A New Light of Alchemy

Treatise XI Practice and Making the Stone or Tincture by Art

1Throughout so many chapters the discussion of things has been spread among examples, so that the practice may be understood more easily. It should be performed by imitating nature as follows. Take eleven grains of our earth through eleven degrees, one grain of our gold, not common gold, and two grains of our Luna, not common Luna. Be warned not to take common gold and silver, for they are dead. Take ours, which are living. Then put them in our fire, and from them a dry liquid will be made. First the earth will be dissolved into water, called the Mercury of the philosophers. That water dissolves the bodies of Sol and Luna and consumes them, until nothing remains but a tenth part with one part. This will be the metallic radical moisture. Afterwards take water of nitrous salt from our earth, in which there is a little stream and living water if you dig a pit to the knee. Take water from it, then, but take it clear. Put that radical moisture into it, and place it in the fire of putrefaction and generation, of a different kind from what you used in the first operation. Govern everything with great skill until colours appear like a peacock’s tail. Continue to govern by digestion without weariness, until the colours cease and one green colour appears throughout, and likewise with the others. When you see brown ash at the bottom and water that is almost red, open the vessel, moisten a feather, and anoint a piece of iron. If it tinges, have ready the water that will be discussed later, and pour in as much of it as the crude air that entered. Cook again with the former fire until it tinges again.