PH.

VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 1

FROM VEGETABLE STONE

Ph. Vaysal

Before delving into the subject, we would like to first put an end to a
legend that lingers in certain 'schools of alchemy' - if such a school exists
that alchemy may exist - and against which so many sincere researchers have fought
hitting, spending, in vain, time and money. We want to allude to the
Plant Pierre that some philosophers have mentioned in their writings and which has been
awarded in honor by Brother Albertus, contemporary alchemist. It is
currently "the school of philosophers of nature" that has taken up the torch
of this research on vegetable stone, the question is often
perceived by students as the necessary first door to cross,
before going further into alchemy. Such was, at least, the discourse of
one of its members that we knew.

First of all, we owe the reader an explanation regarding the nature of this
Pierre. According to Albertus, it could be capable of releasing the quintessence of a
simple from a simple infusion in which it would have been immersed. The
quintessence, thus liberated, it would be enough to collect it at the surface of the bath
of infusion, and to absorb it in order to benefit from its medicinal properties.

Although long and tedious, in practice, the manufacturing process is simple.

from a theoretical point of view. It involves choosing a plant in advance,
aromatic preference, to separate its sulfur (its oil), its mercury (its
alcohol) and sonsel, to combine the 3 principles, then to coagulate the whole,
slow distillation. The product of this distillation must be calcined before being
dissolved in a new quantity of sulfur and mercury, which must then be
separate as before, and start again. As the solves succeed
aucoagula, the nascent vegetable stone gradually modifies its properties
physiques, becoming more compact, denser, and increasingly resistant to
calcination. After yet another reiteration, the stone is finally obtained. Two
important points president to the success of the plant work. On one hand, we
we said it is better to choose an aromatic plant due to its
richness in oil; the choice of a resinous plant further increases the
chances of success. On the other hand, calcination must occur at a temperature
which should not be excessive and should hardly go beyond 600°C…

The one who possesses a little common sense has understood where the foundation lies
this stone! The plant stone is actually just an agglomerate of plant ash
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 2

and derivatives of tar resulting from the incomplete calcination of oils. A

As the process is repeated, the tars that have withstood the fire confer
to the ash aggregate a greater cohesion thus giving rise to the
Stone. The so-called quintessence that is released when the Stone is immersed.
in the hot infusion, is only part of the agglomerate that disintegrates and
reinforces the desired illusion.

To close this thorny question, let us cite Basil Valentine, who attests to the
illusory character of vegetable stone. The term vegetable is only a
fallacious interpretation of an expression taken literally:

Note that if there were with our Pierre, as with another herb, it would be
easily burned and thus nothing would remain, except for a certain salt. And although this
those who were before me had written of several vegetative stones, nevertheless know,
my friend, how easy this will be for you, of difficult conception. Indeed,
our stone vegetates and grows, for this reason, they called it vegetal.
(1)

Note:
(1) From the Great Stone of the ancient sages of Brother Basile Valentin of the Order of
Saint Benedict. In the twelve keys of Philosophy. Basil Valentine. Midnight Editions.

The metals of tradition and their toxicity

Heavy metals, among which is antimony, are considered one of our

days like toxic even at low doses. If antimony, gold, and mercury have
were used until the last century internally in many
therapeutic indications, only antimony and gold have maintained an indication
major although limited, respectively in the treatment of the
leishmaniasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

If we leave the official domain, we also find gold in the panel of

Ménétrier trace elements as a corrector of anergic diathesis, in
association with money and copper. Another use is reserved for it, under the
colloidal gold form, as an anti-inflammatory, without specific activity
demonstrated. Money is still primarily used as a local antiseptic
of rhino-pharyngeal mucous membranes, in various commercial forms. In
outside of supplementation for proven deficiencies, copper and zinc are not
not used by the official current. They are, however, very used by the micro-
nutritionists for their essential structural and biocatalytic role.

Mercury poisoning

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 3

This metal was used for a long time as the main anti-treatment.
syphilitic before being dethroned by penicillin. It was already recommended,
in this statement, by Basile Valentin who speaks of this venereal disease
as the 'disease of the French.' It was introduced to Europe after the
discovery of America and disseminated on the old continent through wars
fratricides that were rampant at that time. Nowadays, mercury has retained only a
external indication, namely as an antiseptic, the most popular of which is
known as mercurochrome*. Only red mercuric sulfide or
Cinnabar, an allotrope of black sulfur, is still used in small doses.
considerable (fourth decimal(1)) internally, in medicine
homeopathic. It is marketed in the form of a complex, in the
treatment of rhinitis. Metallic mercury is only very weakly absorbed
through the digestive tract at less than 0.01%. It is eliminated through urine,
mainly, but also through feces, sweating, and hair. The half-
the life of this metal in the body varies from a few days to several years,
for certain tissues like the brain or the kidney.

Acute mercury poisoning can cause serious damage.

Ocular. Inhaled or ingested, mercury can cause damage to the
digestive mucous membranes (metallic taste, nausea, vomiting, pain)
abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, intestinal burns, edema of the glottis) and
respiratory (interstitial pneumonia up to lethal pulmonary edema). On
may also mention the possibility of cardiovascular disorders such as
heart rhythm problems, drop in blood pressure, as well as the possibility
acute renal failure.

Chronic poisoning can initially manifest as simple fatigue,

weakness, insomnia, loss of appetite or a change in
the mood. Subsequently, more characteristic symptoms appear,
like gingivitis, stomatitis with tooth loss. The nervous system
is particularly exposed to mercury poisoning, which can prove to be,
at this level, through tremors of the limbs, disorders of the
coordination, translating an impairment of the cerebellum. One can also observe
visual impairments, hearing problems, a polyneuropathy, as well as disorders
cognitive (language disorder, memory loss, hallucinations, delirium, etc.) and
psychiatric disorders characterized by mood instability in case
chronic intoxication (mercurial erethism). Mercury is also
toxic for the fetus, this is how the pollution of Minamata Bay occurred
Japan, in the 1950s and 60s, is originally, in addition to several hundred
deaths that she dramatically caused, many and serious effects
teratogenic effects on the embryo and fetus (malformations). Currently
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 4

the use of amalgams, based on mercury, in dentistry is the source of

controversies. Consumer and professional associations are attributing
to amalgams, numerous health harms and advocate for their prohibition
mercury in this use.

In general, regarding the toxicity of heavy metals, it is necessary to

know that this is proportional to the degree of ionization of the metal. In
In other words, it increases with the number of electric charges of the metal.

For mercury, toxicity increases in the following way: This explains that the
mercury sulfide, which is a reduced form of the metal, is less toxic
that mercury chloride or corrosive sublimate whose poisoning can be
deadly, even in low doses.

The fact that mercury in its reduced form is relatively non-toxic does not
no justification from unconscious alchemists for the intake of sulfur compounds
from mercury in low doses, certainly, but certainly already dangerous for the
Health. Dragon's blood, from the work of Caro, warns us, it can
take on all its toxicity beyond a certain cumulative dose. Furthermore,
the toxicity of mercury is joined by that, more direct, of caustic soda which can
to be the cause of an esophagogastric perforation with peritonitis.

The toxicity of metals according to the valence of electric charges is also

valid for antimony. That is why the sulfur form is
less toxic than oxide or trichloride, but antimony is to be classified among
toxic heavy metals.

Lead poisoning

The exceptional acute poisoning implies massive ingestion of

lead and is translated by the association of esophagitis and gastritis with
vomiting then convulsive encephalopathy and coma leading to death in
2-3 days with anemia, renal and hepatic impairment.

Chronic poisoning is characterized by digestive manifestations. This

are the famous 'lead colics'. They appear in the form of
paroxysmal painful crises, sometimes associated with constipation. They
can have a latent presentation.

In the mouth, there may be a bluish gingival line at the neck of the incisors.
and mouth spots of the same color.

Neurological impairments are associated with lead encephalopathy with

convulsions hydrocephalus dilatation of the ventricles cerebral),
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 5

incoordination, perception disorders, idiocy. At the beginning, there are

psychological troubles, balance, sleep.

Peripheral nerve damage is associated with motor and sensory disorders.

renal effects can lead to chronic kidney failure but are
delayed and rare. The decline in general condition with asthenia (fatigue) and anorexia
(loss of appetite) is common. Gout attacks may occur.
as well as a hypofertility in men. Lead is fetotoxic but its
teratogenic effect (embryonic malformation) is not demonstrated. The effects
hematological conditions result in anemia (insufficient red blood cells in
name).

Gold poisoning

It can manifest as high blood pressure with renal impairment.

which can lead to renal failure.

There may be lung damage with severe respiratory failure as well

that a condition of the central and peripheral nervous system.

Skin disorders may also occur.

The administration of gold for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, in the

In the framework of conventional medicine, it is done with caution and with a
rigorous clinical and biological surveillance in order to stop the treatment in front of
the first signs of side effects.

In total, we warn the alchemists who work from the

heavy metals. They are exposed, by inhaling their vapors, to poisoning
can be serious, especially considering the cumulative effect.

Moreover, the unconscious who, in the greatest joy, absorb

metallic dyes prepared according to alchemical precepts, in measured doses
even very weak pollutants expose their health to a greater danger
Again. We recommend that those individuals refrain from such practices.
given the risk incurred.

From the theory of the three principles to vegetable and mineral essences

Ph. Vaysal

It is one of Paracelsus's originalities to explain the origin of diseases,

notably based on the three humors, Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury, directly derived
the 3 alchemical principles of the same name and in analogy with the body, the soul and

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETAL STONE 6

the mind. Moods are the foundation of the health/disease balance that prevails
in man. Rhumélius, a Paracelsian physician, perfectly expresses this.
idea in her spagyric medicine:

From these three principles come all things, and when one of these principles is no longer
balanced, it soon leads to corruption, a decline, or a disease of a member, and
this is the natural origin, when the evil comes naturally from the rupture of balance
salt, sulfur, and mercury, by the particular effect of man, or astral body.

We will see that other medicinal traditions, especially Eastern ones, are
moods. Next to the theory of the 3
principles, on which Paracelsus relies to explain the origin of diseases,
he develops other theories, one of which emphasizes the pathogenic role of
certain harmful astral influences. Moreover, there is a reference to
concept of self-intoxication, dear to Basile Valentin, in the entity of poison (De
Ente Veni). Paracelsus defines this entity as an accumulation of
toxic waste resulting from food and drink. For more precision,
we refer the reader to the work of P. Rivière: Paracelsus, physician
Alchemist, "Philosopher by Fire". Edition de Vecchi.

The pharmacopoeia of Paracelsus is very diverse and is entirely based on art.

alchemical. It incorporates remedies from the mineral kingdom as well as
remedies from the plant kingdom, where toxins play a predominant role, in
the two kingdoms. Paracelsus's concern is to derive from "the mixtures"
the "quintessence" on which the efficiency of the alchemical remedy rests.
We will return later to the meaning that should be given to the notion of
Quintessence in the work of Paracelsus. The idea of a universal medicine,
true panacea appears less manifestly in Paracelsus than in
the work of Basile Valentin.

