“Sublimatio implies that the material is heated in an alchemical swan until it is completely evaporated – thus, the operation allows a solid or liquid to become a gas. If the steam is then cooled down and condenses into its original solid or liquid form, albeit in a refined state, the operation is called destillatio. In herbal alchemy, a sublimatio can mean that the distilled water with the herbal salt from the previous operation is slowly boiled dry until all the water has evaporated. The water is boiled on low heat so that the salts do not disappear with the steam, and only a dry salt is left behind. In the alchemy of the psyche, the operation is used to describe how vital forces such as libido and primordial instincts are sublimated to higher purposes such as art and poetry. The operation involves the material making an ascent and becoming as light and airy as spirit. Imagination, visualisation and meditation are the tools by which the alchemist achieves a sublimatio in human alchemy. In the operation, the life-giving forces of the etheric body are directed towards the exalted and subtle state of the astral body rather than simply providing vitality to the physical body. In this way, a spiritualising of the human takes place.” - Alchemy – the divine work
