The theme of this chapter is dissolution - the dissolving of ashes produced through calcination. It is the second phase of the alchemical process preceding separation. After having calcinated the ego through learning of alchemy's long and illustrious historical roots, we are going to dissolve what remains into a more malleable state by learning about the most important and sacred texts in alchemy beginning with the most ancient.
This chapter will discuss the following texts, which can all be read completely online:
Chapter I: Calcination - History of Alchemy & Hermeticism
The Emerald Tablet
Widely cited as the oldest text in the history of alchemy, of which there is still much debate, The Emerald Tablet has been the fascination of countless generations of magicians, alchemists and scientists regardless of its true origins. For what little we know about the original text, it was continuously translated through the ages by such figures as Isaac Newton as well as Greek and Middle-Eastern philosophers. There are many claims that The Emerald Tablet was originally written by Thoth, Hermes or the syncretic deity Hermes Trismegistus which ultimately preserved its mystique throughout the ages.
The oldest known reference for The Emerald Tablet actually comes from the 10th Century CE in a text translated to Secretum Secretorum (Secret of Secrets), or Kitab Sirr al-Asrar as it was originally known in Arabic.(1) It's author, Jabir ibn Hayyan, claimed that the text was originally translated from an earlier letter written from Aristotle to Alexander the Great. Kitab Sirr al-Asrar discusses a number of topics including magick, astrology and ethics,(2) but it is perhaps most famous for its reference to what was recognized as The Emerald Tablet.
According to early 20th Century historian Eric John Holmyard, this section of Kitab Sirr al-Asrar is the original reference known for The Emerald Tablet:(3)
Note the unique numbering of the sections
| 0) Balinas mentions the engraving on the table in the hand of Hermes, which says:
| 1) Truth! Certainty! That in which there is no doubt!
| 2) That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above, working the miracles of one.
| 3) As all things were from one.
| 4) Its father is the Sun and its mother the Moon.
| 5) The Earth carried it in her belly, and the Wind nourished it in her belly,
| 7) as Earth which shall become Fire.
| 7a) Feed the Earth from that which is subtle, with the greatest power.
| 8) It ascends from the earth to the heaven and becomes ruler over that which is above and that which is below.
| 14) And I have already explained the meaning of the whole of this in two of these books of mine.
Compare this to a translation made later by Isaac Newton from the 17th or 18th Centuries CE, which is noticeably absent of the numbering system common throughout other translations, but largely retains the same content:
- Tis true without lying, certain & most true.
- That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing
- And as all things have been & arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
- The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nourse.
- The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
- Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
- Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtile from the gross sweetly with great industry.
- It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior.
- By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world
- & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
- Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.
- So was the world created.
- From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world
- That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.
The Corpus Hermeticum
The Corpus Hermeticum, from which this series is originally based, is older than The Emerald Tablet at least in terms of known historical references. Sections of The Corpus Hermeticum date back to at least the 1st Century BCE, but it was perhaps at its most famous when Cosimo de Medici commissioned the translation of the text at the start of the Italian Renaissance.(4)
The Corpus Hermeticum exists today in 18 different tracts supposedly written by Hermes Trismegistus himself with an additional section known as The Asclepius or Perfect Sermon. An English version is publicly available that was originally written in the early 20th Century by historian and translator George Robert Stowe Mead. The Latin translation made during the Italian Renaissance by Marsilio Ficino was divided into 14 tracts, however, and several variations of these divisions exist.
Mead's addition of The Asclepius is notable because it is included in a very famous text from 1591 CE titled Nova de Universis Philosophia by Franciscus Patricius. Not only is The Asclepius one of the older known sections of The Corpus Hermeticum, but despite directly referencing a pagan figure like Hermes Trismegistus it was dedicated to Pope Gregory XIV. Scholars believe this was an attempt to turn Catholic philosophy away from Aristotle and towards Hermes Trismegistus.(5)
The entire Corpus Hermeticum need not be copied here, but for sake of the blockchain and perpetuity here is The Asclepius:
[Trismegistus] God, O Asclepius, hath brought thee unto us that thou mayest hear a Godly sermon, a sermon such as well may seem of all the previous ones we’ve [either] uttered, or with which we’ve been inspired by the Divine, more Godly than the piety of [ordinary] faith.
If thou with eye of intellect shalt see this Word thou shalt in thy whole mind be filled quite full of all things good.
If that, indeed, the “many” be the “good,” and not the “one,” in which are “all.” Indeed the difference between the two is found in their agreement,—“All” is of “One” or “One” is “All.” So closely bound is each to other, that neither can be parted from its mate.
But this with diligent attention shalt thou learn from out the sermon that shall follow [this].
But do thou, O Asclepius, go forth a moment and call in the one who is to hear.
