Hermes: A Journal in Occasional Issues

...viewed as the essence; however, the story of a nobleman who sought his success therein refutes, according to the report by Nollius Heinrich Noll (active 1606–1620), a German Paracelsian physician and professor who wrote extensively on hermetic philosophy., even these seekers.

Various natural philosophers, who thought more appropriately about the matter, sought the philosophical Mercury Philosophical Mercury: Unlike common liquid mercury, this was believed to be the "living spirit" or universal seed of all metals, hidden within raw matter. within the earth. They believed that the Universal Mercury original: "Universalmerkur" fixes itself within the soil, or that the soil acquires the "fat of the earth," especially since the earliest and most competent masters assure us that whoever knows how to find it there has attained the only true jewel of the sages The "Jewel of the Sages" is another name for the Philosopher's Stone.. This provided the opportunity to subject various types of earth to philosophical testing—for example, yellow and red clay original: "Letten", sealed earth Sealed Earth (Terra Sigillata): A medicinal clay from the island of Lemnos, historically stamped with a seal to guarantee its purity as an antidote to poison., the earth found near gold mines (fat of the sun) original: "Axungia solis." A term for minerals or clays found in proximity to gold, thought to contain solar "grease" or energy., and the red clay spoken of by Siebmacher Likely Johann Thölde, often identified as the author of works attributed to the monk Basilius Valentinus. in his "Water-Stone of the Sages," and other similar substances.

Most successful were still those who sought the so-called Saturnine Universal original: "Catholicum saturninum." This refers to a "universal" starting matter associated with Saturn (lead), representing the heavy, dark, and primordial state of the work. in the earth and took up the Minera original: "Minera"—that is, the simplest, non-specified mineral products. The philosophers call this subject a son of the Macrocosm original: "filium Macrocosmi." The Macrocosm represents the entire universe; the substance is thus seen as a miniature offspring of the cosmos itself., a son of the Sun and Mo[on] original: "filium Solis et Lunae." The text cuts off mid-word ("Lu-") and completes on the following page. In alchemy, the Sun and Moon represent Gold and Silver, or the masculine and feminine principles of nature.