Of Natural and Supernatural Things by Basilius Valentinus (snow like ashes txt) 📕

Take a Spirit of Salt, therewith extract the Sulphur of Gold, separate the Oil of Salt from it, rectifie the Sulphur of Gold with Spirit of Wine, that it be pleasant without Corrosive; then take the true Oil of Vitriol, made of the Vitriol of Verdigreece, therein dissolve Mars, thereof make a Vitriol again, and again dissolve it into an Oil or Spirit, which rectifie in like manner as before with Spirit of Wine, conjoin them, and abstract the Spirit of Wine from it, resolve the Matter which remaines dry in Spirit of Mercury, according to a just weight, circulate and coagulate it when it is fix'd and permanent without Ascention, you have then a Medicine to tinge Man and Metals, if it be fermented with prepared Gold.

The Tincture and spirit of Silver manifests its Colour of a Watchet or Sky-colour, otherwise it is a waterish Spirit, cold and moist, not so hot in its degree as that which is found in Gold, Mars, and Venus; for Luna is more phlegmatick than fiery, though it be brought by the Fire out of its waterish Substance into a coagulation; and even as the Metals gain their tinging Spirits and Coagulation, in like manner do stones get their fixedness, and colour, as out of one Influence. A fix'd coagulated Mercury is found in the Diamond, therefore it is fixeder and harder than the other stones, and cannot be so broken; so the tincture of Mars, or the Sulphur of Iron is found in the Ruby, the Sulphur of Venus in the Emerald, the Soul of Saturn in the Granate; in Tin the tincture which is found in the Topaz; and Crystal is appropriated to common Mercury; in the Saphire is found the Sulphur and Tincture of Luna, but each one according to a peculiar understanding, and according to its kind, and in Metals according to their form and gender; for when the blew Colour is taken and extracted out of the Saphire, its Rayment is gone, and its other Body is white as a Diamond, wanting only the hardness that is in a Diamond; even so when Gold hath lost its Soul, it yields a fix'd white Gold Body, which by searching Students and young Artists is called fix'd Luna.

Wherefore you must now understand and observe, that even as I have declared unto you concerning the Saphire, for your apprehension, even so on the other side, you must learn to what purpose my Speech is intended, for your Instruction concerning Metals.

For this blew Spirit is the Sulphur and the Soul, whence the Silver receiveth its Life, both in and above the Earth, by Art, and the white Tincture of the Silver upon white stands in the Magnetick form of an everlasting thing, or Creature, wherein is likewise found the first Ens of Gold.

O ye high qualified Orators! where is your voice in this case to explain this Mystery? And you conceited Naturalists, where is your Writings and Advice of Reason? And you Physicians, Whither is your Opinion flown, to fetch somewhat afar off over the Seas for to cure the Dropsie, and all Lunary Distempers? You will say, that this my speech is too dark for you; is it so? then kindle the terrestrial Light, seek, and be not ashamed to make acquaintance with Vulcan; and let nothing be irksome unto you, so will you find by the assistance of the Eternal God, that the Spirit of Silver contains in it to cure and expel the Dropsie quite alone, as the Spirit of Gold, and as that of Mercury can expel the Consumption radically, or in the root, even so that the Center of those Diseases cannot be found any more. But that Luna in the veins of the Earth is not furnished with such a hot substance or quality in its degree, but is subjected to a Waterish Nature; this fault lies upon that great Light of Heaven, which by reason of its Waterish influence, hath implanted such qualities in the other Creatures, and Planets of the Earth, than it hath in Silver. And albeit that Silver contains a fix'd Mercury, which is generated in it, yet it wants a hot, fix'd Sulphur, truly to dry up and consume its Phlegme, whereby it hath not obtained a compact Body, unless it be done afterwards by the art of the Little World. And seeing that its Body is not compact by reason of the abounding watery substance, its Pores therefore are not rightly defended, nor closed to undergo the weight and endure a Battel with the Enemies; all which Virtues are to be found in Gold, if it shall overcome all Enemies, and endure all trials without defect.

