ERMET OURNAL
GI23 WLTIC JOUP,'i;lL is published
n_uzrterly
12 nntigua Street
Edinburgh 1
Sdited by Adam iIcLean
'~11 material c o p j ~ i g h t
the individ-
u a l contributors. Matericl not cred-
ited, copy-right the Zermetic Journal.
1 Editorial
I
5 An Interview with A r t -
Schwarz I
8 Splendor Solis
Adam McLean
13 The 'Confessio' of Heinrich
Khunrath - Part One
21 A Lullist Alchemical
Illustration
A d a m McLean @
28 The Reversed Lord's Prayer
A d a m McLean @
30 Alchemical Mandala No 13
Regular Feature
32 Advances i n Physical Alchemy
Modern Taoist Transmutations
Mobius Rex @
35 Archibald Cockren - Modern
Alchemist
Patricia Tahil @
40 Hermetic Meditation No 12
Regular Feature
41 Meyrink's 'Der Golem' -
A Study i n Alchemical Trans-
formation
D.M. Cooley @
44 Reviews
dit orial
One often meets people with a primar-
i l y intellectually centred interest
i n the esoteric. WNle talking u i t h
such a person ones mind often has t o
struggle hard t o keep i n pace with
the flights of their conversation a s
it soars and glides, races and dives
though various allusions, relating
ideas by tenuous, sinuous threads of
arguement. Recently while trying hard
t o follow the arguements of a person
uorking i n this way uith their intell-
ect, I happened t o respond using the
word 'Soul'. This brought out the
sharp and contemptous reply, "Of
course, I don't believe i n the exist-
ence of the human soul". I f e l t a
certain sadness a s I immediately in-
wardly pictured a great chasm that
lay between us, through this intell-
ectual negation of the inner exper-
ience of the Soul.
The word 'Soul' is, of course, much
misunderstood today. Indeed, I am sure
many of us feels certain hesitation
i n using it i n ordinary conversation,
one feels one will be misunderstood.
It conjures up i n peoples minds, a
picture of fay romanticism, or unct-
uous christian moral dogma. However,
t o the students of the ancient mystery
traditions of Hermeticism and Alchemy,
the word 'Soul' is a quite precise
term, indeed, a reality of one'% being
that is constantly experienced and not
some shadowy vagueness.
I believe it must be time that the
word 'Soul' was rescued from oblivion.
O f course, this could only come about
i f people were t o become more consc-
ious of their Souls. This sense of
being a Soul is, in fact, the found-
ation stone for true inner work.
There are two main ways i n which our
fellow humans can deny their souls.
Firstly, the way of the intellectual
already alluded to. People working in
this way, identify their inner being
with their intellectual faculties.
They see themselves as being mind.
This is indeed a comfortable view of
oneself, as the mind functions of an
intellectually sharp person are very
tangible inwardly, that is, such a
person experiences the activity of
their mindasavery definite and hard-
edged entity, something for them def-
inite and r e d . For someone working
i n this way, the Soul is an area of
vagueness, incapable of being penetr-
ated with bright intellectual mercury,
a fuzzy, unf ocussed axea of their
beings that they would rather deny
the existence of altogether, it is so
uncomfortable for them t o live with
intellectually. Mere mention of the
existence of Soul t o such a person,
can e l i c t an angry response.
For another group of people who work
more i n the realm of sensation than
the intellect, the Soul is also den-
ied as an experience. For such people,
the only reality is that which they
can outwardly experience, seeing,
touching, hearing. These people plunge
into experience, immerse themselves i n
outer activity, constantly seek outer
stimulation from television, music,
parties, travelling, other people. For
such people, the Soul is not real
because it is not tangible by the
outer senses. They repress their
awaxeness of their Soul, by their
quest for outer stimulation. Indeed,
they spend much of their l i f e avoid-
ing experiencing their Soul, by sat-
urating their being i n outer activity.
It seems t o me that the lack of true
relationship t o our Souls, is one of
the major causes of unhappiness and
disharmony among our contemporaries.
Without an awareness of and relation-
ship t o our Souls, there can only be
a vast gulf, a painful wound i n our
inner substance, when the inner ex-
perience of the Soul is repressed into
unconsciousness.
We must try t o live consciously with
our soul substance, nourishing it,
sensitising it, using it a s a vehicle
for sensing the world, for mediating
between the intellectual mind and the
sensations of the outer body.
The esoteric traditions i n the West
have always held i n trust a uisdom of
the Soul, and the means of encounter-
ing and working with its forces. Per-
haps one of the most important roles
for esotericism in the future w i l l be
t o help t o externalise i n the social
sphere some awareness of the Soul
realm of humanity, and the need for
people t o experience themselves pri-
marily as Souls. It has always been
the role of the Mystery Schools t o
lead people t o a vision of their
inner potentialities, and now i n the
present age when much of the . wisdom
of these Hystery Schools has been
made pubUc, there is no lack of in-
formation about the existence, or
indeed, the inner architecture, of the
Soul. Only one danger remains, that
people working with esoteric ideas,
lead them into %he sphere of the in-
tellect and enclose them there, and
subsequently pursue esotericism a s a
mind game.
A glorious opportunity t o know the
inner potentialities of our Souls is
available t o us today thrcllgh the
revealed wisdom of the past, but we
must work with ourselves t o know our-
selves a s Souls, and not allow this
living wisdom to die into arid in-
tellectuality.
An Interview with Arturo Schwarz
Your latest book deals, among other things, with the meaning of f i r e in
the alchemic process.
Is fire an agent of unification or of transform-
ation ?
It is both. It is an agent of transmutation a t a triple allegorical
level :.- the f i r e of awareness and illumination ; the f i r e of I w e ;
f i r e no longer allegorical but elemental, which "cooks" matter to help
it get rid of its dross anithus speed up its evolution towards the ideal
state of the philosopher's gold. The alchemists believed in fact that
the philosopher's stone could be obtained by accelerating the normal
evolutive process of minerals, which, in millenia, would cause them t o
evolve into gold. Fire was considered the principal agent for shortening
the natural ripening process. Naturally, the philosopher's gold is an
allegory for the initiate, for the adept who, fn the course of his magis-
tery has achieved awareness, which makes h i m conscious of the fundament-
ally androgynous nature of his psyche. The role performed by fire in
stepping up the process of maturation to.rards perfection is played, in
the individual, by love. Through love the individual can attain conscious-
nessof his real nature because the lover identifies himself with his
partner ; they become one and the same flesh, a single individual - in
the prime etymological sense of the wor6 : in- dividual, non-divided. The
unifying aspect of fire is bound up with the d.estructive polaxity. Like
a l l archetypal symbols, f i r e too has an ambivalent allegorical sense I it
is creative (as we have just seen) but also a destroyer. By reducing any
material t o ashes, which are the same and undifferentiated, f i r e performs
a standardising role by levelling out a l l differences. But this negative
aspect has its positive side, for fire destroys w h a t has had its day or
grown old and which constitutes an obstacle to the development of a new
individual. Moreover the levelling out of differences stands, in fact,
for the abolition of a l l contradictions, for the attainment of that state
of mind which allows us to conceive and to experience the non-duality of
duality.
lyain, f i r e , by kinging everything back t o the undifferentiated
state of .ash, is an allegory for tb ,regressus ad uterum, that is t o say,
for the retm t o the (sexually) undifferentiated state of the foetus,
which is th.3 essential precondition - in all esoteric systems - for the
attainment of awareness.
