- Mundificatio → "Purification" or "Cleansing"
- Ablutio → "Washing" or "Lustration"
- Mundabor → "I will be purified" or "I shall be cleansed"
"Altogether, the divine water possessed the power of transformation. It transformed the nigredo into the albedo through the miraculous “washing” (ablutio); it animated inert matter, made the dead to rise again, and therefore possessed the virtue of the baptismal water in the ecclesiastical rite." -Jung, Alchemical Studies
Ablutio
substances are washed with alchemical waters (Mercurial Water, Aqua Vitae, or Aqua Regia) to purify and prepare them for further refinement.
Albedo (whitening) phase, where the purified matter is prepared for spiritualization.
baptism—the washing away of sin, ignorance, pain, trauma,…..
MUNDIFICATIO/ABLUTIO
“In the process referred to as mundificatio or ablutio, the material undergoes a purifying baptism through the descent of grace from above and an encounter with the dew in the verdant and life-giving light of the goddess Sophia. In herbal alchemy, the operation is strengthened by nurturing the work outside in nature, where the rejuvenating, botanical power will revive and enhance the future elixir. A soft washing and rejuvenation take place in the alchemical pelican. It is with the help of prayers and love that the elemental soul of the material is washed and undergoes a baptism – ablutio – and the secrets of the dew are conveyed. As an alchemist, one here helps Mother Earth by using Luna’s love for her children to allow the material to be baptised in love through the gifts of nature. The alchemist acts as the mediator and the link between Heaven and Earth. This operation allows the dew to soften the soul through the alchemical motto as above, so below.” - Alchemy – the divine work
Mundabor
“I will be purified”
“I shall be cleansed”
In the process referred to as mundificatio or ablutio, the material undergoes a purifying baptism through the descent of grace from above and an encounter with the dew in the verdant and life-giving light of the goddess Sophia. In herbal alchemy, the operation is strengthened by nurturing the work outside in nature, where the rejuvenating, botanical power will revive and enhance the future elixir. A soft washing and rejuvenation take place in the alchemical pelican. It is with the help of prayers and love that the elemental soul of the material is washed and undergoes a baptism – ablutio – and the secrets of the dew are conveyed. As an alchemist, one here helps Mother Earth by using Luna’s love for her children to allow the material to be baptised in love through the gifts of nature. The alchemist acts as the mediator and the link between Heaven and Earth. This operation allows the dew to soften the soul through the alchemical motto as above, so below.
- Alchemy – the divine work
Illustrations– Mundificatio, whereby the hermaphroditic body is washed by the rain of grace.
Rosarium Philosophorum,
Philosophia Reformata by J.D. Mylius (1622)
