“This law of the universal mixture of the animated and inanimate, of the subtle and the coarse, of the spiritual and the corporeal, is the foundation of all operations of Nature. For Nature always works by uniting what is opposite: the warm and the cold, the moist and the dry, the fixed and the volatile. Thus the Artist must imitate her. He must prepare the matter by dissolving its exterior hardness, by opening its pores, so that the interior virtue can be manifested. But he must do it with prudence, without violence, without destroying the natural bond which unites the three principles. When the matter is thus softened, penetrated, and disposed, its internal Sulphur awakens, the Mercury rises, the Salt becomes purified. These three, united in harmony, form the true substance of the Philosophers. This is why the ancient sages said that our Stone is made of one thing and yet of three; of one root, yet of three aspects; one nature, three substances; three in one and one in three.” “When the prepared matter receives the celestial influence – that is, the gentle fire of the philosophical furnace – it begins its first operation, which is the blackening. This darkness is necessary, for no seed can grow unless it dies first. The body must decompose so that the spirit may be freed.” “When the darkness begins to clear, colors appear: green, blue, purple, finally the whitening. This whitening is the sign that the inner fire has penetrated the whole substance. Then the matter becomes like a heavenly earth, receptive to perfection. At this stage, one must maintain the same fire, neither increasing nor diminishing it, until the matter becomes solid, fixed, and luminous.” “When we say that the four elements enter into our composition, it must not be understood in the vulgar sense. Our Fire is not common fire; our Water is not common water; our Earth is not the crude earth of the ground; our Air is not the air we breathe. These names signify qualities, not the gross bodies of the world. Thus Fire means the subtle, penetrating, active principle. Water means the dissolving and uniting virtue. Air means the volatile spirit. Earth means the fixed and tangible part.” “The three principles of the philosophers — Salt, Sulphur, Mercury — correspond to the body, soul, and spirit. Salt is the foundation, the base, the permanency. Sulphur is the virtue, the color, the life. Mercury is the movement, the union, the mediation.” “The first operation is the dissolution of the body. The second is the purification of the spirit. The third is the union of the purified parts. This union produces the rebirth of the matter, which appears under new forms, shining and subtle.” “Alchemy is thus the knowledge of the hidden properties of Nature and the art of directing her workings. The wise man does not force Nature; he accompanies her, helps her, guides her with gentle fire and patient vigilance.” “This figure shows the Work in the heart of the substance: at the base, the wheel with Sun and Moon — the two natures; in the middle, the vessel rising like a column — the purification; above, the winged disk — the spirit liberated.” “The Artist must know how to raise the fire of Nature, without burning the matter nor chilling it. Balance is the key of the entire Work.” FM-ICONOGR-ATLAS, c. 1813, François-Nicolas Noël, BnF, département des Manuscrits

The Magnum Opus

Prelude: Invocation and Recognition

The Call to the Work

The alchemist kneels in prayer before the vessels (Ripley), invoking divine aid and recognizing this as sacred operation.

Christ the Philosopher instructs his disciples (Aurora), establishing Wisdom as the source of the Art.

The aged masters appear—Hermes with his Tablet, Maria with her vessels, Geber with book and furnace (Stolcius)—bearing witness that the path has been walked before.

The Vision of Completion Before beginning, the Red King Enthroned appears as prophecy (Ripley, Mylius)—the perfected goal shown at the start, the end revealing itself in the beginning. The Stone radiates in glory, whispering: This is what you shall become.

Act I: The Search for Prima Materia

The Hidden Stone in Nature

The Philosophical Tree grows hidden in the dense forest (Lambspring, Stolcius), bearing the secret matter among countless false paths.

Nature sits enthroned but uncrowned (Coronatio), containing all potential yet unmanifested.

The Emerald Tablet

Prima Materia

VITRIOL:

visit the interior of the earth and by rectifying find the hidden stone

Miners descend into the hill to bring up crude ore from darkness. They bring forth the raw matter, the hidden treasure concealed in common earth.

Search for the prima materia in nature or within oneself Extraction of raw materials through mining, gathering, or inner descent

The miners dig within a rocky cave represents the search for the prima materia, the hidden substance buried in the depths of nature and the self. The dark cavern is the unconscious, the “interior of the earth” of the VITRIOL motto The miners symbolize the alchemist’s effort, patience, and labor to uncover the raw, chaotic matter that contains the seed of gold. This is the very beginning of the Great Work, before any transformation, when the alchemist must descend into darkness to retrieve the material that will undergo the stages of dissolution, purification, and eventual illumination.

"Our mountain, like a fertile mountain, in which the spring of living, leaping water is found, like the Spirit, rises above the other mountains for the delight and healing of all.”

The Finding of the Prima Materia

The Seeker ventures into the deep forest where the Philosophical Tree grows hidden among ten thousand false paths.

He searches long and finds nothing until he sits upon a stone in despair.

Beneath the stone crouches a Toad—warty, despised, containing hidden gold. This is the prima materia, the First Matter, the base, earthbound matter that conceals the seed of gold, the stone rejected that becomes the cornerstone.

Nearby flows the Mercurial Fountain with three spouts—white, red, and clear. The waters pour forth from one source into dual streams—a mercurial fountain issuing three streams from a single source into dual waters. The Fountain of Wisdom sends four streams outward, with the Tree of Life nearby, representing the quadripartite prima materia flowing from divine source.

The Hart and the Unicorn stand on opposite banks, regarding each other across the water, gazing at one another but not yet joined—solar and lunar in chaste tension.

Moses strikes the rock and water flows forth—a type of the opened stone releasing its inner mercury.

The Ouroboros

Mind, Body, Spirit

Two Fishes swim in the basin, one devouring the other, circling endlessly—the twin natures seeking union.

