What is a Philosopher's Stone. Philosopher's Stone and World Balance. What the Philosopher's Stone is made of
Alchemical symbolism
In alchemical treatises, the symbol of the philosopher's stone is often the serpent Ouroboros, devouring its tail. Another symbol of the elixir is the rebis - hermaphrodite, which appears as a result of the combination of the "king" (philosophical sulfur) and the "queen" (philosophical mercury) in an alchemical marriage. Also, the symbol of the philosopher's stone is the lion swallowing the sun.
Description
One of the main tasks of the alchemists was the preparation of two mysterious substances with the help of which it would be possible to achieve the much desired ennobling (improvement) of metals. The most important of these two drugs, which was supposed to have the property of turning into gold not only silver, but also base (imperfect) metals, such as lead, tin and others, was called the philosopher's stone, the great elixir or the magisterium, and was also called the red tincture , a panacea for life and a vital elixir.
A powerful force was attributed to this remedy: it had to not only ennoble metals, but also serve as a universal medicine; its solution, to a certain extent diluted, the so-called golden drink(aurum potabile) (also drinking gold), taken internally in small doses, was supposed to heal all diseases, rejuvenate the old body and make life longer.
Another mysterious remedy, already secondary in its properties, called the white lion, white tincture or small magisterium, was limited to the ability to convert all base metals into silver.
Those who found the Philosopher's Stone were called adepts.; among these, it was believed, were four women - Maria Prophetissa, Cleopatra the Alchemist, Medera and Taphnutia. In an esoteric sense, the stone symbolized the transmutation of the lower animal nature of man into the higher, divine one.
True alchemists did not strive to obtain gold, it was only a tool, not a goal (nevertheless, Dante in his Divine Comedy determined the place of alchemists, like counterfeiters, in hell, or more precisely, in the eighth circle, the tenth moat). The goal for them was the Philosopher's Stone itself. And spiritual liberation, exaltation, given to the one who possesses it, is absolute freedom (it should be noted that a stone, by and large, is not a stone at all, more often it is presented as a powder, or a solution of powder is the very elixir of life).
Although most people consider the Philosopher's Stone to be a fiction, nevertheless, in the 20th century, transmutation was carried out - gold is often obtained from other elements during the operation of a nuclear reactor. It is obtained in negligible concentrations, is expensive to recover, and adversely affects the operation of the reactor itself. Such a "magisterium" does not serve as a universal medicine.
Method of obtaining
In his work "Various Crafts" the monk Theophilus, whose real name is Rogerus, who lived in the 7th century in northern Germany, explains how alchemists obtain Spanish gold, which is extremely soft and easy to work with. First of all, basilisks, reptiles hatching from eggs laid by an old rooster, should be raised. “They [the alchemists] have a room underground, the floor, ceiling and walls of which are lined with stone, with two small windows so narrow that one can hardly see anything through them. They put old roosters there, about twelve or fifteen years old, and give them plenty of food. When they get fat, because of the internal heat in the body, they begin to mate and lay eggs. Then the roosters are removed, and toads are used to incubate the eggs. They are fed with bread and other foods. Ripe eggs hatch, similar to ordinary ones, but after 7 days they grow snake tails; if not for the stone floors, they would immediately have gone underground. To prevent this, those who grow them have large round copper pots that are closed with lids and holes are punched all over the surface; the chickens are put there, the holes are covered with copper lids and the pots are buried in the ground; for six months the chickens feed on the earth, which is stuffed through the holes. Then the lids are removed and a large fire is lit to burn the animals completely. When everything has cooled down, the contents are taken out and crushed, adding a third of the blood of a red-haired man; when the blood dries up, it must be rubbed. These two ingredients are mixed with strong wine vinegar in a clean vessel. Then they take very thin plates of purified red copper, apply to each end thin layer of this composition and put on fire. When they are white-hot, they are taken out, cooled and washed off in the same composition, until all the copper from both ends of the plate is absorbed by the composition, which will swell from this and acquire the color of gold. This is gold, which is suitable for a variety of uses. "
Mutus Liber
By George Ripley
The English alchemist George Ripley (15th century) in the "Book of the Twelve Gates" proposed this method of obtaining the philosopher's stone:
| To prepare the elixir of the sages, or the philosopher's stone, take, my son, philosophical mercury and heat it until it turns into a red lion. Digest this red lion in a sand bath with acidic grape alcohol, evaporate the liquid, and the mercury will turn into a gummy substance that can be cut with a knife. Put it in a clay retort and slowly distill it. Collect separately the liquids of different nature that will appear in this case. You will get tasteless phlegm, alcohol and red drops. The Cimmerian shadows will cover the retort with their dull veil, and you will find the true dragon inside it, for it devours its tail. Take this black dragon, rub it on a stone and touch it with a red-hot coal. It will light up and, soon taking a magnificent lemon blossom, will reproduce the green lion again. Make it gobble up its tail and distill the product again. Finally, my son, rectify thoroughly and you will see the appearance of combustible water and human blood.
