In out days we also had in Moravia a certain person, who during a cementation of 7

hours, after having Cemented some silver previously in order to render it compact as they
call it, enriched it so much with a graduating powder, that 3 parts out of 4 were fixed and
tinged into good Gold, of nearly 24 carat.
The Secret of the Quick or Unslaked Lime
Take good, pure Chalk and burn it in a potter's furnace with a very strong fire to bring it
to an exact maturity.Take this burned Chalk, pour upon it and then draw from it again
several times an Aqua fort made of Vitriol and Salt-peter. Dissolve it afterwards in a
cellar. Distil that which is dissolved into an oil with a strong fire. Digest with this oil a
Calx of Lune, opened with Aqua fort, for a month. Reduce this Calx by melting down
with Salt-peter and Sal armoniack and refine it with Saturn; then separate it and you will
have a white, fixed Lune, which lay for a day and a night in an Aqua fort and you have
good Gold, which endureth all trials. Laus Deo.
The Preparation of the Chalk
Good chalk, which is not gritty, is broken into small pieces, the size of dice, is placed in
cold water, and there it is allowed to soak for 1 hour, and allowed to stand in a new glass-
stoppered flask and then set in a sealed air oven to burn until it glows and is burned out,
at which time it was considered to have been properly fired.
NOTE: When Gold hath lost its Soul, it yieldeth then a white body and a fixed white body
of Gold, which is called Luna fixa by the searching students and novices in this Art.
When the body of Gold must be as white as Silver. Reduce it upon a cupel with Saturn
and a little Copper and the white body of Gold doth recover again its colour and property
and becometh good Gold.
Oil Made from Aquafort and Luna
There have been also others who took 1 oz of Luna amalgamated with prepared Mercury,
in such a way that the amalgamation could be pressed through a linen cloth. After that,
they set it for 6 weeks in moderate heat; and they dissolved it in an AF made of Vitriol
and Salt; drew off again gently in the balneum. Then they removed it, stoppered it well,
set it in cinerum or tripodem and gave it heat as if one wished to keep Lead in flux. They
kept it thus until the oil was fixed, and tested it in the following way: They took a sheet of
Copper and heated it to glowing, then poured one drop of this oil upon it. If the oil goes
through without smoke, like oil through leather, and if it tinges to Silver, it is fixed, good
and a perfect elixir. But if it does not do that, put it back in tripodem until it is fixed and
transmutes Mercury, Tin and Copper into true Silver, which passes all tests.
Cinnabar to Fixed Silver
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I request also the unbelieving Chemical artists or such Lovers as are full of doubts, to try
that common and well known.
Take pure fine silver in filing 1 part or 1 j, common cinnabar in longish pieces, as thick as
a straw, or a little thicker, aa.
Dry the cinnabar in the white of an egg, then roll them about in the filings of silver, so
that plenty of the silver filings sticks on the cinnabar all around. Place these pieces into a
glass body, and make an even SSS with filings and pieces of cinnabar, and lay them very
regularly.
Apply an alembic on the body, unluted; put the body deep into the sand, and in such a
manner that you may have it in your power to give fire at the top over the alembic, as well
as under the body. Thus arranged begin with you fire at the top, but very gradually the
first 2 hours, afterwards give fire below, which increase until the mercury in the cinnabar
comes over into a Receiver half full of water; mind that the pipe of the alembic goes deep
into the receiver and that you lute nothing, or your vessel must absolutely fly to pieces.
In a day the operation is performed.
After the vessels are cooled, take your silver out of the body, which is reduced to ashes.
The cinnabar pieces, as only the superfluous mercury is come over, lay entire in the body,
and look black like lead.
If you melt this in a crucible, you will find a strange sort of silver, which AF dies not
dissolve as it is Luna Fix.