Paracelsus distinguishes the diseases of Salt, the diseases of Sulfur, and the diseases of
Mercury. Each of the three groups of diseases derives its treatment from the principle.
Salt, Sulfur, or Mercury to which it is related. These 3 major classes of diseases are
manifest in favor of a disruption of the balance that exists between these three
moods. The treatment involves restoring the disrupted balance in
based on the theory of similarities which suggests that one can treat a disease by
a remedy of the same signature:

Mercury should be administered for diseases that come from Mercury, Salt for
diseases resulting from Salt, from Sulfur to diseases resulting from Sulfur

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 7

Paracelsus gives a definition of the three categories of diseases: The diseases of

They are characterized by excessive elimination ("a phlegm") by some
excretion whether it is (diarrhea, rhinorrhea, leucorrhea...) :

Any disease causing a relaxation (morbus laxus) is produced by Salt,

like the flow in the belly, Dysentery, Diarrhea, etc. This salt is the one that has become corrupted
in the place where he usually stays, For any evacuation is caused by the Salt
just as well in a healthy body as in one that is sick. In the
in the first case, it is the salt of Nature that acts; in the second, it is the same salt denatured,
corrupted and dissolved (resolved). The treatment of diseases that have the principle Salt.
for signature, relates, as we have said, to a remedy of the same signature. It
It is therefore convenient that healing be achieved entirely by means of the Salts, in such a way
that the Salt rectifies again and separates the corrupted Salt from the intact one."(2)

The definition of a Selne remedy is not based on the modern definition of salt.
(ionic couple) but rather relies on analogies of a physical order. The
signature relies on a characteristic of unalterability and
of incorruptibility, in fire or over time. This definition includes salts in
modern chemical senses (ionic pairs), but also some oxides
(of antimony in particular), and certain natural compounds that are unalterable in the
weather (the honey). Parremède Salt, Paracelsus also includes some compounds.
of plant origin in particular, whose medicinal properties are related to
scope of action of the principle like certain laxative plants such as
Rhubarb. It classifies the remedies Selen based on their "properties".
medicinal, and thus distinguishes the group of emetics (oxides
of antimony,...), laxatives (antimony oxides, magnesium salts, Aloes,
Rhubarb,...), diaphoretics (diaphoretic antimony, Ginger), of
diuretics (mercurial salts,...)..... It is by stimulating the excretory organs that the
remedies related to the principle exert their curative action:

And according to what the fiery force of Salt determines, the boiling point increases and
It is through this degree that the moistures escape outside through the pores and the
interstices.

The diseases of Sulfur manifest through an affliction of the noble organs.

(Heart, brain, liver, kidney...)

Sulfur softens and penetrates the heart, the brain, the kidneys, etc. And the diseases of these
parties must be called sulfurous (morbi sulfurei) because in them, the substance is
completely made of Sulfur

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 8

Unlike Selqui, which acts by stimulating the eliminatory organs to evacuate the
"phlegm" or what Paracelsus also qualifies as "superfluidity", the Sulfur
absorbs in the restaurant the vital functions of the deficient organ, namely
here is the liver:

The Sulfur works by drying and consuming the superfluidity. The latter must be
consumed, unless it is preserved by the Salts. Thus, to combat
Hydrops (induced by liver cirrhosis in this case) must be
to seek a remedy for the salts generated by the liver of the Archæa, in order to consume
what is putrefied and corrupted; it is also necessary for evil to be healed by force
of Sulfur to which all diseases of this kind are subjected, each according to its
species, although sulfur is not suitable for all indiscriminately...

The Mercury seems more difficult to identify, comparable to a kind of "fluid".

vital", and perhaps partly to "nerve energy". Paracelsus defines it
as follows:

It is from him that the diseases of the ligaments, arteries, and joints originate.
articulations, and other similar ones (and further away nerves, bones etc.); therefore the only
the way to cure them is to reduce the mercurial fluid..... Indeed the disease
Mercurial, for example, is the one in which the liquor, also mercurial,
escapes through the various branches, twigs, and leaves of the human body.

Just like the diseases related to the other two principles, the diseases that arise
relate to the principle Mercury must be treated with remedies of the same
mercurial signature:

It is therefore extremely important to know all the mercurial liquors, because one
heals what the Salt of the same kind dissolves.

According to P. Rivière, the Mercury temperament is close to the temperament

Hippocrates' nervous, while the Soufre corresponds to the Bilious temperament.
Sanguine and the Lymphatic temperament. The three Humors of
Paracelsus is also close to the tripartite categorization of diatheses.
(stages of presenescence) according to Bergeret and Tétau (4), namely the Diencephalon,
Vascular and Hepato-renal. The Diencephalon is defined as being the subject of
constant endocrine disturbances in serological tests. It is described as a
longilinear, hypersensitive subject resembling Phosphoric from
Homeopaths. The Vascular corresponds to the Carbonic and constitutes
the environment conducive to cardiovascular diseases. Finally, the Hepato-renal makes the
Reading diseases of the digestive and renal system and corresponds to the reticulo-

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 9

chronic endometriosis described by Henri-Bemard and Sycose. It is a

degeneration and infiltration of the supporting tissue.

There are common theoretical foundations between Paracelsus's thought in

its medical application and Ayurvedic medicine (and Tibetan), namely
coexistence in both Eastern and Western traditions, of the three principles.
This raises the question of a historical kinship, knowing that Paracelsus was a
great traveler. In Ayurveda, Vayu corresponds to Mercury
spagyrists, Pitta with Sulfur, Kapha with Salt. In Tibetan medicine, Vayu,
Pitta, Kapha become Rlun, Mkhris-pa, Bad-kan. According to Gananath Sen cited by
Massin(4):

Vayu represents the nerve function, the central nervous system and
peripheral, the exaggeration of movement phenomena that come into
the organic functions (the relationships existing between the skin and the
nervous system both of the same ectodermal embryonic origin.

Pitta governs the torso. It is responsible for thermogenic metabolism.

digestion, blood coloration, secretions and excretions.

Kapha assures regeneration and the production of preserving fluids.

mucus, synovial fluids. On the emotional level, these three humors are
attached respectively to greed, anger, and lethargy. We are close
nervous temperaments/Mercury, bilious-sanguine/Sulfur and lymphatic/Salt
defined by P. Rivière. But the analogy does not stop there since the three
principles of Paracelsus' medicine, just like those of Ayurvedic medicine
Vedic and Tibetan are based on five elements, namely: the four elements.
fire, air, water, earth, to which one must add the Quintessence in medicine
Paracelsian and the Aether in Ayurvedic medicine.

The highlighting of these analogies has no other interest than to

better establish the traditional character of Paracelsus' medicine by
drawing on better-known medicines specific to the Eastern world. It
It should be noted, however, that if Ayurvedic medicine has maintained its richness on
the conceptual plan has greatly impoverished in terms of its pharmacopoeia
on a daily basis.

Paracelsus appears as the true theorist of Hermetic medicine,

striving to systematize diseases while keeping a distance from
in relation to the purely semiological and descriptive approach, without much interest
for him. He is the true forerunner of the law of similarity.
Homeopaths. The passage we quote below is eloquent:

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PH. VAYSAL FROM PLANT STONE 10

Pustules of all kinds are produced by Mercury because this evil is itself.
mercury; certain types of scabies for example, are under the influence of mercury
vulgar; some pustules under that of metallic mercury, others under those of
Mercury Xylohebenique; others under that of antimony mercury... (it is necessary) not to
make the opposite react to the opposite, but accommodate the similar to the similar.
For what is cold does not drive out (does not evict) what is hot, nor does the hot drive out what is cold.
cold,... The treatment proceeds from what has caused the harm and given it its
position... »(1)

Rhumélius also perfectly expresses the doctrine of similars:

So, when a doctor knows what the nitre of the Great World and that of the small one is...
world (man), he also knows which treatment to apply. When a case of sore occurs
(ulceration) appears to him, he must know that at the same place there is arsenic, because
that the chancre is called arsenical disease. Another disease is called martial, another
lunar, and so on. The doctor must know this. As soon as he knows it, the pain him
teaches the remedy. Thus Arsenic cures Arsenic, the Scorpion, the Scorpion and Mars,
Mars: that is to say all martial diseases.

It is also from Paracelsus that the habit taken by homeopaths comes from,
to name the pathogenesis by the name of the remedy that corresponds to it:

...the physician must, in order to form an easy and brief summary that he always possesses
with him, classify all diseases by placing each one under the name of its medication
specific as we have already started to do for all the diseases already
described. So, he avoids saying: such a disease is Jaundice.
(jaunisse) because speaking like this is against the practice of art, since the first peasant that comes along
we know and can say as much. On the contrary, it must be said: this is the disease of
Leseolus; for thus you will contain the treatment, the property, the name, the arrangement,
finally all your knowledge and your art under a unique term.

Thus for Paracelsus, just like for Hahnemann, the choice of remedy relies
on the law of similars. The major difference that remains between medicine
Paracelsus and Hahnemann's approach is based on the method of preparation of
remedies, which are based on dilution-dynamic action in this one and on the
knowledge of Alchemical Art in that one. Moreover, if the dilutions are
of the order of the infinitesimal in homeopathy, they are of the order of weight
for Paracelsus as for his predecessor Basil Valentine. For the
homeopaths, it is the dilution, pushed far enough, that deprives the remedy,
of any potential toxicity, whereas for alchemists, it is, above all,
The Art that removes the remedy from its potential "venom". The process of

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETAL STONE 11

alchemical purification rests on the separation of the 3 principles, Sulfur, Salt,

Mercury, before their recombination:

And when one knows how to clearly separate these three things from one another, and then unite them again
together according to the rules of the art and that it can be fixation without poison.

As for the question of what quintessence is, Paracelsus defines it as follows.