Four elements to be reconciled: fire, air, water, earth balanced

Recognition of the Four Elements and their imbalance to be corrected

The philosophical egg is sealed with lutum sapientiae and set upon the athanor.

The regimen of fire is established: gentle, then moderate, then strong; bath, ash, or sand heat according to need.

Dew and celestial water are gathered; spirit of wine is rectified; the vinegar of the wise is prepared.

The work proceeds by seasons.

The tria prima—sulphur, mercury, salt—must be brought into concord.

Solve et coagula governs every step.

True imagination works in obedience to nature and art.

Selection of the working matter: mineral, vegetal, or animal

Preparation of the laboratory, furnace (athanor), and vessels

Initial drying and gentle coction to awaken the matter Dew and celestial water gathered for the philosophical work

Mercury fountain or fons Mercurii envisioned as eternal circulation

Spirit of wine rectified as universal solvent

Vinegar of the Wise readied for subtle separations

Regimen of seasons: aligning heats with spring, summer, autumn, winter

Three colors to be mastered: blackening, whitening, reddening

Tria prima harmonized: sulphur, mercury, and salt in concord

Solve et coagula

Imaginatio vera accepted: true imagination participates in the operation

Conjunction of above and below aimed: celestial–earthly marriage to be sealed

Nigredo / Black Work

"The philosopher in the present says: “I am a beast living in the forest, Entirely black in color; But if anyone cuts off my head, Then I will lose my blackness, And will assume the most brilliant, most shining white color."

The Green Lion devours the Sun. Vitriol dissolves the metallic gold, releasing the solar seed.

The Wolf attacks the crowned King and consumes him utterly, then is burned so that the king may be recovered more pure.

The Dog and Wolf fight, their blood mingling on the ground.

The Dragon and Eagle battle in the sky, contending in the air. Their blood rains down, their mingled blood falling into the vessels below.

The Triple-Headed Ouroboros, the Three-Headed Serpent, encloses vessels and signs of the heavens, encircles vessels and celestial symbols, declaring the threefold matter and the circular, recursive nature of the Work.

Armed men slaughter innocents—the many sacrificed that the one may live. The imperfect metals are destroyed. The false stones are shattered.

The royal body is dismembered; the limbs are separated; the grotesque attendants cut the royal figure apart—the dismemberment occurs, the violent separation required to break down the components.

x

Caput corvi (raven’s head): the first blackening

Putrefactio: controlled decay; the body dies to free the spirit

Mortificatio: symbolic death of the king and queen or the old form

Mortificatio, whereby the bodies of the queen and the king are allowed to die under the regime of Saturn, humbly opening them up for the coming operations.

Solutio: dissolution of the fixed body into the living water

Balneum arenae: sand bath to regulate and equalize heat

Imbibition: moistening the dry ash with philosophical water

Filtration and lixiviation: washing out the soluble from the insoluble

Separatio

division of subtle from gross, volatile from fixed

The King and Queen, clothed and separate, hold their flowers and greet one another. Sol and Luna meet clothed, each with their proper flower. They are sulphur and mercury, brother and sister, meeting for the first time. The Sun and Moon face each other in first union, clothed in royal garments, the initial recognition of the dual principles.

They remove their garments and stand naked. They lay aside their garments. They extend their left hands. A white dove descends between them—spirit mediating the marriage.

They descend together into the Bath and enter the bath, sinking beneath the surface. The waters rise. They sink beneath the surface. The Queen in the Bath emerges from water, attended by maidens—the queen is washed, the purification of the feminine principle.

The King drowns. The king is anguished and tried by fire. The Queen dissolves beside him. Both are dissolved into undifferentiated water. They return to undifferentiated matter. All distinction ceases.

The royal pair is dismembered, cut apart by attendants. The united body is cut, cooked, and sealed in the tomb. The body is roasted on a spit over flames. The limbless torso cooks in a sealed vessel. The King in Torment suffers, crucified or tried by fire.

The Bath of Rebirth holds multiple figures—kings, corpses, hybrids—immersed in the vessel, the collective dissolution and return of many to the prima materia.

Two Mercuries differentiated: watery and airlike spirits

Cohobation: repeated distillations returned upon the body

Rectification: redistilling until the spirit becomes most pure

Purgatio

Circulation: continuous reflux in pelican or sealed vessel

The Black Sun: eclipse—light hidden within darkness

The bodies lie dead in the tomb, crowned but lifeless. This is the Coniunctio, the Sacred Marriage—they have united sexually in the bath and become one hermaphroditic being.

But union brings death. The joined body putrefies in darkness. The black work begins. Caput corvi appears. The soul departs the corpse as a small cloud or vapor. Putrefaction proceeds in darkness until the whole is mortified.

The Black Crow descends and perches on the corpse, feeding. The Raven stands upon the dead and consumes the rotting flesh. Death feeds on death.

The Black Sun rises—an eclipse, a sun of shadow, eclipsing the day. Darkness is complete. The nigredo reaches its nadir. The darkened sun or eclipse shows mourning figures or skeletons, the deepest death of the light.

In the sealed tomb, in absolute blackness, the matter rots utterly. This is the mortification, the necessary death before resurrection. The Burial or Entombment seals the royal figure in the sarcophagus, the body in darkness awaiting resurrection.

Bestial copulations in emblem show the instinctual union of principles within the closed vessel—the Copulation of Animals unfolds: lions, dogs, wolves, birds coupling in vessels, the sexual union of opposing principles at the instinctual level.

This Splendor Solis image depicts the Black Sun (Sol Niger), emblem of the nigredo. The dark orb sinking beneath the horizon symbolizes the eclipse of spirit, the hidden light buried in matter. The blue human face reflects the soul submerged in melancholy and unconscious depths, while the barren trees echo death and desolation. Yet golden rays shine upward, hinting that within this darkness lies the seed of illumination. It marks the stage of putrefaction and dissolution, the necessary death before renewal and the whitening of the albedo.

