On the Secrets of the Adepts

[...and because the light] of God, hitherto buried in its ashes, might rise again from there like a Phoenix Phoenix: In alchemy, a symbol of the final stage of the Great Work (the Red Stage or Rubedo), representing rebirth, perfection, and the immortality of the Philosopher’s Stone., I have determined to set before your eyes that which until now you have not been able to find in so many volumes of the Art Art: (Latin: Artis) The "Sacred Art" of alchemy., namely: DIANA original: nudam vel sine veste DIANAM. Diana, the goddess of the hunt and the moon, was a common alchemical metaphor for the purified "White Stone" or the secret mercurial solvent. To show her "naked" means to reveal the secret without allegory. naked or without her clothing.

That is, I shall strip from her face and body the masks of tropes, figures, parables, and barbarous names, with which she has until now been masked, lest she be recognized by the wicked. I shall display Diana to you—namely, the very Truth of our Art, sought in vain with such great study and such great labor—not even clothed in the veil of necessary expression. Her most secret parts shall be exposed to your sight, concerning which the Adepts Adepts: (Latin: Adepti) Those alchemists who have successfully discovered the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. used to instruct their disciples under the gravest caution, adding a curse lest they should publish them to the unworthy common folk.

Therefore, if you desire to know the Menstrua Menstrua: (Latin: Menstrua) Not a biological term here, but a technical alchemical word for a powerful solvent or "mercury" capable of dissolving solid matter into its primary essence. of Diana, with which the Adepts prepared their Philtres original: Philtra. While often meaning love potions, in this chemical context it refers to medicinal elixirs or transformative liquid preparations., the cups of Life and death: If you desire to know the way in which they prepared their Tinctures Tinctures: (Latin: Tincturas) Highly concentrated alchemical substances capable of "dyeing" or transforming the nature of base metals into gold or silver., whether universal or particular for metals: If, finally, you long to know how they composed precious stones, pearls, perpetual lights original: lumina perpetua. A legendary alchemical goal: lamps that could burn for centuries without consuming their fuel, often said to be found in ancient tombs., along with other secrets of the Art, read the following Recipes Recipes: (Latin: Recepta) The author uses a word that implies both medical prescriptions and secrets "received" through tradition. of the four books. Recipes, I say, [received] by almost all of you...