Alchemy

Commentary on Alchemy, Part II, Book IV.

The following is a key to an alchemical emblem depicted above it.

A. The double Lion of one head, by which is signified the first matter: the raw, unrefined starting material of the alchemical process of the Stone from a double lion-like mercury; that head vomits green water, which is the "mercury of the philosophers" original: "mercurius philosophorum" born from two sources. It is called elsewhere the Green Lion. The Green Lion often represents a strong mineral acid (like vitriol) or the raw energy of nature that "devours" metals to purify them.

B. Lions on both sides, five in number as if on the steps of Solomon Refers to the six steps of the Throne of Solomon described in the Bible, here used to represent stages of purification, to represent the five metals of one lion-like root and of cooked mercury; these can pass over into the Sun Gold and the Moon Silver: the lions on the right side strive toward the Sun; those on the left toward the Moon, and this is observed in the work through the success and transformation of their powers. Not without mystery does the highest Lion look back at the lower ones, etc.

C. The effigy of the Sun. Symbolizing Gold or the masculine principle, Sulfur.

D. The image of the Moon. Symbolizing Silver or the feminine principle, Mercury.

E. The Bath in which the King sits with the Queen. It is also the figure of the marriage bed for generating like from like: likewise, it is the garden in which the tree grows with the apples of the Hesperides. In mythology, these were golden apples; in alchemy, they represent the successful creation of gold.

F. The King with a crown and lily-tipped sceptre, as if addressing the Queen. This "Royal Wedding" or Conjunction represents the union of opposites required to create the Stone.

G. In the middle, the tree produces golden apples, while golden stars surround the crowns, to designate multiplication and increase, or even the fruit of projection: the final act of alchemy where a small amount of the Stone is thrown upon base metal to transform it into gold.