Butyrum Orpiment (Red Oil to Fixed Silver)
I took 1 part of orpiment finely powdered, and 2 parts of sublimated mercury also in fine
powder. I put the two powders into a glass retort, and mixed them by shaking the retort,
whose neck must be wide; I have placed the retort in the cellar, where I let it remain 24
hours, to attract moisture; afterwards I placed my retort in a sand furnace, and buried it
pretty deep in the sand, I adapted a large receiver and luted the joinings carefully, as the
fumes, if they should escape, prove mortal, when received in the lungs.
I have begun with a very gentle fire at first which I increased gradually; the mass in the
retort melts and boils and a sublimate comes over like clear water [arsenic trichloride],
whose quantity is astonishing, considering that the orpiment and sublimated mercury are
both dry powders.
I found this sublimate equally abundant, when I had not attracted in the cellar.
Some call this sublimate, which must afterwards be rectified per se, with the same
precautions, an oil or Butyrum.
Its specific gravity is equal to that of mercury, and it smokes constantly.
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After this sublimate an oil comes over, which floated upon the sublimate, and would
absolutely not mix with the sublimate, though I shook the glass above 100 times.
Increasing the fire I obtained a good quantity of cinnabar, which sublimed itself in the
neck and upper part of the retort, and there remain a small residue, containing the sandy
earth intermixed with the orpiment.
Agricola gives the following process; Mix equal quantities of mercury sublimate and
native orpiment, finely powdered separately, put the mixed powders into a glass retort,
which place in a cellar.
Then place the retort in a sand pot, adapt a roomy receiver which lute carefully to the
retort; begin with a very gentle fire, which do not increase before you see it necessary,
and a yellow subtile oil or sublimate will come over, which smokes constantly, and
consumes metals like a fire.
This oil ameliorates silver in digestion, but it is too much volatilized therein, so that it
must be refixed, and by these means you obtain a white gold or Luna Fixa.
Agricola says that the foregoing process is of Poppius; he adds that [missing] is
blackened by this process but not enriched with gold, and that there is no benefit from this
digestion. He adds that this Liquor has some rapport with Butyrum Antimonii, and that if
you cohobate this yellow oil or sublimate several times upon its own faeces, your oil will
become of a ruby color. If you distill this oil or sublimate from Emeril (iron) this matter
will give you an oil as red as blood. Agricola says also: That he knows, that orpiment,
antimony and mercury sublimate mixed, distilled and cohobated upon their own faeces, in
order to impregnate the sublimate with its own fixed sulfur, contained in the faeces,
produces a dark red oil, which always gives proof of gold, in small quantities.
By means of this red body, the partial transmutation of silver into gold is certainly
demonstrable.
Baron Schroeder, whom we have quoted several times, tells us, that some distill orpiment
with mercury sublimate, until they obtain therefrom a gold oil, wherein they digest a Calx
of silver; but the Baron adds: that the small trifle of gold obtained by this process, does
not pay its expenses.
This is what I have collected from Pott: It seems the process of making a Butyrum
orpiment, which is done in one day, cannot be that of Baron Schroeder, which takes two
months, besides that we are by no means certain that orpiment is the Barons Subject.
The Fixation of Luna
First, you must take fine Luna from the cupel and fine Sol at your discretion. Beat them
into thin laminae as thick as an Orint and half a hand wide. To Luna add prepared sal
gemmae and auripigment for the White, sublimated with + and an equal amount of Lapis
Calaminaris. Through 3 lb of that sublimate 1 lb of auripigment is ready. Now take 3j of
the auripigment to 1 lb of prepared salt and 3ij of white calcined tartar, which must be
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quite clear and transparent. Mix everything well together with this powder, put layer upon
layer in a good crucible with silver laminae, as you know, the thickness of a finger. Lute
it well and set it to calcine in moderate heat, so that the silver does not melt. Let it stand
thus for 36 hours, then let it cool, and break the crucible open. The Luna is black and
brittle like glass. Now take clean water and wash the blackness and saltiness off from the
silver, let it dry, and pound it in a mortar. Then rub it well with distilled water, take a
glass bowl and put the pulverized silver into it. Wash it well with clean water and let it sit
for some time or pour it off into another glass. Pour fresh water on the powder, sir it and
wash it off into another glass. Pour fresh water on the powder, stir it and wash it till the
water runs off as clear as it was when you poured it on. Now the silver is washed and is as
white as snow. If you believe that some of it has gone back into the water, dry and melt it
again, and you will get the remaining silver back.