Separation follows: the subtle is parted from the gross, the volatile from the fixed. From the corpse, the soul rises, ascending as a white bird—Swan or Dove—ascending upward through layers of earth and stone into the realm of clouds.

An Eagle circles above the tomb, watching. The volatile separates from the fixed. Spirit leaves body.

In the upper realm, in the celestial waters, the soul is washed by dew and rain. Rain and dew fall from stars. The Sublimation Tower lifts vapors through stages, rises with ascending vapors passing through chamber after chamber—distillation rises and condenses; cohobation returns the spirit upon the body; rectification refines. The rising of volatile spirits through repeated purification.

Women wash garments at the stream, in streams—repeated ablutio, patient purification, as an emblem of ablutio.

The Bird bathes in pools of crystal clarity. The blackness lifts. The soul becomes radiant, luminous, white. The purified dew descends again and falls upon the bones. The Four Elements conflict and harmonize—figures of earth, water, air, fire in combat or balance, reconciling oppositions for the quinta essentia.

The Toad: earthy, poisonous feces stage to be cooked out

The Dragon in the cave: raw sulphur bound and restrained

The Wolf devouring the King: antimonial separation of the solar tincture

Regulus of Antimony: starry crystallization heralding purification

Trituratio: grinding and levigation to increase intimacy of parts

separating and reunifying the three principles under a correct regimen of fire

The three-headed dragon in the flask (red, white, black) is the prima materia showing its threefold nature compacted within the “philosophical egg.” The three heads simultaneously signify the color-stages (nigredo, albedo, rubedo) and the tria prima (sulphur, mercury, salt) still contending inside the vessel—volatile, combustible, and fixed principles biting at one another. Enclosed in glass, it tells you this battle and reconciliation must happen under seal by solve et coagula, circulation, and rectification until the heads are tamed into one nature. In sequence, it belongs at the hinge between late nigredo and the whitening work of albedo (often just before/around the peacock’s tail), when the operator is actively separating and reunifying the three principles under a correct regimen of fire to prepare the true coniunctio.

The purified soul descends as dew, as gentle rain, falling from clouds back into the vessel below. The droplets land upon the bones and dust. Where they touch, life stirs. The dead revive under the influence of the returning spirit.

The body stands up in the vessel, whitened, revives in the vessel, now whitened, now glowing with inner light. The King and Queen stand renewed, or they appear as one white figure containing both principles.

This is the Albedo, the Whitening, the achievement of the white stone. The lesser work is complete. The White Swan replaces the raven, appears triumphant. The White Queen appears crowned in glass, stands crowned in her vessel.

The figure rises from the tomb with angels attending. The Resurrection shows the Christ-like or kingly figure rising from the sarcophagus, the stone awakening, spirit returning to body.

The Brazen Serpent is lifted in the wilderness as a figure of fixed mercury that heals—figures looking upon it for healing, the fixed mercurial serpent as medicina. The living fountain springs within.

Circulation in the pelican multiplies the inner respiration of the work. The operator "catches the birds": the volatile spirits are repeatedly elevated and fixed in measured returns. The white eagle and red lion contend and reconcile in a higher octave, a first fixation of the volatile.

The revived hermaphrodite begins to show new vitality. Color returns slowly. Cauda pavonis flashes through many colors. The Peacock displays its tail—iridescent, shimmering through every hue. Green, blue, violet, orange flash briefly across the matter. This is the Cauda Pavonis, the display of all colors before the final stage.

The yellowing begins. The matter takes on golden-yellow color. This is the Citrinitas, the yellowing, marking true daybreak. The Man in Orange stands beside the Woman in White. The solar principle intensifies. The transition begins.

Fermentation is introduced; the leaven of perfected gold or silver is added. Astralization occurs; the compound becomes receptive to the firmament. Coagulation consolidates body, soul, and spirit into a middle nature. Imbibition after coagulation restores life to the fixed.

The Seven Planetary Operations unfold—the seven regimens are observed as operations pass under Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Moon—each stage a color, operation, and spiritual station. Diana's tree shows metallic growth under right regimen.

The Pelican pierces its own breast, vulns itself. Blood flows forth—red as rubies. The bird feeds its young with the substance of its own body. Milk and blood—lunar and solar—alternate in the feeding of the philosophical child.

The philosophical child is nourished with milk and blood, with lunar whiteness and solar redness alternating. The stone grows stronger. The medicine multiplies.

From the sealed vessel, a Tree grows upward. Its roots remain in the flask. Its branches bear sun and moon as fruit. The Philosophical Tree displays the dual medicines growing from a single root. The Tree of Life and Death bears dual fruits, with serpent and eagle, containing both poison and medicine.

The matter undergoes repeated cycles—union, dissolution, coagulation. The vessel is sealed. The heat is carefully regulated. The stone ripens. The Feeding of the Dragon shows the serpent nourished with blood or milk, the volatile fed with fixed matter.

The sun-king and moon-queen, purified, are joined in the chemical wedding. The Bride and Bridegroom embrace in the garden, the mystical marriage as erotic-spiritual union. Mercury officiates. Coitus in the vessel produces the rebis, the crowned androgyne who stands upon sun and moon. Resurrection in whiteness is followed by coronation of the white ruler.

The Garden Enclosed appears, walled with fountain and tree, the sealed vessel as sacred space where conception occurs.

The red king appears in the flask, a sign that sulphur is perfected and ready to rule. The fire increases. The matter turns from yellow to orange to deep crimson. Fire is increased; the matter passes from yellow to orange to red.

