"Water of life... extracted from all things... which is the beginning of nature... from which all things are made... nothing better in nature... from which matter is born.”
"For the imperfect body is converted into the first matter, and those waters being conjoined with our water do make one pure and clear water, purifying all things and yet containing in itself all necessary things. And this water of which and with which our magistery is effected, is both dear and cheap, for it dissolveth bodies not with common solution as the ignorant report, which converts the body into cloud water, but by the true philosophical solution, in which the body is changed into its first water of which it hath been from the beginning this self same body. That is, the water transforms bodies into Ashes." — The Rosary of the Philosophers, c. 1550
"Nothing can exist in Nature Everything must come from its matter. Without the permanent water nothing happens. It is called the Water of Life also the Juice of Napelli therefore it says in the Turba that the Water is the Quicksilver drawn from all the elements from which all things are made." — Compendium alchymist. novum, sive, Pandora explicata & figuris jllustrata, das ist, Die edelste Gabe Gottes, oder, Ein güldener Schatz, c. 1706
“It is aqua sicca, a heavenly water, aqua rarefacta et condensata, which evokes different colours but does not wet your hand: it makes black like soot, makes white like snow, and makes red like blood. It is everywhere but still you cannot see it: it is the centre and moisture of the stone as well as its calidum radicale: the green lion, but also the volatile dragon. Through the fiery nature and property of its magical water, it is spiritualised, so that like a silver spring it rises into the air and becomes completely resplendent and pure through aqua foetida (fetid water). It is glorified in the dark tomb to be resurrected and come forth again. This is the nymph bath into which the sun and moon descend to bathe, so that they can finally, through the copulation of the art, be so strongly joined to each other that they can never again be torn apart.” - Alchemy - The divine work
"Water of Life Here living waters leap from living springs, Which can bring the benefits of life to you. Here the stars, their forces loosened, stretch forth their powers, Here the Moon and the Sun wash their faces. Turn your path here, then, traveler, with swift step, And relieve your harsh thirst in the heat of the Sun." — Viridarium chymicum figuris cupro incisis adornatum, by Stoltzius von Stoltzenberg, Daniel, 1624
The Philosophic Bath
“Our bath is so prepared that the body does not get wet. Let sun and moon both wash themselves therein in the same manner. After having done this, unite the spirit. Then you will see with your eyes two stems of the calendula. Each tree will then bear its own fruit, and you can pluck many apples for yourself."
"Without the permanent water nothing happens. It is called the Water of Life / also the Juice of Napelli / therefore it says in the Turba / that the Water is the Quicksilver drawn from all the elements / from which all things are made."
— Compendium alchymist. novum, sive, Pandora explicata & figuris jllustrata, das ist, Die edelste Gabe Gottes, oder, Ein güldener Schatz, c. 1706
“Hermes the Prince. After so many wounds inflicted on humankind, here by God’s counsel and the help of the Art flow I, a healing medicine. Let him drink me who can: let him wash who will: let him trouble me who dare: drink, brethren, and live.”
- Rosencreutz’s Chymkal Wedding (p. 74)
Senior says: “I joined the two luminaries in marriage and it became as water having two lights."
- De chemia, pp. 15f.
“Our living silver is our clearest water”
- Rosarium phil., in Art. aurif., II, p. 213
“And in our opus there are two earths and two waters.”
- Scala phil., Art. aurif., II. p. 137.
"That stone is water of a living fountain."
(Lapidem esse aquam fontis vivi)
- Con., coniug.” Ars chem., p. 128
Senior says: “This divine water is the king descending from heaven.”
- Ros. phil., p. 283
"But the glorious celestial water, namely our copper and our silver, our silk, and everything we talk about, is one and the same thing, namely the Wisdom, which God has given to whomsoever he wished."
- Consilium coniugii, in the Ars chemica (1566), p. 120.
“May the power of the Holy Ghost descend into this brimming font, and may it make the whole substance of the water fruitful in regenerative power”
- Missal, p. 431
"O blessed form of sea-water, which dissolvest the elements”
- Tractatus aureus,” Ars chemica, p.20
“Whence the philosopher brought forth water from the rock and oil out of the flinty stone.”
- Mylius, Philosophia reformata (1622), p. 112
“In the shadow there was water from the rock, as it were the blood of Christ.”
- Explanationes in Psalmos, XXXVIII
"In this art, spirit means nothing else but water."
- Theobaldus de Hoghelande, in the Theatrum chemicum, I (1602), p. 196.
“The Lunar water, the Water of Life, the quintessence, the burning wine, the vegetable mercury — all this is said and signifies nothing other than the same thing. The Lunar water is made with our wine, which is only a little (substance), and with it is made our solution. The potable gold is made with this same wine, by means of which, and without it in any way, the imperfect body becomes converted into the first matter.” Rozaire des Philosophes ca. 1700, Anonymous, French
"Here is represented the Philosophical Bath, or the vessel in which the matter is placed so that it may be dissolved and regenerated. In the middle is shown the compound body, half animal and half human, indicating that the work concerns both the corporeal and the spiritual nature. This bath contains the mercurial water, in which the body must be immersed so that it may lose its former form and be reborn in a purer state. The wings signify volatility and ascent of the spirit; the tail and lower part signify the fixed and earthly nature, which must be softened and opened. Around the vessel are shown the four elements, each acting according to its virtue: Fire, which excites and digests; Air, which vivifies and elevates; Water, which dissolves and cleanses; Earth, which fixes and gives body. The flowers and plants signify the renewal of life that follows putrefaction, for nothing can be regenerated unless it has first been corrupted. The green color denotes the beginning of life and fermentation. The human head with the green vapor issuing from the mouth indicates the subtle spirit being released from the body. This vapor must be carefully retained and reunited with its body, otherwise the work is lost. Thus this figure teaches that one must proceed gently and according to nature, enclosing the matter in its proper vessel, giving it neither too much nor too little heat, until dissolution, purification, and conjunction are accomplished in their proper time."
On the knight's shield is engraved, in golden characters, a part of Friar Elia latin sonnet:
"Make one out of two waters Who seek to make the Sun and the Moon And give to drink in joy And where you owe with the dead Then make water again And multiply the stone”
"Ex duabus aquis una facite Qui quaeritis Solis et Lunae facere Et date bibere in iocondo Et ubi debitis cum mortuum Deinde aqua iterum facite Et lapidem multiplicatis"
