Principia Alchemica: part two

Part two of an investigation of the nature, principles and usages of Alchemy

Guest article by Paul G. Vaughan

Proem by Occult Mysteries

In Part one of his article, the author surveyed the various misconceptions surrounding Alchemy and discussed the initiatic origins of the Art of Healing and the Medicine of Man, and how they relate to the Royal Art. Finally, he considered the Tria Prima, or the three alchemical principles of Sulphur, Mercury and Salt. In this second part of Principia Alchemica Paul G. Vaughan develops his theme by introducing the Five Occult Elements, the Theory of Signatures, and considers the true meaning of the Great Work and the role and importance of transmutation in Alchemy.

It is important to point out that this is emphatically not a treatise on the practise or methodology of Alchemy. Readers who wish to pursue the art and science of Alchemy from a practical perspective are referred to our occult studies course article on the Great Art which contains a number of suggestions for study and practise and links to the best classic works on Alchemy. In his Afterword Paul G. Vaughan relates the main features of the life and teachings of Paracelsus in his own words.

The Five Elements

The four states of matter: solid, liquid, gaseous and radiant (sometimes referred to as plasma), give us the most basic idea of the four Elements in their physical expression. Each of these Elements in turn partakes in two of the four qualities or complexions: hot, cold, dry and moist. It is this dual character of the Elements which allows them to mix and to separate, to wit: Fire is hot and dry, Air is hot and moist, Water is cold and moist, and Earth is cold and dry. This is one way in which they are connected; each Element also contains something of the other three. In laboratory work, it is possible to separate the Elements to a certain degree, but not entirely. Furthermore, we can describe Fire as active, positive, expansive; it tends upwards, it purifies, it is subtle. Air is the medium between Fire and Water and is associated with clarity, reason, communication; it is the carrier of the seed. Water is negative, passive, contractive; it absorbs and penetrates, it is the universal menstruum and the mother of all living things. It mediates between Air and Earth. Earth is solid, fixed, and it is the Great Treasury of all life, the mother of all material things. Hermes says: "In the Earth lies the perfection of all works, for without the Earth no thing can be perfect, because the Earth is solid and the fixation of all perfection, and without the Earth no thing can be congealed and no thing can get any power except from the Earth, and you should know that the Earth is very small but has great powers."

In one of his works on the generation of the Elements, Paracelsus writes: "The world is as God created it. In the beginning He made it into a body, which consists of four Elements. He founded this primordial body on the trinity of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt, and these are the three substances of which the complete body consists. For they form everything that lies in the four Elements, they bear in them all the forces and faculties of perishable things. In them there are day and night, warmth and coldness, stone and fruit, and everything else, still unformed."

Alchemy considers the number seven as the union of the static four, represented by the Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth, with the dynamic three; the former, being gross material Elements, are redeemed and elevated through the agency of the three philosophical principles of Sulphur, Mercury and Salt. This is why everything which is of an earthly, Saturnian nature is said to be elevated from its condition through seven processes, states or phases of transformation, and why a sevenfold repetition of certain steps of alchemical work is often emphasised, enshrined in such arcane expressions as "letting the Eagles fly seven times."

Plato regarded Ether — the fifth Element — as the basis of the other four. Taken together, these five Occult Elements represent the non-material building blocks of physical Nature. According to the series of origin of the five Elements, Fire (light) and Earth are the first two; Air and Water are the mediating Elements between them; while the fifth Element is both the origin and completion of the elemental cycle. For that reason, Fire and Earth were described by ancient sages as 'actual polarity', echoing the 'high polarity' of Sun and Moon. Thus Hermes says that two Elements, namely Fire and Earth, are sufficient for all effects. This is a subtle saying which is worth pondering over. However, without the fifth Element as basis it is not possible to realise or perceive the other four. It is present within the four Elements, but it is none of them. In the words of the 13th-century alchemist Raymond Lully, "it does everything, and without it nothing can be done."

The sphere of the fifth Element is very closely associated with the concept of the Quinta Essentia, or Quintessence, which pervades the whole of Creation. The notion of Quintessence is crucial to the understanding of the fundamental processes of Alchemy, and especially of the expression of the idea in Nature. Since the virtue of every natural thing emerges from the Ether, we may say that Quintessence is the reason and specific life-impulse inherent in everything, for it is through the Ether element that the alchemical Quintessence is expressed. Paracelsus taught that the reason for things should be recognised in the light of Nature, by which he meant that we must grasp their Cosmic idea, of which their material expression is merely a reflection. The study of the Elements and their unfoldment and interweaving in the kingdom of Nature is a vital part of Alchemy. It is not possible to give a more comprehensive overview of this subject within the limited framework of this short article. Readers who are interested in learning more about the five Occult Elements are referred to The Golden Star by J Michaud PhD and The Secret Doctrine by Madame Blavatsky.

Ars Signaturae

The Theory of Signatures is an essential component of the Philosophy of Nature. Everything within can be known by that which is without; this simple fact has been observed by ancient healers the world over. It is relatively recently that we have lost this awareness, becoming further disconnected from the great Web of Life. "Nature is the sculptor: she endows everything with the form which is also the essence, and thus the form reveals the essence," writes Paracelsus, adding that there is nothing that Nature has not signed in such a way that Man may discover its essence. For "God and Nature do nothing in vain, or without a purpose." If we wish to manifest our healing potential, we must re-establish our understanding of all natural symbols, and realise our true position within the Cosmos. There is a kinship which connects all living things, from metals and minerals, herbs and trees, animals and men, to the Moon and the planets, and the vast Macrocosm of the heavenly orbs. The very organs of the human body, its tissues and fluids, its bones and marrow, even its subtle etheric centres associated with the various ganglia; bear a direct relationship to the starry vault above us. To recognise this kinship and the signs by which the inner qualities of natural things correspond to their external characteristics is fundamental to the Art of Healing. The knowledge of Signatures, or Ars Signaturae, is therefore of paramount importance in Alchemy.