George Ripley |
see also
- Ab-i-Hayat is the Arabic analogue of the elixir of life.
- Ringse - The Quantum Computer in the Brain
Notes (edit)
Links
Literature
- K. Seligmann "History of Magic and Occultism"
- Rabinovich V. L. "Divine Comedy" and the myth of the philosopher's stone // Dante readings. M., 1985.
- Rabinovich VL Alchemical myth and chimeras of Notre Dame Cathedral (On the problem of comparison). - Delusional Mind ?: Variety of Extrascientific Knowledge. - M .: Politizdat, 1990.
- J.K. Rowling "Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone»
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See what the "Philosopher's Stone" is in other dictionaries:
From Latin: Lapisphilosophorum (lapis phylosophorum). So medieval alchemists called a certain speculative and magical substance, with the help of which it was supposedly possible to turn ordinary metals into noble ones, for example, lead into gold, and also ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions
A substance found by medieval alchemists, by means of a cat. they hoped to turn all metals into gold. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907. THE PHILOSOPHICAL STONE, scientists of the Middle Ages meant ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
See Alchemy. Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
PHILOSOPHICAL, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary Ozhegova. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE- the term of alchemy. According to the compiler of the dictionary, the search for the philosopher's stone is one of the most important meanings wisdom for a person, as a search for the Path of his spiritual revival, the harmony of his material and spiritual wealth. In alchemy, its representatives ... ... Eurasian wisdom from A to Z. Explanatory dictionary
Philosopher's Stone- Book. 1. In the minds of medieval alchemists: a miraculous substance that can turn metal into gold, heal from diseases, restore youth, lengthen life, etc. Vskipyatilin, a rich man with limited information, ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language
The Philosopher's Stone is a special mythical substance. His power is credited with both receiving eternal life and the creation of gold with simple materials... Have different nations this stone has different history and there is none scientific fact completely refuting or reliably confirming the existence of this mystical component.
What is a Philosopher's Stone?
The ancient legend about the philosopher's stone at all times excited the minds of scientists and mere mortals. According to legends and traditions, this mysterious material has incredible properties. V different times various scientists were looking for confirmation that the philosopher's stone actually exists. He has many names and different sources call him in their own way. So, it can be named:
- rebis;
- philosophical elixir of sages;
- elixir of eternity;
- red-colored tincture;
- the fifth element of nature.
He was credited with a variety of powers and capabilities, but all the legends are united by one common feature: The Philosopher's Stone is a special reagent - with its help metal can be turned into gold. Ancient manuscripts say that this substance appeared due to wrong reaction between sulfur and mercury. If you give a mystical stone chemical definition, then this is a defective, defective, erroneous reaction between two simple components. Nobody knows what caused such a strange mistake.
Philosopher's Stone - Properties
Even the Gods can envy the popularity of this substance in ancient mythology. He owns all the main mythical miracles for a person, the philosopher's stone:
- gives immortality (eternity of being);
- allows you to create a precious metal(get wealth);
- endows a person incredible strength(bestows glory on its creator);
- reveals the secrets of the world (bestows upon its owner the great wisdom of the ancestors).
The alchemist Nicholas Flamel is the same scientist who has been looking for the Philosopher's Stone all his life. In his writings, he mentioned that angels appeared to him in a dream and told how to create this substance, but the dream was suddenly interrupted, and the scientist did not recognize the last component that provokes an erroneous reaction between all the components. He and his wife believed so much that the Philosopher's Stone exists that they put their whole life, youth, maturity and old age in search of that missing component that would give them the opportunity to create the Stone of Immortality.
What is the Philosopher's Stone made of?
Various sources provide information on what makes the Philosopher's Stone so special. It is only known for certain that three main components are necessarily present in its composition:
- philosophical sulfur;
- philosophical mercury;
- silver solution.
All experiments, one after another, suffered a tremendous failure. The created experimental substances did not possess the powers capable of transforming iron into a precious metal, they did not have the power to grant healing to the sick or youth to the elderly. In one period of the historical past, the stone of the philosophers was the cause of many painful deaths. Kings different countries in pursuit of the creation of this stone, they experimented on living people, exposing them to poisoning different kinds elixirs, to which the court scientists attributed the properties of a rebis.
Does the Philosopher's Stone really exist?
It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of whether the philosopher's stone exists in reality, whether anyone has managed to recreate the elixir of wealth and eternal youth in one bottle. There is no historical evidence that any scientist who was looking for a philosopher's stone achieved his goal, and legends and epics are difficult to take seriously, therefore the creation of a rebis is another mystery of the old world that modern scientists and historians have not been able to unravel.
