own mines, in
the Duchy of Mansfield.
3. Mined copper, found in its own veins.
4. Pure copper mined from argentiferous veins in Scheberg.
5. Red Mansfield copper, which contains silver.
6. Red native copper of Suacensis in the Rhetian Alps, which contains gold within it.
7. Copper of a chestnut brown colour, which adheres like a thin plate to the hard stone. Solid
copper.
8. Of the ordinary colour, in a violent fluor-spar.
9. Of the ordinary colour, intermixed with stony substance.
10. Of its own colour, cleaving to hard stone, which has the glow of hot ashes.
11. Of its own colour, cleaving to a scissile stone. The German context speaks of a red copper
mixed with sulphur on a slate bed; ruddy, solid copper.
12. Thin shavings of copper, in a white flint.
13. Veinlets or fibres of copper in a bright, ruddy stone; a preparation of a copper ore in a hard
stone.
14. A rich vein of copper; a speedy process for pure copper.
15. Rough native, impure copper.
16. Pure solid copper of Moravia.
17. Natural yellow copper, goldcoloured copper, cleaving to brittle Mansfield stone.
18. Blue copper, cleaving to brittle stone,
19. Copper, entirely blue.
20. Brownish or violet copper, cleaving to brittle stone.
21. White copper, similar to rude white silver, in a brittle stone; a rich white copper ore.
22. Black copper ore.
23. Copper ore so abundantly mixed with brittle stone that 100 lbs; contains 40 lbs, of copper.
24. A natural solid copper of several colours, distinguished into cones of gold, purple, saffron,
flaxen, green, and blue.
25. Friberg copper, allied to black lead, of so many excellent colours that they shine as if they
were transparent.
26. Copper native in white lead, having the brightness of polished gold. The German version
reads, born in black lead, as crystallized tin-ore.

Pointers for Manufacture of Sulphur Crystals

by Wriednig Ludwig

There are two kinds of sulphuric acids. One sulphuric acid is dark, the other light. The sulphuric
acid manufactured in England is light and is to be preferred to the dark. The influence of the
sun's rays causes the sublimation of the sulphuric acid in the pot. This sublimation of the
sulphuric acid penetrates from within to the outside of the fired pot, and it becomes visible on the
outside as a pure sulphur salt (or: sulphate) in crystallized form.

When all of the sulphuric acid has been sublimated, the sulphate crystals are carefully removed
from the outside of the pot. In so doing, it is especially important that no sample ever be taken.
Hands must be protected by always working with gloves.

This salt is extremely sensitive to light, air, and humidity. It is now triturated finely. While
pulverizing it, a quarter of flowers of sulphur, as free of arsenic as possible, is added. This
sulphur salt (or: sulphate) is to be kept airtight and dry in a dark vessel.

This sulphur salt (or: sulphate) is a universal cureall (or: panacea) which acts especially upon the
bone structure in human beings.

It is dispensed in the order of magnitude (?) of a grain of a lentil, and it can only be taken once in
ten years.

Before the sulphur salt (sulphate) is administered, a diet must be followed whereby everything
acid, such as beer and also coffee, must be avoided. After taking the sulphur salt (or: sulphate)
orally, the diet must be followed for at least another 14 days (or: two weeks). If this diet were not
adhered to, the quantity (one lentil) would be increased many times, so that the sulphur salt (or:
sulphate) would combine with kindred salts present in the body, and thus there would be danger
to the life of the person concerned.

Since the administration in the order of magnitude of a grain of a lentil seems to me somewhat
high, I would advise to arrange the dispensation in the sense of Homeopathy. If the persons take
the same, the therapeutic effect is by far not the same.

Should someone try to manufacture this sulphur salt (or: sulphate) freed of arsenic, it is urgently
recommended that he submit his manufactured sulphur salt (or: sulphate) to examination (or: a
test) before administering it.

This process requires a time period of one year.

The vessel had at all times been exposed to the sun.

At night and also in the winter, the vessel had been placed in a humid cellar (in the window of a
first floor English ground floor cellar.) (Note: Maybe the author means a basement room).

After this preliminary preparation of the sulphuric acid in the sense of Jacob Lorger, the sulphur
crystals can now be further enriched with solar energy in order to obtain a sun remedy.

The use of sulphur crystals in biology is immeasurable (or: cannot be foreseen).

May 26, 1976

 Medicine and Esotericism
by Dr. Werner Nawrocki

The number of physicians who turn with great interest to traditional medical treatments is
growing steadily. In many places mostly young doctors, dentists - even surgeons - are forming
groups for regular developmental meetings, so as to familiarize themselves with the
"unscientific" methods. Such a circle - comprising exactly 500 members of the medical
professions of all of Upper Bavaria - meets about every four weeks in Schwabing. Mostly so-
called "outsiders" are the speakers. Thus a short while ago, the Frankfurt physician and
esotericist Dr. Werner Nawrocki spoke on the subject of "Medicine and Esotericism." Here now,
compiled by Theo Ott, follow a few excerpts from his spontaneous address:

The only thing that really cures is recognizing the meaning behind everything -
meaningfulness.

