The Child-Bed of the Philosopher's Stone

...heat of the lower nature of this hemisphere original: hemisphærii begins to act; so it also happens at that time/ that this steel or Magnesia of the Sages In alchemy, "Magnesia" does not refer to the modern element magnesium, but to a "magnetic" substance or "First Matter" believed to attract the celestial spirit. sublimates itself/ and precipitates more frequently in its rising and falling/ from heaven to earth/ and from earth into heaven/ through constant circulation in the great circle of the world.

It is called Magnesia because, through an augmenting and hidden power, it draws the Son of the Sun The "Son of the Sun" is a symbolic name for the refined alchemical essence or the gold of the philosophers. to itself/ at the very moment it takes on its actual existence. It is also called an earthly cave/ because the earth/ which is its wet-nurse/ takes into itself the power and properties/ which are imprinted upon the earthly nature by the celestial being and properties of the stars/ as Valentinus Basilius Valentinus, a legendary 15th-century alchemist and monk whose writings are foundational to the tradition. says. In conclusion/ it is the Adamic earth original: terra Adamica; the pure, primordial earth from which the first man was believed to be formed, or a specific red earth used in the work./ which lies before the eyes of the whole world under an old and ugly mantle/ but which can never suffer/ humans to look upon it in its physical nakedness/ except for the children of the Sages/ to whom it reveals itself in all manner of ways/ whenever it sees fit. It is a hidden and deeply-concealed thing in the womb of nature/ and does not appear visibly/ nor formally original: formaliter; in its true, essential form./ unless it pleases the Artist The "Artist" is the standard term for the practicing alchemist who skillfully facilitates nature's work./ to let it appear.

Know therefore/ beloved reader/ that the sun and the moon, with the cooperation of the other stars/ will help to bring it forth formally/ but they will not do everything. Take