In accordance with the theory of sympathies, which is the bedrock of Magic as well as Medicine, Paracelsus taught that the similar cures the similar, a dictum later taken up by the German physician and founder of Homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843). For example, since balm has heart-shaped leaves, it is signed as a remedy for the heart; the ordinary distillation of waters of all stinging herbs is useful against stinging, while red-spotted herbs and roots stop bleeding, beechnuts heal fractures, and so forth. The form, colour and particular characteristics of plants readily indicate their virtues and medicinal use. It is also possible to recognise the signatures of the Elements in plants, minerals and metals. For instance, the crystal structure found in many of the minerals allows their categorisation according to the Platonic solids. The pentagonal dodecahedron signature, associated with the Element Ether, can be found in the crystals of pyrite, lapis lazuli, garnet and sodalite. The Air octahedrons are found in diamond, rock crystal, copper emerald and other stones, which often have the property of enhancing the action of other remedies. The signature of Fire tetrahedron is found in sulphur, antimony, ruby, rock crystal, tourmaline and many others, while the Earth cube appears in the crystals of rock salt, copper, bismuth, galena, and even gold and silver. The Water icosahedron is found in tin, zircon, chrysolite and topaz, etc.

Another aspect of the Theory of Signatures is the assignment of all natural things to the rulership of the seven planets, these being traditionally: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The planets imprint their signature on all plants, as well as minerals, metals, animals and Man himself. Beyond that, we must consider the band of the Zodiac, the twelve constellations of the fixed stars and the twelve corresponding signs. The latter are further divided into decans, which give us thirty six positions in the Solar wheel, each ruled by a different planet in combination with a Zodiacal sign; and twenty eight positions in the Lunar wheel. We find this elaborate system of correspondences already well developed in the Ayurvedic teachings of India, and its traces appear in the decanal star lists found in the archaeological remains of ancient Egypt, pointing to its great antiquity.

It is said that the Quintessence flows through the fifth Element of Ether into all natural things. The latter acts as a collective lens through which cosmic ideas and forces are projected into the physicality of the four Elements. Originating in the higher planes, they are partly transformed in their passage through the planetary spheres, where they receive the characteristics of those planets to which they are 'attached'; this also determines the dominant Element in each case. Finally, the 'image' is revealed in the signatures of the physical forms. This is what led Paracelsus to exclaim that "the stars are healed by the stars," and that Medicine must be judged according to the stars, for it should come from Heaven. All things which live and grow fall under the dominion of the planets. Gold is ruled by the Sun, silver by the Moon, copper by Venus, iron by Mars, tin by Jupiter, and lead by Saturn. In plants, this dominion often falls under co-rulership of one or more planetary forces, depending on the phase of its growth or the expression of its virtues. Furthermore, different planets rule different parts of the plant. For instance, Jupiter generally dominates the fruit, it signifies aspects such as the size and abundance, it imparts and regulates the flow of essential oil, etc. Saturn expresses itself in pronounced, deep roots, although the signature of the Moon and of the Salt principle is frequently co-present. Mercury governs the metabolism of the plant, especially in the leaves, which are its main area of influence; and so on for all the other planetary influences. The course of illnesses and the process of preparation and formulation of remedies are also vitally connected to the planets, the five Elements and the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

This brings us to the time factor. In his Epistle to Pope Clement, the 13th-century Franciscan alchemist Roger Bacon writes: "The works which are performed in these inferior realms are varied according to the diversity of the celestial constellations, as, for instance, the works of Medicine and Alchemy." Depending on the time of harvest and the moment we choose to begin the work, the effects we can achieve with our alchemical preparations can vary greatly. "Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as the strawberries knows nothing about grapes," remarks Paracelsus tartly! The importance of the cosmic moment is obvious when we consider the effect that the changing phases of the Moon have on the tides, human fertility and conception, and correspondingly on the flow of juices in the plant kingdom. It stands to reason that waxing Moon will assist in drawing moisture, whereas waning Moon will be conducive to desiccation. The quality of time can affect even the most simple distillations. Some plants will give off more or less essential oil, some liquids will fail to rise through the distillation bridge; some preparations will yield exceptional healing properties, others will fail before they are completed.

There are many similarities between gardening, husbandry and alchemical work. In each of these noble employments, a basic knowledge of Astrology, which teaches and interprets according to the whole of firmament and shows what is the relation between Man, the Earth and the stars (to paraphrase Paracelsus), is an important factor. Although spagyric preparations are highly therapeutic in themselves, and it is perfectly possible to confect them without any knowledge of Astrology — in fact, I know many people who do, and not without considerable success — following the stars will doubtless improve our results. Nevertheless, we must always remember that "the wise rule the stars," and thus intuition, vivid realisation of the right moment, and momentary providence always take precedence, provided that we are at Peace within and capable of attuning ourselves with those active forces which operate above the mundane 'plane of the stars'.

Analogy of the Microcosm and Macrocosm

From the preceding considerations we come to realise a substantial and unequivocal truth, namely, that Nature obeys causes without deviation. Through the Signature, natural effects reveal the character of their causes, for Nature is the Voice of God – it is, in the words of the 17th-century Welsh alchemist Thomas Vaughan, "not a mere sound or command but a substantial, active breath, proceeding from the Creator and penetrating all things." Thus each natural thing, as I have asserted in the first part of this article, is a materialisation of the idea, an incarnation of a principle, and simultaneously – its living symbol. In ancient Egypt, these Principles or divine qualities, the logoi of the later Greek academies, were known as Neters. Notice the close relation of the word 'Neter' to 'Nature' as well as 'Niter', which is a term employed cabalistically by alchemists to indicate a life-giving principle, as well as to denote an alchemical salt. Each Neter represents a stage in the universal process of Genesis, each manifestation of an idea becomes a link in the evolution of Consciousness, "from the original Word to the conscious return to the Cause," writes another alchemist, R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, adding: "Each natural symbol may be considered as a word in a phrase that, in reuniting all words, alone can define that abstraction which is called God."