Now take the white-washed silver, reduce it with borax, laminate it again and cement it
pulverized, wash and melt it again as before, and continue doing this till the silver stays
white in the cement and no rottenness or blackness comes off it when it is washed. In this
way the silver gets rid of all its faces without being separated. Try this in the following
way: Dissolve 3j of this silver in rectified wine or Quinta Essentia, coagulate and dissolve
it again, and you will not find any faeces, even if you repeated it a hundred times.
What do you think of this secret? It is a great secret in the Art. I am telling you truly, it is
the greatest secret of all in the Art, more so than one can understand. The Elements are
rectified without separation, and you can make an Elixir from one metal only, because it
has its own proportion of weights. When the Elements are purified with solving and
coagulating, it is very good, but my method is much surer, because in working with
dissolving and coagulating, the element is separated together with the faeces and the three
other Elements. If is a good thing if its done correctly and carefully, and if care is taken to
preserve everything, to lose nothing, and that the fire is well regulated during
reverberation in order to rectify the earth, so that fire, water, air can be extracted
therefrom. It requires careful attention to prevent anything from being lost. When it does
happen, however, you no longer have the right weight of the Elements and you will never
reach a happy end. Keep this well in your hearts so that you may never forget it, for there
must not be any weakness, the Elements must have the oil their own weight and
proportion. It is therefore necessary to proceed very carefully in this Work where the
Elements have to be separated.
It is indeed good if it is done in this way, and it makes an infinite projection, much higher
than when the elements are not separated. Therefore, my Child, many of us have made
mistakes and spent much time in vain before they discovered the rectification of the
Elements while they are together. That is what I have revealed to you here. Therefore do
not take any risks, because I worry that you might go wrong and lose something of the
Elements. Then all cost and effort would be lost, as you would find in the end.
Therefore, dear Sons, keep to my method and you cannot go wrong. You may well lose
dome of your powder in the washing, but what is left is perfect, because Nature does not
miss. The Elements remain united and are even ore closely bound together by the Work
than they were before. For when they are pure and rid of their faeces and they are set to
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cement 3 times, they will be so well congealed together than Luna will be fixed.
Test it in AF --- it does not attack Luna --- It retains its colors and also passes through
copper. Calcination and cementation can also be made with prepared common slat,
without arsenic or tartar, but it takes longer. And if you do it only with salt without
arsenic and tartar, Luna will not readily cement and calcine. It has to be repeated several
times --- about 3 times --- before Luna is calcined enough to be rubbed. That is why
arsenic and tartar are added, as they are sharp and work easily through the laminae, so that
the cementation must not be repeated often. Thirdly, they result in a white tincture
suitable for a White Work. But if a Red Work is intended, I would be better to take
Mercury to the Red than arsenic, just as is done in the sublimation of Sol. This then is the
reason why arsenic is added to the salt; though, if ever you wished, you could achieve it
with salt alone. I myself have frequently tested and done it. There is no difference in the
cementation of Luna and Sol, except that mercury to the Red is used instead of
auripigment. Also, Sol must not be pulverized and washed like Luna, and Sol does not
contain any blackness because tartar, mercury and the salt consumes all its faeces. Then
you Sol is rid of all its faeces, just like Luna. Thus you have all your cement perfect and
together and well purified. Although the separation of the Elements causes a much higher
and subtler projection, there is danger involved in it. This purification, however, is sure
and without worry.