All things are difficult in the beginning, but when they are brought to an end they are easie to be understood and apprehended. If you do truly observe the Spirit and the Soul of Luna, and learn to know it truly, you may quickly compass the midst of the Work, how it shall afford the end with profit; wherefore I will now propose to you an Example, and instruct you by a Countrey-Rule, that you may apprehend it, and consider of it, as Childrens Play, in a high and weighty Matter, that you may search it out with advantage; as followeth:

A common Peasant casts forth (or sows) his Seed in a Field well dunged and prepared, this Seed after putrefaction, sprouts forth of the Earth by the operation and furtherance of the Elements, and sets before our Eyes the Matter of Flax together with its Seed which it brings with it augmented; this Flax is pluck'd up, and separated from its Seed; but this Flax cannot be used and prepared for any work profitably, except it be first putrefied and rotted in water, whereby the Body is opened, and gains an ingress of its doing good; after this putrefaction and opening, it is again dried in the Air and Sun, and by this coagulation it is again brought into a Formal Being, that it may do future service. This prepared Flax is afterwards buck'd, beaten, broken, peel'd, and last of all dress'd, that the pure may be separated from the impure, the clean from the filth, and the fine from the course; which otherwise could not be done at all, or brought to pass without the preceding preparation; this done, they spin Yarn of it, which they boil in water over the Fire, or else with Ashes set in a warm place, whereby it is purified afresh, whereby the filth and superfluities are fully separated from it, and after a due washing the Yarn is dried again, delivered to the Workmen, and Cloth weaved of it; this Cloth is purified or whitened by a frequent casting of water upon it, cut in pieces by Taylors, and other people, so converted to future services in houshold affairs, and when this Linnen is quite worn out, and torn, the old Rags are gathered together, and sent to the Paper-Mills, whereof they make Paper, which is put unto divers uses.

If you lay Paper upon a Metal or Glass, kindle and burn it, the vegetable Mercury comes forth and flies away into the Air, the Salt remaines in the ashes and the combustible Sulphur which is not so quickly consumed in the burning, dissolves to an Oil, which is a good Medicine for dim and defective Eyes. This Oil hath in it a great fatness, which is the Matter of the Paper, contained originally in the Seed of the Flax; so that the last Matter of the Flax which is Paper, must again be dissolved into the first Matter, which is the fat Sulphurous Oyliness of the Flax-seed, together with the separation of its Mercury and Salt, that so the first may be made of the last, and the ground-work revealed, so the Virtues and Operations known by the first.

And though this Discourse be gross and not subtil, yet you may learn thereby to know what is subtile and secret; for that which is subtile must be infused into the ignorant by course Examples, that thereby they may be taught to reject the gross, and to embrace that which is subtile.

In like manner understand, that the first Matter of Metals must be observed, known, and found out by the revelation of their last Matter, which last Matter, as there are the perfect Metals, must be separated and divided asunder, that it may plainly appear singly before the Eyes of men. Out of which separation may be judged and learnt what the first Matter was at the beginning, out of which the last was made. Accept of this Advice concerning Luna at present. I could have said more, but I must desist at this time until another opportunity; and intreat you heartily, admonishing you by your Conscience, that you observe all that which I have revealed unto you, of all those Letters which are contained in the middle between Alpha & Omega, & that you keep all the Speeches & Writings, that you may not undergo a denial of pardon for your Sins, & a continued perpetual Vengeance for Eternity; which I at last reveal unto you thus:

Take the Sky-coloured Sulphur extracted out of Silver, rectified with Spirit of Wine, dissolve it according to its Quantity in the White Spirit of Vitriol, and in the sweet-sented Spirit of Mercury, coagulate them together by the fixation of the Fire, you have the White Tincture in your Hands with all its Medicines; but if you can get all their primum Mobile's, it is then needless, because you can perfect the Work at once.

Good Jupiter possesses almost the mean or middle place between Metals, it being not too hot, nor too cold, not too warm, nor too moist, it hath no excess of Mercury, nor of Salt, and it hath the least of Sulphur in it; it is found to be white in Colour, yet one exceeds the other in the three Principles, as it is evidently found in its dissection, the right and true discovery of Nature. It is generated of such a composition and mixture of the three first Principles, being operated, coagulated into a Metal, and brought to the ripeness of perfection. Jupiter is a God of Peace, a Lord of Goodness, a Ruler and Possessor of the middle Region; as concerning its State, Essence, Function, Virtue, Form and Substance; for it holds the mean; no special Disease can happen, that Jupiter should cause any remarkable damage, if its Medicine be used a little at once, not too much in quantity; it is likewise thought needless, where its Medicines are not required, that they should be administred in strange cases with a just Call, but we should rather abide by those, where the Body and its Disease have an equal temper with the superiour Stars and their assistance, in vertue, power, and operation, and so accord together in their juncture, that there is not found the least contrariety in the Operation, nor in the Operative Nature.

Jupiters Spirit is found not to be wanting in the least,