Concerning myself: I am relatively, young, and therefore many may think: Oh well! What can he
have to say! I have studied medicine and psychology, and have also received the additional title
of "Doctor of Naturopathy and Homeopathy." I have lectured at world congresses in Geneva,
Vienna and Florence - last year for the first time in connection with the topic "Esotericism and
Medicine". Perhaps I can also tell you - so that you do not take me for a crackpot - that I am
trained esoterically. On the other hand, I am a lecturer on general medicine at the University of
Frankfurt.

And now I would ask you to leave, so to speak, your entire education I mean especially the
academic one in the checkroom, so that together we can begin at a total zero mark.

Let us start with the concept of esotericism. Why is it called esotericism?

Formerly, we only spoke of the occult or secret sciences. But these words are already very
difficult per se and always arouse unpleasant associations, especially with academicians - of
course. "Secret Science" and "Occult"! For heaven's sake, are you doing table tilting or
something like it?

No, it has nothing to do with that whatsoever. The word is Greek: Esoteros, the inner. It is
actually due to the fact that since man has been on earth there has always existed a so-called
inner circle. Today and at any time certain individuals are recruited from this esoteric inner
circle, who then appear publicly and serve to communicate these ancient secret sciences, these
old occult teachings, to those who are ready to hear them. In esotericism a very important point
is: "do not indulge in missionary activities," "do not proselytize!" We should only speak to those
who ask about it. And then only as much as they can assimilate at the time.

To think esoterically means to think substantially, to think according to the deeper meaning of
things and events. First: Who am I? Who among you really knows who he is? Yes, you may say:
I am John Smith, was born in such and such a town, etc., but that is a far cry from knowing who
You really are. This is one of the most important and central questions of the whole of
esotericism, ie., the whole of the "secret sciences."

The second question is: From where do I come? Here one can of course again say: I am the son
of such and such parents, grandparents - and thus we somehow land at Adam and Eve. Is that
satisfactory? I do not think so.

The third question is: What is that surrounding me? This also means the men and women whom I
meet in the course of my life as well as the whole material plane, that is, the Earth, the houses,
towns, and the relation in which I stand to them. Why have I married just this woman? - Yes, you
say, it happened one day when I was, on vacation. Suddenly I met this girl and it is she whom I
married later. Are these meaningful explanations to the three really important questions:

Who am I? From where do I come? What is that surrounding me and in what relation do I stand
to it?

To these questions we 1 believe 1 can speak for all of you have received no answer at the
university. Certainly not.

Esotericism means the everyday, it means life, living - it actually means that we get certain clues
which enable us to experience the everyday better because we understand what is happening,
because slowly we comprehend ever better who we are, why we are connected with these
persons or this town. And as our understanding increases it may take a long time, even decades,
faster with some, more slowly with others - our everyday becomes better!

In regard to these three questions Who am l? From where do I come? What is surrounding me, in
what relation do I stand to it? - we have precisely excluded functional thinking. Now we begin to
think substantially, to think in regard to substance or content.

Why is just this happening to me at this moment?

You should perhaps ask yourself this question a bit more often from today. If you ask it at first
only for fun, even if you do not understand everything or are still rejecting almost everything,
you will develop a wonderful relation to that which all of us reject more or less because we have
been educated in such an odd way: that is, "religio." Only not "religio" in the sense of the Church
institutions but in that of "religio" proper, which means, "linking back" or "reconnecting."

Because if you ask yourself: Why is this happening to me now? You are trying to connect back
with the origin, whatever it may be. And then you are in the middle of esotericism. Thai which
the priest should actually be, namely, the "Pontifex Maximus" - the bridgebuilder - this he has
unfortunately not been. It means that at least on the whole priests have built very few bridges for
me in regard to my special question: Who am I actually, why am I on this earth? The
fundamental difference between scientific and esoteric thinking, or between functional and
substantial thinking, is that we should always put the question after an event: Why is this
happening to me at present?

Let me say a few words about chance, this subject always being a beautiful starting place for
academicians. In so doing, we shall quickly see that our entire previous thinking would have to
be remodeled. if we examined chance just a little.

As they are reaching the boundaries of our measurable areas, physicists increasingly arrive at the
question: There must really be something behind it but what is it? This means, they arc inquiring
substantially after the meaning. At least they have now got to the point where they admit: We
cannot explain it, but we notice that this cosmos, in which we have developed for millions of
years into Homo sapiens, is founded on specific constants, and if these would change by even
one iota, everything would disappear.
Accordingly, nature operates by law. Could it be that the crown of creation, Homo sapiens, is an
accidental factor, a chance happening? By chance, Jenny Jones? Has met her husband by
chance? The contrary is true: Nothing is by chance, i.e., everything has meaning, everything is
according to law. If we exclude chance, life becomes very unpleasant for each of us. It would
have immense consequences, that is, you would have to consider everything as meaningful.