What are the different phases through which the alchemist achieves per-
fect awareness ?
There are four phases in the Magistery : Nigredo (blackening), Albedo
(whitening), Xanthosis (yellowing), and Iosis (reddening). In the f i r s t
phase of the lkgistery, matter (allegorically the individual) is "killed"
it dies in order t o be reborn i n the form of a purer essence which, in the
next stage, is once again killed in order t o be reborn still purer. Thus
each phase of the Magistery marks the death-rebirth of matter, and parall-
ely its ever-increasingrePlnement until, after the death of the fourth
essence, of the fourth stage, the f i f t h essence, the Quintessence, namely
the Rebis or Fillus philosophorum, which is the philosopher's Stone
itself, rises up triumphantly.
The Rebis i n fact, as the word itself implies (res-bis t the double
thing) is mathematically expressed by the number three i n order t o indic-
ate the non-duality of duality.
In other words, the Rebis is the sum of
the one (male principle) and of the two (female principle). It is not a
static and arithmetical synthesis of the one and the two, but a new tNrd
dynamic t-.,
the t h e e , which hasmoniously reconciles i n itself the con-
tributions made by the female side and by the male side of personality.
Naturally the four phases of the Magistery stand allegorically for
the four stages of development of personality, but I cannot put into a
nutshell w h a t I have set down
in L' immaginazione alchemica (published
by La Salamandra, 1980), for t o do so would mean giving a pastial and
hence false view of a lengthy and complex process.
How is f i r e represented in alchemic symbology ?
The geometric symbol for f i r e is a triangle with its vertex upwards.
In this case f i r e also represents the male principle of ouranic awareness.
Yater on the other hand (and the reference here is t o the cosmic water
from which U f e is born) stands allegorically for the female principle
of chthonic awareness and is represented by a triangle with its apex
pointing downwards. The vertex of the triangle pointing upwards also
indicates the direction of the flame, which reaches upwards ; whereas the
triangle with its vertex downwards masks the direction of the flow of
water.
The same upward tendency, I belleve, also occurs in the hieroglyph "Kha" ,
which with a single sign indicates different reallties such as the human
person, fire and the torch.
The hieroglyph "Kha"' (drawn i n the shape of two arms raised towards
the sky) anticipates the symbolic valence of the Ypsilon i n the alchemic
tradition. It designates the androgyne, the Rebis, and hence enlightenment
through awareness, which is why the ideogramme itself refers t o such seem-
ingly different words a s torch, candle, f i r e , integrated individual and
immortality.
A s matter of fact, the hieroglyph Kha expresses the aggregate
androgyny - awareness - illumination - immortality. The just-
ification of the association of the Kha with t h i s logical sequence is
extremely rigorous : the standing individual, with arms raised t o the
sky, is the mimesis of an axis-mundi, of a cosmic pillar.
In this pos-
ition he connects Earth (the feminine Chthonic principle) t o the Sky
(the male Ouranic principle) and by so doing he transforms himself into
the Rebis ; he integrates in himself both the male and the female prin-
ciples ; by becoming conscious of his own androgynous nature he conquers
immortality since immortality is the attribute of the androgynous gods.
Me have talked about f i r e as love ; this idea seems t o me immediately t o
suggest that of
f i r e as a principle of death.
Corresponding t o f i r e , principle of love, is Eros ; just as Thanatos
corresponds t o f i r e as being a principle of death. The couple Eros-
Thanatos has its most complete antecedent i n the couple Kama (god of love)
- Yama (god of death). These two divinities of the Indian Pantheon are
so closely linked that one ought not t o say -and
Yam, but rather
that Kama
Yama, Yama
Kama.
But her again this subject, which occup-
i e s the whole of Part Three of The Art of Love i n India and Nepal, just
published i n Italian by Laterza, is a highly complex one.
Does the colour of f i r e also have Its own specific meaning ?
Red is the colour of f i r e , of cosmic f i r e : of the Sun. And the Sun
has an ambivalent role just as f i r e has. It guarantees l i f e , and stands
f o r the illumination of knowledge ; but it is also a destroying agent :
it can dry up water, cause drought and blind the imprudent - the profane -
who cannot withstand the glare of knowledge. The archetypal figure of
the fire-sun is Agni, the Vedic divinity of f i r e and light ; Lord of the
Sky (Dyaus)
and of the Earth ( ~ r i t h i v i ) . Identified with the Sun (Surya)
and with the Moon (soma), the universal Father-Mother, he is also the
universal S p i r i t (anima mundi) that pervades and contains every thing
(Vaisvanara). He is omniscient (~atavedas) who transmits transcendental
knowledge (~rahmavid~a)
t o humans when he manifests himself as Angiras.
He is the Heavenly Fire ( ~ i v y a - ~ g n i )
, Surya.
Agni is born and reborn cyclically three times. The first time i n
the Sky, a s the Sun ; the second time i n the atmosphere, as lightning ;
and finally on earth, under its double aspect r a s destructive f i r e (of
the funeral pile ), and a s beneficial f i r e , both a s the flame upon which
food is cooked and as the gastric juices
(another of Agni's manifest-
ations) which "cook" the ingested food.
A s is the case with f i r e , A g n i is prevalently light, heat and love,
and hence h e i s t h e supreme transmuting agent. To sum it up, Agni is
ICama-Eros-eroticism, and the allegorical colour of AgnI-Kama-Eros, a s
well as that of illumination, awareness, is one and the same, Red.
Splendor Solis
Adam McLean @
The 'Splendor Solis' is one of the most important and well known
of alchemical works, primarily through the beautifully illuminated
manuscript in the British Likary (Hasley Ms. 3469). These extremely
fine water coloured illustrations have been reproduced in many recent
books, and the profound symbolism of these 22 illustrations touches
our souls even some 4 centuries after they were conceived, so powerful
and archetypal is their content.
This work was published in,the 1920's by Kegan Paul, London, in a
translation by J.K.