Why did the alchemists try to find the Philosopher's Stone?
Much has been said about the fact that the creation of a stone was reduced to a desire for profit and dreams of immortality, but what is a philosopher's stone in alchemy? For alchemists obsessed with their work, the creation of such a stone was not a desire for profit. Scientists pursued one goal - to give the world a substance that has ideally useful characteristics for humanity. To receive rebis is tantamount to approaching the greatness of the Gods, to comprehend all the secrets of the creation of the world as we do not know it, and to open the door to the eternity of being, eradicating death and old age.
Where is the Philosopher's Stone?
Many historical sources, claiming that the rebis was nevertheless created, do not indicate where to find the philosopher's stone. If we take as the initial information the fact that the philosopher's stone was created, it is supposed to become a great achievement or great historical value, and this would mean that such a find could not get lost. If there is no official evidence that the rebis was created, let us dwell on the fact that, after all, the mystery of the mystical philosopher's stone (the fifth element of nature) has not been solved to this day and will hardly be able to solve it in the future.
The Philosopher's Stone and the History of the Search for Its Composition
The history of the elixir or the philosopher's stone
It is believed that the first person to tell the world about the Philosopher's Stone was an Egyptian (Hermes Trismegistus) - "Hermes the Three Times Greatest". Hermes Trismegistus is a semi-mythical, semi-legendary figure, in legends he was called the son of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Isis, and was even identified with the ancient Egyptian sorcerer god Thoth and the ancient god Hermes (Mercury).
Medieval manuscript
Hermes Trismegistus is also called the first alchemist to receive the Philosopher's Stone. The recipe for making a philosopher's stone was recorded in his books, as well as on the so-called " "- a tablet from his tomb, on which thirteen instructions to descendants were carved. Most of the books of Hermes Trismegistus perished in a fire in the Alexandrian library, and the few remaining, according to legend, were buried in a secret place in the desert. Only heavily distorted translations have survived to us.
The establishment of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire under the emperor Constantine (285-337) led to even greater persecution of alchemy, permeated with pagan mysticism and therefore, of course, is a heresy. The Alexandrian Academy, as the center of natural science, was repeatedly defeated by fanatical Christians. In 385-415, many buildings of the Alexandrian Academy were destroyed, including the Temple of Serapis. In 529, Pope Gregory I banned the reading of ancient books and the practice of mathematics and philosophy; Christian Europe plunged into the darkness of the early Middle Ages. Formally, the Academy of Alexandria ceased to exist after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in 640.
However, the scientific and cultural traditions of the Greek school in the East were preserved for some time in the Byzantine Empire (the largest collection of alchemical manuscripts is kept in the Library of St. Mark in Venice), and then they were adopted by the Arab world.
Understanding alchemical symbolism without knowledge of alchemical theory is a rather complicated process, although if you wish, you can deduce the whole theory from the symbols themselves, but not everyone can do it.
The first thing to learn is that the knowledge of alchemy is impossible without a change in thinking and outlook. Second, this is a long process. And the third (most important) alchemy must be solved as a riddle, and not read as an answer at the end of the book. Therefore, only the seeds of truth are given below, you can grow them and get a harvest only yourself, and what will grow (a tree or a stunted bush) depends only on yourself and no one else, of course. for true knowledge is alive only through revelation.
The basis of all alchemical theories is the theory of the four elements. This theory was elaborated in detail by Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle... According to the teachings of Plato, the Universe was created by the Demiurge from the spiritualized Primary matter. From it, he created four elements: fire, water, air and earth. Aristotle added a fifth to the four elements - quintessence. It was these philosophers, in fact, that laid the foundation for what is commonly called alchemy.
All subsequent theories are the theory of sulfur and mercury; theory of sulfur, mercury and salt, etc. only transform the quantity and quality of the elements. In the first case, up to two elements in the second up to three, adding, as necessary, also such: quintessence, nitrogen, etc.
If you depict all theories of alchemists geometrically, you get the Pythagorean theatrics. The Theatrix of Pythagoras is a triangle consisting of ten points. At its base there are four points at the top, one, and between them, respectively, two and three. The analogy is quite simple: the four points represent the Cosmos as two pairs of basic states: hot and dry - cold and wet, the combination of these states gives rise to the elements that are at the base of the Cosmos. Thus, the transition from one element to another, by changing one of its qualities, served as the basis for the idea of transmutation.