It is through Analogies and Signatures that we come to recognise these symbols for what they are, for they are the Sage’s guides, and to be a Sage is to know the secret of Creation, which makes a Sage a Magus: master of the Magistery of the three Kingdoms – in the pattern of Hermes the Thrice Great. To approach the secret of Life, teaches Hermes, we must awaken the intelligence of Synthesis; we must, in a manner of speaking, have our eyes in our hearts, not our hearts in our eyes, and "hear with the understanding of the heart." This constitutes true Magic, and it is the key to Alchemy and the Art of Healing, and the best Medicine for our Minds: for truth is the greatest Arcanum, and it is only to be found in the inward essence of all things, which Nature reveals to us daily in her works, awakening our Consciousness of the divine Unity of all things.

Those who wish to explore the Theory of Signatures further will do well to consult the writings of Paracelsus, in particular Von den natürlichen Dingen and Book IX of De Natura Rerum (On the Nature of Things). Furthermore, one of the most exhaustive compilations of medicinal herbs and their planetary rulerships can be found in Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, first published in 1653, which to this day remains an excellent source of information on the subject.

The Great Work

The process of Creation — from primordial Unity, through the 'first Separation', or the duad, the creative Trinity, and into the Quaternary, or the Decad of Four – is an ever-present mystery, an unceasing revelation of Divine Will in action. The Word makes imponderable ponderable, the invisible visible, producing the manifested Cosmos from the seed of divine ideation. As above, so below – for everything that exists, has seed; this seed is the key to the regeneration of the specified being, but before the specification of the seed, there must needs exist a universal seed, the 'sperm of the world', sometimes referred to by the alchemists as the Universal Subject – their Mercurius. The Hermetic Law of Mentalism asserts that the Universe is Mental, and all is the creation of the One Mind. Thus one Idea compels one universal substance; one power, one matter, unfolding through all the transitory phases, from unity to multiplicity of forms. "Power," says Proclus in his Theology of Plato, "is every where the cause of prolific progressions, and of all multitude: occult power, indeed, being the cause of occult multitude; but the power which exists in energy, and which unfolds itself into light, being the cause of all-perfect multitude." This last power is exemplified by the Demiurgic Word, whilst the 'universal substance' is the 'secret water' of the alchemists, their Prima Materia or First Matter.

In his dialogue on Nature, the Timaeus, inspired by the teachings of the Egyptian temples, Plato writes: "It is necessary to consider three sorts of things. One, that which is generated; another, that in which it is generated; and the third, that from which the generated nature derives its similitude." Thus we have – in reverse order – the seed, the medium, and the manifested nature. This bears a direct analogy to the alchemical principles of Sulphur, Mercury and Salt. In his treatise On Matter, Plotinus – the 3rd-century Platonic philosopher, born and raised in Egypt – demonstrates that there is another matter prior to the one we know down here, which is spread under the intelligible forms and incorporeal essences; and this he denominates as 'intelligible matter'. He adds: "Hence, those who say that matter is essence, if they assert this of intelligible matter, speak rightly. For the subject there is essence, or rather, is the object of intellectual perception, together with that which it contains, and is wholly illuminated essence." In this conception, being is produced from form (seed) and intelligible matter (Prima Materia) – form being analogous to the One and to essence, and power analogous to matter. This “wholly illuminated essence” is the paradigm to which the Demiurgus looks up prior to his own creative act, which unfolds the occult multitude contained in the One Being into the light of forms. We find this idea expressed in the creation story depicted on the walls of the Egyptian Temple of Horus at Edfu, which mentions a fourfold process: creation, destruction, resurrection, and the second creation, from the Djaisu, or 'words of power'. This first creation may be compared to the occult progression from the One, after which "Darkness falls unto the abyss," to quote the Old Testament – the great process of fermentation of Primordial Matter begins, the germ which it contains becoming active. Finally, this paradigmatic world is 'resurrected' and unfolded into light through the words of power uttered by the Demiurge – bringing the occult potentiality into the ordered actuality of forms, the living Cosmos filled with the manifestations of the Neters. This is the second creation.

That is why the alchemists believe that all created forms are reducible to their prima materia, and indeed, the First or Preliminary Work in the preparation of the Philosopher’s Stone is to reduce the subject to its first matter, fix it and animate it into what they call their Philosophical Mercury, in which they would plant their solar or lunar seeds – the ferment. The process which ensues recapitulates all the phases of Genesis mentioned above, and the matter undergoes progression through the alchemical colours – the key phases being black, white, and red – governed by the corresponding seven planetary regimes, which begin with Mercury and terminate with Rule of the Sun, marking the perfection of the Work. Some of the greatest confusion stems from those writers who, having found their Mercurius in one substance, proclaimed that there is no other matter than this whereby the Sulphur, Mercury and Salt of the Philosopher's Stone may be found. A discerning reader will realise the futility and danger of such claims, on which point Johann von Friesau, the celebrated 18th-century German adept, remarks: "How difficult it would be to hold them accountable for this, who persist in their terrible caprice and lies. Since the Omnipotence of the Great God and the Divine Fiat are found in all things and are differentiated only by chance, although they are all the same in their innermost being, both in Metals, Minerals, Animals and Vegetables, as well as in the Astral Kingdom. It is already done and lies hidden in all things: just separate it from its husk, then you will obtain a crystalline being, the true Quintessence. If it is reborn once more, then you will obtain that which will give you health and wealth." Note the last sentence, dear reader, and recall the Mystery of Creation as depicted in Edfu, the Temple dedicated to the Horian principle of regeneration, for herein lies the Key.