( ~ u l i u s Kohn ?) with black and white illustrations
of the 22 figures from the Harley M s . Regretably the translation was
extremely b d , being a paraphrase and distorted summary of the original
text, rather than a true translation. This had led to the text being
incomprehensible and the coherence of the work being unfairly question-
ed. A new translation by Joscelyn Godwin of the original German text
has recently been completed and this is shortly t o be published in the
Magnum Opus series, and this will allow student t o make a fairer
appraisal of the content of the text.
The Splendor Solis is credited a s being written by the undoubtedly
pseudonymous, Salomon Trismosin. Nothing much is known of this adept
who claimed t o be the 'Preceptor of Paracelsus' , although a legendary
account of his l i f e is prefaced t o the J.K. version.
This legend would
appear t o be an allegory of the alchemical quest rather than a biography
proper.The kismosin Literature appears during the closing decades of
the 16th century, and in particular was gathered together a s the compend-
ium entitled Aurum Vellus
h he Golden ~ l e e c e ) published i n 1598 a t
Rorschach. This material is in keeping with the spirit of the late 16th
century, using symbolism i n the form of engraved plates, t o refer t o the
different levels of the alchemical process, both the outer physical work
and the inner work on the soul. The text constantly shifts between
these two realms, using p b s i c a l analogies t o describe soul processes,
and projecting inner soul experiences onto the changes occurring i n
substances undergoing transformation in the alchemist's retorts. The
Splendor SoUs is a fine example of the interweaving of these two
realms.
We w i l l focus f o r the purposes of this article upon the 22 illust-
rations t h a t accompany the text of the Splendor Solis. On first en-
countering these symbols, one might be excused f o r trying t o connect
them directly with the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot. Upon deeper con-
sideration it w i l l become obvious that these cannot be related i n such
a simplistic one-to-one correspondence, however, these 22 figures
work much l i k e a Tarot a s archetypal pictures that can open the quest-
ing soul t o facets of its own being. Thus one can gain much from con-
templating these 22 archetypal figures a s one would the Tarot symbols.
Through my own inner work with these illustrations, I believe there
t o be an underlying structure t o the sequence of these figures, which
is t o some extent also found in their arrangement i n the text. They are
not merely 22 unrelated symbols but are tied together into a coherent
whole.
They can be analysed as forming the following patterns-
(The Prime material of
the work)
5
6
7
8
9
1
0
1
1

(Seven stages of the
Process i n allegory)
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
(The seven ~ e t o r t s )
19
20
21
22
(The End of the work)
Illustrations 1 - 4 The Prime Material of the Work
Illustration 1 shows us the arms of the Art, the shield bearing the
figure of the Sun. In the second figure we see the alchemical philosoph-
e r urging us t o seek the nature of the four Elements. Next, figure three
presents us with a double fountain into which two streams of liquid are
pouring. Upon this fountain a maxtial figure stands guard with a drawn
sword. Figure four pictures f o r us the meeting of the pohxities, the
Solar King with the Lunar Queen, an important aspect of the alchemical
work.
These four illustrations reveal the nature of the foundation f o r
the alchemical work. The shield bearing the Sun disc, with the actual
Sun shining above, is a picture of the alchemical task of incarnating
the spiritual i n material form, of bringing the Macrocosmic Sun into
the Micrososmic world, (symbolised here by the emblazoning of the
image of the Sun upon the shield). The shield is the blank tablet of
matter into which the alchemist must lead the spiritual. This requires
working t o extract the essence of the Four Elements of the rnaterial
world as the second figure shows. This work of alcheny is not just an
act of the Philosopher facet of our souls, but requires the courage of
the martial knight figure of the third illustration, t o unite the two
streams of the Couble fountain into one. The fourth illustration shows
the meeting of the Solar and Lunar forces-the f u l l experience of these
polarities and their integration axe a fundamental part of the alchem-
ical work. Thus the first four illustrations prwide the four corner-
stones of tke work of Alchemy. Without this foundation one cannot hope
t o begin the true work of transformation.
Illustrations 5 - 11
This group show an allegory of the process of transformation. Lack
of space he~prohibits going into a detailed description of this
sequence of stages, a s it would be necessaxy t o provide the seven
illustratiorsof this sequence, however, they can be shortly described
a s follows : -
5 The &traction of the Ore
6
The Tree of the Soul
7 Tie Death of the Old King
8 T i ascent of the purified man from out of the dark mud and
his being clothed by an Angelic figure
9 The winged Hermaphrodite nith the Egg
10 Tie Beheading and Dismembering of the body
11 The Bath of Wansformation
These seven illustrations provide us nith symbolic material of
great strength. Those who meditate upon these figures w i l l find there
powerful images of soul processes. The very form and strength of their
expression touches our soul &ectly.
Illustrations 12 - 18 The Seven Retorts
The next seven illustrations a l l picture flasks in which is seen
i n symbolic form the alchemical transformation. This is the same trans-
formation 2s was pictured in 5 - 11, but i n a more symbolic form,
abstract and somewhat removed from the direct closeness t o the realm
of the human soul, that makes the first group of seven figures rather
more uncomfortable t o live with inwardly.
The seven are as depicted above. Illustration 12 opens this sub-
section snouing a dragon being nourished by a young boy *works with
bellows t o stimulate the dragon's activity. The -on
is a picture
of the primal untamed forces of the soul. The young boy is the new
impulse of transformation that works t o transmute the Dragon forces.
Certain forces and substances pass between them, and this is a third
element we can perceive i n this figure.
I n the next illustration, number 13, the second i n this group,
these three facets have separated out and form themselves into three
birds, one Black, one White and one Red. These are the well known
stages i n Alchemy ; Nigredo - Albedo - Rebus.
I n the third of this series, illustration 14 of the Splendor Solis,
these three birds have fused together, although not entirely, t o form
the cockerel with three heads. This cockerel r i s e s i n the flask, as a
kind of sublimation.
Its own inner threefoldness has only been integ-
rated i n the lower facet of its being, i n the higher head element the
tkceefoldness is still undigested and more work requires t o be done.
Up t o this point the flasks have been unsealed and flames have been
playing below heating the contents. From now on the external heat is
no longer necessary, and tkprocess continues by its own inner energy
and momentum.
I n the fourth figure, illustration 15, this process of integration
continues i n a dragon form, the sublimation of the cockerel bird
descends i n t o the lower forces and becomes the triple-headed Dragon.
This, the fourth stage, masks the turning point of this sevenfold pro-
cess.
In the f i f t h stage, illustration 16 of the Splendor Solis, a new
synthesis of the manifold energies results i n the picture of the Peacock
with its resplendent tail, and its iridescence of colours. This is the
first positive emergence from out of the nigredo.
The next stage, figure 17, shows the formation of the White Tincture
of the Lunar forces, here shown as the Queen holding orb (in her right
hand) and sceptre (in her l e f t hand) and standing i n an effulgence of
light.