The only reason why we are so ready to postulate chance actually is that we are unable to
recognize the law governing it. However, it is possible to do so. That all of us more or less
cannot do it is not due to the fact that there is no law in operation but that we are too stupid to
recognize it.

Such is also the case for esotericism, also for chance, also for the laws in operation. And this is
so, absolutely and certainly so. It is at this certainty that we have to arrive. The way is a very
difficult and hard one, and that is why nobody likes it.

If, therefore, there exists no chance, everything happening around us has meaning. That you
knock your head, that you fall down the stairs, that you are fleeced by the Internal Revenue
Service. . . . It all has its deeper meaning.

There is but a small problem: the time factor. Look, when you are 50 years old some day, then
you can say: Really, it was not so stupid that my father brought me up so severely. He never
gave me a penny, I had to work for everything myself. At that time I was mad, but when I look
back - back at this today - I am grateful to him.

When I reach 50, I can recognize and explain many a thing as reasonable - and good which
seemed to me nonsensical at the time.

A further important point is that we should recognize reality as it is and not as we wish it to be.
That is why the esoteric training is quite a hard one. If, in fact, I learn to see the world as it is and
not as I would like it to be, I hurt myself at first every tenth of a second But if I have overcome
myself and have placed myself willingly under the law - it is what Schiller also writes, e.g.:
"Wenn Pflicht und Neigung ubereinstimmen, bist Du frei!" (If duty and inclination coincide, you
are free!) - then it is so beautiful that it can hardly be described.

Therefore, this means: no matter what you touch, for instance, a wall in reality it is not static, it
vibrates, the wall. When 1 speak, there are also vibrations. All is vibration.

It is a hard way, the way of sensitizing the body to such an extent that other vibrations can be
perceived. In the United States, in the medical science, in particular in Los Angeles, is a group of
openminded scientists who say: No matter who you are, if you are able to heal with your hands,
come to us and do it! They are so openminded that they examine everything. But they also fall
into the error of believing that everything that is reality can be measured. There exists a fine
saying of a scientist which runs: "The opinion Of present-day science is but the sum of the errors
of living research." Precisely! In former years people were burnt because they asserted that the
Earth was moving. Such is also the case for the outsiders of medicine.
Whoever has done a little bodysurfing knows: It is improbably beautiful to reach the crest of a
big wave exactly. Meaning if we become one with the rhythm, it becomes quite easy, but by
going against it, problems arise. And so even official medicine has recognized it. Since a few
years we have biorhythm research, chronobiology. They have even already discovered that
cortisone must be taken at a specific time!

In science there are a few men who chew something that must eternally be chewed again.
However, a turning of the tide seems to come in slowly. It is really worthwhile bothering about
these other things, this other pole.

Thus we have arrived at polarity, at the law of polarity. The ancient ones wrote: All is polar.
There is nothing in the world of phenomena that is not polarized. This is quite an important
point, also in esoteric thinking.

Esoteric thinking is always binding. It means that when something is said, it is valid on all levels
of thought, and there exists no plane where this basic law does not apply. Just this factor is the
reason why all of us do not really like this esotericism.

It is unthinkable that you become engaged or educated esoterically and yet remain the same man
or woman who you are today. At one point it will become quite binding. You can no longer
continually cheat, not even the IRS. Nor can you kill every fly.

And if you remember what beautiful negative thoughts you have had today and yesterday against
your colleagues, against your wife, against some man in the street - you could probably fill many
volumes if you recorded them day after day.

In the cosmos there exists a basic law: It is never aggression but the principle of love that wins. I
ask all my patients to tell me the most beautiful experience of their life - most of them cannot
think of any. Some women just some remember giving birth. And then I ask about the worst
experiences. Then it starts! It shows that it is incredibly difficult to recognize a beautiful
experience. That is so sad. If one day one gets to know the other face of reality, every day turns
into a beautiful one.

The basic law of polarity is the flow - or the breath. It means that there is nothing that is not
polar: Health-sickness; war-peace ... Already the next polarity turns up: life and death. Why then
is death so bad? "Yes then one can no longer get drunk, no longer smoke .." But then you can do
quite different things. Only we don't know anything about it, and that is why we repress death.

Leaving polarity aside, we will now turn to the concept of disease, as that is important for us
physicians. When a deep freezer breaks down, there is normally a red warning lamp. The
technician will not simply unscrew the little lamp and then say: "Look, now it works again!" We
would answer: "You are crazy, my dear!" But in medicine we are doing exactly the same, and
this we have done for decades.

When I have someone before me who says: "Doctor, my knees are hurting," I ask: "What are you
lacking?" He then replies: "My knees are hurting." - "That was not my question; I asked: 'What
are you lacking?'" - Formerly, with the ancients in Greece and Egypt - it can all be read in books,
the physicians who, by the way, were priests (only not in the present-day sense), asked: "What
insight are you lacking?" And the sick person replied: "Yes, that is just my problem, I do not
know it! I must have misunderstood something or done something wrong, because my knees are
hurting." That it is precisely the salient point. Because we do not learn this at the university
because we are too stupid to see it: which man has what. It can be learned relatively fast. Only, it
is a hard way, but it works. We do know a little something from the iris diagnosis. If we become
a bit more sensitive to these things, we can immediately recognize everything.