Now we will return to our Work, and I will first teach you how the Philosophical Mercury
is to be extracted. At the beginning I showed you many a Work which other masters have
performed, whom I saw working in the laboratory. Some of them are perfect, others
imperfect. Be that as it may, it is necessary to have the Philosophical mercury if a good
result is to be obtained. For the Mercury which comes from the mines is a crude sperma,
not yet sufficiently cooked, and it would have to lie in the earth for another 300 years
before it would coagulate; then again, for many more years till it would turn into a
powder. Then, by long cooking in natural heat, it would become a vapor. When it is
finally a vapor, it passes into the opening of the minerals. When it finds the Philosophical
Sulfur with its spiritual nature, it turns into a Corpus. After the Sulfur has been separated
from its fattiness, it results in a perfect metal, white or red. The Sulfur of the ignorant is
foam and faeces and the combustible fattiness of Vitriol. The latter is separated well by
the power of Nature which desire to rid herself of her faeces, to rid the red Sulphur of the
foam of the red vitriol, and the white of the white vitriol, as is clearly indicted in the
Vegetable Work.
When now the aforesaid mercurial vapor is conjoined with the Philosophical Sulphur, it
must still digest and cook for a long time in the bowels of he earth before this Mercury
and Sulfur congeal, and this may well take over a thousand years. From this you can now
understand that the mineral sulfur is still but a crude thing, from which the seed of the
metals is cooked with the help of Nature, before it canes into a spirit. That is why no
metal is found in Mercury mines and no Mercury in metal mines. For Mercury is a raw
material, of no use in our Art. It is only an instrument and a hammer to work with in our
Art, and a means for extracting the colors from metals and metallic things. But as far as
its use in the Art is concerned it is considered raw material and good for nothing for
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reasons indicated above. I have told you all this so that you should know that all those are
wrong who work with such a Mercury.
Preparation of Fixed Luna and Sol
Chalk (lime) in a crucible, along with 3 parts of Calaminaris Stone, 2 parts of white
arsenic (sublimed 2 o 3 times) 1 pound prepared salt, and 20 grams of the same white
arsenic mixed with 40 grams of tartar (calcined until clear, white, and translucent), all
materials thoroughly mixed together, were treated with finely powdered silver until the
product was thick as a ducat and a hands width, forming a layer upon the other material
present, and initially one finger thick in the above-mentioned powder (after the addition
of the silver). The powdered material was again added and the process was repeated, with
adequate luting and cementing, using an appropriate flame. Nevertheless, the silver does
not melt, even after 36 hours. After cooling, and subsequent neutralization of the product,
the silver appeared to be black and as brittle as glass. The product was then thoroughly
washed with water and allowed to dry. It was then placed in a small mortar and
pulverized completely, carefully washed with ordinary water, and then allowed to settle,
and the entire process was repeated until the supernatant water was completely clear. The
water can be evaporated, so that none of the silver will be lost, even that which has been
dissolved in the water. The resulting white powder, after treatment with borax (at which
time it is in lamellar form) was cemented by heat and worked up as before, so that the
silver is set free from the feces and the element is purified without decomposition, which
can be tested by rectification of a half ounce of the powder in aqua vitae (distilled brandy)
or by dissolving in distilled vinegar, coagulated, and again dissolved, until no more fecal
material is found. This silver should also be cemented by heating, in order that the
elements become fixed, and that the silver becomes fixed, as well, that they will not be
dissolved by aquafort (or become grey-colored when held at high heat) or have lost their
timbre, but are precipitated by antimony.
After cementing, the gold also has a similar form, which alone is that taken (instead of
arsenic) by sublimed red mercury, which cannot be struck or washed like the silver ca. It
is not black at all, but by cementing the gold for so long a time, until no further loss in
weight, then it is gold freed of all fecal matter and must be fixed by cementing 3 times
more, so that all the elements are prepared.
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