"THIS woodcut from The 12 Keys of Basil Valentine (1602) shows the four grades of fire with which alchemists worked: Elementary Fire (flames from the furnace), Celestial Fire (sun in the heavens), Central Fire of digestion and aging (lion eating a snake), and the Secret Fire of mind and inspiration (Mercury cipher between red and white roses).”
- The heavenly fire
- The central fire
- The fountain of nature
- The secret fire
- The invisible and most secret occult fire of the philosophers
- The general fire
“Alchemy is sometimes summarised as the art of working with fire, as this is the most transformative element which breaks down the external forms and purifies the essence. With the human body as the external athanor, we can feel the effects of fire such as energy flows and subtle rushes in our various bodies. By learning how these are aroused and regulated, the alchemist can control the opus through the various operations. When the fire comes from below, it is referred to as the light of nature, the central fire, the telluric fire or the power of the dragon. There is a movement or aspiration upwards and we can increase its intensity with bellows. When fire, like inspiration, comes from above, it is called the light of grace, the heavenly fire or the divine will. When the two unite in the mystery of the dew, the secret philosophical fire is awakened. The direction and flow of the fires are expressed through the winged rod of Hermes with the two serpents. They are simultaneously the watery fire and the fiery water, the sun and the moon, the forces of life and death, solve & coagula and the waxing and waning that fluctuate and interact.”
- Alchemy: The Divine Work, Tommy Westlund & Katarina Falkenberg