The f i n a l stage of this process, is the Rubedo, illustration 18,
showing us the Red King with orb (in Ns l e f t hand) and sceptre (in his
right hand), complementing the Queen's orb and sceptre.
This is an archetypal picture of the transformative process in
Alchemy, and it applies on both the material level and the soul level.
On the material level we recognise the seven stages as
A dissolving of the Prime Material
The separation of the Three Principles
Salt-Sulphur-Mercury
Tbe uniting of the Three Principles i n an outer way
The inner digestion of these principles, working deep into the
material nature
The Resolution and integration of these Thee Principles, the irid-
escence of the Philosophical Mercury i n the stage of the Peacock's
Tail
The Preparation of the Lunar Tincture - White Stone
The Preparation of the Solar Tincture - Red Stone
The Final Four Stages of the Work
Illustrations 19 - 22
These can be s m i s e d a s follows :
The rising of the Black Sun - a counter Sun
The Play of Children
The Work of Women > Two allegories of the work of Alchemy
The setting of tre Sun i n a l l its splendour
This shcrtarticle can hardly do justice t o the symbolic or textual
content of the Splendor Solis, which ranks a s one of the masterpieces
of the Alchemical tradition, but I trust that it may have pointed t o
some possible interpretations of the symbolism that might help t o
unravel the thread of the alchemical process woven into its sequence
of illustrations, that are now so well known.
THE SPLFNDOR SOLIS
i n a new translation by Joscelyn Godwin is avail-
able late i n August 1981 as Number 8 in the Magnum Opus Hermetic Source-
works series, with the 22 illustrations hand coloured i n accordance with
the early printed editions of the work, i n a limited edition of 250
copies a t £20.00
($50.00),
supplied also with a set of symbol cards.
SPLENDOR SOLIS SYMBOL CARDS
available separately from the book, 22
black and white line engravings from the printed edition of the work
21.20
($3.00).
The "Confessio" of Heinrich Khunrath
A PARAPHRASD TRANSLATION BY J . B . CRAVEN
PART ONE
( ~ o l l o w i n ~
up the short piece i n the last Hermetic Journal No 12 on
Heinrich Khunrath, I am publishing a summarised translation of his
Confessio of 1596. This, t o my knowledge, has never been translated and
published i n English, but I recently discovered i n some Mss notes of
J.B. Craven,the following pixaptrased translation, a s part of a book he
w a s writing on Khunrath. A s this, i n spite of its obvious faults, can
bring us closer t o making an appraisal of the value of Khunrath's ideas
intkabsence of a fully documented translation, I make no apologies for
reproducing it here a s a two part article. This shows us quite clearly
that Kf~unrath made the step into a Spiritual Alchemy, both out of his
inner work and his work with substances, and it helps t o fill i n a
l i t t l e more of the background t o his esoteric christianity that was so
influential on the evolution of the Rosicrucian impulse.
A. klcL. )
It w i l l be convenient t o consider the two Volumes together, regarding
the longerWConfessio" as the full grown development of the small volume.
Khunrath Mces f o r his motto the sentence,
"Although something may
not be known t o you, it may be known t o others".
The work is designed
t o be instructive - the lesser work was hortatory.
I do not profess t o
give an explanatory commentary on the "Confessio" only by a reasonable
recapitulation t o give an account of it, a s much a s possible i n the words
or a t least ir! the sense of the original.
TO THE READER
Khunrath wishes a l l grace and blessing, especially t o those who are
seaxching a f t e r the natural Catholic and ur.con-,uerable Truth.
The wonderful Stone of the Philosophers has been explained and proved
t o have a solid foundation i n the third figure of the "Amphitheatre". Some
"lying followers" of the hril Power (Khunrath was alriays very sensitive t o
criticism) sesm t o have thrown doubt upon the sacred number Seven, a num-
ber specially used in Holy Scripture and in the works of Nature, and f u l l
of the truth of Divine secrets.
What the Philosophers' Stone is, has been explained by me, both in
description and in descriptive terms in the "Amphitheatre", as also in the
Confession already published. Thus by means of many accurate writers, and
the t r d t i o n s of learned persons, both in the theosophic Oratorium, and
in the Laboratory of natural Alchemy, I bring t o light the Catholic or
Common Natural Chaos, in which lies the Salt of Wisdom - AEsoph, Hyle, or
first created thir~gs of the world. A l l material things are in this. It is
the mercury of the Catholic or Common Nature, according t o the Subject or
manner in which the Salt of Wisdom lives.
Many judgements hava been passed on my works, accorcling t o the natures
of different people. Some declaim against my person, some scoff, some
worldly persons speak in a way becoming their nature. Some show jealousy,
some despise, some even blaspheme - but true it is, each bird sings as its
beak is grown. It is the way of the world. Yet I am glad to say that good
people and experts understand the things I have written aright. Only those
divinely taught, and enlightened by the Light of Nature, can come t o the
proper conclusion. Hay God convert a l l perverted hearts, and give them
power t o reognise and accept the light of truth, a s found in the Holy
Bible, in the Great Book of Nature, and in themselves - But a threefold
shame f a l l on the Devil, the originator of Evil and on a l l his hardened
scholars. Amen.
Although the contents of my "Amphitheatre" and other writings, have
been the subject ofmuch dispute, yet I believe they will stand. The clever
talk of scoffers does not disturb me, and although I have never in my l i f e
made the Stone, yet I know of a certainty of its existence and of its
power. But I shall onlyask my detractors t o wait a U t t l e , and I shall
give a statement and account a t every point, how, when, whence and in what
manner I have a true knowledge of w h a t I write about. This is,God be
pralsed, the 23rd year I have been working a t Alchemy, theosophically and
practically, and I have i n that time read not a few books, mitten, printed,
good and bad, have had many a queer tNng before me, and have copied many
wonderful receiptsmd processes and worked with them i n a laboratory,
have burned many a fine load of coals, partly in the chemical laboratory,
and partly th-ough others. I have had t o put my hands i n lime and coal, in
order t o know, or t o get.to the bottom of something properly, have had t o
build stoves and tear them down again, and have broken many large and small
glasses for distilling, and such like vessels and retorts. I have travelled
far after many an expert, in order t o learn some good from h i m , and have
spent much before I became really acquainted with what Alchemy and Chem-
istry are. Before1 received the gift ofDistinction i n this A r t of God, I
have learned to distinguish the bad and false, and t o maintain the good
and the true.