(And when he had come in, Asclepius proposed that Ammon too should be allowed to come. Thereon Thrice-greatest said:)
[Trismegistus] There is no cause why Ammon should be kept away from us. For we remember how we have ourselves set down in writing many things to his address, as though unto a son most dear and most beloved, of physics many things, of ethics [too] as many as could be.
It is, however, with thy name I will inscribe this treatise.
But call, I prithee, no one else but Ammon, lest a most pious sermon on a so great theme be spoilt by the admission of the multitude.
For ’tis the mark of an unpious mind to publish to the knowledge of the crowd a tractate brimming o’er with the full Greatness of Divinity.
(When Ammon too had come within the holy place, and when the sacred group of four was now complete with piety and with God’s goodly presence—to them, sunk in fit silence reverently, their souls and minds pendent on Hermes’ lips, thus Love Divine began to speak.)
[Trismegistus] The soul of every man, O [my] Asclepius, is deathless; yet not all in like fashion, but some in one way or [one] time, some in another.
[Asclepius] Is not, then, O Thrice-greatest one, each soul of one [and the same] quality?
[Trismegistus] How quickly hast thou fallen, O Asclepius, from reason’s true sobriety!
Did not I say that “All” is “One,” and “One” is “All,” in as much as all things have been in the Creator before they were created. Nor is He called unfitly “All,” in that His members are the “All.”
Therefore, in all this argument, see that thou keep in mind Him who is “One”-“All,” or who Himself is maker of the “All.”
All things descend from Heaven to Earth, to Water and to Air.
’Tis Fire alone, in that it is borne upwards, giveth life; that which [is carried] downwards [is] subservient to Fire.
Further, whatever doth descend from the above, begetteth; what floweth upwards, nourisheth.
’Tis Earth alone, in that it resteth on itself, that is Receiver of all things, and [also] the Restorer of all genera that it receives.
This Whole, therefore, as thou rememberest, in that it is of all,—in other words, all things, embraced by nature under “Soul” and “World,” are in [perpetual] flux, so varied by the multiform equality of all their forms, that countless kinds of well-distinguished qualities may be discerned, yet with this bond of union, that all should seem as One, and from “One” “All.”
That, then, from which the whole Cosmos is formed, consisteth of Four Elements—Fire, Water, Earth, and Air; Cosmos [itself is] one, [its] Soul [is] one, and God is one.
Now lend to me the whole of thee—all that thou can’st in mind, all that thou skill’st in penetration.
For that the Reason of Divinity may not be known except by an intention of the senses like to it.
’Tis likest to the torrent’s flood, down-dashing headlong from above with all-devouring tide; so that it comes about, that by the swiftness of its speed it is too quick for our attention, not only for the hearers, but also for the very teachers
Arcanum Hermeticum
First published in 1623 CE by Jean d’Espagnet and translated by W. Wynn Westcott(6), the Arcanum Hermeticum is a prime example of alchemical thought during the European Renaissance and Enlightenment. Aside from its famously artful use of beasts as metaphors for various chemical compounds, Arcanum Hermeticum is also one of the most complete references to the process behind generating the "Philosopher's Stone" - which is widely considered to be the entire purpose of alchemy itself.
In the 74th passage of Arcanum Hermeticum the Philosopher's Stone is described as the metaphorical equivalent to the Creation of Adam through recombination of the elements:
God created Adam out of the mud of the Earth, wherein were inherent the virtues of all the Elements, of the Earth and Water especially, which do more constitute the sensible and corporeal heap: Into this Mass God breathed the breath of Life, and enlivened it with the Sun of the Holy Spirit. He gave Eve for a Wife to Adam, and blessing them he gave unto them a Precept and the Faculty of multiplication. The generation of the Philosophers Stone, is not unlike the Creation of Adam, for the Mud was made of a terrestrial and ponderous Body dissolved by Water, which deserved the excellent name of Terra Adamica, wherein all the virtues and qualities of the Elements are placed. At length the heavenly Soul is infused thereinto by the medium of the Quintessence and Solar influx, and by the Benediction and Dew of Heaven; the virtue of multiplying ad infinitum by the intervening copulation of both sexes is given it.
One of the most famous sections of the Arcanum Hermeticum is titled "The Practice of the Sulphur". One will almost immediately notice the use of seemingly bizarre symbols in what appears to be a form of encoding. These symbols obscure the true name of substances and actions involved. It is possible that this was done out of fear of the religious persecution of Europe in these times, but it is also likely that this was meant only to be understood by those who knew the mysteries of the alchemists.