All things carry in themselves the solar seed, writes Von Friesau, for it is the seed of all creation. This is further corroborated by Albertus Magnus, who says: “There is no elemental substance in whose final substantiation gold is not found.” Plotinus again evinces this in his treatise On Matter, where he speaks of the analysis of other metals into gold, saying: "Analysis also shows the existence of matter [i.e. of the formless and ultimate subject of bodies]. Just as if a pot should be analysed into gold, but gold into water; and water when corrupted, requires an analogous process." The analysis of metals into water is also supported by Plato in his Timaeus, where he says that "water is twofold; one kind of which is humid, but the other fusile," adding "that among all those which we denominate fusile waters, that which becoming most dense from attenuated and equable parts, is of a uniform kind, and participates of a splendid and yellow colour, is that most honoured and valuable possession gold, which is usually impelled through a rock."

Verily, "every metal was once a mineral water," writes Basil Valentine. Water, in the genesis of the Elements, can be seen as the inverse of the Cause, which is Fire. This is observed in its symbol, which is that of a downward-pointing triangle, as opposed to the upward triangle symbolising Fire. The latter indicates the Cause, the former is inverted Fire, the manifested Unity. Air and Fire are contained in Water by direct gestation; numerically it is Three, derived from One and Two. All stems from the relation of Fire, which is One, to Water, which is Three: three being, as I indicated in the first part of this article, the first procreative state. "Thus, in the beginning, all was Water, say our Masters, for although Water is not as yet formed matter, as is Earth, it is its source, and is truly matter without form," writes Schwaller de Lubicz.

The Three of Water becomes the Four of Earth when it is coagulated by the seed of Fire. Thus the symbol of the Earth is an inverted triangle of Water with a horizontal bar, symbolising Water which has taken on the compensating dryness of Fire – analogously, the pure triangle of Fire becomes the triangle of Air with a horizontal bar, symbolising Fire whose dryness has been compensated by the humidity of Water. The Philosopher’s Stone, the perfection of all perfections, is symbolised by a hexagram with a point in the centre. It is pure Fire in perfect marriage with pure Water, the Sun and the Moon embracing, signifying equilibrium where nothing dominates any longer, the four Elements having been reduced into a Unity. All things proceed from one Fire; and all things are resolved into Water. To understand this 'secret water', which stands for the Prima Materia, and the nature of the fire-seed, or the ferment, is the primary task of the Alchemist who undertakes the Great Work. The point in the middle of the hexagram is often replaced in alchemical iconography with the sign of Mercury. It represents the quintessential spark, the Universal Subject which descends, from its etheric origin, into the elemental region of genesis, incarnating the Idea through the fixing and condensing fiery spectrum of Sulphur, expressing all its possibilities, and returning to its source through the Element of Water. As without, so within; as above, so below. The Great Work, the fixation of the volatile and the volatilisation of the fixed, never ceases. It is the great spiritual quest of Man, seeking to re-unite himself with his own divine Cause by the marriage of his fire and water, the Higher Mind and Soul, which will regenerate his Being; it is also the quest of Nature, which seeks to express all the possibilities inherent in the creative Word, and restore the quintessential equilibrium of the Elements. In this task, which is the task of evolution and subsequent return to the Cause, Nature can be aided by the Alchemist – the Master of the Equilibrium.

The Art of Transmutation

In the fourth book of his astrological poem Apotelesmatica, the Egyptian priest and historian Manetho, writing in the early 2nd century B.C., remarks: "Venus alone, in conjunction with the beautiful Phaethon (the sun), indicated makers of gold, and workers of Indian ivory." Prior to the hellenisation of Egypt, Venus-Aphrodite was known in the Land of Khem as Hathor, and her cult was steeped in metallurgical lore. One of her appellations was "She who shines like Gold, the Eye of Ra," and the metal with which she was associated was copper. This is poignant for, as Paracelsus states in one of his works, "Venus is the first metal generated by the Archeus of Nature," calling copper metallus primus. Basil Valentine accords with this view, writing that the generation of copper "hath the first place after the Universal Mercury." The Egyptians understood this well, for the name of Hathor is derived from het heru, meaning 'House of Horus.' If we consider that Horus often symbolised the solar seed in the Egyptian conceptions, we may come to understand why the alchemists are wont to say that where there is copper, the solar seed is never far away.

Gold was "as plentiful as dust" in ancient Egypt, as we read in the letter of the king of Mitanni to the 18th-dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep III, but the art of making gold was most diligently concealed by the Egyptians. Olympiodorus, in his fragmentary treatise to Petasius, the king of Armenia, testifies to the fact that those skilled in the art exercised it solely for the use of the king, supplying his treasury in times of need. It was forbidden to pursue it outside of the precincts of the House of Life without the king’s explicit permission. We must remember that, before the decline of Egypt, the Pharaoh was an Initiate – an Adept of the Temple, who combined in his personage the spiritual and mundane kingship, symbolised by the combined crowns of the Upper and Lower Egypt. It was only in the latter days that usurpers claimed the throne, and ruled with might but without the spiritual wisdom to back it up, ever hungry for gold and envious of its precious lustre. It is here that we must search for the origin of that secrecy which shrouded the art of transmutation, and the subsequent fascination which it stirred up in the collective imagination of the Western world in the ages that followed. The decline of the Egyptian temples and the loss of their teachings separated Alchemy from its initiatic and medicinal roots, breeding various superstitions in its wake which, like grafts on a wild tree, proliferated in a rank luxuriance of strange doctrine.