What we do in medicine is so crazy. We always only doctor the least little sore spot. Fate, the
best psychotherapist by the way, knocks at your door because there are a few things you have
done wrong: Now I will show you by means of high blood pressure! And if you do not
understand that, you will get a heart attack. Then you will be taken to the intensive care unit, and
there you will surely reflect a little on what you have done wrong. And we physicians, we good
doctors, including the naturopaths, we are so fantastic: We very quickly help the patient NOT to
get his insight. We help him away from the insight. In so doing - this is the fault of the therapists
- we catapult him upon a much harder level of fate. That was already known to our grandmas and
grandpas. They said: "Treat the whole man!" But please: "The whole man" does not simply,
mean diet. Today everything has to be diet. To eat the largest possible amount of grains! You can
eat grains for twenty years if you have no insight. No diet exists that can cure me. Healing is
always somewhat connected with becoming whole.

When I arrive at the point where this fundamental question suddenly becomes clear to me: Who
am I? From where do I come? What is around me? - therefore, when I recognize why everything
is as it is, then everything will become much more beautiful and easier.

There is one thing only that really heals, it is recognizing the meaning behind everything ...
meaningfulness.

Fango: Known - Unknown Fango: Transformed

Raised Natural Product
By Isaak Beck
Everybody has already heard about Fango (not Tango). Its manufacture could be considered a
kind of "natural alchemy". It is used for therapeutic purposes in the case of various forms of
chronic arthritis and arthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, neuralgias, gout, after bone fractures, etc.

Note has to be taken of the fact that no fango therapy must be applied in the case of cardiac
insufficiency, pregnancy, tuberculosis, bleedings, tumors, severe arteriosclerosis, and acute
inflammations. The region of Montegrotto-Abana (Italy) once was volcanic and was already
known in ancient times for its warm thermal springs. Aristophanes and Aristoteles wrote about it
in ancient Greece. An old Roman thermal installation has been dug out in Montegrotto. Today,
drilling is done at a depth of 400 m. The water pumped up has a temperature of 80-87 degrees
Celsius. It contains salt, bromine, and iodine, and is naturally radioactive. It may perhaps sound
incredible, but in this hot water there live twenty different kinds of algae and other micro-
organisms.

These algae are real rarities of nature and quite old organisms. In Yellowstone Park, in Asia and
Europe we find such unexpected life in thermal water. It begins at 25-35oC., then at 40-50oC, and
80-87oC. According to the temperatures, different kinds of algae grow in it. (Spirulina, S.
subtilis, Mastigoeladus luminosus, and others.) Naturally, the thermal water is first of all
curative. Its effect, however, is considerably increased by the "Fango".

In the area, there are two small lakes, almost certainly extinguished craters (Lispida, Arqua
Petrarca). At the bottom, the "virginal Fango" is now dug up. Its main component is marl
(Beidellite, Nontrosite, some Montnorillonite.) (Note: I cannot find these words any place.) They
are infinitesimal crystals, tetrahedrons.

The "Virginal Fango" is now subjected to a process of ripening whereby it is transformed into
Fango proper and no longer remains ordinary mud. The matter dug out is put into containers.
Then follows imbibition: Day and night; the 80oC hot spring water flows over the "earth."
Slowly the "Virgin Fango" changes, it begins to ripen. An intimate combination arises between
the earth-microorganisms and the thermal water. First it starts to become green (not to be
mistaken for the Green Lion). When the surface of the Fango turns reddish-brown, it is ready -
ripe. It takes at least four months till it is that far. The original consistency has changed, and we
have now a supple thick mass, "ready to be used".

Now its use:

The well-digested earth is used both for partial packs and body packs, except the chest, abdomen,
and head. An oil-cloth is put on a table. Over it, one of coarse linen. A body pack requires two
buckets of Fango, together 50 kg. In that the person has to lie, after the joints, feet, and hands
have been given a portion. The body is covered. (One should have an empty stomach or wait
three to four hours after eating.) The temperature of the mud is exactly 47oC., if lower, it is felt
as cold. Now the person has to lie there for 15 to 20 minutes-like an Egyptian mummy. (Indeed,
in ancient times, the priests were supposedly great sages. They could still be so AT PRESENT.
The time is supposed to return when that will again be possible. But now, just NOW, it is not so.
Is it not true?)

After this, the body is rinsed, and one goes to the thermal baths like the old Romans, temperature
of the water: 34-38oC. Why therefore all this fuss with Fango? there are many reasons for it.
Heat penetrates the body much more easily. The pores are opened, and a reciprocal action
occurs: the curative substances are absorbed (organic-inorganic radioactive), and perspiration is
exuded in the amount of 500 ml to 1000 ml. Complicated processes take effect in the body. Thus,
for instance, it has been ascertained that the electrical conductivity of the skin is greatly raised.
The glands work differently. The tissues under the skin increase in temperature.
After the bath, it is best to return to one's room and stay in bed for 30 to 60 minutes, when the
biological effects continue. Perspiration continues heavily, till it stops of its own. A treatment
lasts 10 to 12, at most 21 days. Frequently, a "thermal crisis" takes place after five days. People
do not feel well, they are weak, have a slight temperature, sometimes increased blood pressure, a
change in the action of the inner abdominal portions, a worsening of the pain or the local
functions. There exist also cases of intolerance due to the general condition of the patient, or a
thermal fatique that arises too soon. In such cases, the treatment is interrupted.