The Reddening begins—the Rubedo, the final stage. The solar gold dominates. The substance must be driven to completion.

In the sealed flask, the matter boils violently. The heat becomes unbearable. The pressure mounts. Fixation is sought until the volatile loves the fire and does not flee. The Salamander sits unharmed in the flame, unmoved in maximum flame—the principle that survives all fire.

The Red Dragon and White Dragon engage in their final combat. They tear at each other, wingless and winged, fixed and volatile. Their blood flows together, mixing into purple, into a color beyond naming. The two Dragons collapse into each other's arms, falling together, dying together, birthing something new from their mingled essence—their blood becoming the royal tincture. The Winged and Wingless Dragons balance, the dual nature of mercury made fixed and flying.

The matter bursts into flames—not destruction but transfiguration. The body becomes fire. The bones become light. The Phoenix burns and rises again. Wings of crimson and gold unfold. The bird stands in flames and is not consumed. It dies voluntarily and resurrects itself eternally.

The Red King emerges, fully formed. He stands crowned in scarlet robes, holding scepter and orb. His skin is the color of rubies. His eyes burn with solar fire. The perfected sulphur, the fixed consciousness, the masculine principle made eternal.

He is also She—the Crowned Hermaphrodite holds the emblems of both principles, the ultimate Rebis. King and Queen appear as two figures perfectly balanced, or as one androgynous being containing both principles. The three-headed chaos is mastered beneath its feet. The Sacred Marriage is consummated. The union is complete.

The Woman Clothed with the Sun stands on the moon, crowned with twelve stars, the perfected anima mundi or Sophia.

The Crucifixion shows Christ between sun and moon, blood and water flowing, the final sacrifice releasing the red tincture. The Descent from the Cross holds the dead Christ in the lap, the masculine received into feminine vessel.

The filius philosophorum appears as a crowned child, the offspring of the royal marriage and the carrier of the medicine.

The Red King reaches into his chest and withdraws the Stone. It is the size of a heart. It shines with its own light, glows red, pulsing with its own rhythm. It radiates light and transformative power in waves. This is the Philosopher's Stone, the Medicine Universal, the perfected gold.

The two medicines—red (solar) and white (lunar)—are known in one stone. In his right hand, it glows red—the Red Medicine, the solar tincture. In his left hand, it glows white—the White Medicine, the lunar tincture. Two medicines from one Stone.

Potable gold and the milk of the virgin are named among the virtues. The universal medicine is declared a perfected quintessence.

The Stone is placed in a vessel. It is the Philosophical Egg containing quinta essentia, surrounded by symbols of elements, planets, and metals. The sealed microcosm holds the perfected work. The Alpha and Omega enthrones Christ displaying the inscription, the stone as beginning and end.

The stone is dissolved and congealed repeatedly; its power increases by reiteration. Where one fragment was removed, two appear. The Stone grows by giving. It multiplies by being divided. Each projection increases rather than depletes.

Multiple vessels appear, each containing the Stone being dissolved and recongealed repeatedly. The medicine multiplies exponentially—one becomes two, two four, four eight, one becomes two becomes four becomes eight, without limit.

The Oak Tree appears, massive and ancient, bearing golden apples as fruit, bearing golden fruit. The Tree of Life restored. The infinite increase of the medicine.

Children play by the fountain, frolic around the fountain—naked, innocent, joyful—as a figure of renewed nature and of the multiplied tincture. They are the philosophical children, the multiplied offspring of the Stone, each carrying the power to transform.

Pentecost descends tongues of fire upon disciples, the multiplication distributed to transform many.

The Red King approaches the furnace. A fragment of the stone is cast upon molten base metal, upon molten lead—dark, heavy, base.

Immediately, the metal transforms. Darkness becomes light. Heaviness becomes radiance. Colors pass in order—black to grey to white to yellow to red—and the base is made noble. The lead passes through colors—black to gray to silver to yellow to gold.

Pure gold flows forth like honey, like sunlight made liquid.

This is the Projection, the operative proof. The Stone transmutes base into noble. The internal transformation demonstrates external power. The harrowing of the depths is shown in emblem as the medicine penetrates and redeems the fixed. The Harrowing of Hell descends to release souls, the stone's power penetrating and redeeming base matter.

The Garden of the Philosophers appears—paradise regained. Nature, once uncrowned, is crowned. She holds scepter and orb. The fountain flows. The Tree of Life grows at the center, stands at the center. The living river flows. The River of Life runs through the midst.

The garden of the philosophers is restored. White lilies and red roses grow together in abundance, growing together. The Field of Flowers displays both tinctures flourishing side by side. The Mystic Rose blooms as a mandala, the stone as center of cosmos.

Nature herself appears, no longer uncrowned but wearing gold and jewels, holding scepter and orb, radiant with perfection. She is Sophia, Divine Wisdom. She is the World Soul brought to completion.

The Seeker stands transfigured, robed in glory, holding the completed Stone. The adept abides in the achieved state. He dwells in the Garden. The adept is made immortal through participation in the Work. The Assumption crowns the Virgin as Queen of Heaven, the white stone united with divine spirit.

The River of Life flows from the throne through the city. Trees line its banks, bear fruit in their months, bearing fruit each month; their leaves are for healing, their leaves for healing of nations.

The Sun rises over the city—a sun that never sets, light that never dims. The golden dawn announces completion. Alpha and Omega frame the work. The Great Work is finished.

The Ascension lifts Christ into clouds, the stone achieving complete volatility and fixity.

The dragon consumes its tail. The Dragon consuming its tail encircles all—the Ouroboros, beginning and end unified. Beginning and end are one. The Work is complete and the Work continues forever.