If any say I am merely an enthusiast, because in this book of visions
and extraordinary spi-=Ltual. revelations, you are only a foolish dreamer,
who does not know or consider w h a t that word "enthusiast" really means. It
is the Divine Breath, and if I am a fanatic, so must have been Bezaliel,
Aholiab, and z d l other wise men into whose hearts God has put wisdom. King
David, who never studied in this way, from a shepherd boy became a prophet
and a man of God, Solomon who in one night's dream, one night's sleep, was
filled with wisdom. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and others, prophets and apos-
tles, became wise and leamed. The special promises of God tlrough St
13 -14
James andst Paul and our Lord's own words are still show!! to be true i n
the appearance and teaching of numberless geniuses. Even today everywhere
examples are found, and amongst these some who do not study from books,
who can neither read nor write. Scoffers should pray t o God t o make them
enthusiasts. Does not S t Paul declare that there are diversities of gifts,
yet one God who worketh a l l in all. After a l i t t l e he states that he has
translated his "Confessio" into good German from the small latin edition
so as t o make it clear "for the benefit of our Germans.
"But it is", says
Demosthenes, "difficult to please everyone". To this the wise greek Solon
agrees, saying it is difficult t o please a l l in great things. But you, my
kind reader, pray God, for the Spirit of Divine Wisdom, that He may remove
your lack of understanding, and by the gracious ray of Divine Wisdom, make
you understand Scripture, Nature and yourself. I comnend you t o God.
Dated, Magdeburg, i n the Golden.Dome, on my travelling through, 13th June
1597.
The next page gives a motto from John Picus Mirandola, - "Frustra
Katuram adit, qui PANA non attaxerit" - and extracts from Orpheus - "in
hymus de Pant".
CHAFTEl ONE
beginning, Khunrath announces toemyone his belief that :-
God the One Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the beginning created
by the Word, out of Nothing, One Primate, and i n the beginning of a l l
Chaos, from which afteruards he created the whole world. Consisting of
Heaven, Garth and Water, animated and made holy by Ruach Elobim moving on
the Waters, that is the Dark Abyss, a mixture of Water and Earth : also
that he made Adam, the first man, the first of us all, and father of all,
in the beginning, an image of the Elohim - the image of God i n righteous-
ness, true holiness and immortality, is wisdom powerful, i n understanding
so that hecould recognise God, understand, love, and call upon Him, honour
and praise Him with honest and just works,
so that as God the Lord Is one
in the Being of Trinity, Man might be one in the same way i n regaxd t o
Persons threefold
i n a differing being, as of earthly body, heavenly
spirit and living vivifying Soul, a trinity composed by God, breathed i n
by Himself, given to the very same first Man, together with his children
and cUldren1s children. Well is he who can accept and understand this.
From true fatherly grace and goodness, gratis and for nothing, a s a tnily
magnificent g i f t of God, of the alone giver of a l l good - that is the Son
of the Great World, so out and from their double-natured seed, which is
the Soul Nurse of the Son of the World, a t a l l times of the year and
seasons - can be found and received - a t its place, one time as good as
another. Consider "Chaos, Magnesia, Ars Hermetis, mercurium crudum phil-
osophoruxn" or universal, that is the common Great Trinity of the World,
being composed of Body, Soul and Spirit, which is the only right Catholic
subject and material of the Philosophers' Stone, of the Universal Trinity
or Great Stone of the Wise, and those loving Wisdom, also of all cabal-
istic, divine natural alchemistic, wonderful things in heaven and earth,
'the most wonderful subject i n heaven and earth,' a s says Agrippa.
Since then Mankind has received from God, through Nature and i n the
Great World, a certain and peculias subject endowed with all senses -
"Magisterium, materia e t materia partis, in quicunque operis gradu, LAPIS
appelantur.* This Phlhophers can prepare from it their Universal Stone,
wblch is above a l l other natural and artificial Stones. Some might think
that they should take the Stone for the subject or material, such a s Ruby,
Crystal, coarse or big field stones, f i r e stones of the colour of horn
(evidently flint) , a l l kinds of water, earth and sand, gravel, etc. It is
above all these. It is the Mercury of the Philosophers, alive and active
together with its parts entirely for a stone consisting (or of the con-
sistency) of melted wax.
Elixir and universal medium coagulated. There
is nothing equal or similar t o Our Stone i n the whole world,and it can
only be used i n the already mentioned Chaos, i n which alone is the Mag-
nesia, the Son of the Great World. But a s Arnold and others say, the
Material itself cannot be the perfect Elixir, art and work are required.
Both Morien and Rosarius say that there is only one thing out of which
What you deske is made - there, body, soul and spirit axe together.
Another writer speaks thus, "Dur Stone is of an Animal, Mineral and
Vegetable nature". Geber has added, "It is only one thing, one medicine,
one Stone i n which a l l perfection consists". Christ arose out of this,
the Mediator who has given Himself for a l l , having browht all things
together into One. A s Senior says, "Suffering natures w e e together".
The Stone can be mixed with nothing, for everything from without goes
against its nature. The material acts and boils i n itself, i f its inner
fire has been stirred from without by the secret philosophical fire.
Senior makes a compazison with a tree. Its boughs,blossoms and fruits are
i n i t s e l f , a l l from one seed. So is the Stone. It is the Phoenix - kills
itself with its own arrow, dissolves i n itself, blackens, whitens, coag-
ulates, then it is red. It imbibes itself, dissolves itself, and its
soul by means of its spirit prepares its o m body, and its body takes on
again its own soul. Hermes and Senior call Chaos, the Microcosm or the
l i t t l e world, the egg of the philosophers, not the sort of an egg pro-
duced by an ostrich, hen, goose, pigeon, only this by comparison. Just
as in an egg, everything belonging to a young hen is found, so here
everything necessary t o the Stone is t o be found, i n one mass or piece.
It has its own name,concealed a s itself is, i n a secret from frivolous
people. Strange names have been given t o it for concealment.
So it is
called 'The Hidden Stone'.
The common materials, Mercury, Sulphur, Salt
are aU. dissolved into primal material, but the chief secret is unwritten.
It is the function of the Sun and Moon. Gratian wisely says, "Take what
you should take" - "Do w h a t you should do . then 'you will have w h a t you
ought t o have". So do wise men answer vgguely. The Great Stone is Christ
and Isziah the Prophet saw Him, but he had no pleasing form - he was
despised and rejected of men. Thus is the PhilosopherS Stone also hidden.
Aymon says if he had not concealed our Stone under wonderful names, even
children would have laughed. To those who understand, the matter is -
easy. It can be taught and learned i n one day, i n fact i n one hour,all
that is necessary to be known, could be put in six or twelve lines.
Bernhard says, "I t e l l you that, whose eyes God opens t o understand the
Science, would be ashamed a t the round about ways which are used, for it
is so easy, one would scarcely, belleve it a play f o r children, a work for
women. Care is needed f o r great mischief may arise from naming i t , Them
fore, fear God, what you seek is not l i t t l e , but the greatest treasure of
allW.God is the guardian of the Stone, and of its Name, from the world,
false, unfaithful and wicked. Many PNlosophers have died, rather than
reveal these secrets.
