On Alchemy

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VI. On the Fixation of the spirit. original: "De Fixione spiritus". Fixation is the process of making a volatile substance, or "spirit," stable so that it can withstand the heat of fire without evaporating. 350
VII. On the decoction, grinding, and washing of the stone. Decoction refers to the prolonged heating of a substance in a vessel. Washing and grinding were physical preparations to purify the material. 351
VIII. On the quantity of fire and its advantages and disadvantages. 352
IX. On the separation of the Elements of the stone. in the same place.
X. On the nature of the stone, and its origin. 354
XI. On the mixing of the separated Elements. in the same place.
XII. On the solution of the composite stone. Solution is the process of turning a solid substance into a liquid state. 356
XIII. On the coagulation of the dissolved stone. Coagulation is the reverse of solution, where a liquid substance is thickened or solidified.. 357
XIV. That there is only one stone, and on its nature. 358
XV. The method of operating the stone for the white. "The white" refers to the Albedo stage of the Great Work, which results in the ability to create silver. 359
XVI. Conversion of the aforementioned stone into the red. "The red" refers to the Rubedo, the final stage of the Great Work, resulting in the production of gold or the final Philosopher's Stone. 361

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus. The Emerald Tablet is a foundational text of Hermeticism. It is said to contain the secret of the "one thing" from which all things are created. 363

OF THOSE THINGS WHICH

are contained in the commentary of Hortulanus. Hortulanus, likely a pseudonym meaning "The Gardener," was a 14th century alchemist known for his influential commentary on the Emerald Tablet.

The Prayer of Hortulanus. folio 364. The Preface. in the same place.
I. That the art of Alchemy is true and certain. 365
II. That the stone must be divided into two parts. in the same place.
III. That the stone has in itself the four elements. 366
IV. That the stone has a father and a mother, namely the Sun and the Moon. In alchemy, the Sun represents gold or sulfur, while the Moon represents silver or mercury. in the same place.
V. That the joining of the parts of the stone is called impregnation. 367
VI. That the stone is perfect if the soul has been fixed in the body. in the same place.
VII. On the purification of the stone. 368
VIII. That the part of the stone that is not fixed must overcome the fixed part of the stone and raise it up. 369
IX. How the volatile stone is to be fixed again. 370
X. On the fruit of the art, and the efficacy of the stone. in the same place.
XI. That this Mastery imitates the creation of the universe. 371
XII. An enigmatic suggestion of what the nature of the stone may be. in the same place.
XIII. Why the stone is called perfect. 372.