The appearance or non-appearance of the thermal crisis is not important in regard to the
immediate or further results of the treatment. A day of rest after five baths is usual.

After a pack, the used Fango is not thrown away-amongst others, not for economic reasons-but is
put in containers in order to be used again. What? Must I now lie in the dirt and waste materials
of this disgusting fellow X., whom I have seen while in treatment? No, it is not so. The Fango
will stay in the containers for three years, again being imbibed by quite hot thermal water day
and night. The algae and microorganisms living in it will permeate the mass and find
nourishment in the human secreted poison and perspiration substances. There exists no
possibility to live for pathogenic microbes, as the microorganisms defend themselves against
them by means of the constantly quite high temperature. After this three-year long digestion, the
"Fango" is "raised", still better and more effective than the first time. It is almost a "chemistry of
nature". But also in the sense that "gold" is produced from mud, as the many hotels, shops, and
people who live by it prove.

Impressions of Le Thoronet Abbey, Provence

By R. Cowley
The Abbey of Le Thoronet is situated to the east of Lorgues and belonged to the diocese of
Frejus. Around 1160, work was undertaken by the monks of the Abbey of Florieyes, founded in
1136, in the diocese of Frejus and several kilometres to the east of Tourtour, near a spring of the
valley of Floriella or Florieyes. The monastery was situated six miles from Le Thoronet, where it
was transferred when the monks decided to leave Florieyes, whose infertile lands brought about
the transfer of the Abbey to Le Thoronet.

"And the Spirit of GOD moved upon the face of the Waters."
- Genesis Ch. 1 Vs. 1 & 2.

"In the Beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD."
St. John's Gospel, Ch. 1. Vs 1.
"In the beginning there was BOSENASELO, Nothingness, a great SILENCE. Then something
very strange and difficult took place. There was a VOICE in the SILENCE. This was the SPIRIT
of NOTHING, a VOICE that speaks all that we know and see. But of this great SPIRIT, we
know a nothing. IT comes from ITSELF, is known by ITSELF, and goes out of ITSELF. It is not
for us to know. This is what your people call GOD." Rrasebe, the Mother of the Mountains of
Makabeng, from "Lightning Bird" by Lyall Watson.

If Chartres Cathedral captures and crystallises the essence of light by means of its glorious
jewelled windows, within the sacred space of its geometric and harmonic proportions, then Le
Thoronet Abbey Church, austere in the extreme by comparison with the magnificent decorated
relief of the Northern Gothic tradition, has its own unique revelation, the mystery of the Creative
Word or Sound, contained, but not limited by the confines of its plain magnificence. Chartres
and the great cathedrals of the Gothic tradition, by means of the arithmetic, geometric and
harmonic proportions, skilfully employed by the initiated priest architects and masons, represent
the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Eternal City upon Earth. These structures were created to raise the
soul to levels of experience only rarely encountered in the common life, which would serve the
pilgrim as a spiritual light for the rest of his or her natural life, a token of the Heavenly Kingdom
to come, when, hopefully, he would share the joys of paradise.

Le Thoronet Abbey Church goes beyond this. Entering its Sacred Space, the mind is stilled, one
feels raised beyond the manifest creation, beyond the Heavenly City to the Source of the
Creation, the Unmanifest Sound, GOD the FATHER brooding upon the Face of the Waters,
before the sounding of the WORD which brings the creation forth into manifestation. In this
space sound is annihilated, but also, every nuance of sound is heard, harmonics resound,
enlightening the soul of the piIgrim who enters within.

There are no visual distractions, no statues of saints, walls unadorned, a simple stone altar, small
windows admitting a minimum of light, the sense of space and absolute silence, wherein one
becomes aware of the heartbeat and the sound of breathing. The experience within the Church
fulfills, if briefly, the aim of all religious philosophies, the extinction of individuality, in the
Oneness of the Creator, the experience of Unity or unitedness, so that onIy One exists, GOD.

Le Thoronet Abbey appears to be a very, special place, a node point on the face of the earth
which served, and may still serve, to carry certain influences for the benefit of Mankind and the
creation. It is probable that there are many others, especially, those built by the Cistercian Order.

They were not built for the use of the general public and even Lay Brothers of the Order were
not allowed participation in the Church services. it would seem that the worship within and the
experience of the Sacred Space was confined to the Monks received into the Order and prepared
by instruction, prayer and meditation, in other words, Christian Initiates. The world at large
would be entirely remote from this experience and possibly did not even know of their existence.
Le Thoronet was isolated in a vast forest.