Take a Red Dragon, courageous, warlike, to whom no natural strength is wanting; and afterwards seven or nine noble Eagles (Virgins), whose eyes will not wax dull by the rays of the Sun: cast the Birds with the Beast into a clear Prison and strongly shut them up; under this let a Bath be placed, that they may be incensed to fight by the warmth, in a short time they will enter into a long and harsh contention, until at length about the 45th day or the 50th the Eagles begin to prey upon and tear the beast to pieces, which dying will infect the whole Prison with its black and direful poison, whereby the Eagles being wounded, they will also be constrained to give up the ghost. From the putrefaction of the dead Carcasses a Crow will be generated, which by little and little will put forth its head, and the Heat being somewhat increased it will forthwith stretch forth its wings and begin to fly; but seeking chinks from the Winds and Clouds, it will long hover about; take heed that it find not any chinks. At length being made white by a gentle and long Rain, and with the dew of Heaven it will be changed into a White Swan, but the new born Crow is a sign of the departed Dragon. In making the Crow White, extract the Elements, and distil them according to the order prescribed, until they be fixed in their Earth, and end in Snow-like and most subtle dust, which being finished thou shalt enjoy thy first desire, the White Work.
If thou intendest to proceed further to the Red, add the Element of Fire, which is not needed for the White Work: the Vessel therefore being fixed, and the Fire strengthened by little and little through its grades, force the matter until the occult begin to be made manifest, the sign whereof will be the Orange colour arising: raise the Fire to the Fourth degree by its degrees, until by the help of Vulcan, purple Roses be generated from the Lily, and lastly the Amaranth dyed with the dark Redness of blood: but thou mayest not cease to bring out Fire by Fire, until thou shalt behold the matter terminated in most Red ashes, imperceptible to the touch. This Red Stone may rear up thy mind to greater things, by the blessing and assistance of the holy Trinity.
While deliberately cryptic, this process is reminiscent of the process used in the creation of Red Pulvis Solaris - a chemical compound extracted from introducing heat to mercury-sulfide. Red Pulvis Solaris is the last of the four major alchemical arcana used in the Arcanum Experiment(7) and is also symbolic of the final stage in the alchemical process - coagulation.(8)(9)
The Kybalion
Published in 1908 CE by three anonymous adepts, The Kybalion remains to this day as one of the most comprehensive collections of Hermetic philosophy available in English. The complete text has since been entirely published online. Similarly to other texts, The Kybalion claims that its contents derive from the original teachings of Hermes Trismegistus whom they believed to have been Egyptian sage from before the Old Dynasty.
One The Kybalion's most noted additions to modern Hermeticism is the "Seven Hermetic Principles" which serves as a rubric for transformation similarly to the Seven Alchemical Processes:
- Mentalism ("THE ALL IS MIND; The Universe is Mental.")
- Correspondence ("As above, so below; as below, so above.")
- Vibration ("Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.")
- Polarity ("Everything is Dual; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.")
- Rhythm ("Everything flows, out and in; rhythm compensates.")
- Cause and Effect ("Everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.")
- Gender ("Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes.")
The Kybalion is also noteworthy for its definition of transmutation in the context of Hermeticism as being akin to "Mystic Psychology":
"Transmutation" is a term usually employed to designate the ancient art of the transmutation of metals--particularly of the base metals into gold. The word "Transmute" means "to change from one nature, form, or substance, into another; to transform" (Webster). And accordingly, "Mental Transmutation" means the art of changing and transforming mental states, forms, and conditions, into others. So you may see that Mental Transmutation is the "Art of Mental Chemistry," if you like the term--a form of practical Mystic Psychology.
Several chapters of The Kybalion are dedicated to defining "The ALL", which similarly to conceptualizations of God is an omnipresent entity which is responsible for the continued permutation of the Universe. The ALL is believed to be the central source of vibration in the Universe and solid matter is the result of slow or interrupted vibrations within it. It is up to the alchemist, then, to humbly navigate the various levels of vibration to higher states of being and realization:
The half-wise, recognizing the comparative unreality of the Universe, imagine that they may defy its Laws--such are vain and presumptuous fools, and they are broken against the rocks and torn asunder by the elements by reason of their folly. The truly wise, knowing the nature of the Universe, use Law against laws; the higher against the lower; and by the Art of Alchemy transmute that which is undesirable into that which is worthy, and thus triumph. Mastery consists not in abnormal dreams, visions and fantastic imaginings or living, but in using the higher forces against the lower--escaping the pains of the lower planes by vibrating on the higher. Transmutation, not presumptuous denial, is the weapon of the Master.
All in all The Kybalion uses more direct metaphors and examples than its predecessor texts, but it retains a great deal of the same axioms and general concepts found throughout old Hermetic writing. While debatably not as canonical as other, more antiquated texts it is no-less an invaluable tool for the modern alchemist in terms of understanding various symbols and mindsets found throughout Hermetic philosophy.
Conclusion
This chapter was all about providing the most historically significant reference material to Hermetic and alchemical thought available to us. By all means these are not the only such writings on the subject and this series will discuss many other texts. These four in particular, however, are widely cited and yet often confused with one another so it was crucial to separate, contextualize and summarize each individually.
Now with this dissolved mass of knowledge attained through chapters 1 and 2, we can now turn to chapter 3 - Separation - to begin sifting through it all for our own Philosopher's Stone.