:

The Quintessence is, to put it simply, a force, a virtue, and a medicine at the same time.
locked in things, but now freed from any home and any
external incorporation. Likewise, it is also the color, the life, the properties of
things; it is a spirit like the spirit of life, but the fact that the quintessence heals
All diseases do not come from the elevation of temperament, but from a quality.
innate, that is to say of its great cleanliness and purity, by which in a marvelous way
it modifies the body by purifying it and transforming it completely... From then on, it
that some essences may be astringent, others narcotic, others
attractive, others still sedative, bitter, sweet, spicy, stunning and
some of them capable of renewing the body to rejuvenate it, to preserve it
health, as purgatives or to cause constipation, depending on the case. Their virtues
are countless and although they are not all expressed here, however they
should be perfectly known to doctors... The quintessence is therefore what
give the color, thus for example, the essence of corals is a kind of fat
red in color, while their body is white. The quintessence of emerald is
also a green juice and its body is also white... The essence can be extracted
for example: By sublimation, by calcination, by strong acids, by corrosives, by
soft substances, by bitter ones, and in fact, any path can be considered. Here it must
to be careful that everything that has been mixed with the quintessence by the
the necessity of an extraction must again be removed, until the essence
may remain alone, unpolluted and unmixed with other things. Let us learn
Now, on top of that, the differences between the quintessences, because some of them are of a
great support for the liver, to withstand all its imbalances, a few others for
the kidneys, others for the lungs, others for the spleen, and others still. Also,
some operate only on blood, others only in cholera, while
others have an effect only on moods, others on the vital spirit, others on
the appetite; some act on the bones, others on the flesh, others on the marrow,
others on the cartilages, others on the arteries; and there are others that have an effect
only against certain imbalances and against nothing else... Some of them are
recognized as narcotics, others as harmless remedies, others as
sedatives, astringents, purgatives, healing agents, tonics,
stupefacients etc... "(1)
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 12

It appears, through the words of Paracelsus, that the Quintessence is both

"palpable" and impalpable. It can be approached by sensory faculties,
therefore "palpable", since it is clearly related to color, or with
the taste (sweet, bitter, spicy, ...). Furthermore, it is endowed with properties
specific to the "mixed" from which it is extracted (sleep-inducing,
astringents, depuratives,…). If we reason in relation to phyto-
pharmacopoeia, the notion of quintessence is thus related, in certain ways,
of the modern notion of the active principle present in the plant extract. The interest
the extract in relation to the active ingredient, used in isolation, is based on
the association of several plant substances that will modulate the activity of
active ingredient, either by enhancing it or by mitigating its toxic effects
secondary. But this notion of active principle, expressed by medicine
modern, is probably insufficient to encompass the entirety of the concept of
quintessence, as envisioned by Paracelsus. And this is simply because if
it applies quite well to the plant, but the same is not true for the mineral.

Furthermore, alongside the 'tangible' characteristics that emerge, in the

definition that Paracelsus gives of quintessence, there are characteristics
totally intangible:

liberated (the quintessence) from all domicile and all external incorporation… it is
a spirit like the spirit of life, but with this difference, that the spirit of life of a thing
is permanent while that of man is mortal.

This "vitalist" characteristic of quintessence is even essential and

predominant for Paracelsus. It is the Alchemical Art that allows it to
to manifest

If these three things are gathered, then they are called a body; and nothing is to them
added, otherwise life. It is indeed to life that we owe not to see these principles (...)
for it is a veil that hides things and it is in the separation of life that they
reveal and manifest themselves.

According to the plant, mineral, or even animal origin, there is a gradation in

the efficiency and therapeutic indication of quintessence. The use of
mineral quintessences are more appropriate than those of plant origin or
animal, for the treatment of chronic diseases. It can also be found.
concept in homeopathy, since usually the remedies of plant origin
are more willingly used for the treatment of acute conditions
generally at low dilution, while mineral substances are,
Conversely, reserved for the treatment of chronic conditions at dilutions.
rather high:
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 13

Animals have a life more powerful than plants, and minerals are of a
nature more fixed and harder than the beings of the first two kingdoms; thus the plants
they are suitable for minor illnesses, animals for the stronger and more serious ones and the
minerals that are most violent and inveterate, particularly in diseases
chronicles (1)

In summary, Paracelsus' doctrine can be summarized based on the tripod.

following:

Diseases are signed either by one of the 3 principles Sulfur, Salt, Mercury,
when the illness is the result of an imbalance between the 3 humors,
either from one of the seven planets, when the disease originates from
astral influences (Here we only consider the 2 main causes of
diseases, Paracelsus actually considers a total of 5.

The treatment to be applied is based on the doctrine of signatures.

Thus, a disease of the self must be treated with a remedy of the self, a solar disease.
must be treated with a solar remedy).

The preparation of this remedy is based on Alchemical Art, which alone is capable
to free the quintessence

Of the doctrine of signatures

Ph. Vaysal

What is above is like what is below and what is below is like what is above.
at the top,…

It is with these words that the Emerald Tablet begins, the oldest treaty
known alchemy that summarizes the entire doctrine of signatures in a few lines
of the Hermetic tradition. This is based on research and implementation in
evidence of analogies in the physical world. These analogies are considered
like signs printed by the hand of God in creation to guide
the man.

We will therefore look for the signatures in the three kingdoms, for God speaks to man in
means of signs printed throughout his creation. These signs speak to him and
they recommend to him like the wine by the bunch hanging from the vine. It is through them that
The ancients had knowledge of remedies, as they discovered nature and virtue.
plants, animals, and mining products. And here it is: it's the alphabet of the
nature, with the help of which one can read and understand this great book of nature.

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 14

The correspondences within creation can be expressed,

independently of man as an object, who is, of course, part
engaging in the relationship since he acts as an observer. These
correspondences are based on physical analogies that allow to link,
vertically, the 7 stars of the universe, known in the Middle Ages, on one hand, to
the immediate environment of man (metals and plants
mainly), on the other hand.

The 7 celestial bodies that are recognized by man in the Middle Ages are the sun, the moon,
Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Saturn. The sun is associated with gold, the moon
with silver, Jupiter with tin, Mercury with mercury, Mars with iron,
Saturn with lead. Let us mention for example, B. Valentin who establishes a
correspondence between Gold and the Sun.

Likewise, the SUN and GOLD also have a particular correspondence and certain virtue.
mutually attractive to each other, because the SUN has worked in the GOLD having
served as a powerful mediator to unite and inseparably bind these three
principles: Thus, Gold has its origin from the golden and celestial Magnet.

We open a parenthesis to clarify that antimony is not a metal,

no more in the Middle Ages than today, as it is classified among the
metalloids. It is nevertheless traditionally associated with the earth, in the
measure where it bears the same symbol as the latter, namely the globe
cruciferous.

The correspondences between metals and planets are based on analogies.

physiques. Thus, it is obviously the brilliance and warm color of gold, its
incorruptibility, which connects the precious yellow metal to the sun.

Correspondences have been established between plants and planets, which has
allowed the ancients to establish 7 families of plants whose only link of kinship,
within each family, is the planetary signature. Thus, for example, the
celandine, by its flower and yellow sap, chamomile by its corolla, are
solar plants, while some bitter plants like wormwood,
gentians are of Martian signature.

One can also mention the existence of correspondences between the 7 metals and the
precious stones, these correspondences are essentially based on the
color:

Just as we see the METALS having received their Spirits of Colors &
their coagulation, likewise the Stones have received their fixation and DYE from a
similar influence; because in the DIAMOND there is a fixed and coagulated MERCURY,
14
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 15

that is why it cannot be broken like other stones. In the RUBY there
find the dye of MARS or iron sulfide; in the EMERALD, the sulfur of
VENUS. In the GARNET, the soul of SATURN; in the TOPAZ the dye of
JUPITER & the ROCK crystal is symbolized by the vulgar MERCURY,
as well as the SAPPHIRE there is the Dye of the MOON: in short, each according to his
Species is thus symbolized by some metal, and if we remove the blue color from the
SAPHIR takes off his clothes, and his body will remain white like the
DIAMOND… »[3]

The man of the Middle Ages has a geocentric conception of the universe, and
Assimilating to the earth, he is itself the center, towards which all converge.
the influences of the celestial vault. Thus, it makes sense that he also designed
vertical correspondence links between him and the 7 planets, which are
susceptible, according to aspects related to the birth astrological theme,
to be inclined to the fate of man, according to the precepts of ancient astrology:

Those who are born under the influence of Saturn are usually melancholic, and if the
reason or the instruction that we owe them to give does not moderate them, they would be inclined
of a tendency to be rigorous & always in concern, &, growing older, they
would become greedy: they usually engage in high-end ventures &
difficult, are very laborious and greatly thoughtful, rarely rejoice in
company, & does not have much love for the beauty of the female sex, but loves
the pleasant entertainment of music

The planets also exert harmful influences on man that

are an essential cause in the genesis of diseases:

As they continuously pour their influences onto earthly things,

the radical or balsamic mood of our body is either multiplied or diminished or
perverted, according to the aspects of these stars.

And if diseases partly arise from the negative influences of the stars,
it is therefore on them that their treatment relies. The choice of remedy must
it takes place among the 7 metals, but also among the 7 planetary families of
plants. The difficulty for the alchemist physician is to identify the signature
planetary disease, knowing, moreover, that the 7 planets are in
correspondences with the 7 vital organs:

The quintessence of gold is used for the heart; that of silver for the brain; that of
copper for the kidneys; that of lead for the spleen; that of quicksilver for the
lungs; that of iron for bile; that of tin for the liver;…

15
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 16

We will note that there is traditionally no correspondence between

Antimony is a vital organ given, like for other metals, in the
measure where the metalloid is connected to man in his entirety. It is from him -
recognizable by its signature - which Rhumelius mentions:

Our flying eagle has the signature of the North Star, which is that of the human body. It
it thus acts universally on all members, on all the balm of the microcosm.

Still about antimony, the alchemists establish an analogy in

its properties to purify precious metals, and that of "purifying" the body
human. Purification upon which rests, in the mind of the alchemist of the Middle
age, the recovery of health. Paracelsus clearly expresses his thoughts:

its body (that of antimony) is not fixed, and not sufficiently digested in its own
perfection, as is the case with Saturn, from which it takes on a property
volatile. /…/ Sometimes it purifies gold and silver more than fire or any other.
element. From there, it follows that it cleanses and purges the body, as well as gold and silver
by this means, they are freed from their impurities.

In his Revelation of the Mysteries of the Dyes of the Seven Metals, Basil Valentine
is particularly explicit about the nature of the correspondences that
are established according to a triangular relationship between man, the planets, and the
metals. Metals, in a quintessence form, communicate to man
the physical and mental qualities of the planets with which they are in
correspondence:

But when one uses their Spirit (the Spirit of lead), then a melancholic spirit
attracts the other, & the man is healed from the influence of his melancholy.

but if you know the true spirit of Mars, I honestly tell you that a
grain of this Spirit or Quintessence taken with strong Wine Spirit strengthens the heart of
the man, in such a way that he has no fear of his enemies, stirring in him a heart
magnanimous of Lion, and even the warming to make it capable of carrying a
victory against Venus.

Alongside these correspondences built around a triangular relationship,

coexistent correspondences on a purely horizontal level. These
correspondences are always based on criteria of analogy essentially
physics between the anatomy or physiology of man and certain
particularities of the plant, mineral, and even animal worlds. Let us remember that
The man of the Middle Ages has a pyramidal vision of terrestrial creation that
is organized by the superposition of the 4 kingdoms which are the mineral, the plant,

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 17

the animal, and then the man who actually places himself outside of creation, and of whom he
considers itself as being the regent.

It is also based on this doctrine called the signatures that the idea rests.
according to which the Greater Celandine secretes an abundant yellow sap, similar to the
Bile, when cut, is the ideal remedy for liver diseases. It is mentioned, by
elsewhere, the case of St. John's wort whose leaf color evokes blood
flowing from a wound, analogically related to the properties
hemostatics of simplicity. The data of modern phytopharmacopoeia
often confirm the intuitions of the ancients. Many other examples
could be cited, like this one, particularly naïve but oh how
demonstrative, of the willow, whose perfect acclimatization to the marshy soils
and its resistance to the pestilential humidity of the marshes suggests that it
found in the bark or leaves of this tree a way to fight "against
all blood warm-ups, especially those of malarial origin. Once
again, the intuition was right, since it is from him that much later the
modern pharmacologists extracted sodium salicylate, a precursor of
the aspirin!