The Stone, once made, makes itself infinitely. Each perfected consciousness becomes a seed for new transformations

Black crow turned to doves: hint of purification

The volatile soul rises from the tomb of matter

Soul descent: spirit returns to animate the body thus prepared

Coctio

Calcinatio

Calcination: burning to ash to open and break down impurities

The Roasting of the King follows—the corpse is roasted and turned over the fire, the crowned figure turned on a spit over flames, tended by bellows. This is the first loosening of the compound, the calcination and torment of the solar principle.

Digestio

Digestion: long, slow, even heat to mature the compound

The “puer” (newborn, innocent soul) deliberately stoking the inner fire to tame the poisonous prima materia—figured as a dragon/salamander—inside the sealed philosophical egg. The bellows = regimen of air and fire (cibation/digestion), the flask = closed work, the dragon = volatile, toxic sulphur/mercury that must be cooked, bled, and reconciled. It belongs late in nigredo at the hinge into albedo: after putrefaction and separation, the operator carefully “feeds” measured heat and moisture so the hostile, chaotic forces are subdued and converted into a living, obedient tincture that will soon whiten.

Distillatio

Distillatio initiated: rising and condensing of the spirit in the alembic

Extractio

Fermentatio

Albedo / White Work

Balneum Mariae: gentle heating in the Philosophical Bath

This Splendor Solis image shows the balneum Mariae (philosophical bath), where the matter—here depicted as a man—is softened, dissolved, and purified in gentle heat, while the bellows stoke the hidden fire of transformation. The white bird perched on his head signifies the mercurial spirit or soul beginning to ascend in purity, heralding the transition from nigredo toward albedo. The flask at his side holds the subtle essence being separated, while the palace setting symbolizes that this inner work is a royal, sacred operation. This stage belongs to the albedo, when the darkened matter is washed and clarified, preparing for the whitening and illumination that follow.

Balneum vaporis: steam bath to soften and open the compound

Ablutio: repeated washings to blanch and clarify

“The Third Parable” shows the old King (the impure, fixed sulfur/gold of the work) being dissolved in the mercurial sea, while a younger, golden Prince—his purified successor—stands in the foreground. The white bird perched on the golden orb is the mercurial spirit descending to tincture and enliven the new body; the twin lights above (sun and star) signal renewed illumination and right regimen of fire. Alchemically it marks the dissolution and death of the old form (late nigredo/solutio) giving way to the reborn tincture and stabilization of light—an entry into albedo moving toward citrinitas.

Ablutio

Separatio

Imbibitio

Cibatio

Cibation: feeding the compound with measured portions of its own moisture

Tinctio

Circulatio

Putrefactio

Congelatio

Mortificatio

Solutio

Sublimatio

Sublimatio begins: volatilization of the subtle principle upward

Further separation: subtle from gross refined to clarity

separation and purification during the transition to albedo (the whitening phase), where mercurial vapors rise through distillation or sublimation, distinguishing pure essence from impure dross. The three heads represent the triune nature of the process—unifying body, soul, and spirit; or the three principles of salt, sulfur, and mercury; or the stages of nigredo (black), albedo (white), and rubedo (red)—signifying synthesis after dissolution and the volatile, spiritual ascent toward the philosopher's stone.

Imbibition renewed: philosophical moisture reintroduced with measure

Sublimatio: purified spirit ascends and refines

Distillatio and cohobation: cycling spirit upon body

Circulation in the pelican: perpetual inner respiration of the work

This plate personifies Philosophical Mercury as the “White Queen” enclosed in the crowned philosophical egg (the sealed vessel). Her blue robe signals lunar, aqueous purity; the bare breast and scepter show her nourishing, mediating power; the cloud underfoot marks her volatile nature, while the colored rings around her imply circulation and repeated rectification. It illustrates the albedo work of capturing and purifying Mercury in the bath—distilling, cohobating, and fixing the volatile spirit so she becomes immaculate and ready to unite with the Red King in the coming coniunctio.

Rectification perfected: spirit rendered most pure

Balneum vaporis continued: gentle loosening of residues

Whitening begins in earnest: black ravens turn to white doves

The Peacock’s Tail (cauda pavonis): prismatic burst before true white

Doves and swans: peaceful mercurial soul manifests

Fons mercurialis: living fountain springs within the work

White Eagle and Red Lion: volatile and fixed contend and reconcile

Fixation of a portion of the volatile: first stability: Fixing the Volatile

The “catching the birds” : the man up the ladder into the tree gathers or snares birds (volatile spirits/mercurial vapors), while the two on the ground receive and “fix” what descends. The tree is the Philosophers’ Tree (the work now living and rooted), the ladder is the scala (grades/planetary rungs) of repeated sublimation, and the birds are the volatile soul being captured, purified, and returned in cycles (cohobation). This belongs late Albedo edging into Citrinitas—after whitening has cleared the matter, the operator tames and fixes the volatile spirit step-by-step to prepare the stable dawn of the Yellowing.

Stag and Unicorn: chaste mercurial subtlety captured and tamed

Immaculata coniunctio prepared: union without violence

Sun King & Moon Queen Polarized

The polarized dyad just before the chemical wedding: the Sun-King (sulphur, active fire) stands in flames, while the Moon-Queen (mercury, passive water) stands on a dark, mercurial globe—often read as the caput mortuum/black earth to be whitened, and her scroll (“lac virginum/virgin’s milk”) hints at the whitening menstruum of albedo. The two luminaries above mark their distinct natures still apart; the scene belongs to the preparation/separation phase at the hinge from late nigredo into early albedo, when the opposites are purified, balanced, and readied for coniunctio in the bath.

Coniunctio: marriage of Sun and Moon, King and Queen

The Sun King marrying the Moon Queen, officiated by Mercury, symbolizes the conjunction or "chemical wedding" in alchemy, where the masculine (solar, sulfur) and feminine (lunar, mercury) principles unite to form a new, balanced substance, often represented as the "lesser stone." Mercury, as the mediator, facilitates this union, embodying the transformative spirit that binds opposites.

