One abyss calls the other forth;
Together they wage a bitter fight.
The volatile must become wholly fixed;
Water and vapour must turn into earth.
Heaven itself must become earthly,
Or no life will enter the earthly realm.
What is highest must become lowest;
What is lowest will become highest.
The fixed must become wholly volatile;
Earth must become water and vapour.
Earth must fly up to the height of heaven;
Heaven must creep into the centre of earth.
Thus heaven and earth must be reversed
If the lowest is to become the highest.
The volatile dragon kills the fixed one;
The fixed compels the volatile to die.
Thus the quintessence must come openly to light,
Together with what it can accomplish.