In her dictionary of Greek history and mythology, The Bed of Violets, the 11th-century Byzantine Empress Eudokia makes the following observations concerning the Golden Fleece: "Dionysius the Mitylenean [who, according to Thomas Taylor, lived somewhat prior to Cicero] says, that a man, whose name was Krius, was the pedagogue of Phryxus, and that the sheep-skin had a golden fleece, not conformably to poetic assertion, but that it was a book written on skins, containing the manner in which gold ought to be made, according to the chymic art. Justly therefore, did those of that period denominate the skin golden, through the energy proceeding from it." The story of the Golden Fleece and the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts became one of the most tantalising alchemical allegories, representing the labours of the Great Work and the alchemical perfection achieved by transmutation – both material and spiritual. We find it consummately rendered in the second book of Giovanni Augurello's influential 1515 Latin poem Chrysopoeia, in which the Golden Fleece represents the Philosopher’s Stone, and the various localities and personages of the story become symbols of the many stages, processes and materials employed in the Work. Thus Alchemy is framed as a heroic quest, blending classical mythology with practical and philosophical dimensions of the Grand Oeuvre. And yet, if we were to believe Dionysius the Mitylenean, at the origin of this mytho-hermetic symbolism was an actual book on gold-making, written on sheep-skin, possibly dating far back before the time of Apollonius of Rhodes – the original author of the Argonautica, written in the 3rd century B.C.

I cite these obscure sources merely to show how ancient and how deeply rooted in our culture are the legends and stories concerning the 'art of gold-making'. Curiously, it was only in Medieval and Early Modern Europe that these tropes acquired such pronounced importance in the minds of countless ‘puffers’ and seekers of easy profit, that eventually they eclipsed the true purpose and grandeur of the Royal Art. Thomas Vaughan once observed that "it is the fortune of deep writers to miscarry because of obscurity." What's more, he added, the inferior wits, when they reflect on higher intellects, always tend to leave a mist in their beams — and thus it has been with the writers on Alchemy, for those who knew often wrote so obscurely that, inevitably, they instilled further confusion and fanciful notions in the lesser minds. On the other hand, as I have mentioned before, those with lesser wits set about to writing with affected authority, enthusiastically mixing truth with falsehoods – if not distorting the Art entirely – to the glee of the many doubters and detractors of Alchemy. As a result, the entire Magnum Opus was soon degraded in the opinion of the 'cultured' West into the loathsome art of gold-making, with hordes of greedy and desperate men attending to their bellows, blowing day and night in search of quick riches, bringing whole families and even kingdoms to ruin. “The whole world will one day see how much damage the sophists have done through their writings, and how many people they led to beggary," writes von Friesau, adding: "For this reason, you, students of this Art who receive this Treasure into your hands: keep it from ungodly men and let them sing till they are tired. Do not admit them even once, as ignorant persons, for none of them can obtain it, except the one to whom the Great God, by his Omnipotence, wishes to reveal it."

"Many there are," adds Vaughan, "who bestow not their thoughts on God till the world fails them. Do thou think on Him first and He will speak to thy thoughts at last." Indeed, as I indicated earlier, truth is the great Arcanum, and thus every substantial truth is a secret; it is a secret of the Creator. If we hope to discover it, we must first enkindle a light within our own selves by the aid of divine inspiration, so that we can see in the 'light of Nature', as Paracelsus was wont to say. The illuminated Adept can only indicate the way to follow, transcribing anew the teaching of the inspired men and masters of old. He cannot openly reveal the great arcana in writing, for this would only distort them, visiting all sorts of evils on his doorstep should the secrets he unlocks be prostituted by men of selfish disposition – this is a Law. Such was the mode of teaching elected by Paracelsus, whose writings serve as a finger-post to the lost traditions of the ancients; most importantly, he reminded us that Alchemy reveals the mysteries of Medicine and should be studied and practised for the healing and edification of Man, and not for his worldly enrichment. This is in harmony with how it has been promulgated in the East.

In the Ayurvedic teachings of India, Alchemy has never been considered independently of the Art of Healing, of which it forms an integral part. The techniques of transmutation have been handed down for thousands of years, but strictly in the medicinal and spiritual context. To give an example, the eighteenth and final shodana, or 'purification' of the Great Elixir in the tradition of the Rasashastra, consisted in the transmutation of quicksilver into gold, the performance of which was conducted by the Vedic alchemist with the sole view to attest that the Elixir has indeed reached a state of perfection which qualifies it as the true Medicine for Man. Thus perfected, it constitutes the highest Rasa, a veritable panacea for the healing of all diseases. It is also employed in initiatic rights, under the strict guidance of a Guru, or a true Master. The Vedic sages had a wholesome disdain for the art of gold-making. Instances of transmutation in India were considered 'karmically justifiable' only in very select circumstances, such as the production of large quantities of alchemical gold in the early 20th century in order to finance Mahatma Gandhi's independence movement, specifically the production of the charkhas or spinning wheels, which aimed to revive India's indigenous cotton industry. The importance of the effort on the part of the populace of India to shake off the shackles of British colonial oppression was deemed sufficient by the Sages to allow for large-scale transmutations of quicksilver to be performed.