One can also establish other direct correspondences between man and
the mineral. We will cite the example of iron whose red oxide is analogous.
with blood. It is not by chance that it constitutes an element
essential of hemoglobin and gives it its color.

In fact, color plays a particularly important role in alchemical medicine.

important, and many correspondences are based on it. Paracelsus relates
explicitly the virtue of a remedy to its color:

So alchemy separates the different colors that are in things, and not the
colors only, but also virtues; in such a way that as many times as the color
change, as many times as virtue diversifies... And in each color there is a virtue and
particular property.

Now the color, which manifests when light is decomposed through a

filter, refers us to the notion of vibration and energy. In this sense, we can
consider that the quintessence constitutes, for the ancients, a living body.

Notes:
Revelation of the mystery of the dyes of the seven metals. Basil Valentine. Ed.
Literary Omnium.
In the same place
Same here

17
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 18

In the same place

The Archidoxes of Paracelsus. In The Medicine of Paracelsus. P. Rivière. Ed
Traditional
Spagyric medicine or spagyric medical art. Rhumelius. In The
Paracelsus medicine. P. Rivière. Ed
[7] - The same
The triumphant chariot of antimony. Basil Valentine. Hermetic Library.
The Archidoxes of Paracelsus. In The Medicine of Paracelsus. P. Rivière. Ed
Traditional

On the art of extracting plant essences

Ph. Vaysal

If in the mineral kingdom, the operational process allowing the isolation of

three principles is specific and varies according to the considered mineral body, it is not
absolutely not specific in the plant kingdom. The Art that allows isolation
of the three principles based on a simple rests on 2 or 3 operating modes,
with a few variations, depending on the currents.

In a practical approach to the question of the 3 principles, within the framework of

plant kingdom, it seems difficult to separate sulfur from mercury, because all
two are likely to burn, referring to the definition given
Paracelsus. Furthermore, there are found in the oil, extracted by distillation to the
vapor, extremely volatile aromatic compounds resembling
more at mercury.

In fact, do these intellectual considerations have any interest since alchemy

whether it is directed towards the plant kingdom or towards the animal kingdom does not resist,
We know it, upon a scientific analysis of the problem. But is that its purpose?
Alchemy is a traditional path that eludes the scientific mind, which
is imprisoned by its rules, which distances it from true knowledge.

The question that concerns us here is the precise identification of sulfur and
mercury in the plant kingdom is, in fact, irrelevant. What matters, for
the alchemist is the philosophical idea carried by the hermetic tradition
and which necessarily contains a piece of truth.

In the plant kingdom, Albertus teaches us how to operate the

separation of the 3 principles(3). It suggests operating the separation of the sun on one hand
and dusoufreet dumercured elsewhere, which thus answers the question that
we were posing. To do this, Albertus extracts the dye from the dry plant, thanks to
to a spirit of rectified wine. It suggests either resorting to a simple maceration in
18
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 19

steamed for about twenty days, either by using a device

modern Soxhlet, which allows to obtain, in just a few hours, a
concentrated alcoholic tincture. The next operation involves calcining in
a dish with the ashes coming from the incineration of the plant after it
has delivered its dye. The alchemist's work continues with the conjunction of
salts resulting from calcination and alcoholic dyeing, and ends with the
cohobation. It will be noted that at the time of the conjunction of the salts with
the alcoholic extract, its color loses intensity, indicating a
phenomenon of adsorption of salts that charge in dyeing. Furthermore, if one
measure the pH of the extract or alcoholic maceration before and after
the contribution of the salts, it is noted that the acidity of the initial alcoholic tincture has been
buffered by the alkalinity of the saline solution, to yield at the end of the work
alchemical, a neutral pH dye.

The German method is more tedious. It relies on 5 operations:

the digestion of the plant in an alcoholic solution
the distillation of the product of maceration
the concentration by evaporation of the distillation residue
the calcination of the dry residue
the conjunction of the 3 products obtained in I, II, and IV

The first step involves the digestion of the dry plant (5% of the solution
in weight) in an alcoholic solution of about 5°, slightly acetic (2%).
The use of fresh plant (in an amount equivalent to 5% of the weight of the
Dry plant) is possible but requires undergoing fermentation.
alcoholic in situ, by the addition of exogenous sugar (7 to 8%) in the presence of yeast
of beer. Alcoholic fermentation must take place at a temperature of 35°C
environment, taking care not to completely obstruct the bottle in a way
to allow the evacuation of carbon dioxide. Once the fermentation is completed, it
must transfer the entire fermented product into a full bottle and
sealed at a temperature of 40 to 50° C for 3 weeks, taking care
shake the bottle every 3 days

The second operation involves distilling the product at low temperature.

fermentation-maceration, in a retort, after separating from the solution
alcoholic the dead plant matter that has released its dye. It is necessary to collect a
distillate of about 1/10 of the initial volume, equivalent to vegetable mercury.

The third operation aims to concentrate by evaporation, using a bath of

vapor, the residue from the previous distillation corresponding to a volume of
9/10 of the initial dye volume. The product of this evaporation-
concentration, which has reduced by a factor of 5, contains plant sulfur.
19
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 20

The fourth operation is based on the calcination of the vegetable caput mortuum.
in a muffle furnace in an oxidizing situation at a temperature of about
520° to 530° C. It is necessary to use a stainless steel dish, which has the advantage of not
to be attacked by the dark red salts. To facilitate the reincorporation of
Salt from the plant, we dissolve the salts in a few drops of vinegar.
distilled

The fifth and final operation consists of incorporating the salts into the oil.
plant (sulfur). Mix before adding the vegetable mercury. It is necessary to
let it rest for 24 hours then filter through cotton or coffee filter. The dye
final title at 17° alcohol, which ensures its preservation.

A variant of the German method consists of extracting the essential oil from
the fresh plant, by steam training, then to ferment the feces
in the presence of brewer's yeast and a supply of sugar(4). The product of this
alcoholic fermentation must then be subject to repeated distillation
until obtaining an alcohol that measures at least 50°. The caput mortuum obtained
the fermentation is then calcined to release the salts of the plant. There remains
just need to combine the 3 components, making sure to respect the proportions
adequate amounts of alcohol and essential oil to obtain a good
solubilization of this one in that one

This low-temperature extraction method on fresh plants ensures the

presence of vitamins, particularly Vitamin P to which the Chestnut
From there, witch hazel, red vine, and other herbs owe a part of
their vein-toning properties. It should be noted that the use of yeasts of
beer to promote alcoholic fermentation is a source of vitamins
B. Regarding alcoholic fermentation, Von Bernus considers that it must
to be reserved for toxic plants. Because it alone allows to neutralize them.
toxicity. Conversely, non-toxic plants contain bitter principles.
must not undergo alcoholic fermentation, under penalty of being
deprived of their bitter components, which would be detrimental to the effectiveness of the
dye thus made. We believe on our part that the presence of salts
In spagyric dyeing, it is susceptible to a certain extent,
to mitigate the toxicity of certain plants, perhaps through a phenomenon
of adsorption. As for the salts present in the vegetable dye, they come from
considerably increase the concentration of trace elements already present in
the macerate namely: Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Cobalt, Magnesium,
Nickel, as well as the macro-elements Calcium and Iron. To them
only these trace elements, in significant quantities, have a certain efficiency
therapeutic. On one hand, it is known that trace elements have a bio-action
20
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGTABLE STONE 21

essential catalyst in many biochemical reactions, on the other hand

some of them play a fundamental structural role as is the case,
for example, copper and silicon within connective tissue. The importance
the trace element, essential to life, is historically illustrated, and a posteriori,
with the discovery of the link between hypothyroidism syndrome and the
iodine deficiency. Paracelsus is, in fact, the first to have proposed the use of
from a marine algae, the Kelp, rich in Iodine, to treat the populations
deprived, living in the Alps, and suffering from hypothyroidism.

Regarding the salts present in the dye, we must necessarily

discuss the issue of their solubility. Indeed, the product of calcination of the
sells correspond mainly to potassium carbonate, partially
soluble in alcohol. Other salts, particularly sulfates or certain derivatives
silica, do not dissolve in the dye. It should also be noted, in the
salts resulting from the calcination of plant matter, the presence of trace elements
essential to life, soluble or insoluble, such as copper, iron, zinc or
again iodine, particularly after calcination of seaweed.

It is possible to separate soluble salts from insoluble salts by a simple

washing in distilled water followed by filtration and then crystallization.
This simple operation makes it possible to incorporate into the alcoholic dye
of only soluble salts, which gives the final dye a more
"nice". The drawback of this option is that thus, the alchemist
deprived of insoluble salts, some of which have a real interest for health.
The proposal to attack salts with acids to make them
solubles, before incorporating them into the dye is not a mistake, but it
does not fundamentally change the data of the problem. The filtration of the
the finalized dyeing, as it is practiced according to the 'German method' is
a possibility, perhaps the least bad, if one is concerned about having a
attractive appearance dye

Let us note in passing that it is possible to 'specify' a plant dye.

spagyric, and to enhance its bio-catalytic action through the exogenous contribution of a
trace element. This intake can be done in the form of metal salts
soluble or better in the form of particles called to cover the
characteristics of the colloidal state, as plant organic molecules,
present in the dye lend themselves well to colloidal suspension of
oligo-mineral or metallic particles introduced.

The use of plant essences can be based on the principles of the

hermetic medicine, and therefore based on the correspondences or doctrine of
signatures that the ancients established between man and plants. It is also
21
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 22

possible, and it is our preference, to use them based on the data from the
traditional phytomedicine, which is based on an approach
empirical, sometimes very old, of the use of plants. We do not neglect
Yes, of course, the contributions of modern pharmacology in this field, by
rejection of any sectarianism of thought.

From a practical point of view, plant spagyric tincture can be used in

mother tincture, that is to say undiluted or diluted to 100emeor at 1000thaccording to the
degree of toxicity of the plant. Regarding the issue of dilutions, it is
It is interesting to specify, after Berger and Tétaux, that a plant substance
(but this is also true for a substance of mineral origin) acts, according to
the dose at which it is used, either according to the law of analogy (or law of)
similar ones) either according to the law of opposites. In the case of the law of opposites the
therapeutic benefit results from an opposite effect of the administered medication,
the symptoms presented by the patient. In the case of the law of similars,
that we have already mentioned above, the desired therapeutic effect
assumes that the remedy used causes effects in the healthy subject
analogous to the symptoms that the doctor seeks to combat in the patient
sick. This analogy explains a defensive reaction of the sick organism,
induced by the remedy administered at sub-toxic dose, leading to the
suppression of symptoms. We will cite as an example, the case of the
celandine, extremely toxic to the liver in high doses, but which, in tincture at
a dose of 30 to 90 drops is an excellent hepatic drain, capable of
multiply biliary secretion by 5. Many other examples could
to be cited.