The Rosarium image of the King and Queen in the pool with green sprigs and a descending dove represents the coniunctio in the albedo stage, when Sun and Moon are ritually joined through Mercury’s mediation. The water signifies dissolution and purification, the green plants symbolize the return of vital life-force, and the dove brings the unifying spirit. It is the sacred preparation for the fuller chemical wedding and rebirth that follows.

Coitus

Androgyne/Rebis appears: two become one body

the Rebis (from Latin res bina, meaning "dual thing"), a hermaphroditic or androgynous figure symbolizing the union of opposites. A two-headed figure, often dressed in dark or dual-colored clothing, has one red wing (symbolizing sulfur, sun, or masculine) and one white wing (symbolizing mercury, moon, or feminine). The figure holds an egg in the left hand, representing the philosophical egg or the vessel of transformation containing the potential for the philosopher's stone, and a larger sphere or orb in the right hand, symbolizing the completed stone or cosmic unity. This figure represents the conjunction or chemical wedding, where opposites (male/female, solar/lunar, fixed/volatile) are united into a harmonious whole. The dual heads signify the integration of spirit and matter, and the wings reflect the volatile and fixed natures combined. The egg and orb emphasize the potential and realization of the Great Work, respectively.

Resurrectio: rising of the white king or queen

Coronation of the white ruler: clarity governs

Seven planetary regimens observed through the work

Seven flasks and ladder of planets: ascent through the seven metals and heavens

Regimen of Saturn (lead): heaviness, dissolution of melancholy

Regimen of Jupiter (tin): expansion, ordering of the mixture

Regimen of Mars (iron): separation by conflict, cutting of the subtle

Regimen of Sun (gold): illumination and central coherence

Regimen of Venus (copper): harmonizing and softening the natures

Regimen of Mercury (quicksilver): mediation and circulation

Regimen of Moon (silver): reflection and whitening

Diana’s Tree (Arbor Dianae): metallic crystallization demonstrates growth

Citrinitas

The red sun just above the horizon, shadowed city, dead trees, and bluish-green land . The red sun is the tincture beginning to rise—illumination breaking through after the long eclipse of the black sun. The dead or barren trees show that the old forms have perished; the city in shadow reflects the material world still unredeemed; yet the fiery orb climbing above the horizon signals the dawning of new life, the first true light of the perfected stone. It is a vision of resurrection: the alchemist glimpses the rubedo, though the landscape has not yet been transfigured.

Fermentatio: infusion of leaven from perfected gold or silver

Coniunctio

Fixatio

Coagulatio

Rectificatio

Citrinitas proper: stable yellowing, dawn of solar wisdom

Aurora: true daybreak—light anchored in the body

Green Lion devouring the Sun: living vitriol dissolves solar sulphur

White Eagle and Red Lion reconciled at a higher octave

Tree of the Philosophers: the work rooted and branching; tinctures ripen

Garden allegory: virtues perfected as herbs and flowers

Heavenly dew and starry manna: celestial influences condense into the flask

Astralization: the compound receptive to the firmament

Consolidation of the middle nature: body–soul–spirit cohered

Coagulation: essence thickens into a new fixed body

Tincturing: new body acquires penetrative healing color

Imbibition after coagulation: re-moistening to enliven the fixed

Volatilization of a portion of the fixed: first mobility

Perfected Sulphur

The “Red King in the flask” personifies perfected Sulphur—the solar, tincturing principle—now sealed, illumined, and ready to rule. His crown, orb, and scepter signal sovereignty of the new nature; the golden nimbus shows the work’s inner light; the crescent base hints that Luna (Mercury/Queen) has been mastered and now supports him. Alchemically this plate belongs at the threshold of rubedo—after the white work and coniunctio—marking fermentation, coagulation, and especially fixation of the red tincture into a stable, fiery body that will become the Stone.

Marriage preparations complete: Sun and Moon balanced

Fons mercurialis confirmed as inner spring

Philosophers fishing: drawing the subtle fish from the deep waters

The Alchemical Garden: harmony of forces in one living landscape

Crowned Rebis

The Rebis, a half-man, half-woman figure with two crowned heads, wings, a sword in the male hand, a crown in the female hand, and a multi-headed creature with bird-like feet at its base, symbolizes the union of opposites (sulfur/mercury, sun/moon) into a perfected, harmonious whole, embodying the philosopher's stone. The sword and crown represent masculine and feminine principles, while the creature signifies tamed primal matter.

The Rebis, a two-headed hermaphroditic figure standing on three serpents, represents the union of opposites (solar/masculine and lunar/feminine) achieving the philosopher's stone. The three serpents underfoot signify mastery over the triune principles (salt, sulfur, mercury) or the tamed chaos of the prima materia. The cup with three serpents in one hand symbolizes the containment and transformation of these principles through purification, while the single serpent in the other hand represents the unified essence or volatile spirit. The tree with 13 suns beside the figure signifies the multiplication of the stone’s power, with the suns reflecting solar perfection and the number 13 possibly alluding to lunar cycles or stages of transformation. The green lion behind indicates the raw, vital force of the prima materia, now integrated, while the pelican feeding its young with its blood represents self-sacrifice and the nourishing projection of the stone to transmute base matter. This image belongs to the rubedo stage, specifically the multiplication and projection phases, where the perfected stone amplifies its transformative power, marking the near-final steps of the alchemical sequence.

The Spirit Re-Clothed….