The triad of alchemists is sulfur, salt and mercury. A feature of this theory was the idea of macro and microcosm. That is, a person in it was viewed as a world in miniature, as a reflection of the Cosmos with all its inherent qualities. Hence the meaning of the elements: sulfur - spirit, mercury - soul, salt - body. Thus, both the Cosmos and the Man consist of the same elements - body, soul and spirit. If we compare this theory with the theory of four elements, then we can see that the Spirit corresponds to the element of fire, the Soul is the element of water and air, and Salt is the element of earth. And if we take into account that the alchemical method is based on the principle of correspondence, which in practice means that chemical and physical processes that occur in nature are similar to those that occur in the human soul, we get:
Sulfur is an immortal spirit - something that disappears from matter without a trace during firing.
Mercury - the soul - that which connects body and spirit
Salt - body - that material that remains after firing.
Lucas Jena
Ouroboros from the book
"Philosopher's Stone"
De Lapide Philisophico
Alchemical
image
uroboros
Sulfur and mercury are regarded as the father and mother of metals. When they are combined, various metals are formed. Sulfur determines the volatility and flammability of metals, and mercury determines hardness, plasticity and luster. The idea of unity (total unity) was inherent in all alchemical theories. On the basis of it, the alchemist began his Work with the search for primary matter. Finding him by special operations he reduced him to primeval matter, after which, adding to it the qualities he needed, he received the philosopher's stone.
The idea of the unity of all that exists was symbolically depicted in the form of an uroboros (gnostic serpent) - a snake devouring its own tail - a symbol of Eternity and all alchemical Work. "One is Everything" - and everything is from him, and everything in him, and if he does not contain everything, he is nothing.
Rules for analyzing alchemical symbols
1. First you need to determine the type of symbol. That is, it is simple or complex. A simple symbol consists of one shape, a complex one of several.
2. If the symbol is complex, you need to decompose it into a series of simple ones.
3. Having decomposed the symbol into its constituent elements, you need to carefully analyze their position.
4. Highlight main idea plot.
5. Interpret the resulting picture.
The main criterion for interpreting a symbol should be the intellectual intuition developed in the process of research.
The lion devouring the sun
The Alchemical Symbol is an image that has a broader meaning than a sign. If a sign has a definite meaning, then the symbol has many often conflicting meanings. Alchemical symbols repeat the shape of objects or creatures (both real and fictional - mythical).
Example. Engraving "Lion devouring the sun".
1. The symbol is complex, as it consists of several simple ones (lion and sun).
2. Definition simple symbols in the image.
3. The main symbols are the lion and the sun. Additional - blood, stone.
4. The sun is with right side, a lion to the left of the viewer, etc.
5. The main idea of the plot is the absorption of the sun (gold) by the lion (mercury). Thus, this engraving depicts the process of dissolution of gold with mercury.
Symbols of alchemical substances
Alchemists used various metals and substances in their activities, each of which had its own symbol or sign. However, it should be borne in mind that in their treatises they described these substances differently, and often in the same treatise the same substance was called differently. This, first of all, applies to the three main substances used in making: primordial substance, secret fire and philosophical mercury.
Primary matter - for the alchemist it is not matter itself, but rather its possibility, which combines all the qualities and properties inherent in matter. A tribute to its description is possible only in contradictory terms, since Primary matter is what remains of an object when it is deprived of all its characteristics.
Primary Matter - the substance closest to Primary Matter in its properties. Primary substance is a (masculine) substance that becomes One and unique in conjunction with the feminine. All its components are simultaneously stable and changeable. This substance is unique, the poor possess it to the same degree as the rich. It is known to everyone and is not recognized by anyone. In your ignorance a common person considers it useless and gets rid of it, although for philosophers this is the highest value.
Primary substance is not a homogeneous substance, it consists of two components: "male" and "female". From a chemical point of view, one of the components is a metal, the other is a mineral containing mercury. This definition is quite universal, and for the study of mystical alchemy, it is quite self-sufficient.
Philosophical mercury is the soul of matter (body of matter), it is an ideal substance that binds Spirit and Body into a single whole by reconciling the opposites of Spirit and Body in itself, and serves as the principle of the unity of all three planes of Being. Therefore, the Philosophical Mercury was most often depicted as a hermaphrodite. Secret fire is a reagent with the help of which Philosophical mercury affects the Primary Substance.
Symbols of alchemical processes
Having carefully studied the alchemical treatises, one can come to the conclusion that almost every alchemist used his own unique method of Work. But still, there are some common elements that are inherent in all alchemical methods. They can be summarized as follows:
The body must be cleansed by a raven and a swan, representing the division of the soul into two parts - evil (black) and good (white).
Iridescent peacock feathers offer evidence that the transformation process has begun
Other birds associated with the alchemical process are as follows:
Pelican (blood feeding);
Eagle (victory symbol of the ending ritual);
Phoenix (represents the perfect eagle).
