Alchemical Writings (Stone of Philosophers)

water. Near the Sun a jug is pouring white rays, or drops, into a urinal original: "urinale"; in this context, a pear-shaped glass laboratory flask used for distillation and observation, named for its resemblance to medical vessels.. On the hill stands a Phœnix A mythical bird that rises from its own ashes; in alchemy, it represents the stage of multiplication and the final perfection of the Philosopher's Stone., biting its breast, out of which drops blood, the same being drunk by its young. Beneath the rock a husbandman A farmer or laborer; here, he represents the alchemist who "plants" the metallic seeds in the "earth" of the vessel. is scattering seed in his field.

CHAPTER THE TENTH.

Of the Blackness original: "Nigredo"; the first major stage of the Great Work, characterized by the decomposition and blackening of the matter. or Raven's Head original: "Caput Corvi"; a traditional alchemical term for the dark, putrefied state of the substance before it can be purified. by means of which the copulation The chemical union or "marriage" of opposing principles. of Sun and Moon takes place

The second conjunction The act of joining together. is of three, viz., body, soul, and spirit ; and