Considering the wonderful acoustic properties of this structure, is it possible that the Cistercian
Order maintained a perpetual choir in their many establish merits, similar to the Three Perpetual
Choirs of Britain in Druidic times. The Welsh Triads speak of "Three great Choirs of Britain, in
which there were 2,400 Saints; that is, there were 100 for every hour of the day and night in
rotation, perpetuating the praise of God without intermission."

St. Bernard and his Christian Mystery School, the Cistercian Order, were the conscience of their
time, reacting against the opulence and degeneration of other orders. They created a perfect
instrument in their Churches, which served to link them permanently with the Source of
Creation. Today we catch a glimpse of this glory in small measure.

My wife and I were fortunate to arrive at the Abbey in time for the midday Mass on a fine
Sunday in August and to hear the heavenly choir of the Little Sisters of the Monastery of
Bethlehem, an order established nearby in the village of Le Thoronet, and their singing gave us a
measure of the joy which the Brothers must have experienced when they sang their offices in the
Sacred Space.

Listening to the Priest conducting the service in French, a story came to mind told by a student
some years previously. On holiday in Germany she attended a church service with her German
hosts, but not understanding German she just sat and listened, whilst observing the thoughts
which ran through her mind. After the service, her friends asked if she understood it, to which
she replied that she had not. They asked what she had been thinking about, and on telling them,
much to her astonishment, they said, "But that is exactly what the Pastor was talking about."

Discussing our experiences in the Abbey over our picnic lunch, I mentioned to my wife the story
coming to mind during the service, and she remarked that it had also come to her mind, and so
far as we could determine, at the same time.

I would add that I did not understand a word spoken by the priest.

Further reflections later that day, thoughts about the present apathy in communities regarding
church and the services provided. What is lacking for the communicant is the feeling of a direct
link with the Creator. Perhaps if churches were designed to the same rigid standards and a
knowledge of the canon of proportion as the simple church of Le Thoronet, then the all
pervading experience of Immanence would draw the communicant. He may not be able to put
into words what he is experiencing, but the effect is such that he would be impelled to refresh
himself frequently at the Waters of Life.

On returning home after vacation, I sought out the RILKO Newsletter No. 16 in which there was
an article by Robert Lawlor on Cistercian 'Mystic Architecture (which to my shame, I could not
recall having read, though whilst at the site I made enquiries if this was the place where they held
musical concerts, as I vaguely recollected that such was mentioned by him, none of the guides
could tell me, so I was left in doubt). To my great delight I found that his article was indeed
describing Le Thoronet, how I wish I had had it with me; he described it with a depth of
understanding which is reflected in all his writings. I will end with this quotation from St.
Bernard originally used by Robert Lawlor in his article, showing the importance of sound and
hearing above all the other senses.
". . . in matters of faith, and in order to know the Truth, the hearing is superior to vision . . . You
must know that the Holy Spirit, in order to cause a soul to advance in spirituality . . . educates
the hearing before coming to the vision. Listen, my child, he says, and see. Why do you strain to
see? It is necessary to lend the ear. The Hearing, moreover, will restore vision to us, if our
attention is pious, faithful and vigilant. Only the hearing attains to Truth because it perceives the
VERB, and thus one must awaken the hearing and train it to receive the Truth."
- R. Cowley (c) 1983.

Questions and Answers

Q. Why is at that like classes, which should get the same material teachings are not treated
alike?

A. We do not understand what you mean by alike. If you have reference to the subject matter all
are treated alike. If you mean the way it is presented, you may be right. As you know we make
every effort to teach each individual. Hence, the approach necessary to convey what we would
like to make known may be different for each person. In the end everyone will get what he or she
is able to absorb. It would be of little use to rattle off the same words to everyone just so the
words have been said. Little would be gained by students taught in such manner. All are treated
alike, according to their ability to comprehend and absorb that which is being taught.

Q. Is there a difference between the Alkahest and the Philosophical Mercury. We are in doubt.
Because one of us says that they are not the same while the rest think the substances are alike.

A. Generally speaking it is considered to be the same. However, to those who are initiated into
the alchemical terminology it is not the same. The reason why it has been and generally is
considered the same rests on the assumption that both the Alkahest and Philosophical Mercury
are derived from the mineral world. The difference is that the Alkahest is obtained from a
mineral and the Philosophical Mercury from a metal. Both belong to the same realm but differ
one from the other, i.e., mineral and metal. The Alkahest will extract from minerals and metals
their sulphur or essence and leave the essence-depleted body behind, while the Philosopher's
Mercury dissolves both essence and body. The Alkahest (not alcohol) is derived from the
vegetabilia and dissolves the essence found within minerals and metals as stated above. This
would be the alchemical sulphur. The Alkahest is not the solvent, as the ancients called the
Philosophical Mercury.