As you can see from the above, there are three main stages of the Doing: nigredo - black stage, albedo - white stage, rubedo - red. The number of processes leading to these stages is different. Some associated them with the twelve signs of the zodiac, some with seven days of creation, but still almost all alchemists mentioned them.
Seven Alchemical Rules (Exposition from the "Code of Alchemy", the author Albert the great)
1. By breaking the SILENCE, you endanger not only yourself, you endanger our cause.
2. Choose your JOB carefully. Choose it so that it is not striking and convenient for you.
3. Start your business on time and finish it on time. Do not rush at all, do not rush, why should we rush, but do not hesitate, losers hesitate.
4. PATIENCE, nothing is given without patience and diligence. Begin with diligence, continue with diligence. The desire to rest is the first sign of defeat.
5. Know your subject, know your business, know its symbolism. Perfection requires KNOWLEDGE, ignorance leads to death.
6. Exercise ATTENTION to materials, use only clean materials and processes to avoid contamination.
7. Do not start the Great Work without stocking up on funds and CONFIDENCE. Without the means and confidence, you will only bring yourself closer to an already inevitable death, and is this not a defeat?
Alchemical description
“Take philosophical mercury and heat it until it turns into a red lion. Digest this red lion in a sand bath with acidic grape alcohol, evaporate the liquid, and the mercury will turn into a gummy substance that can be cut with a knife. Put it in a clay retort and slowly distill it. Collect separately the liquids of different nature that will appear in this case. You will get tasteless phlegm, alcohol and red drops. The Cimmerian shadows will cover the retort with their dark veil, and you will find the true dragon inside it, for it devours its tail. Take this black dragon, rub it on a stone and touch it with a red-hot coal. It will light up and, soon assuming a gorgeous lemon color, will again reproduce the green lion. Make it gobble up its tail and distill the product again. Finally, rectify thoroughly and you will see the appearance of combustible water and human blood. "
Chemical description
The 19th century French chemist Jean-Baptiste André Dumas interprets alchemical terms as follows. Philosophical mercury is lead. By calcining it, we obtain yellow lead oxide. This green lion, upon further calcination, turns into a red lion - red red lead. Then the alchemist heats red lead with acidic grape alcohol - wine vinegar, which dissolves lead oxide. Evaporation leaves lead sugar - impure lead acetate. With its gradual heating, crystallization water (reflux) is distilled first in the solution, then combustible water - burned-acetic alcohol (acetone) and, finally, a red-brown oily liquid. A black mass, or a black dragon, remains in the retort. This is finely crushed lead. On contact with hot coal, it begins to melt and turns into yellow lead oxide: the black dragon devoured its tail and turned into a green lion. It can be converted back to lead sugar and repeated.
Try to repeat the process yourself. If you have a unique aura, then everything will work out.
The Philosopher's Stone is a powder that takes various shades during cooking according to the degree of its perfection, but in essence it has two colors: white and red. A real philosopher's stone or its powder has three advantages:
1) It turns molten mercury or lead into gold, on which it is poured.
2) Taken orally, it serves as an excellent remedy, quickly curing various diseases.
3) It acts on plants: within a few hours they grow and bear ripe fruits.
Here are three points that will seem fable to many, but which all alchemists agree on. In essence, one has only to ponder over these properties in order to understand that in all three cases there is an intensification of vital activity. Therefore, the Philosopher's Stone is simply a strong condensation vital energy in a small amount of substance. This is why alchemists call their stone the medicine of the three kingdoms.
Alchemical description
"We must start at sunset, when the red spouse and the white spouse unite in the spirit of life in order to live in love and tranquility, in a solid proportion of water and earth."
“Move from the west, through the darkness, to the varying degrees of Ursa Minor. Cool and dissipate the warmth of the red spouse between winter and spring, turn the water into black earth and climb through the changing colors to the east, where it shows full moon... After cleansing, the sun appears, white and radiant "
Occult Description
Put two enzymes in an egg-shaped flask: active (red) and passive (white). Extract from mercury a special enzyme called by the alchemists the Mercury of the philosophers.
Use it on silver to get another enzyme.
Apply the action of the enzyme of Mercury to gold in order to obtain the third enzyme. Combine the enzyme obtained through silver with the enzyme obtained from gold and mercury in a thick glass flask, shaped like an egg. Seal the vessel hermetically and place it on a special hearth called athanor by the alchemists.
Atanor differs from other ovens in a special device for boiling the aforementioned egg for a long time and in a peculiar manner.
During this cooking, changes in color are visible, which serve as the basis for all alchemical allegorical stories. At first, the substance contained in the egg turns black and precisely petrified, which is why it is called the head of a crow. Suddenly black turns into brilliant white; this transition from black to white, from darkness to light, is the perfect touchstone for recognizing the symbolic stories of alchemy. Matter processed in this way serves to convert base metals (lead, mercury) into silver.
