The Secret Work of the Hermetic Philosophy

Relations Within the Work

Follow the Relationship as It Changes

Relation: Art / nature Work performed by the distinction: The practitioner supplies conditions; nature’s powers generate and form. Read together: 81, 100

Relation: Body / spirit Work performed by the distinction: Dissolution and fixation change the relation between stability and mobility. Read together: 72, 90

Relation: Wet / dry Work performed by the distinction: Nourishment, proportion and digestion require a measured alternation. Read together: 88–91

Relation: Internal / external fire Work performed by the distinction: The supplied mover governs an implanted power acting upon matter. Read together: 93–100

Relation: Sulphur / elixir Work performed by the distinction: The first work prepares a principle; the further work completes a different composition. Read together: 121–125

Relation: Text / reception Work performed by the distinction: Later explanation can extend the work without becoming its original wording. Read together: 138, 1893 preface

A symbolic reading becomes more exact when it preserves these relations. An inward transformation can be explored through the measured release, reception and fixation described here, while remaining an interpretation of the text rather than an unmarked replacement of its objects.