In The Marrow of Alchemy, attributed to the mysterious 17th-century alchemist Eirenaeus Philalethes, we find a poignant story concerning transmutation, involving a disciple and his Master. The disciple, having met a true Adept of the Art and earned his trust, receives instruction in the higher secrets of Alchemy. Eventually, the Adept departs on his travels, but he leaves in the hands of his pupil a quantity of the White Medicine, also known as the White Stone – capable of converting base metals into silver – and a portion of his Mercury. “He told me that this was matchless treasure, if God would open my eyes to the use of it: else I might grope in blindness. With this dissolvent – which is the Hidden Secret of all masters – he multiplied exceedingly his Red Stone,” writes the author. The disciple, falling into the trap of his own covetousness, proceeds to work on his treasure ignorantly, hoping to multiply it, in which endeavour he eventually expends all his Tincture – but not before projecting a small part of it on metals, in order to witness and attest to the enthralling spectacle of transmutation. Eventually, he meets his Master again and informs him of his mishaps, hoping to obtain more Tincture; instead, the Adept speaks to him thus: “Friend, if God elects you to this Art, He will in due time bestow the knowledge of it; but if in His wisdom He judge you unfit, or that you would do mischief with it, accursed be that man who would arm a maniac to the harm of his fellow-creatures. While you were ignorant I gave you a great gift, but so that it should destroy itself if so heaven ordained. It is not right, I see, that you should enjoy it at present: that which Providence denies you I cannot give, or I should be guilty of your misconduct.” The Adept then explains to his disciple that although God had granted him knowledge, he nevertheless withheld its fruit, causing him to waste the treasure imparted by his teacher. “He foresees perhaps,” continues he, “that you would break His holy laws. I discern plainly that he will keep you for some years without the enjoyment of that which you would probably misuse. Learn that if you seek this Art without a ferment, you must beware of frequent error: notwithstanding all your care, you will stray from the right path and may not in the course of your life attain this treasure, which is the alone gift of God."

The 'ferment' which the wise Adept refers to has here a double meaning: overtly, the teacher is merely implying the error in the practice of his disciple, who failed to recognise the role of the alchemical Sulphur in his attempt to multiply the Stone; but on a deeper level, he reveals to his unhappy student a profound truth: without the guidance of our own Soul, which is attuned with the Mind of the Creator, our work on the Great Arcanum will come to nought. This is the true ferment, that fixing, coagulating Agent which is the Divine Essence within us, without whose guidance we are, inevitably, prone to "frequent error," and bound to "stray from the path." This Agent, and none other, will be able to fix our Mercurius into a crystalline purity and constancy of Mind, imparting to our whole being Peace profound, vitality, and wisdom. Thus, it is only by becoming the masters of the equilibrium within that we can hope to accomplish the Great Work without. Nature then will follow us in all our endeavours, for only the truly regenerated Man – one who has mastered the Art of Transmutation of the Mind – can in turn regenerate Nature. Such is the birth of a true Healer, the Adept of the Medicine of Man,

Cleansing the grimy windows of the Mind
With pure liquid gem-drops of sparkling Life. *

Conclusion

The purpose of Alchemy is refinement, healing and, ultimately, regeneration. This appertains to Man in his triple constitution – physical, mental and spiritual – as well as to all the other realms of Nature, from minerals and metals to plants and animals. Thus the fact of transmutation, as observed in the laboratory of an Alchemist, is not a goal in itself but only a testament to the One becoming many, and again returning into One through regeneration, in the ever-present and unceasing process of Divine Creation, the alchemical Genesis of the Mind.

I hope I have succeeded in demonstrating that the study and practise of Alchemy is not just some ephemeral pursuit of the much misunderstood Philosopher’s Stone, or the art of making gold; for, to echo the words of Thomas Lynne, Alchemy "is not of that kind which tendeth to vanity and deceit, but rather to profit and to edification, inducing first the knowledge of God, & secondly the way to find out true medicine in his creatures." This is what lies at the heart of the Spagyric Art, which is rightly considered to be the Mother of Medicine, and the primeval root and trunk from which the great tree of the healing arts had sprung. And so, dear reader, in the words of the great poet Wordsworth: Come forth into the light of things, let Nature be your teacher.

* from a poem by Matthew Sutherland.

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Paracelsus

In the second Afterword to his article the author continues his discussion of the eventful Life and Teachings of the great physician, philosopher and alchemist, Paracelsus

Never one to be easily discouraged, after his bitter departure from Basel Paracelsus continued writing medical treatises, including a book concerning "the French Disease," as Syphilis was known at the time, in the curing of which he was an expert. University authorities prevented the printing of this work, censoring it out of sheer envy. Despite his bitter disillusionment and his railings against the medical establishment of his day, he was still capable of expressing such tender and sublime sentiments as this:

"The main substance of the Art lies in experience and also love, which is embodied in all the high arts. For we receive them from the love of God and we should give them with the same love." True to his own words, he performed miraculous cures in Nuremberg during his brief stop in the city in 1530, treating lepers and one hopeless case of elephantiasis, without ever asking for a fee.

The period between 1530 and 1534 was a high water mark for his creativity. Paracelsus was adamantly pursuing nothing less than a complete reform of the entire system of Medicine. Not for nothing was he called Luther medicorum, the Luther of Physicians, fearlessly challenging the established medical practises of his time and advocating for an empirical, holistic and deeply philosophic approach to Medicine. To that period belongs his Paragranum, famous as much for its vituperative attacks on his detractors, as for "the principles of true Medicine" which he marshalled forth with striking clarity, seeking to establish the foundation of Medicine on the four pillars of Philosophy, Astronomy, Alchemy and Virtue (sometimes translated as Ethics). I have referred to these in my article.

To the same period belongs his Opus Paramirum, another work displaying the full brilliance of Paracelsus' philosophical vision. Therein he laid out his theory concerning the tria prima of Sulphur, Mercury and Salt, and how they contribute to health or disease. He posited that all diseases can be attributed to an imbalance in one or more of these elements, echoing the teachings of the Indian Ayurveda with its emphasis on the system of three doshas.

He discussed the importance of the Archeus, a principle denoting vital force of life, or the "inner physician," through the agency of which the tria prima interact on a more fundamental level with the four elements of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. He also advocated his approach to treating diseases by employing natural and alchemical cures to correct the underlying elemental imbalances, with the human body viewed as a microcosm of the Universe.

The year 1530 also saw him write Labyrinthus medicorum errantium, a scathing critique of the medical establishment and a manifesto of his own revolutionary approach to Medicine. It included discussions on Alchemy, Astrology and natural Magic; spiritual healing and the triple constitution of Man; and finally – on lumen naturae, or the light of Nature. This was one of the central tenets of his philosophic worldview. He explains: “Nature emits a light, and by its radiance she can be known. But in Man there is still another light apart from that which is innate in Nature. It is the light through which Man experiences, learns, and fathoms the supernatural.