The “vesting” after the bath: the Red King (now tinctured scarlet) rises from the philosophical water still marked by the old, dark raiment of nigredo, while the angelic Woman/White Queen—Mercury-Sophia—offers clean garments. The pool is the balneum (dissolution and purification); emerging red shows the work has passed whitening and is entering coagulation and fixation. The new clothes signify the “new body” of the stone—spirit re-clothed in a purified, stable vehicle—and the investiture before coronation

Rubedo

Projectio Projection

Illuminatio

Multiplicatio

Exaltatio

Fixation: the volatile loves the fire and does not flee

Salamander in the flame: joy in its proper element

The Pelican feeding it’s young with the blood from it’s own breast. Distilled into the chalice.

Curation/Fermentatio completed: bread and wine mystery; gold ferment perfects the whole

Rubedo: reddening—the sovereign tincture completed

Phoenix: rebirth in red from its own ashes

Crowned Hermaphrodite/Coronatio: royal perfection sealed

Filius Philosophorum: birth of the philosophical child

Red Stone and Elixir of Life: medicine for metals and for humans

Milk of the Virgin: gentle white nourishment within the perfected work

Potable gold: auric medicine for heart and spirit

Universal medicine: panacea as perfected quintessence

Multiplicatio: repeating cycles to increase virtue and quantity

Augmentatio: scaling the stone’s power by reiteration

Exaltatio: elevating the medicine to higher orders of purity

Transmutation displayed: lead becomes gold; sickness becomes health

Fixing the tincture in wax or powder: portable and durable form

Opening the sealed vessel at the proper time: revelation without dissipation

Closing the vessel again: guarding the volatile treasure

Sealing the treasure: stone kept from air and vulgar gaze

Triumph of the Sun: the city illumined by the rising light

Completion: harmony of elements; body–soul–spirit perfectly one

The Resurrection of Christ

To Sort

"All things are concealed in all. One of them all is the concealer of the rest - their corporeal vessel, external, visible, and movable. All liquefactions are manifested in that vessel."

— Coelum philosophorum by Paracelsus

“the Earth which remaines in the ground, thou must not at all despise nor villify, understand the earth of the body, and that same earth is the right end of the permanent and constant things, after that with a good water thou must annoint and errigate the Leaven, and the Leaven is called by the Philosophers a Soul; they call also the prepared body a Leaven, for as a Leaven does make other bread sowre, so does this thing, and I tell thee freely, that there is no other Leaven but Gold and Silver, of necessity must the Leaven bee Leavened in the body, for the Leaven is the Soule of the body” - Morienus. Chymicall treatise of the Ancient and highly illuminated Philosopher

“Therefore with this our golden water, a natural substance is extracted, exceeding all natural substances; and so, except the bodies be broken and destroyed, imbibed, made subtile and fine, thriftily, and diligently managed, till they are abstracted from, or lose their grossness or solid substance, and be changed into a subtile spirit, all our labor will be in vain. And unless the bodies be made no bodies or incorporeal, that is converted into the philosophers mercury, there is no rule of art yet found out to work by. The reason is, because it is impossible to draw out of the bodies all that most thin and subtile spirit, which has in itself the tincture, except it first be resolved in our water. Dissolve then the bodies in this our golden water, and boil them until all the tincture is brought forth by the water, in a white color and a white oil; and when you see this whiteness upon the water, then know that the bodies are melted, liquified or dissolved. Continue then this boiling, till the dark, black, and white cloud is brought forth, which they have conceived.” - Artephius. The Secret Book of Artephius

“The object of your search should be to find a hidden thing from which, by a marvellous artifice, there is obtained a liquid by whose means gold is dissolved as gently and naturally as ice is melted in warm water. If you can find this substance, you have that out of which Nature produced gold, and though all metals and all things are derived from it, yet it takes most kindly to gold.” - Michael Sendivogius. The New Chemical Light

“without the Spirit of Mercury, which is the only true Key, you can never make Corporal Gold potable, nor the Philosophers Stone. Let it remain by this Conclusion, be silent” - Basil Valentine. Of Natural and Supernatural Things

“Our work is performed by means of one root, and two crude mercurial substances, drawn and extracted from a mineral, pure and clear, being conjoined by the heat of friendship, as this matter requires, and carefully cooked until the two things become one thing” - Bernard, Count of Trevisan and the March. The Golden Tract Concerning The Stone of the Philosophers

“gold of the Sages, which, though derived from common gold, is yet very different from it.” - Anonymous. The Golden Tract Concerning The Stone of the Philosophers

“You must operate prudently and expressly, because neither Sol nor Luna can be without ferment, and any other seed or ferment is not proper and useful, but Gold to the red, and silver to the white, which bodies being first subtiliated under weight, must then be sowed, that they may putrefy and be corrupted, where one form being destroyed, another more noble is put on, and this is done by the means of our Water alone” - Clangor Buccine Clangor. Buccine Book

“The strength of the sulfur of the Mercury is like the seed of the father and Luna the mother, that is the actual - The substance of Mercury, namely the watery subtle mixed with the earthly subtle is equal to the menstruum, and that is Argentum vivum, which is called Mercurius by the Philosophis . But because Mercurius is the Argentum vivum, the root of the art is Alchemy, then out of him through it and in him are all metals, as the philosophers say. Versus: Everything the Wise are looking for is in the Mercurio. Then under his shadow this substance lives and grows, which is why its middle substance is incombustible, as Geber says: Then every thing of this art is from him and with him every tincture is composed of its likeness, namely Mercurio .” - Anonymous Clangor Buccinae - The Sound of Trumpets

“Quick-silver is the Matter of all Metals, and is as it were Water, (in the Analogy betwixt it, and Vegetables or Animals) and receives into it the virtue of those things which in decoction adhere to it, and are throughly mingled with it; which being most cold, may yet in a short time be made most hot: and in the same man∣ner with temperate things may be made temperate, by a most subtle artificial invention. And no Metal adheres better to it than Gold, as you say, and therefore as some think Gold is nothing but Quick-silver, coagulated by the power of Sulphur” - Bernard Trevisan The Answer of Bernardus Trevisanus, to the Epistle of Thomas of Bononia