There is of course a threshold beyond which the pharmacological effect of a

The given substance acts either according to the law of analogy or according to the law of opposites.
This threshold has, for example, been determined for Belladonna at 5 drops of tincture.
This aspect seems important to point out to the reader, as it constitutes a
essential foundation of spagyric medicine. Thus, we can speak, at
about alchemical medicine, the law of similars, without having to
overcoming the dogmas of Hahnemannian homeopathy and dilutions
infinitesimals.

After this useful digression, let us return to the question of dilution.

the spagyric tincture. Albertus recommends that we proceed with a dilution
1/20 of the mother tincture in distilled water, if the plant used is not
a toxin. Otherwise, depending on the degree of toxicity, it can be
necessary to increase the dilution. The product resulting from this same dilution is

22
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 23

intermediate between a suspension (insoluble salts after agitation), a state

colloidal (part of the insoluble salts), and a solution (soluble salts).

It is necessary to add a little alcohol to this dilution to ensure a

better preservation. It is necessary to avoid, through this addition, causing flocculation
colloidal state particles, what we have been able to observe, in particular, if
Alcohol is added in excessive proportion. The usual intake is from 1 to 3.
teaspoons per day.

Notes:
(1) - Gilles Andrès
(2) - The alchemical laboratory. Albertus.
(3) - See also, Alchemy and Spagyrics, 'from the Great Work to medicine of
Paracelsus. Patrick Rivière. Ed. of Neustria
A variant that we deliver to the researcher, without having it ourselves.
even experienced, would be to carry out alcoholic fermentation, not from the
plant residue resulting from essential oil extraction, but from a
new quantity of fresh (or dry) plant.
(5) - Renovated Phytotherapy. Berger and Tétaux. Ed Maloine.

From the Fire Stone

Ph. Vaysal

Yes, for the Benedictine monk, the Stone of Fire does not correspond to the Stone.
Philosophically, it has qualities, to some extent, since it is
capable of:

to heal not only men, but also metals from some ailments
particular.

The fire stone derives its ore from antimony. It is within the reach of the alchemist.
who knows - to briefly summarize the modus operandi - isolate the 3 principles of
ore and recombine them in a proper proportion, after having previously
purified and exalted by art:

I tell you again that in antimony there is found a mercury, a sulfur, and a salt.
who are the sovereign medicines for men's health. The mercury of antimony
consists in its regulation; sulfur in its redness, and its salt remains in the black earth
that we let go. And when we know how to properly separate these three things from one another, and
We unite them together according to the rules of Art so that we can make a fixation.

23
PH. VAYSAL FROM THE VEGETABLE STONE 24

without poison, that one can boast with honor that he has found the Stone of Fire that
"Make antimony for men's health." (1)

The dyeing of the Fire Stone does not have the universal 'tinting power' of the
Philosopher's stone:

which (the stone of fire) is prepared from the essence of the sun, and even less from all the
other stones. For nature has not given it so much virtue for this effect. But it
tin only in particular, knowing tin, lead and the moon, in sun...
Similarly, in its increase and multiplication, the fire stone cannot
to exalt oneself even more;

The fire stone, we are told by the Benedictine is:

"a certain pure, penetrating, spiritual, and fiery essence,…comparable to the

salamander (…) it is a fixed, constant and incombustible material

This characteristic of fixity and incombustibility, which the salamander had the
reputation, is also common to the Philosopher's Stone, and constitutes a
essential quality of any transmutative Stone. It must be acquired through the
regime of 'microscopic fire' or 'body fire' which finds its first
application in the production of antimony glass, whose relative stability in
fire foreshadows that of the flint. It is from this glass that it is necessary to extract the
dye that constitutes for Basile Valentin, the very red and true oil
Antimony.

The modus operandi is divided into 3 parts.

The first part aims to extract the dyeing qualities from glass, in the form
of an incombustible essence. The second part aims to do the same.
from the vitriol of March. The third part consists of combining the product
of the two previous phases in the form, we have seen it, of a stone
incombustible, with real but limited tinting power.

The first preparation of the Fire Stone is based on the extraction of oil.
antimony red from glass, itself obtained by calcination of the ore
antimony. This antimony glass must be made using saltpeter, and it is
it is a particularity. Care must be taken during this operation to conduct it well
"fire regime" so that the material does not ignite during the operation of
calcination. Moreover, it will have been pushed far enough, so that
the introduction of the calcinated material into the crucible is not accompanied by a
detonation, as it usually occurs when one seeks to obtain
of diaphoretic antimony from a mixture of sulfide and nitre. For
24
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 25

to pull the dye from this glass, it is necessary to resort to distilled vinegar
from the own mine of antimony. The charitable Benedictine points it out to us.
manufacturing process in chapter XXXII under the title: 'On the preparation of'
philosophical vinegar." The process is based on the "putrefaction" of
antimony ore in distilled rainwater. It is important to ensure to fight against
carefully the mattress in which the philosophical putrefaction takes place. If
Basile Valentin recommends filling the mattress only halfway, we suggest
to fill it up to the neck, in order to reduce the contact of water with air,
the oxidizing action could turn out to be contrary to the desired result.
Kerkring proposes the following proportions of 6 pounds of antimony for 14
water books. Distillation occurs after 2 weeks of maturation. It is necessary
to ensure, as Kerkring says, that the spout of the distillation column is
immersed in the water of the receptacle balloon, so that the spirit does not vaporize.
The operation ends with an increase in the fire and allows for the collection of a
sublimed in the tent. It is then necessary to repeat the process, starting from the distillate,
a second time then a third time, having taken the trouble to reintegrate
in this one, the feces and the sublimated previously obtained. At the end of this
work, the artist possesses the suitable philosophical vinegar to extract the dye
of antimony glass. It should be noted that for a better result, it is important to
to grind the glass as finely as possible. The time required for the
Dye reaches its full maturity in 2 weeks in the drying oven. It must then be extracted.
the vinegar by evaporation taking care not to burn the dye which is not
not fixed yet. Basile Valentin recommends the use of the maidenhair. The powder
Red separated from the vinegar must be taken up by the spirit of rectified wine.
final perfection. The artist possesses at this stage a "very red and very
useful for medicine." The following operation aims to increase the stability of sulfur.
antimony, stability conferred to it by salt. In Chapter XX entitled "On a
another preparation of oil or antimony sulfide as well as true salt of
"this precious metal", Basil Valentine gives us the operating process, barely
veiled, on which the obtaining of the precious salt rests. It is important first of all to
make a regulator with tartar and saltpeter. We refer the reader to Glaser
or Lémery, sufficiently explicit. The manufacturing process of the regulus
non-martial antimony poses no difficulty for the seasoned artist
the fire of the furnace. It must be reduced to a fine powder and sublimated in a
glass or glazed earth vessel, taking care to let all the
days the sublimated with a pen, until all the regular has acquired fixity
and the whiteness of salt. This salt must be mixed with the dye in the proportions of
four ounces of that for two pounds of this. The cohobation must last
the space of a month and must be followed by a separation of the spirit of wine, by
distillation, after filtration of the product of this intimate "chemical union".
25
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 26

The red oil, thus extracted, is finally concentrated and this marks the end of the first
preparation of the stone.

The second preparation of the fire stone aims to confer upon mercury
antimony, the characteristics of the non-combustible sulfur of Mars. The monk
Alchemist suggests using, for this purpose, the red oil of the vitriol of Mars.
corrected at the last point. Regarding this oil, one can read in the excellent
Christophe Glaser's treatise on chemistry states that vitriol is obtained from vitriol.
mars, which must be distilled in a clay retort. It is important first of all to
give a very small fire for ten or twelve hours, in order to make the
phlegm of vitriol. It is then necessary to increase the heat, while ensuring not to overdo it.
push the fire for fear of breaking the container under the effect of the pressure of the
gas. The increase in fire after about twelve hours allows for distillation.
vitriol in the form of white fumes that condense into vitriol in the
container. Glaser suggests interrupting the distillation

When the red drops start to appear,... these red drops being there
the heaviest and most caustic part

It is actually the tail of the distillation that interests the alchemist monk. But
Glaser is talking to us here about vulgar vitriol and not about philosophical vitriol which alone
is likely to fulfill its role in the second part of the work. If the
A reader wishing to learn more about the identity of cevitriol, we encourage them to
refer to the works of Tollius, spiritual disciple of the alchemist monk. Equipped
of this precious red oil, and the quicksilver of antimony, signed with the seal
royal, the artist must proceed to the conjunction of the two compounds and then obtain a
red precipitate by sand fire distillation. If the dyeing power of the
fire stone, in becoming, rests on the qualities of this precipitate, still
immature, Basile Valentin confides to us, not without reason, that the
the product of this philosophical conjunction-distillation takes on interesting
applications for the external care of wounds and ulcers.

very beautiful and very useful in chronic diseases, wounds and open ulcers.

The third and final preparation of the firestone completes the tedious
work undertaken by jointly, in equal parts, the product of the two
previous preparations. The mixture must be subjected to cohabitation in order to
obtain an intimate union of the two compounds, then finish the work with a
concentration-evaporation in order to eliminate all the phlegm. It is only
so, the artist can rejoice in possessing the fire stone that adorns the
characteristics of a:

26
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 27

fixed powder, red, dry, fusible, which does not smoke at all.

If this powder is coated with a transmutative power, it possesses

also, according to Basile Valentin, interesting medicinal properties,
essentially devoted to the royal metalloids:

You have a medicine for men and for metals. It is gentle and pleasant.
In use; it is penetrating; it corrects and drives away evil, without exciting the stomach.
Use it properly, and it will be of great benefit to you for both health and
for the necessities of life.

And Basile Valentin specified, regarding the required dose for the treatment of
diseases

Take care that you do not overload nature, (...) Know that three or four
grains, each dose taken in the spirit of wine, are sufficient to drive away all the
diseases.

OPERATIVE ALCHEMY: A PATH OF SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION IN THE 21steme

SIECLE Ph. Vaysal

The evolution of our modern society has disrupted the approaches to

the Hermetic Tradition. If in past centuries the transmission of knowledge has
mainly carried out in oral form, from master to disciple and through study
bookish, it is being realized nowadays, increasingly, through multimedia or
the mass publication. This commendable provision of knowledge to the most
a great number is unfortunately tarnished by the emergence of illegitimate and
alleged schools of alchemy offering correspondence courses,
allegedly derived from Hermetic Tradition. The regular organization of
well-supervised practical stages (1), allows for better control of any inclination
critical thinking that the researcher could demonstrate. The students who have
paid a high price for their registration, eagerly await to receive the booklet
the following month to continue the ongoing experience, hoping that 'the
master will have deigned to slip, within the sheet, the essential technical clue
to the success of the work in progress. But the food that these schools distribute, of which
the purely profit-driven objective is beyond doubt, it is just a disguised parcel and
diverted from the alchemical knowledge transmitted to this day by a
informal affiliation of alchemists that transcends time and space.