Those who seek in the light of Nature speak from the knowledge of Nature; but those who seek in the light of Man speak from the knowledge of super-Nature. For Man is more than Nature; he is Nature, but he is also a Spirit, he is also an Angel, and he has the properties of all three. If he walks in Nature, he serves Nature; if he walks in the Spirit, he serves the Spirit; if he walks with the Angel, he serves the Angel. The first is given to the body; the others are given to the Soul, and are its jewel."

During that time he also wrote many other, lesser known treatises, focusing on hysteria, falling sickness, comets, the plague, the mineral springs, and so forth. More importantly, from around 1533 onwards he devoted himself ardently to theological concerns, writing no less than 123 works on that subject, most of which have never been published. This is a testament to his piety, demonstrating the simplicity and purity of his religious conceptions.

Unsurprisingly, he attacked the official Church doctrine and questioned its hypocrisy, its ostentatious ceremonies and rituals, ever searching for that spirit which inspired true religious impulse. He rejected all sectarianism, and was a staunch critic of fanaticism and rigid dogmatism, writing: "Among all sects there is none which possesses intellectually the true religion. We must read the Bible more with our heart than with our brains, until at some future time the true religion will come into the world."

In 1536 and 1537, Paracelsus brought to the press his medical masterpiece, The Greater Surgery. This was to be the only great publishing success of his life. It included discussions of the three orders of surgery and novel wound treatments (including his famous "weapon salve," a sympathetic cure which required that the ointment was applied to the weapon which caused the wound, rather than the wound itself, demonstrating action at a distance). It further expanded his philosophy of healing based on observation and experience, as well as the environmental, psychological and spiritual aspects of health and disease.

Between 1537 and 1538, Paracelsus completed his occult pièce de résistance, entitled Astronomia Magna, or the whole Philosophia Sagax of the Great and Little World – a vast synthesis of Philosophy, Magic and Theology. Divided into four books, it contains his mature concepts concerning Astrology and Alchemy, the creation of Universe and Man, the functions and types of Magic, and the interface between the light of Nature (i.e., astral light), and the spirit of Man which attracts it, etc.

He postulated two Creations, the first by God the Father, as set forth in Genesis, and the second by God the Son, or Christ. Only the latter is eternal, he claimed, since the former – which includes the elemental and sidereal aspects of the Universe – will be destroyed in the final reckoning of the world.

He argued that the creation of Adam by God the Father was from the limus terrae, or the dust of the earth, whereas Christ created the eternal limbus, the Primordial Matter from which he fashioned the eternal body of the resurrection. He distinguished Celestial Magic from Natural Magic, the former capable of accomplishing miracles through the power of Christ, the latter depending on the light of Nature which proceeds from the stars. He demonstrated that the analogy between celestial and natural Astronomy exists in all natural things, leading to Signata, which in turn gave origin to the Theory of Signatures, which I have discussed at length in my article.

It is important to point out here that Paracelsus criticised the deterministic approach to Astrology, proclaiming the superiority of the human soul (Higher Mind) over the inclinations of the starry vault. He writes in Astronomia Magna: "The wise man lives according to the image of God and not according to the ways of the world. And he who lives according to the image of God will conquer the stars." The old axiom, "the wise man rules his stars, the fool obeys them," is originally derived from Paracelsus' writings, in particular from his earlier but no less influential work, De Natura Rerum, wherein he makes the following remarks:

"The stars are subject to a wise man, and are forced to obey him, and not he the stars. But the stars compel an animal man, that whither they lead him he must follow, just as a thief doth the gallows, and a highway robber the wheel, the fisher the fishes, the fowler the birds, the hunter the wild beasts...Yet whereas he received that privilege from God in Paradise, that he should rule, and reign over all other creatures of the Universe, and should not be obedient to them … it is requisite that the stars should follow him and obey him, and not he the stars. And although he indeed be the Son of Saturn, and Saturn his Ascendant; yet he can remove himself from him, and so overcome him, that he can become the Child of the Sun; and bring himself under any other planet, and make himself its Son."

The hidden meaning concealed in the last sentence will not be lost on the occultists among my readers.

That Paracelsus was well aware of the duality of Higher and lower minds is evidenced throughout his writings, notably the Astronomia Magna where we find this teaching: "The wise man is the man who lives by Divine Wisdom and is an image of Him in whose likeness he was created. The wise man rules over both bodies, the sidereal and the elemental. Man must serve both, he must walk in the ways of each, in order to fulfil the law of the Lord and live in harmony with Nature, and with the will of God and with the divine spirit. He must not prefer the mortal body and its cleverness to the eternal image, nor must he reject this image for the sake of the animal body, nor consider the wisdom of the animal body as the eternal holiness."

And further: "The spirit that is bound to the flesh is indeed called a spirit, but it is subject to death, in contradistinction to that Spirit which God has given us and which is immortal. The spirit that springs from Nature guides the natural reason, but the Spirit of God guides divine Knowledge. The two spirits leave Man at the moment of death, but the first dies, while the other remains alive." This is pure and unadulterated Occult Science.

In another work, De Fundamento Sapientiae, he describes the seat of the Higher Mind: “There are two heavens in men; the one is Luna Cebrum [referring to the brain, ruled by the Moon], but in the heart of Man is the true Microcosmic heaven. Yea, the heart of Man is the true heaven of an immortal being, out of which the soul has never yet come, which new Olympus and heaven the Christ Spirit has chosen for His dwelling place in Man” (my parenthesis). This conception served as the fulcrum of Paracelsus’ mystical doctrine of Man as the temple of God. He extols the perfection of Man in these words:

"How marvellously Man is made and formed if one penetrates into his true nature...and it is a great thing – consider for once, that there is nothing in Heaven or in Earth that is not also in Man...In him is God who is also in Heaven; and all the forces of Heaven operate likewise in Man. Where else can Heaven be rediscovered if not in Man? Since it acts from us, it must also be in us. Therefore it knows our prayer even before we have uttered it, for it is closer to our hearts than to our words...God made his Heaven in Man beautiful and great, noble and good; for God is in His Heaven, i.e., in Man. For He Himself says that He is in us, and that we are His temple."