If we keep the fire going, we will see that White color disappears and the composition takes on different shades, from the lower colors of the spectrum (blue, green) to the colors of the highest (yellow, orange) and finally reaches ruby red. Then the Philosopher's Stone is almost ready.
In this state, 10 grams of the Philosopher's Stone is barely enough to transform 20 grams of metal. To increase the strength, you need to put it back into the egg, add a little philosophical Mercury and resume cooking. Cooking, which lasted for the first time a year, lasts again only three months, but the colors change, as in the first time.
In this state, the stone turns into gold an amount of metal exceeding its weight ten times. Then the experiment is repeated and continues for one month, after which the stone turns into gold a metal exceeding its weight a thousand times. Finally, for the last time, a real philosopher's stone is being mined, turning metal into pure gold weighing ten thousand times more than the weight of the philosopher's stone.
These operations are called stone multiplication. If you read any alchemical composition, then you should determine what kind of experience we are talking about.
1) When it comes to the production of philosophical Mercury, it will be incomprehensible to the ignorant.
2) If we are talking about the stone itself, then the description will be quite simple.
3) But as soon as we talk about multiplication, the explanation will be the clearest.
Considering the symbolic description of obtaining a stone, one should always look for the hermetic meaning hidden in it. Since Nature is everywhere identical, the description that explains the secrets of the Great Creation can also mean the path of the Sun (solar myth) or the life of some fairytale hero... Only one initiate will be able to perceive the third sense (hermetic) of ancient myths, while scientists will see there only the first and second meanings (physical and natural: the path of the Sun, the Zodiac, etc.).
Albert the Great's Philosopher's Stone Recipe
Composition "Small Alchemical Code"
Take one part each of sublimated and fixed mercury, fixed arsenic, and silver scale. Thoroughly grind the mixture on a stone into a powder and saturate with a solution of ammonia. Repeat all this three or even four times: grind and saturate. Calcined. Then try to dissolve, and save the solution. If the mixture does not dissolve, grind well again and add a little ammonia. Then you will definitely dissolve. After waiting for dissolution, place in warm water in order to then overtake. And then distill all this solution. Do not try to put a solution for distillation into ash! Almost everything will harden then, and you will have to dissolve the hardened mixture again, as you just had to. When the distillation is complete, put your material in a glass retort, thickened, and you will see a white substance, solid and clear, close in shape to a crystal, liquefying on fire, like wax, all-pervading and stable. Take only one part of this substance for one hundred parts of any refined and calcined metal. Just try it, and you will improve it - this metal - nature for eternity. God forbid, do not try to bring your substance into contact with unrefined metal! Your metal will immediately - after two or three tests - lose its color forever.
Aristotle, in his book "On the Perfect Master," reports about sublimated and calcined mercury, by which I mean fixed mercury, for if the mercury is not fixed first, it is hardly possible to ignite it. And if you do not ignite it, you will not dissolve it for anything. In discussing the final point of the experience, some say that we should add a certain kind of white oil of the philosophers to soften our medicine. If the fixed substantial spiritual principles are unsuitable as penetrating matter, add to them an equal amount of unfixed principles of the same, dissolve, and then thicken. Do not doubt that then you will achieve the fact that the substantial spiritual principles will acquire an all-pervading ability and so on. In the same way, if some burnt body does not lend itself to compression into a solid homogeneous state, add a little of the same substance in a molten state to it, and good luck will come to you too. Divide the philosophers' egg into four parts so that each has an independent nature. Take each nature evenly and in equal proportions, mix, but so, however, so as not to violate their natural incompatibility. It is then that you will achieve what you set out to achieve with God's help.
That's what it is universal method... However, I explain it to you in the form of special individual operations, of which there are four in number. Two of them can be done very well, without any hindrances or complications. When you manage to possess water from air and air from fire, you will be able to receive fire from earth. Relate the airy and earthy substances with heat and moisture, and then bring them into such a unity that will be fused and indivisible and in which the former components of this unity are manifested indistinguishable. Then you can add to them two effective virtuous principles, namely water and fire. This is the limit in which the alchemical deed will be finally accomplished. Listen and listen! If you add only one water to the unity of air and earth, silver will be revealed to you. And if there is fire, your matter will take on a red color ...