To attract a larger number of members, there is an escalation observed.

in the disclosure. The different alchemical paths are sectorized, each
choosing 'his specialty' and one hears about it in the relevant circles,
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 28

"amalgam pathway", "cinnabar pathway", "bismuth pathway" or

still of 'Fulcanelli's way'... Everything happens as if the Hermetic tradition
was a kind of big market where everyone would hold a stall, and where the customer
would only have to pay to receive their soup... Other so-called alchemists,
not more scrupulous, displaying the label 'phyto', to appear more serious
and to better hide their ignorance of an unexplored mineral field, they have
improvised as manufacturers of so-called spagyric products...! In order to "rake
larger”, the sales arguments borrow from New Age vocabulary,
of good taste today, and on all sorts of intellectual musings.

In this maze that constitutes the current world of Hermeticism in its

the most vile manifestation, where commerce reigns, and Tradition is disguised,
Sincere researcher is the first victim of imposture. He must open the
eyes to protect oneself from this deceitful face of Hermeticism that presents itself
to him and thus avoid falling under the influence of such or such a repressive school.

The different alchemical paths, all worthy of interest, do not exclude each other.
mutually but are complementary and respond to each other.
Above all, they share a common characteristic, key to transmutation.
alchemical, which the researcher will sooner or later have to become aware of. One of them
has constituted, since forever, the privileged and royal way within the
hermetic tradition. The initiate will become aware of this path sooner or later.
For all authentic alchemical paths lead to transmutation.
Alchemical, only the royal way ensures the adept access to the complete medicine.
powerful of the Stone. The other ways are potentially dangerous for
health, due to the risk associated with the use of heavy metals, and not
therefore, present no medicinal application. If the knowledge
having a guide, who has already opened certain doors, is a privilege and a
valuable assistance in engaging on the path of Tradition, it is not
however not an absolute necessity. The real clarity with which some
authors such as the late and very charitable Eugène Canseliet have expressed themselves in
their works, in this century, are able to supplement, at least in part, to
the absence of oral transmission. In any case, whatever support is available
to benefit the novice, he must refrain from adopting too much of an attitude
passive on the path, for the alchemical tradition is above all, a way
evolutionary on a spiritual level. It is important for the researcher to become aware
that the success of the work rests above all on himself. One does not enter into
the world of alchemy as one enters into religion, under penalty of creating oneself a
a wonderful world indeed, but which does not have, beyond the inevitable mirages
temporary effects that the alchemical work can produce, no reality on the plane
operational. Or it is easy within the microcosm of operative alchemy to
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 29

to take bladders for lanterns", because this one contains so much

physicochemical phenomena likely to captivate and move the
more blasé among us. This wonderful, inherent to the alchemical practice, is
accrued within the wet way (we would like to say the wet ways)
as the good master Eugène Canseliet liked to remind. The question that
the researcher must ask themselves internally when approaching the work
alchemical, is to know if he wants above all to satisfy his affection by
grinding in the world of the marvelous, while flattering his ego by the mere fact
to belong to what he believes to be an elite or a secret society, or if he
seek the alchemical truth, whatever the cost. For the price to pay
to reap the fruits of the Great Work represents a heavy toll on the plan
staff. Furthermore, in addition to the essential qualities of perseverance and
will, entering the world of alchemy requires humility. Humility
help to free oneself from concepts and prejudices that may slow down the
progression of the neophyte. It is, however, by no means about getting rid of one's
critical thinking and common sense, we emphasize this point, which constitutes
all the difference that can exist between membership in an occult sect and
the entrance into the informal 'great school' of the Hermetic tradition. For
as he progresses along his quest, the neophyte must be able to challenge
because of its acquisitions in the alchemical field. Of course, this review in
question, who can intervene at any time, should not destabilize and
discourage the researcher but on the contrary, strengthen his conviction in his
quest for the Great Work. It constitutes for him, each time, the opportunity to
building on ever stronger foundations. The possession of a background
Scientific knowledge is by no means a hindrance, provided that the a priori aspects
the irrationals of the Great Work do not deter the applicant, at first glance, and do not
they lead him to slam the door of the alchemical universe. Whatever the state of his
scientific knowledge, it is essential, first of all, that the novice
familiarize yourself with the language and the jargon specific to the alchemical work, as well as to
the way in which the masters vividly describe certain things in books
physicochemical processes from a multitude of allegories and
symbols. These are borrowed from Greek and Roman mythologies or
simply to the collective unconscious as Jung so aptly stated. The
the transition from theory to practice requires, beforehand, a long process of
reading and proofreading, to revisit the well-known formulation of the mutus
free. The risk of moving too quickly to practice is to let oneself
to carry away, as we mentioned earlier, through the magic of matter and
quickly move away from the path. The wanderings on the alchemical path are
inevitable but to limit its importance, it is necessary to rely on the
texts, while of course giving pride of place to intuition. This one can
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 30

prove to be very useful, but one must also beware of it as it can

reveal deceitful and turn against the one who uses it excessively
favoring its wandering in the alchemical labyrinth. It is therefore necessary
for the researcher, to establish a triangular balance between intuition and the
reason, on the one hand, while relying on experimentation, on the other hand. Because
everything, within the alchemical microcosm, must go through the sieve of
the experimentation. Even if, paradoxically, experimentation is itself
even, subject to caution, to a certain extent, because we have it
said, nothing is more illusory than the world of matter. It is this
characteristic that places alchemy, like any traditional path, on the "thread"
the razor's edge between the true and the false and in fact a path of spiritual evolution through
excellence, where discernment plays a primary role. If we had to
to advise the novice in choosing basic works, we would recommend to him,
to begin with, modern authors and first of all Fulcanelli, Eugène
Canseliet as well as our dear and long-time friend Patrick Rivière, who
has never ceased to serve and protect the Tradition. These readings may be
quickly supplemented by the works of ancient authors such as B. Valentin,
Limojon de Saint Didier, Altus… to name just these few examples. The
The alchemical path is a difficult and thankless spiritual journey that requires
a lot of effort and sacrifices to the lover of Science. She knows, however,
reward generously the applicant who, at the end of the long road, sown
of pitfalls and illusions, showed discernment and proved to be worthy
to receive the highest reward that so many men have sought and
are still trying to obtain, at the time of multimedia and biotechnology,
two symbols of the end of our century. But Tradition and Modernity do not
are not excluded at all. The reconciliation between these two worlds relies on a state
of spirit where flexibility of thought processes and love of knowledge
are the cornerstones of this union, seemingly against nature.

Alchemical theories

Ph. Vaysal

The alchemist bases all his theories on a cosmological vision,

very ancient of the universe, which relies on number, conferring to its doctrines
a sacred character.

In traditional thought, matter is made up of 4 elements namely:

the earth, the fire, the water, the air, in variable proportions, which explains the great
diversity of its manifestations.

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 31

By analogy, alchemists consider that everything that is liquid is water, this

what is solid is earth, what has the characteristics of a gas or smoke
It is air, which produces heat, for example a chemical reaction is fire.

"The most solid parts can be named earth, the most humid water, the
more delicate and spiritual air, natural warmth, fire of nature;…

(1) Of course, the 4 elements do not have the usual common meaning at all.
but reveal themselves, especially during a distillation. (...) in the distillation of
the earth, the air passes first and the most easily, after which, continuing
with skill, the element of water flows. Fire is enclosed in the air because
both are of a spiritual essence and they love each other.
Admirably. The earth remains at the bottom, in which is the salt of great
price.

Each of the 4 elements is characterized by the association of 2 qualities, moisture,

the cold, the dryness, the heat.

Land = Cold + Drought

Air = Heat + Humidity

Fire = Heat + Dryness

Water = Cold + Humidity

The binary nature of each element, consisting of 2 qualities, one of which is

common to one of the other four elements, explains that it is possible to
move from one element to another.

For Basile Valentin, the transition from one element to another also rests on the fact
that each element contains the 3 others:

(...) in one element the other three are hidden. For the air contains within itself
fire, water, and earth, which may seem incredible... Thus fire retains in
I am the air, the water, and the earth, otherwise it would generate nothing. The water is participant.
of earth, air, and fire, otherwise nothing could result in generation;
and that one of the elements is considered separately, both with her, are
nevertheless mixed. This is revealed in the distillation in the separation of
elements.(3)

From these 4 traditional elements arise 3 principles: Sulfur, Salt, Mercury, which
are not related to the vulgar bodies of the same name, that certain

31
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 32

common physico-chemical characteristics. For analogical thinking

constitutes the very foundation of the hermetic tradition.

In his quest, the alchemist strives to identify the 3 constituent principles of the
material. He must separate them, purify them, and then join them in such a way as to obtain a
regenerated body, equipped with totally physical-chemical characteristics
different from what they were before, like the Philosopher's Stone. It is
as Basile Valentin tells us about Antimony in his Triumphal Chariot:

The mercury of antimony consists in its regulus; the sulfur in its redness;
and its salt remains in the black earth that we leave. And when we know how to separate well
these 3 things one with another, and again unite them together according to the rules
of Art and that one can make a fixation without poison, that one can boast with
honor that he found the Fire Stone, which is made from antimony for health
of men.

One can still read in his last will:

(…) when you want to change metals, increase them and elevate them to power
to produce and make some dye or the philosopher's stone, one needs everything
Firstly, that you know how to skillfully destroy, through spagyric science and
knowledge of tricks of the trade, the metallic and mineral form; break it, say-
I, and to break it, to separate it and to divide it into mercury, into sulfur and into salt; and it
these principles must be particularly separated in all purity and
then, as he a was said, restored to their original matter and
commencement.

According to one approach, the generative aspect of alchemical work, by analogy to the laws
which govern the animal kingdom, it is possible to move from the 3 principles to the 2
the male and the female.

(...) there are two natures, one active, the other passive. My master asked me
What are these two natures? And I answered: one is of the nature of the hot,
the other of cold. What is the nature of hot? The hot is active and the cold is
passive

These 2 natures usually and respectively take on the identity of sulfur and
of Mercury or by analogy that of the sun and the moon, terms,
also, frequently used by alchemists. The third principle salt
no longer plays a leading role, but that of the mediator, whose
Alchemists do not always mention in their writings.

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETAL STONE 33

So resort to the lively male and the lively female, join them together, so that
which among them imagines a sperm to procreate a fruit of their nature
(7)

The fruit of this philosophical mineral copulation is actually the germ of the
Philosopher's Stone that the alchemist must grow and multiply, before
to obtain the supreme reward: the Philosopher's Stone, which leads us to
the unit. And thus the 'loop is closed' since the number 1 brings us back to the
notion of the unity of matter, by virtue of which alchemists believe in it
transmutation.

This notion of the unity of matter is also found in the concept of the
prime matter, corresponding to a primordial and original state of matter.

That's why pay attention and take care that all the metals and
minerals have only one single root, through which they have
everyone takes their birth and even makes their ordinary generation.

The alchemist must return his matter to its original state to give it a
new orientation by alchemical art. This operation is called
reincrudation

Moreover, you must notice that if each of these generations

metals must continue their spread and growth through art, it is necessary
that they be restored to the state of their original seed and material
origin.