(Then follows an interesting passage of self revelation by the author)-
"After I had studied the Science for many yeaxs, I learned by the special
grace and wonderful teaching of God, the subject of the Stone. How much
trouble, vain work, care, unrest and expense, both in laboratory and i n
+savelling, I might have spared myself, i f I had known it sooner a t the
13- 16
beginning, but I had t o w a i t the time till God sent it. God did not wish
it t o be sooner, Wait in patience then, and when the t i m e comes, what
should corn= will come, as Paraclesus truly says.
CEIAPTEFl TWO
I loPw all about the Magnesia, I have examined it. Yes ! I have seen
it, and speak what is true, and bear witness before the whole world, so
that many may consider this wonderful work of Nature. I believe that
Magnesia is the Son of the Great Work, and the Universal ran Stone of
the Wise. Chaos or Magnesia, Son of the Great World as Bern&
says,
is known and the whole world has it before its eyes, and yet knows it
not. Hermes has said, "I have this Science from the Inspiration of the
true living God, who has been pleased to make it known, not in books,
read one hundred times, but by special inspiration." Geber and many
others teach that they acquired the true Wisdom by visions awake or
asleep and other wonderful Cabalistic and divine magic. God still pres-
ents a drink from Joseph's Well. Angels awell in churches, Oratories,
and closets, and God is with us. Prayer and work must ever go together.
Spirits and Angels are sent by God t o give special assistance.
I placed a l l my thoughts in God t o know the Magnesia, that is the
Catholic Stone of the Philosophers, so I shall now in part &scribe the
marvel. Hermes has said, "It is the strength of all strengths".
It
conquers bravely with power the strength of the four elements. Therefore
it is called - "Elixir Fortikudo", as also as Scalinger says, it is
called EL, i n the Hebrew, a s in the Latin POTENS, mighty and strong. I
mean one, X, the perfect numbers, the Greek letters EIS, is called in
Latin, the splendour, or spark or lightning.In this manner I say, E.I.X.
is really a clear light or spark of the one mighty or strong. Therefore
it is the very highest thing existing, that of which Geber says - I have
searched everything, and have learned much, but have seen nothing contin-
uing t o exist i n the fire, but only the humid residue which is the root
of a l l metals. It is the true Aqua Permanens, the remaining and ever-
living Water, for it remains existing in the fire, in the beginning and
end of our philosophical work. The dry transparent matter of the phil-
osophers, Water which does not make the hands and feet wet, which is
neither devoured i n the fire, nor yields its parts, one from another, but
remains in the f i r e quite whole, or quite unburnt or undissolved, comes
out t o the same weight, not the common Mercury which f l i e s auay. Hermes
calling it Elixir, says it is a thing that does not die as long as the
world shall exist. It is the Saturn of the Philosophers, the oldest sub-
stance of the golden age. Plato says Our Stone is never touched (i.e.
hurt) by fire. Out of it Our Mercury has its origin. Not by urine or Sal
Ammoniac, a s gold and silver are released, Nature alone makes the dry
water.
It is the purest substance and the innermost being, which lies
hi6 in quicksilver, as in a house or vessel. Arnold describes the first
material of the metals a s a vaporous substance, which has in itself a
greasy dampness, and from which substance the scientist separates the
Philosophical bmpness useful for the work, and which is clear a s a tear,
and i n which dwells the metallic Quintessence, agreeable to the metals.
Thus it purifies the tinctures, because it has both natures of Sulphur
and Mercury. Fythagoras has declared that a l l the secret of this Science
Is in Lead. Rhazes says that "in lead IAe hiciden Gold and Silver." Ovid
has declared that "time devours all things". The f i r s t material devours
all that is made of it, or comes from it. Saturn devours his children.
The 30n of the Great World is the strongest of all things. The Father is
13-17
the Sun,
the Moon it the Mother. The Sun is the Soul of the World, the
Moon, Primate water, Hyle, so by Schamin (Ether, the spirit of the body
and the body of the spirit, that is sometimes a s i f it were a body and
a t other times as if it were not a body, and a t one time a s i f it were
a soul and again a s i f it were not a soul) is the world united, as
Agrippa says. Originally hermaptulodite,
self mixed, this is the beginn-
ing of Earth and Water, TOHU a d BOW, that is desert or empty, the
Ruach Elohim breathed and created, and this also applies t o the Micro-
cosm, a fiery watery Spirit Water, a quiduening power moving in itself,
perpetual motion by and w'rth-a Catholic Spark of the Spirit of the Lord,
or as the Hebrew says, by the Breath of the Lord, the I'rinity a s taught
by Moses i n the beginning on the Watery Chaos, the Nature Soul of the
World.
CHAPTEX THREE
Nature itself is a wise, quickening light and fire, moving i n i t s e l f ,
and doing wonders.
God i n Trinity, a f i r e and Spirit originating from itself, making
the world holy and pregnant, keeping a l l that is created and iri the Great
World.
In God is the Soul of the World, the Light of Nature shining in dark-
ness. A l l possess, even the grass, an imortsl Spirit. In all is a light
which by its power, and by the help of.the Spirit of God still gives Kab-
allstic power, and Alchemists by this become wise. All is before the
world, but is not recognised by it. The Salt of Wisdom is without
Sulphur, and both without Mercury. The Ruach-Elohim is a complete
existence, not the third person, yet belonging to that Person.
In order t o understand the great Secret, know that this great light
of Nature is an emanation from God in Trinity, and of the Mvine Power
and Spirit, and fills the Earth and should be in everything.
Jehovah
in the beginning by means of the Divine Spirit, has made the Chaos cor-
poreal, and has concealed in a material way, yet made visible for a
useful purpose.
Theokosmos, God and the World, in this dwells the whole of the
living Nature. The Macro- and Micro- Cosmos are united by Schamim.
The inconceivable Word and Eternal Son of God has been received
through the Spirit of God in the pure Virgin body of M y , disguised
itself in our poor flesh, first in Adam, the red earth, primeval dust.
The Virgin was also of the primeval earth. The flesh of Christ is
therefore taksn from our flesh, for a l l have the same Father. The
flesh of C h - i s t was not newly created i n Mary, but from her material
blood and seed of woman, made holy by the Holy Ghost, instead of man,
and without sin. The Stone is the natural image of C h r i s t and is in
the great Book of Nature made the Universal Medicine, and Saviour of
the G-t
World, renewing being, being filled with love.
CHAPTER FOUR
I saw brought into the laboratory the Green Catholic Lion of tiature,
that is the fruitfulness of Nature, which comes t o all material things.
O m Vitriol is blood red internally. Hennes says, "0 IIatura &ma
naturarum creatrix ... cum Lumine venit e t cum Lumine genita est, e t
quam tene'brosa nebula p p e r i t , quae Omnium Mater est".