Elixir recipe from the medieval composition "The Great Grimoire"
Chapter "Secrets of Magical Art"
Take a pot of fresh earth, add a pound of red copper and half a glass of cold water, and boil it all for half an hour. Then add three ounces of copper oxide to the mix and boil for one hour; then add two and a half ounces of arsenic and boil for another hour. Then add three ounces of finely chopped oak bark and leave to boil for half an hour; add an ounce to the pot rose water, boil for twelve minutes. Then add three ounces of soot and simmer until the mixture is ready. To find out if it is fully welded, you need to lower the nail into it: if the composition acts on the nail, remove from heat. This composition will allow you to mine one and a half pounds of gold; if it does not work, this is a sign that the composition is undercooked. The liquid can be used four times. According to the composition, you can lay out 4 ECUs.
True alchemists did not strive to obtain gold, it was only a tool, not a goal (nevertheless, Dante in his Divine Comedy determined the place of alchemists, like counterfeiters, in hell, or more precisely, in the eighth circle, the tenth moat). The goal for them was precisely the Philosopher's Stone itself! And spiritual liberation, exaltation, given to the one who possesses it, is absolute freedom (it should be noted that a stone, by and large, is not a stone at all, more often it is presented as a powder, or a solution of powder is the very elixir of life).
Note
Hermes
, in Greek mythology, the messenger of the Olympian gods, the patron saint of shepherds and travelers, the god of trade and profit. The son of Zeus and Maya, Hermes was born in Arcadia in the cave of Mount Killena. While still a baby, he manages to steal the cows from Apollo. The cows are returned to the owner, but Hermes made the first seven-stringed lyre from the shell of a turtle, and his music sounds so enchanting that Apollo gives him cows in exchange for the lyre. In addition to the lyre, Hermes gave him a flute, for which Apollo presented him with a magic golden rod and taught him to guess. The Rod of Hermes has the power to lull and awaken people, to reconcile those at war. Another indispensable attribute of Hermes is the magical winged golden sandals. Thanks to cunning and deception, Hermes frees Io from Argus, wearing the helmet of Hades, and defeats the giants. He transfers the art of cheating to his son Autolycus. Another son - Pan - acts as the embodiment of the shepherd's hypostasis of Hermes.
Hermes is equally entering the world of the living and the dead, he is an intermediary between people and gods, between people and the inhabitants of Hades. He often acts as the patron saint of heroes: he gives the mother of Frix and Gella Nephele a golden-fleeced ram, Perseus - a sword, his descendant Odysseus reveals the secret of a magic herb that saves Circe from witchcraft. He knows how to open any bonds, helps Priam penetrate the Achaean camp to Achilles.
Hermes in late antiquity was revered as Trismegistus (identified with the Egyptian Thoth), with whom the occult sciences and hermetic (that is, closed) writings were associated. From here came hermetism and hermeneutics. Hermes is an Olympian god, but his image goes back to a deity of pre-Greek, possibly Asia Minor origin. His name is derived from the name of the ancient fetishes-germ - stone pillars or piles of stones, which marked burial places, roads, borders. V Ancient rome Mercury was identified with Hermes.
"Emerald Tablet" ("Tabula smaragdina")
The text of Hermes Trismegistus
I do not speak lies, but I speak the truth.
What is below is like what is above, and what is above is like what is below. And all this is only in order to perform the miracle of the one and only.
Just as all things that exist arose from the thought of this one and only, so these things became things real and effective only through simplification in relation to the case of the same one and only, one.
The sun is his father. The moon is his mother. The wind carries it in its womb. The earth feeds him.
One, and only that, - the root cause of all perfection - is everywhere, always.
Its power is the most powerful power - and even more! - and manifested in its boundlessness on Earth.
Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the coarse, with the greatest care, with anxious care.
Subtle, lightest fire, flying up to heaven, will immediately descend to earth. This will bring about the unity of all things - upper and lower. And now universal glory is in your hands. And now - can't you see? - the darkness runs away. Away.
This is that power of forces - and even stronger - because the subtlest, the lightest is captured by it, and the heaviest is pierced by it, it is penetrating.
This is how everything was created. So!
The future applications of such a beautifully created world, of all the things of this world, are countless and amazing.
That is why Hermes the Thrice Greatest is my name. Three spheres of philosophy are subject to me. Three!
But ... I shut up, announcing everything I wanted about the deed of the Sun. I shut up.
From the Middle Ages until the end of the 17th century, the so-called Philosopher's Stone was the cherished goal of alchemists - scientists who created the knowledge base for modern chemistry.
What is a Philosopher's Stone?
According to legend, the Philosopher's Stone was a substance capable of transforming simple metals such as copper, zinc, tin and iron into precious metals such as gold and silver. In addition, with the help of the philosopher's stone, it was possible to achieve an elixir of eternal youth, capable of curing any disease, regaining lost youth and even granting immortality to its lucky owner.
Alchemists only in the very formation of their "science" considered the philosopher's stone to be a stone, further searches characterized it both as a powder and as an elixir. During the High Renaissance, it was customary to call the philosopher's stone "materia prima". It was during this period that alchemy strongly mixed with philosophy.