Q. Do plant extracts and the residue of spagyric plants always show the same elemental
qualities, such as eyebright, which comes under the sun; would it have to show gold

A. No. There is a difference between the influence of the planetary ray upon plants and the
mineral contents. At first glance it seems to b contrary to what the alchemisists taught. It should
be remembered that one can heal diseases by contraries as well as by likes. For example Melissa
in an impartial analysis showed lead, zinc, and bromine with the usual other elements present in
plant ashes.

A report on hand reads: "A hot water extract of dried Melissa 0fficinalis was concentrated,
evaporated to dryness and ashed for about three hours at 1,200oF. X-Ray Fluorescence analysis
shows that sample contains lead, zinc and bromine in high amounts. The other elements are
present in the usual concentration found in plant ashes."

According to Alchemical terminology lead comes under Saturn and zinc under Neptune with
bromine not ascertained at present. The two metals are not related to Jupiter which governs
Melissa. How then can this be construed? Either the Alchemists are wrong or our interpretation
is out of place. If Jupiter, which is said to govern Melissa, and whose metal is tin, with a positive
polarity, and its contrary negative polarity is found in lead and zinc, both negative, would
indicate that the law of opposites or contraries would be operative in such case.

Much more needs to be investigated and tabulated which only exhaustive tests can produce. We
are in dire need of individuals capable of helping us in further laboratory investigations regarding
these and other unsolved questions.

Q. In the "Triumphant Chariot of Antimony" by Valentinus, mention is made on page 109 about
Omphacium. Trying to find this word in the dictionary or any place else has proved fruitless.
Can you help?

A. The word Omphacium refers to unripe grapes, the green unripened flesh of the grapes. Even
as there is a difference between raw meat and cooked meat, so is there a difference between
unripened and fully ripened grapes. Dr. Kerkringius' translation into Latin out of the original
German made use of the Greek originated word Omphacium. "Omphacium" was also used by A.
E. Waite in his English translation. In the original German it reads: "darnach wird darauf
gegossen ein auegepresster Saft von unzeitigen Wein-Trauben" (orig. Germ. ed. 1676 at P.R.S.
archive). Translated it reads literally "thereafter will have to be poured upon the expressed juice
of untimely grapes." The word "unzeitigen" means immatured or not yet fully ripened.
Q. How can I get the sodium borate out of the glass of antimony that had been added according
to the formula of Valentinus?

A. Wash it out. The glass must be pulverized ven, finely for the sodium borate to dissolve in the
water. When the pH factor shows neutral it is reasonably free. If you have a Soxhlet Extractor
with draincock, place the glass to be washed in the thimble. Extract with water as usual. When
the water is about to syphon down, open the draincock sufficiently to make the pH factor test.
Continue the extraction until the water tests neutral. You will notice when allowing the distilled
water to stand over night in the thimble chamber that it will again test negative (alkaline). This is
due to the undissolved sodium borate that could only be freed after thorough saturation. It is
quite difficult to get the borax completely washed out.

Q. In the herbal work we are told that a stone of the plant world can be made. You showed us a
white stone that one of the students had made and told us that it was not yet perfected. I did not
quite understand what was meant by that.

A. In the Collectanea Chemica mention was made, and, as we recall, we also read to you from it
that such a stone has the medicinal potencies enhanced in it. The repetition of imbibing and
calcining, to bring the preparation to a greater state of potency, was what we meant by that
statement. It will then change color, becoming yellow and eventually reddish similar to the Great
Work, where such color changes are indicated.

Q. Will all chicken eggs putrefy?

A. We have on hand a report from a student in New Zealand who conducted the following
experiment with chicken eggs in an attempt to shed some light on the vital question concerning
putrefaction in Alchemy. This represents a scientific endeavor and is not to be taken lightly. The
experimenter is an Oxford scholar and deeply interested in esotericism. His wife assisted assisted
him with this experiment.

Report on experiments to verify or disprove the ancient tradition that hen's eggs are sensitive to
cosmic influences in particular those held to be active during the three days that constitute the
celebration of the Easter-tide:

The Churches have for some time now been involved in controversy over the date of the Easter
festival. It is at present -as is well known- a movable feast in the Christian Year. Being
celebrated according to the Roman rule established in England in 669 A.D., which is that Easter
Day is the first Sunday after the 14th day of the calendar moon (not the real moon) which
happens on or next after the Spring Equinox (March 21st). One of the bitterest points of division
between the Celtic and Roman Churches in Britain was the date of keeping the Easter festival.
To this day the Eastern Orthodox Church observes Easter a fortnight later according to the old
unreformed calendar still in use there. Many times the proposal of fixing Easter has been muted,
and in 1928 the British Parliament passed an Act providing that it should fall on the first Sunday
after the second Saturday in April. The Order in Council required to bring the Act into force has
never been made however.
The experiments to be reported herewith may therefore shed some little light on this
controversial question; and raise the further question whether if all calendars are man-made,
some are perhaps more so than others?

The connection of the hen's egg with Easter originates with the Jewish Pesach or Passover
festival. The Pesach is the Jewish term for the Paschal lamb which is symbolically represented in
the modern festival of the Passover by a shank-bone placed on the Sedar plate, together with an
egg.