13- 18
He who has seen the Green Catholic Lion of Nature conquering a l l
natural things, enticing from its holes, mountain and earth, has smelt
it and proved it, as well as its rosy coloured blood, can understand.
The Green Lion of Catholic origin conquers a l l in Nature. The fiery
spaxks of the Soul of the World, or Light of Nature, are scattered i n
and through the Great World, in vegetables, animals, Gold, Mercury,
minerals, t o each has been given its own spark of light.
The universal Elixir or great Stone works i n such a manner as noth-
ing else i n the world. It is complete i n its existence. T b complete
Stone is neither Gold nor Silver, only & them. Experience teaches
through suffering.
In the Microcosm is placed the Universal Spark of
the Light of Nature. Nan alone is the Triune Stone of the Wise, coming
from Three into One, and ending uith Three i n One, and excells a l l
other bodies as the Sun excells other stars, the Seed of the World,
wonderful i n conception, birth, Name, form, preparation, new birth,
powers and virtues. Consider how by the cold philosophy of Aristotle,
by the Jewish, W k i s h , heathen Philosophies, that God has a Son. Yet
t h i s is true from all Eternity.
CHAPTER FIVE
The first material of the metals is not common Quicksilver, but that
of the Philosophers - "a f a t , damp, smeary vapour", says Rosaxius. What
is Argenturn Vivum ? It is the first material because in it is the power
which vivifies metals t o a powerful vegetation. The One thing i n all.
The Watery Azoth, useful for all projections. Rosarius says, "Our Mercury
which is the green and devouring Lion, is that from which God has created
or made all minerals! Gold a t one time asked, 'what can or will you
prefer t o me, Lord of a l l metals, resisting Fire?' Mercury answered, 'It
is indeed true, yet it is from me that you take your birth, and a part
of me vivifies you. I am t h e whole secret, and i n me a l l the whole
science lives, Mercury yet not Quichsilver is the root and Mother'. It
does not dissolve metals but by means of the philosophical both. Our
Stone has been called Antimony, but this is wrong. Ripley says Antimony
is no more use f o r the work than a rotten fig. The Black slate is called
the Lead of the Wise, and by Hermes, the Crow's Head. This is only a com-
parison for the Stone contains neither Antimony or Lead. They are not the
material of all metals, nor the primate of minerals, Magnesia,is as like
nature, with the aid of mar,, and k i n g s t o light a dry earthy water, or
watery fixed earth, in which Sulphur and Mercury remain incombustible.
Be content and glad Antimony is not Magnesia, and learn t o recognise the
foggy Chaotic dry water. I have almost said too much. Not common burning
Sulphur, white,blue, yellow or red, not cinnabar. Something much more
substantial. Nature brings like t o like and makes metals perfect. "Who
distinguishes well, learns well". Books may show how, but it is nature
that makes knowledge perfect. The Stone is triune, Catholic, therefcre
Divine, a s shown i n the third and fourth figures of my "Amphitheatre".
It hides i t s e l f . Higher metals t o improve lower, must be improved by a
new birth. Natural alchemy makes it perfect in itself. This is done by
the other fermentation. A l l t h i s can take place i n Germany, France,
Italy, England, Holland and Bohemia. Just a s the "quick" shall be changed
i n the lsst day. Gold and Silver metal dissolved in Azoth a s the Cathol-
i c Fountain of which the King - the Sun - was made in the beginning,
black, white, red, liquid like wax. This also i n fleshy bodied i n a
mechanical way.
13-19
Our work is from one root and of two mercurial substa..ces - One
Primate, golden, taken raw, pure and clear a s the fountain. By f i r e , two
become one, and in it they are so mixed the body is become spirit, and
the spirit, body. The fat, tough, greasy salt, is in dampness, the f i r s t
material, nothing can be done about the Chaos, the Magnesia of the Phil-
osophers. Paraclesus said the regeneration or renewing of metals is
just like man, who goes back t o earth, which he came from, and will be
born again from it a t the l a s t day - thus the metals may go again into
the Mercury from k'nich they were born again the second time. In short
the gxvatstone requires no metals, but metals require it before they can
be regenerated.
W h y do you keep a l l Chemiczls, thinking to make Gold and Silver
solutions ? If you think by these t o accomplish the Work, you are
sailing in a fool's ship.
The great Substance is not a metal or mineral, it is rather a meteor-
i c mineral, by outward appearance imperfect. This, the N i h i l of the
Philosophers, is thsir A l l .
Zachaxius has said that the material nature
has prepared for our science in a special f o r m , known by experienced
persons, without doubt the material of which our Divine work is made,
only one thing s i m i l a r t o that universal material which Nature makes use
of in the clefts of the Easth for conceiving and bringing forth metals.
Geber says that the Most F!gh who created Mercury gave it an incomparable
power for the producing of the majesty of our Science. The material of
the Stone is Magnesia, purified in a philosophical manner. It is the
Piateria Wateriae
for the Catholic nork, i n the first part, the second
is known by its proper name t o philosophers. It is the seed of the
world and the living water. The very smallest bone in man. Agrippa
thinks, and the Iiebrews believed, that the spiritual body sprang from it.
Not mummy or embalmed microcosm or man, nor in Vegetable things like
wine, the effects of which can easily be seen in men.
It is indeed
Aqua Vitae, but not of the grape. It is not t o be found in apples, pears
O r other fruits, but is of that Apple Tree, very nearly related t o the
Paradise P e e of Good and Evil. How can an indestructible tincture be
taken from decaying roots ? It is only %hat is unchangeable that can
produce lasting things.
A Lullist Alchemical Illustration
Adam McLean
TEXT TRANSLATED BY PATRICIA TAHIL
This illustration is found i n a 15th century manuscri*
copy of
a
Lullist work on Alchemy. This8Op?ra ~hemicd
is unlikely t o have actual-
l y been written by Ramon Lull (Raymond ~ u l l ~ )
(1235 - 1316), but rather
is a pseudo-Lullist piece, m i t t e n after Us death by someone working
i n the s p i r i t of Lullist thought.
Lullist writings are characterised by a systematising of philosoph-
i c a l and theological ideas using three basic diagrammatic forms -
circular arrangements, the 'wheels' , divided into various segmerits each
bearing a l e t t e r and associated idea ;
'trees', i n which the inter-
relztionshlp of ideas is shown through branching diagrams i n the form
of trees ; and 'ladders', i n which the Merarchical structure of cer-
t a i n ideas is exhibited, each idea occupying a separate rung. These
diagramatic expositions of philosophy constitute the Lullist A r t of
Memory, a synthesisng of ideas into a whole, that could be grasped
through a diagram as a totality. One can see quite clearly that l a t e r
alchemical diagrams and illustrations from the 16th and 17th centuries
often use a kind of LulUst framework a s a skeleton f o r their design.