“Let therefore the spirit of our living water be, with all care and industry, fixed with sol and luna; for they being converted into the nature of water become dead, and appear like to the dead; from thence afterwards being revived, they increase and multiply, even as do all sorts of vegetable substances; it suffices then to dispose the matter sufficiently without, because that within, it sufficiently disposes itself for the perfection of its work. For it has in itself a certain and inherent motion, according to the true way and method, and a much better order than it is possible for any man to invent or think of. For this cause it is that you need only prepare the matter, nature herself will perfect it; and if she be not hindered by some contrary thing, she will not overpass her own certain motion, neither in conceiving or generating, nor in bringing forth.” - Artephius. The Secret Book of Artephius 1,149 Alchemical Books 274 Audio Books

“patiently continuing decoction until such time the tincture be come out in black colour upon the water, and when thou seest the blackness appear in the said water, know thou all the body to be liquefieth, and then it behoveth to continue an easy fire upon it, until such time it hath conceived the dark cloud which it hath brought forth. The intent of the philosophers is that now the body dissolveth into black powder, may enter into this water and all may be made one. For then the water taketh the whiter as his own nature. Therefore without all be turned into water, thou shalt never come by any means to perfect perfection.” - Georgius Aurach de Argentina Donum Dei

“Who doth not mollify and harden againe doth erre, therefore make the earth black, and separate her Soule from her, and the water, after that make it white that it may become as a naked Sword and when it growes white, give it to the Covetous fire so long till it growes large, and doth not fly away; Hee that can doe this may well be called happy and exalted in this World, and let him doe it in the love of God and in his feare. Amen.” - Arnold de Villa Nova Chymicall treatise of the Ancient and highly illuminated Philosopher

“Know that unless you take my body [sulphur] without the spirit [mercury] ye will not obtain what ye desire. Cease to think of many things. Nature is satisfied with one thing, and he who does not know it is lost.” Agadmon The Golden Tract Concerning The Stone of the Philosophers

“Let therefore the spirit of our living water be, with all care and industry, fixed with sol and luna; for they being converted into the nature of water become dead, and appear like to the dead; from thence afterwards being revived, they increase and multiply, even as do all sorts of vegetable substances; it suffices then to dispose the matter sufficiently without, because that within, it sufficiently disposes itself for the perfection of its work. For it has in itself a certain and inherent motion, according to the true way and method, and a much better order than it is possible for any man to invent or think of. For this cause it is that you need only prepare the matter, nature herself will perfect it; and if she be not hindered by some contrary thing, she will not overpass her own certain motion, neither in conceiving or generating, nor in bringing forth.” Artephius. The Secret Book of Artephius

"Crave wisdom of God, the sense to understand, Else meddle not herewith, nor take it in hand. For it will cost thee much worldly wealth; But trust not to other, but do it thyself. Learn, therefore, first to cleanse, purify and sublime, To dissolve, congeal, distill and sometime To conjoin and separate, and how to do all, That when you think to rise, thou do not fall, Trust to thyself and not to another; I can say no more to thee if thou were my brother." — Simon Forman, 1597

Théorie & Symboles Des Alchimistes : Le Grand-Oeuvre, Suivi d'un essai sur la bibliographie alchimique du XIXe siècle / Albert Poisson

Figure I (Margarita pretiosa).

The gold matter of the Stone is enclosed in the sepulcher or the philosophical egg. But from the moment it is enclosed there, it begets a son, that is to say, a new body is produced; the alchemist buries both the father and the son (See Chapter V).

Figures II and III (Liber singularis by Bacchusen).

Two sealed philosophical eggs, containing the Matter of the Stone, gold and silver. In one, there is sublimation, indicated by the bird rising. In the other, the sublimated matter has precipitated or condensed, indicated by the bird descending (See Chapter VI).

The Rosarium philosophorum, c. 1550

"Here is born the noble and rich Empress The masters call her their daughter alike. She multiplies / gives birth to children without number / She is eternally pure / and without any flaw."

Men vainly seeking alchemical 'white' (mercurial) water in the ground and in trees. The white water is shown flowing from a hole in the tree.

Flamel writes: "at the foot [of a hollow oak] boyled a fountaine of white water, which ranne head-long downe into the depths, notwithstanding it first passed among the hands of infinite people, which digged in the Earth seeking for it; but because they were blinde, none of them knew it, except here and there one which considered the weight"

"Rebis, Putrefactio. A. The Rebis’ perfection upon the Moon or Silver. B The Mercury / or the volatile. C The Salt or the Fire. D The Gold. E The Silver." A The Wing of green Life rises into the Air. B The Wing of the Moon illuminates the beautiful Night. C The Star signifies the perfection of the Stone, achieved through the Crown. D The Snail signifies the Transformation, through the Loss of its Head. E The Chalice of Life, from which the Serpents die and suffer Death, through the living gold. F The Tree of the Sun brings Joy and Bliss. G The Tree of the Moon is of the Sun's Lineage. H Through the red Garment, the Art shall be made ready. (Completely ready.) Through the white Garment, the Art is ready. K The Mountain on which grows the Sun's Tree. L The Mountain of the Moon illuminates the beautiful Night. M The Track consumes the two Fountains, of the Moon and of the Sun, for it is its proper food, through red and white the Art is brought to an end, as the Philosophers have thought." — Compendium alchymist. novum, sive, Pandora explicata & figuris jllustrata, das ist, Die edelste Gabe Gottes, oder, Ein güldener Schatz, c. 1706