The Alchemy Key.pdf - Veritas File System

pulverized Stibnite; 1 part Iron powder; and 4 parts Secret Fire (urine with
Potassium Chloride).
The neck of the flask must be cooler than the base so the vapor of
the Mercury will condense. If the neck is warmer, the vapor will expand
too rapidly and explode the vessel. Alchemists call their vessels an
Iimbic, Alembic, Kerotakis or Pelican.
The alchemist gently heats the flask in a temperature controlled
sand bath. The temperature range is 37ºC to 41ºC or blood heat, called
‘the temperature of a hen on its eggs’ and held constant for about 84 days.
There is a slow reaction as the Compost absorbs the liquid in the
first few days. It swells, and sweats with a ruddy appearance. This is the
Rule of Saturn of the First Perfection.
Eventually, a beautiful shiny star appears on the surface. This is
the Regulus, which is pure antimony. The alchemists term Heat plus
Dryness as ‘Fire’. Only when the Regulus is formed does the Antimony
Trichloride vapor arise and the ‘cleaning’ take place. Many alchemists
erroneously assume that the Star Regulus of Mercury, this Star of
Bethlehem or Morning Star at this point is the Holy Grail.
The purified white vapor of Mercury, Shakespeare’s Portia,
ultimately rises from the reaction. To the Alchemists this is ‘Air, their
term for Heat plus Humidity. It is the vapor of Antimony Trichloride that
forms as a white ‘metallic, volatile humidity’ or sweat, similar to saliva.
Alchemists call the vapor of antimony the ‘Mercury of the Wise’, the
‘white wife’ or White Goddess of the First Perfection.
When the gas is distilled, condensed and cooled in the receiver
flask, it becomes a wondrously bright liquid. The alchemists call ‘Cold
plus Humidity’ as ‘Water’. Alchemists called Antimony Trichloride the
‘water that does not wet the hands’.
The condensed Antimony Trichloride is kept sealed in the
receiving flask. It will fume slightly in air and is very corrosive, irritating
and hygroscopic. This Mercury of Antimony Trichloride becomes the
“our vinegre” or Secret Sophic Fire in the Second Perfection.
The alchemist then separates the Earth from the Heat and the
subtle from the gross. That is, when the Regulus is black with Iron
Sulphide, the alchemist dries-off the water and removes the Regulus;
which is the ‘First Stone’, from the mat of Iron Sulphide. He also
discards any oxide ‘flowers’ in the neck of the flask. The alchemist then
pulverizes the Regulus with a hard mortar and pestle. In the Second
Perfection, this Regulus will be called Mercury.
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