Most of the early Lullist diagrams are entirely abstract, but the part-
icular item here illustrated (which must be quite late) shows the
evocative artistLc use of images that one expects t o find i n Renaissance
alchemical works. In its use of symbolism, it has gone beyond the purely
abstract and into an imaginative use of symbols that speaks directly
t o the soul and not just through abstraction t o the mind. Diagrams such
as these were t o be worked with inwardly as meditative exercises, rather
than just illustrating or tabulating abstract ideas.
This illustration is centred upon a tree, rooted i n the earth, its
trunk gro-dng through a vessel, and having seven main branches, which
is the habitation of a serpent. Around the branches of this tree are
eight circles, and outskde these a fourfold structure is created through
four figures i n the corners of the illustration.
A t the top centre of the illustration is seen a Professor in his
chair, his banner declaring : "I am the teacher of Natural Science".
The four figures that surround the Tree make pronouncements about
the Dragon-Serpent.
The Schodlmim on the upper l e f t declares
I " Know that this Dragon
never dies, except with his brother and sister".
The Schoolman on the upper right declares : " Know that thls Dragon
kills himself with his own dart, by swallowing his own sweat".
The King on the lower l e f t declares I " I am the King, strong and
powerful, and I fear nothing except that Dragon";
The young man on the lower right declares : " I am the naked man and
the subtle beggar, of a strong nature, for I bear arms, and am made
t o kill the Dragon, and deliver you from fear and terror".
Thus we are pointed t o the essential work of this process, the
transformation of the Dragon-Serpent. This is the primal energy of the
Soul, the raw psychic energy, the inner potentialities of which so
frightened the Pstxkchs of the Jewish-Christian tradition, that they
placed it in the Garden of Eden on the Tree a s the Tempter. The alch-
emists, however, knew they could not den3 the being, the essence, of
the serpent within their souls, but had t o encounter it, and come t o
terms with it, even though there were dangers t o be met with on this
path. (Th!~s
serpent was recognised in other traditions, perhaps the
best known being in Indian Esotericism, where it is ictured a s the
Kundalini energies, the 'Serpent Power' i n the soul.7
The Schoolmen point t o the fact that the Serpent (~undalini) does
not die (1.e. become transformed) 'except with its bother and sister',
(the Pingala-Solar and Ida-Zuna.r streams within the soul, that parallel
the Kundalini-Shushumna
or central cha-me1 of energy). This Serpent-
Dragon 'kills himself with his own dart', and 1s transformed by its
ohm inner forces 'by swallowing his own sweat', by working upon, trans-
muting, its own substance. The old King represents the haxdened fossil-
ised mass of experiences and memories of the alchemists soul, his past,
that fears the disruption of encountering the Serpent. The Young Man
is the courageous power of the alchemist's soul, that wishes t o tackle
the Serpent, and he is naked, not clothed with the past experiences that
shacklethe King facet, thus he is that part of the soul which lives i n
the present moment a s a 'subtle beggas'.
The illustration centres upon a tree growing upwards strongly rooted
in the earth. It has seven main branches upon which are seen nine
faces plus the triple-headed figure a t the bottom of the trunk. These
are the Ten Sephiroth of the familiar Kabbalistic Tree of Life. he
Sephira Tiphereth is here represented slightly higher i n the structure
than is usual, but the geometry is obvious). The heads are coloured in
various ways, some being silvery, one golden, another coppery, and some
dark metallic Fey. These are the seven planetary metals, the forces
of Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Sun and Moon
i n the Soul. Around the
central bole of the tree is entwined the green serpent, its head curl-
ing round the Sephira Kether, shown as the golden head of a woman, its
tallreaching down t o Yesod, shown a s a silver-headed crowned man. These
S
e
e

are the subtle architecture of the Soul, the inner structure
of the psyche, the balanced tree of forces that unites the upper and
the lower, the heavenly and the earthly sides of the soul, through
three pillars o r channels - Pingala, Ida and Shushumna channels, the
Solar, Lunar and central currents of soul energy.
The Tree be-
four legends inscribed on banners, one pointing up-
wards the other downwards. These are the four archetypal level on the
Tree. F'ron the top these read r -
"After it has been put in the womb, and after the nuptials, the colours
are green and citrine . "
"It consigns it t o death with its odour, so that it may dwell in life."
"He does not die, unless he appears dead."
"He who kills me and gives me my soul, shall rejoice with me for ever."
A t the base of the bole of the Tree is seen, in the position of the
Sephira Malcuth, a triple-headed form, the central head being golden.
From the necks of these three heads, three steams pour down, spiralling
round the trunk of the tree to flow into a grand vessel or challce. This
is the vast sea of the unconscious within our beings, the three streams
are the three archetypal links with the conscious side of our soul.
In
Alchemy these are often characterised as the Salt, Sulphur and Mercury
soul energies. The Salt Is that tendency in the soul which leads towards
the hardening, materialising, crystalising, precipitating of soul i m -
pulses 1
the Sulphur element is found in the outwards radiating, fiery
rush of soul enthusiasm towards some facet of the soul's l i f e , bright
energy darting here and there, mobile, reaching out and touching many
things. The Mercurial archetype synthesises and balances the Salt and
Sulphur tendences, making the constrictive element of Salt more mobile,
and making the intangible nature of Sulphur more solld and fixed.
These three archetypal facets of psychic energy are found both in
the conscious and the unconscious realms of the soul, indeed they con-
stantly move between the two. Thus a sulphurising tendency i n the soul
toyards some aspect of one's experience, could arise either ttrcough a
conscious decision or out of the unconscious realm, and this also
applies t o the others of the triple of the Three Principles. They meet
and flow together in the water of unconsciousness, the chalice holding
the green living soul substance. The three heads connect us with the
Ida-Pingala-Shushumna psychic channels, and the heads on the right and
left are nourishing two storks,
that on the l e f t being golden, and
that on the right of a silver colour. These are 2 picture of the
Pingala and Ida Nadis or channels. Storks are known as birds that eat
snakes, and this image has been used in the tradition of alchemical
illustration ( See for example Matthieu Merian's engraved t i t l e page for
Phillip Sidney's Arcadia of 1630). Here these two soul birds of the
solar and lunar forces, keep the snake confined t o the central channel,
the channel of synthesis that is unpolarised and indeed unites the two
polarities. If the serpent-dragon were to find its way into the solar
or lunar channels, a distorted rush of energy would flow through the
soul, and lead that person into psychic problems and Imbalance. Thus
the storks are guardian figures, ready t o eat up the snake forces If
they intrude upon regions of the soul that they are not meant t o occupy.
The branches of the tree are surrounded by an aura of seven circles