The peak of the spiritual humanism of High Renaissance is perhaps best represented in the following passage from De vita longa: "The book in which the letters of the mysteries are written visibly, discernibly, tangibly, and legibly, so that everything one desires to know can best be found in this self-same book, inscribed by the finger of God; the book compared with which, if it is properly read, all other books are nothing but dead letters – know that this book is the book of Man, and should not be sought anywhere but in Man alone. Man is the book in which all the mysteries are recorded; but this book is interpreted by God."

After completing Astronomia Magna and a number of smaller works, Paracelsus continued his pilgrimage through the mountains and valleys of Carinthia, performing numerous cures and ever hastening to the sick and dying with no hope of reward. He was often followed by his disciples, some of whom acted as his amanuensis to whom he would dictate his works from memory. Around the year 1540 he accepted the invitation of Prince Ernst of Bavaria, himself a lover of the secret arts, and settled in Salzburg under his patronage. At that point his reputation, which suffered greatly after his expulsion from Basel, was largely rehabilitated; but he was still the arch-enemy of the medical establishment.

It should not surprise us therefore that there exist many conflicting accounts of his death – some, rather implausibly, claiming that he drank himself to death in a local inn; others, that he suffered a stroke; yet others, that he became a victim of a treacherous attack by his enemies. The latter account, supported by his contemporaries, was vindicated by the analysis of Paracelsus’ skull performed by a German physician, von Soemmering, who concluded that Paracelsus, in consequence of being hurled down by his attackers, fell upon a rock and fractured his skull. Three days after his alleged accident, on the 24th September 1541, having dictated his last will in which he bequeathed his meagre possessions to the poor – he died, aged forty-eight.

Only a month later Michelangelo completed his masterpiece, "The Last Judgement" – a monumental fresco covering the entire altar wall at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. A fitting, if only symbolic tribute – by dint of a mere 'coincidence' (if we believe such things), or Cosmic irony – to one of the most remarkable figures of the Renaissance, so grievously misjudged by friends and enemies alike, whose only hope of just retribution would be fulfilled when he was safe at last in the arms of the Lord. "Let the judge judge me, but let the judgment of God be the highest judge," we hear him say.

He was bitterly hated by his enemies because they could never match the greatness of his medical genius, and sought to diminish it instead by slander. To his disciples, he was a vociferous champion of the human spirit, a monarch of all Mysteries, and a King of Physicians. Deep inside, he was a man of great humility, tender, pious, selfless in his love for the sick and the ailing, and a true votary of Nature. He was never to receive his due from his contemporaries, blinded by the dazzling brilliance of his passing star, and scorched by his searing wit; only posterity could judge him aright in times to come, provided that they find the key to the cabinet of his secrets, and unlock his Mind. Some there were that found it, and some still search for it today.

Echoing his own mighty undertaking and the spirit of his epoch, Paracelsus taught that "thoughts are free and subject to no rule. On them rests the freedom of Man, and they tower above the light of Nature. For thoughts give birth to a creative force that is neither elemental nor sidereal...Thoughts create a new heaven, a new firmament, and a new source of energy, from which new arts flow...When a Man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven, as it were, and from it the work that he desires to create flows into him...For such is the immensity of Man that he is greater than Heaven and Earth."

He did not attain to true fame until after his death, when the heaven of his own liberated thought inspired others to follow in his footsteps. Numerous enthusiastic adherents began the Herculean task of collecting the scattered works of their Master – most of which had never seen the light of day in his lifetime – and of disseminating his teachings. They taught the principles of his Medical Art, healed the sick with his magical and alchemical cures, and carried out his reform so far they could against the rising tides of the rapidly changing world.

It is only now, however – some five hundred years since Paracelsus' return from his legendary wanderings – that another great cycle begins which echoes closely the conditions and spiritual upsurge of his day. The mysterious Pluto will go out-of-bounds to the South of the ecliptic for the final time for the next few thousand years. Its extreme declination begins this year and will last for another decade, timed by the ingress of Neptune into Aries. The same cycle occurred between 1524-1553, covering the period during which the 'Swiss Hermes' began his mission and wrote his most important works. The astrologers among my readers will understand the full import of this event. History does not repeat; but it does rhyme.

What will we do with this monumental legacy of Paracelsus, who single-handedly attempted to reform the entire system of Medicine, and align it once more with the most ancient and vital tenets of the Art of Healing? Ours is his inheritance, and it behoves us not to squander it, for we live in a time of great opportunity and of terrible peril. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Adepts, the Sages, the Alchemists, the true Healers of the world, and let us once again reclaim our birthright and spiritual heirloom, which is the Medicine of Man.

Only thus can we conquer the blight of our age, with its earthly woes of stark materialism and its counterfeit arts, and regain our essential state and stature in the Cosmos. We have the sacred duty to understand the work of God, who lavished his arcana upon the natural world for our benefit and edification. His secret remedies are daily revealed by Nature in her divine seals. We must seek them out. The Medicine they carry may one day reveal to us all the mysteries of Man, and the Grand Arcanum of our own true Selfhood.

"Let no one who can possess his essence, belong to another," was the famous motto of Theophrastus von Hohenheim. Nearly a century later, Shakespeare echoed it in these famous verses from Hamlet, worthy of the Swiss Master:

"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell. My blessing season this in thee."

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