All operative alchemy is based on the theories that we have

statements, which are constructed around analogies, most often of an order
physical. What interests the alchemist is not an analytical approach and
positivist of matter but rather a holistic approach that must rely on
on a set of immutable traditional doctrines. He does not seek,
not at all, against the scientist, to discover new theories, but
"constantly juggles with a multitude of symbols and allegories that"
slowly taking shape within him and before his eyes. Thus, throughout
the alchemical work, the transformation that the artist performs on their material
produced simultaneously in its psychic being. That is the reason why
spiritual alchemy and operative alchemy are inseparable.

Within his microcosm, the alchemist works in his reality, that is to say that
It doesn't matter whether the interpretations he draws from his operational work are or not.
in accordance with the data that modern science considers to be
established facts, scientific truths. What matters is that he can
33
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 34

check the conformity of matter transformations with the doctrine

alchemical.

This does not mean that all calcination, distillation operations,

sublimation, ...which leads the alchemist does not have any real purpose. Indeed,
On the contrary, there is a logic in the alchemical work, a thread of Ariadne that must
to lead to a tangible result.

The application of the theories of ancient alchemy to medicine requires, more

otherwise, a result. If he hadn't been there, how could a doctor like
Paracelsus, who placed the love for his patients on the same level as the love for
God, could he have gained such fame among the suffering people (9).

It is precisely in the medicinal application of Alchemy that one can

establish a bridge between the ancient science of Hermes and modern science in its
positivism. This bridge lies in clinical experimentation, which is the only
way, for the alchemical physician, of the end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,
to verify the effectiveness of the remedy, to determine the optimal doses, and to
check its safety.

On this matter, Basile Valentin opposes, already before Paracelsus, the doctors of
those who are content to follow to the letter, in their practice,
the teaching of the Faculty, without the least concern for its veracity.
With a certain modernity for his time, he engages the doctor.
alchemist, to base his medical art on experimentation:

(...). The common doctor will not hear this, because such a science
(alchemy) does not lie only in words, but in experience, given that this
The common doctor has built its foundation on words only, but
as for the preparation of our Medicine, although its beginning
depends on the lyrics, its main foundation is the supported test of
the experience: because the experience is supported by a foundation as assured as
would be a place built on a rock, but the words of others are only like
on quicksand. That is why we value more what is done by the
Nature, what comes solely from bare words and speculation
fantasist because the work brings the Worker to light.

This is also expressed by Rhumelius in his spagyric medicine:

The one who wants to be a true philosopher must not limit himself to theories,
works and descriptions of others, but must probe for himself the essence of the
nature and draw its light from it.

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 35

Note: (1) The triumphant chariot of antimony. Basil Valentin. Bibliotheca

Hermetica.

(2) The twelve keys of Philosophy. Basil Valentine. The Minuit Editions.
In the same place

(4) The triumphant chariot of antimony. Basil Valentine. Hermetic Library.

(5) The last will. Basile Valentin. Hermetic Library.

(6) Key of Greater Wisdom. Artéfius

New Chymical Light. Cosmopolitan

(8) Likewise

(9) Paracelsus, alchemist physician, 'Philosopher by fire'. Patrick Rivière.

Vecchi Edition

(10) The Last Testament. Basile Valentin. Hermetic Library.

(11) Spagyric medicine or Spagyric medical art. Rhumelius. In La

Medicine of Paracelsus; Patrick Rivière. Traditional Ed.

THE SALT OF THE PHILOSOPHERS

Ph. Vaysal

The role played by dew, within the alchemical work, appears in a way
evident in many hermetic treaties since the 17themecentury and seems
clearly linked to the Rosicrucian movement. A board coming from a rare
manuscript, published under the title 'the secret symbols of the Rosicrucians' (1) grants
an important place to the precious dew:

I am the humidity that preserves everything in nature and makes it live, I pass from the plan
higher than the lower plane; I am the celestial dew and I fertilize the earth; nothing does
could live without me in time; yes, I am close to all things, in and at
through all things, and yet unknown.

This humidity must be captured for fear that it turns into vapor or smoke.

The prima materia derives its existence from the Fiat, the Word of Creation. And this word
comes from the Father who is the creator of all things, and the Spirit radiates from both: It is the
the life of God giving air. So, also, the air gives life everywhere in the elements. The
fire warms all things, water refreshes, enchants and saturates all things; air
35
PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 36

born of fire and in turn makes the fire burn, so that it may live, but the air in the form of
Water is food for fire, and fire burns in this element: Water and dew of the
the thick, greasy dew of the soil, it is the earth as the guardian of the nitrous salt
who nourishes her. For the breast of the earth is salt, the only good thing that God created.
in this visible world.

Another treatise on Alchemy from the 17ththcentury,

the 'Golden Testament' (5), that B.
Husson is also linked to the Rosicrucian movement, this fraternity to which 'belonged
The party of Solomon and the Prophets of the Old Testament refers to the
precious Dew.

The cross also provides a dissolvent and a truly extraordinary medicine, through two
very universal subjects that nature puts before our eyes; namely through the sea water
inferior coagulated, and coagulating; and by the upper sea water, free and dissolving,
or the dew.

Moreover, as E. Canseliet rightly points out, the brothers of the Rose-

Crosses actually constituted the Brotherhood of the Cooled-Dew. In many of
Alchemy treaties, the Dew appears to us as the vehicle of the "spiritus"
Mundi, nourished by cosmic radiation, which is contributed by that of the sun.
and the moon. It is he who presides over the emergence of life on Earth and allows
to ennoble the indispensable salty fondant by enriching it with its 'isomer'
"celestial," as the good master of Savignie liked to remind us:

Under the effect of heat applied wisely, thanks to its subtle nitre, the dew rises.
and ennobles all salt that it may be and, preferably those that nature has reserved for the
Great Work.
Thus, without the contribution of the spiritus mundi, there is nothing that differentiates, for E. Cancellet, the

chemistry of alchemy because it is:

...the abundant sprinking of celestial spirit - intense fluid bombardment - which

participates in the chemical operation or, more precisely, metallurgical and confers to it its
true character of alchemy.

In his New Chemical Light, the famous Cosmopolitan, who is none other than
that Alexandre Sethon also highlights the importance of dew as
being the essential agent for the making of the secret fire:

Indeed, you must take what is, but what is not seen, until it pleases
the artist; it is the water of our dew, from which the philosophers' saltpeter is drawn, by
"in which all things grow and are nourished."(8)

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PH. VAYSAL FROM PLANT STONE 37

In his Hermetic Triumph, Limojon de Saint Didier, in turn and in the

the same lineage, argues the idea according to which the alchemist must necessarily
resort to a trick provided by nature to complete the alchemical work
that she could not accomplish herself:

As the wise man undertakes to do through our art a thing that is beyond human capabilities.
ordinary processes of nature, such as softening a stone, and causing a germ to grow
metallic, he finds himself inevitably obliged to enter into profound meditation
in the innermost secret of nature, & to assert simple means, but
effective as it provides him; now you should not ignore that nature from the
beginning of Spring, to renew itself, and to put all the seeds, which
are within the earth, in the movement that is characteristic of vegetation, permeates everything
the air surrounding the earth, made of a mobile and fermentative spirit, which originates from the
father of nature; it is properly a subtle nitre, which makes the fertility of the earth of which
it is the soul, & what the Cosmopolitan calls the philosopher's saltpeter.

If the role played by dew within alchemy elevates the science of Hermes to
the range of a true vitalist philosophy of Nature, E. Canseliet goes as far as
to confer a divine character to the heavenly liquor, by likening it to the Manna
celestial mentioned in the Bible:

And when the dew descended on the camp during the night, the manna fell there.
similarly. "(10)

Other philosophers have always denied the role of dew. Pernety, who is not
considered as an alchemist in the true sense, indeed, declared, near a
rather century:

...but when one meditates seriously on the texts of true Philosophers, in

those they talk about Dew, we are soon convinced that they only talk about it by
similarity, and that theirs is a properly metallic dew, that is to say, their water
mercury sublimated into vapors in the vase, and which falls to the bottom in the form of dew
or a light rain...

This is indeed what Philalethe expresses in his Experiments on the

preparation of the Mercury of the Sages:

...in this one, you will prepare a sand heat at the first degree, in which the
dew of our compound is raised and circulated constantly, outside the compound, by day and
night without any interruption..."(12)

The same meaning is given to philosophical dew by the commentator.

anonymous from the treaty "The Drinkable Gold of the Ancients":

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETAL STONE 38

Philosophers have considered this upward and downward movement and have called it
sublimation because in this action subtle things are made thick and the
massive and corporeal things are made light and subtle; thus these spirits differ in
natural and after having waged war on each other for a long time, they come to agree over time
and they become friends, joining closely together, flying in the air and then descending
together with the earth through which the descent of mercury or philosophical dew is generated
which nourishes our earth and makes it germinate and bear double fruit…

Despite the envious contradiction conveyed by certain philosophers,

As we have just seen, the work on the Night Dew was the subject of a
philosophical secret, transmitted within groups of authentic
alchemists, true Rosicrucians. The secret in question allows
the obtaining of dew salt. That which the boards of the Mutus Liber, illuminated by
the charitable words of E. Canseliet, and later those of P. Rivière,
describe the modus operandi without which it cannot be isolated. This salt deserves our
attention due to the medicinal properties it would carry, in particular
in the cardiovascular field, according to E. Canseliet speaking on the occasion
from a famous radio interview.

The work is long and tedious, but it inevitably leads to the

success if the operator has properly followed the manufacturing process. The salt
philosophical manifests in a tiny quantity, pinkish white in color once
dried by the rays of the sun. Its use causes the manifestation of
the green email or philosophical vitriol at the end of the first Work. Now the coloring
it is curiously (and symbolically) the manifestation of the Spirit of the World,
that is to say, of life in matter as E. Canseliet reminds us:

This is exactly what the artist checks - provided that the external conditions are
respected - during the iterations of the first work, in the beautiful olive green enamel that it
gathers and also reveals to him that cosmic radiation is heavy and
fragrant. This subtle matter truly possesses the weight of the incarnate Christ,
its green color and its smell which is that of incense smoke.

This physical characteristic of vitriol (an anagram of "gold lives there") that
its green color is not unrelated to its properties
medicinal properties of the latter, highlighted by Le Breton in his pamphlet "the keys"
of spagyric Philosophy (15):

The virtues of pure vitriol are marvelous; its spirit makes mercury commonplace.
a kind of panacea, and one can truly make a medicine against everything through its means
disease, if one knows what vitriol I am talking about, and what mercury.

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 39

B. Valentin also confirms to us that:

"...the salt extracted from the ashes is the strongest and that within it lies..."
many virtues."(16)

The ash in question corresponds to the caput mortuum or feces that is -

tell the slags resulting from the separation-purification of the ore, completing the
first work. This is also what is expressed - in the form of verses translated from
Latin in French by A. Savoret - an unknown philosopher cited by E. Canseliet,
in his comments on the previously mentioned work of the monk from Erfurt (17):

Oh surprise! From a charred tree trunk comes Salt(18): Purified salt, a water
spiritual. Let the waters be cooked by fire, it will become a regenerated salt: It will be
of great medical aid for the sick. An imperishable force resides in the salts
It is demonstrated by Art, That the secrets of salt have something divine...