It was therefore decided to keep for a period of seven months, two each of the eggs laid during
Holy Week, i.e., two eggs for each day of the week, which were carefully marked with the date,
care being taken to ensure that the eggs had actually been laid on that day.

This was done for two years running namely Easter 1968 and Easter 1969. The results are
tabulated below:
The eggs were opened after seven months, this being sufficient time for normal putrefaction to
have occurred.

Easter week 1968.

Monday - Both eggs totally putrefled - yolk black.
Teusday - Both eggs totally putrefied - yolk black.
Wednesday - Both eggs totally putrefied - yolk black.
Thursday - Both eggs totally putreficd - yolk black.
Good Friday. Of these two eggs one had been fertilized, the other not.

Both eggs had some dehydration of the albumen, but were otherwise perfectly sound. There was
no putrefaction, discoloration, or bad smell, with the astounding exception that in the case of the
fertilized egg the embryo only had turned black without contaminating the yolk. Both eggs were
given to the cat who ate them with every sign of relish.
Easter-Saturday. Both eggs perfectly sound as above.
Easter-Sunday. Both eggs sound, and given to the cat as before.
Holy-Week 1969.

The results as above were repeated. This time my wife and family were eye-witnesses and will
corroborate the findings as reported here. There were however, some variations insofar that the
Good-Friday egg was not fertile and therefore had no "black-spot"; and we extended the
experiment through to Easter Monday. All eggs laid from Good Friday through to Easter-
Monday inclusive were without any sign of putrefaction.

It is intended to repeat this experiment this coming Easter also only this time extending the dates
covered to include the Jewish Orthodox festivals as well.

Here is a chance to perform an Alchemical experiment with no apparatus at all, other than that
provided by nature and the cosmos. Only one condition is suggested - that only eggs from fowls
kept under natural conditions be used.
As the writer notes specifically that only eggs from chickens living under natural conditions
should be used, this will of course exclude any store bought eggs, or such that one may get "first
hand" fresh from a chicken farm where the fowl is kept confined to their coops. Free running
chickens should be watched as to where they lay their eggs and above all the time and day
involved. Naturally this requires some time and attention, but then, this is an experiment that has
to be verified to qualify- as scientific. It may be added that the moon's phase, sign etc. as it
prevailed at Eastertime, should be noted and by inference and deduction similar prevailing
conditions used for the experiment.

Q. When in my Soxhlet Extractor the thimble has become worn and no replacements are
available for some time, is there any other way to keep on extracting without a thimble?

A. Yes, there is. Lay a piece of sterile cotton on the bottom of the extractor so that it forms a
filter for the opening of the syphon tube and leaves a layer of about 1/2 - 1 inch on the bottom of
the extractor.
You will have more room to put your substance to be extracted in the extractor chamber than
when using a thimble. Keep extracting the usual way. The cotton will prevent the clogging of the
syphon tube with solids and will become colored from the extract. When the cotton again washes
white it is a sure sign that your extraction is completed.

Q. What can be done to get a higher degree of heat from an ordinary Fisher burner?

A. Use some ordinary cement asbestos pipe. Cut so that you can partly immerse your crucible in
the cylindcr and vei have it above the flame of the burner. Cut sonic air holes in the bottom for
oxygen supply and have enough of an opening on top so that the flame will not be extinguished
for lack of oxygen.

Q. Will a distillate contain all the essentials to be obtained from a menstrum?

A. It will contain as much as can be distilled from it. However, the first one-seventh up to one-
fourth of either steam (water) or other volatile (alcohol etc.) extracted tincture actually contains
the volatile essence by way of distillation. The sulphur and salt will ordinarily stay behind.

Q. Salt of calcined Melissa was fused in a furnace and showed yellow. When dissolved again in
distilled water it produced a yellow tincture from the originally white calcined salt (mineral).
How come?

A. Apparently not all the Alchemical sulphur was taken out by either maceration or extraction
methods used and showed up again in the above water solution.

Q. There is some talk back and forth going on about the effects that tomatoes have in man's
metabolism. Can you shed some light on this besides telling us about their vitamin content and
such things?
A. Where Carcinoma (cancer) prevails: NO tomatoes. For the increase of the functions of the
liver DO use tomatoes. Use the tomato vines for its own fertilizer. Better tomatoes will grow
from using their dead vines as fertilizer.

Q. I find that the full moon does not always stimulate the growth as astrologers tell us. What
would you say causes this?

A. If there is no rain just before the full moon growth is retarded, but the full moon just before
rainy days will stimulate growth. To this some may answer that there is nothing to the theory that
water would not do this. This is not so. Please note that we say: "The full moon just before rainy
days will stimulate growth."

Q. Can you tell me why Horsetail Grass (Equisetum) is useful in Medicine?

A. Man needs silica and silicic acid. Horsetail Grass contains about 90% silica. Not only that but
about half of the earth at our disposal consists of silica. Alchemically speaking, silica is
representing the element fire (warmth). Other substances in abundance on our earth and available
to man for his health are to be found in limestone, potassium and sodium.