In their incessant search for this omnipotent "stone", alchemists studied all kinds of natural and chemical elements, conducted experiments and synthesized new substances and alloys, creating solid foundation for the emergence of chemistry, pharmacology and metallurgy.
What were the results of the search?
Many of the European geniuses sought to find this unique element, among them were Roger Boyle - the progenitor of chemistry, Johann Konrad Dippel, who became the prototype of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel, and even Isaac Newton himself, whose secret passion for alchemy is widely known today.
However, long before Newton, the French clerk, notary, philanthropist and alchemist Nicolas Flamel allegedly revealed the secret of the philosopher's stone. An ancient Jewish book with Kabbalistic mysteries got into his bookstore, for the translation of which Flamel went to Spain, after which rumors spread about the creation of a magical element by the alchemist. Incredible long life Flamel and his wife and their suddenly acquired wealth only contributed to the spread of these rumors.
Nicolas Flamel is well known to fans of the Harry Potter novels. In the first book of the series, J.K. Rowling mentions Flamel and his successful find - the book was published under the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone".
The alchemists of the Middle Ages called the philosopher's stone, as well as the stone of wisdom, a substance that has the ability to transform base metals into the noblest of metals - gold. Pundits for centuries have been obsessed with the idea of creating this divine elixir, which could heal from diseases and give people immortality.
How the idea of the philosopher's stone came about
At the beginning of the development of alchemy as a science, its followers assumed that a miraculous substance with the ability to turn tin and copper into gold is a stone (hence the name). However, over time, opinion has changed, and medieval scientists began to work on the creation of a powder or liquid elixir.
Philosopher's Stone EmblemAlchemists firmly believed that a magical substance can be created by adding and mixing components found in nature, sulfur and mercury were mainly used.
The Waste Labor of the Alchemists
Through the constant efforts of the alchemists to create the Philosopher's Stone, was born modern science chemistry.
The Alchemist in Search of the Philosopher's Stone (Joseph Wright, 1771)
In constant attempts to obtain the long-awaited result in the form of a miraculous elixir, in the process of difficult searches, the scientists of the Middle Ages made a lot of important discoveries:
Received nitric, sulfuric and acetic acid;
Alcohol was created;
We got new salts;
Made up the world's first system of chemical elements;
Alchemists discovered new substances - antimony and arsenic;
Scientists have become aware of zinc and bismuth, as well as the non-metals sulfur and carbon.
Famous alchemists
Great minds worked tirelessly to create the Philosopher's Stone. Here are just some of the famous progressive alchemists who have contributed to the development of science:
- Albert the Great - studied minerals, was fond of philosophy, set up experiments in inorganic chemistry, which were much ahead of their time. Author of the famous treatise "On Alchemy". The scientist believed that the Philosopher's Stone can be obtained by using the right ingredients.
- Arnoldo de Villanova was a brilliant mind of the time, giving bold lectures at the University of Paris. Contemporaries believed that the scientist had succeeded in discovering the Philosopher's Stone.
- Raymond Llull - he is called the greatest alchemist of all time. He claimed to have been able to transmute base metals into coveted gold.
- Paracelsus is a famous alchemist and physician who created new medicines and studied magic. He spent many years of his life looking for the philosopher's stone with which he wanted to heal people.
- Nicolas Flamel is a fabulously rich simple artisan who claims to have solved the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone.
Nicolas Flamel
Alchemy facts
Alchemy did a lot for the development of science, but gradually turned into a brake on the way scientific research and gradually fell into decay. And yet there are people who devote time to this old teaching, and some even try to prepare a philosopher's stone at home.
Before trying to do this, let's understand the theory of creating such a material. The ancient alchemists assumed that the known metals simply grow in the earth, gradually ripening. In the minds of medieval scholars, Active participation in this process took sulfur. At the same time, gold was considered "ripe", and iron was considered "immature".
How to get the Philosopher's Stone
Alchemists believed that in gold there is a "healthy" sulfur of red color, and in silver - white sulfur... When damaged red sulfur came into contact with silver, copper was obtained, and black sulfur could "conceive" lead. Thus, the sulfur species influenced the resulting metal variant.
In order to help the metal to achieve the desired condition, the element has been meticulously processed. As a result of such experiments, alchemists were able to make new scientific discoveries. Sometimes they were recognized as sorcerers and persecuted. In those troubled times, scientists were even burned at the stake.
Ordinary people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to create a philosopher's stone. No metal is converted to another metal by exposure to sulfur. You can devote a lot of time to science and conduct chemical experiments, but the answer will be one - "no". At the same time, you can conduct original experiments at home and feel like a real alchemist.