It seems possible to derive from this enameled green, according to philosophers, a

sovereign medicine, after the humidity of the air has fulfilled its duty and that the
product of this slow maturation has been treated with philosophical vinegar,
before being taken over by the spirit of wine. The dye that results from these operations
successive is a ruby red and is an evocation of transformation,
by wet process, green dulion red, what transformation occurs
usually by dry means, during the second work. But let's go back, after
the necessary digressions, in the elaboration of dew salt. The collection of dew
constitutes the most tedious task and will deter the less courageous. E.
Canseliet proceeds

walking on the green cereals, on the clovers, the alfalfa, and the sainfoin, a
linen cloth, previously washed and rinsed several times in rainwater."(19)And the
It should be specified: 'Similarly, one must fear that the bearer plant may have been'
unintentionally sprinkled or sprayed with any kind of fertilizer.

All that remains is to twist the cloths to extract the precious dew,
the image of the couple from the Mutus Liber. They have placed these pieces of linen on some
stakes, which would increase the amount of dew collected. This
process, also chosen by the author of the Testament of Gold, with the difference being
that the latter uses glass plates instead of linen fabric, seems to us,
still, less productive than the first. This is easily understood at
regarding the surface area that the first process allows to be treated,
the inverse of the second.

The collection of dew directly from the plant alters its purity, that is why
this must undergo meticulous filtration. However, nothing proves
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 40

that the presence, within the precious liquid, of organic particles, pollen and
other plant-origin debris may harm the quality of the obtained salt. We
we even tend to think the opposite!

Once filtered, in all its freshness, the dew must be enriched, just like us.
the Sulat sign, by the radiance of the stars, as well as by that of the Moon and
from the Sun at its rise. This exhibition takes place in large basins, the whole
duration of the waxing moon. It is important beforehand to add to the liquid,
the indispensable magnet, without which the dew could not deliver its salt, namely
this thick black mud that E. Canseliet mentions in his comments of
Mute Book. Without a doubt, the love of the world spirit that is spoken of,
Grimaldi :

"By agreeing that all that the Philosophers say about the sublime nature of Nitre is
true, it must also be agreed that they hear about an aerial Nitre, which is
attracted in salt whiter than snow, by the power of the rays of the Sun and the Moon, by
a magnet that attracts the invisible mind; this is the magnetism of the Philosophers...

The author of the testament of gold (21) gives us a valuable indication:

Rx in the name of God, from the purest and cleanest sea salt, as it is cooked by the sun; it
comes from Spain by sea. Mine was from St. Uby. Make sure to dry it well in some
hot place, grind it finely in a mortar so that it
can dissolve more easily in dew water in the month of May or June when the
the moon is full...

If sodium chloride plays no role in the alchemical work, the origin

The geographical location of this mysterious salt does not constitute, as strongly indicated
precisely B. Husson a vain confidence. After 2 weeks.
At the night exhibition, the dew is now ready to deliver its Air Nitre.
will only reveal itself at the end of a series of delicate operations, of which the
the first is distillation. This is carried out exactly according to the methods
figurative techniques in the Mutus Liber. The sour liquor resulting from distillation
must be cohabited for 40 days in a gentle warmth 'like a hen brooding her
eggs "in complete darkness. It is at the end of this maturation period
that the spirit of the dew, concentrated and present in the distillate, reveals itself through a
slow oxidation process, and manifests itself in the form of filaments
cottony, as mentioned by Doctor Gosset, in his experiments on the
dew(22). The success of this operation relies on strict adherence to the method
operational. It is important, in particular, that the jars in which the liquor
distilled is placed in incubation, should only be half filled and
hermetically closed. At this stage, the dew salt has not yet revealed itself.
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 41

The mother water, in which it finds itself in becoming, must first

the object of a second distillation-concentration. But the process of
concentration should not be carried out in the flask until its end. It must
to be completed under the action of the rays of the sun, a true catalyst, acting on
the manner of light that causes the silver salts in the film to precipitate
photography. Montfaucon de Villars gives us, in a figurative way, an idea of
phenomenon(23):

It is only necessary to concentrate the world's fire through concave mirrors, in a globe of
glass; this is the artifice that all the Ancients have religiously hidden, and that the divine
Theophrastus discovered. A solar powder is formed in this globe, which having set...
purified from itself, from the mixture of the other Elements; and being prepared according to the art,
becomes in a very short time sovereignly capable of exalting the fire that is within us.

The German doctor Jean-Henri Pott(24) brings us interesting

indications regarding the nitrous nature of the finally isolated dew salt, in the course of the
subsequent operations, without mentioning the last one.

He has removed all the flavor from the sea salt from the coasts of Spain, by making it digest.
putrefy for at least forty days in the most subtle spirit of dew; this which
he produced a salt completely different, fusible like wax at the mere heat of a
lamp; of a flavor that was somewhat bitter, which seemed to resemble the flavor of saltpeter, without
however having neither cubic nor prismatic shape; the crystals were piled under the
form of small blades so transparent that he only noticed them after he had decanted his
liqueur.

The sequence of operations described by the Mutus Liber leads to the obtaining of
second fondant of the work by dry means, which salt is not, properly
to speak, the dew salt. It is of little interest, unlike the first,
medicinal plan. The mystery of the moody Vulcan that surrounds the making of this
The second selection has disturbed the sleep of more than one student. It is to him that it must be attributed.

gently removed the coagulum from the flask with a spoon. The child
inanimate refers to this same coagulum destined to feed on lunar rays and to
to ultimately assume the properties of the moody vulcan, that is to say those of fire
secret of philosophers. The epithet of lunatic represents the quality 'cold' of this
fire since, as described by Limojon de Saint Didier, it does not burn the
but reveals all its efficiency under the action of common fire.

All you can reasonably expect from me is to tell you that the
natural fire, which this Philosopher speaks of, is a fire in potential, which does not burn the hands
; but which shows its effectiveness as long as it is excited by external fire. It is

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 42

so a truly secret fire that this Author names Lunatic Vulcan in the title
of his account.

The skimming of the second salt represented by the seventh plate is in itself
sufficiently explicit that we need to add any comment, to
those already very charitable of the good master of Savignie. Let's simply recall
For the latter, the second salt constitutes the artifice, that is to say the trick, from Greek.
Truksqui refers to the dregs of wine, which is the source of virgin salt (...)
allowing for the initial separation.

Our intention is not to delve further into the very rich study of the Mutus Liber.
of teaching for the entirety of the Great Work. The process of obtaining salt
of dew, described by Sulat and so many other philosophers, seems worthy to us
of interest in many ways. First of all, it shows that the precious salt is
not a chimera, although its detractors say otherwise, but is based on a secret of
fabrication that has been passed down to this day, thanks to the kindness of many
of Philosophers. Furthermore, he does not resist a well-conducted approach to
mystery and does not proceed from a supernatural phenomenon.

It is based on the principles implemented in this process and transposed into

the spagyric field, that we have reached, now for almost
of about ten years, to extract an extremely pure essence of Mistletoe
fragrant. By chance, one winter evening, we had escaped, by a few
minutes, to a strong explosion of the retort to the face, given the presence of
nitre and other components, whose complexion had changed under the effect of heat,
proven to be formidable, betraying thereby, a lack of vigilance on our part. Strong
Fortunately, the distillate was not lost, and we were able to appreciate its strength.
and a curious smell of rosemary that was emanating, the joy of this success
compensating for the loss of a valuable and expensive glass material. The nature
the very fragrant distillate is, for us, a perfect illustration
according to the Hermetic adage that B. Valentin reminds us of in his twelve
keys and who wants that: "all life emerges and is born from putrefaction" (27) since,
let's remember, the distillation of our esterified mistletoe compound was the result of a
long period of putrefaction of more than 40 days.

Let us also mention, after Eugène Canceliet, Tollius who states in his treatise
Wisdom of the Insane or Chemical Promises: "the sweet smell (which) is of the
purity among chemists.

NOTES
(1) As Albertus informs us, this manuscript was brought to the United States,
during the Second World War, by the widow of Mr. Ernest Klatsher. This man
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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETABLE STONE 43

native of Prague was a high degree Mason, and had been interested for many
years in Rosicrucianism. The Rosicrucian Order AMORC, which has nothing to do with
the small Rosicrucian groups of the 17th and 18th centuries, obtained the document of
the executor of the will of Mr. Klatscher who died during the journey.

(2) Secret symbols of the Rosicrucians of the 16thand 17thcentury. Rosicrucian diffusion

In the same place

In the same place

(5) The Testament of Gold. In: Three Unpublished Alchemical Texts from the 17th Century. Ed:
Medici Library

Alchemy explained through its classical texts. Eugène Canseliet. Ed Pauvert

(7) Alchemy and its silent book. Introduction and comments by E. Canceliet FCH
disciple of Fulcanelli. Ed Suger.

(8) New Chemical Light. Cosmopolite. Hermetic Library.

The Hermetic Triumph. Limojon of Saint Didier. Hermetic Bibliotheca.

(10) The Hermetic Triumph. Limojon de Saint Didier. Hermetic Library.

(11) The Philosophical Dwellings. Fulcanelli. Ed Pauvert

Mytho-Hermetic Dictionary. A.-J. Pernety. Arché Ed Milano.

(12) Experiments on the preparation of the Philosopher's Mercury. Philalethes.

The drinking water of the Ancients. In: Three unpublished alchemical texts from the 17th century. Ed
Medici Library.

(14) The Alchemy Explained through its Classical Texts. Eugène Canceliet. Ed Pauvert.

(15) In: Alchemy explained through its classical texts. Eugène Canceliet. Ed Pauvert.

The Twelve Keys of Philosophy

Ibidem

The charred tree refers to the ore that has passed through the crucible.

(19) Alchemy and its silent book. Introduction and comments by E. Canceliet FCH
disciple of Fulcanelli. Ed Suger.
In the same place

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PH. VAYSAL FROM VEGETAL STONE 44

(21) The Testament of Gold. In: Three Unpublished Alchemical Texts from the 17th Century. Ed:
Medici Library.

...I found the capitals of my stills, for I had several, all upholstered.
like spider webs, which was nothing other than the volatile salt of dew, which
began to manifest itself in the guise of this matter ... Revelations
Cabalistic elements of a universal medicine. Doctor Gosset. Amiens. 1735.

(23) The account of Gabalis. Montfaucon de Villars. Ed A.G. Nizet-Paris.

(24) The Alchemical Laboratory. Atorène. Ed: Guy Tredaniel.

(25) The Hermetic Triumph. Limojon of Saint Didier. Hermetic Library.

(26) Alchemy explained through its classical texts. Eugène Canceliet. Ed. Pauvert.

(27) The Twelve Keys of Philosophy. Basile Valentin. Ed de minuit.

Ibidem

44