The 7th Chapter.

movement is soon transformed into earth; but in this way—which acts rapidly—it becomes powerless and loses too much of its Spirit-Saltoriginal: "Geist-Salz"; the volatile, animating essence within a substance that gives it life and power. This is because the most subtle particles, when the coarser ones are forced to quickly thicken and settle, are licked up and leached out by the air that is constantly passing through. For this reason, common thin water is not "golden" for the Philosopher’s Stoneoriginal: "Stein der Weisen"; the legendary substance capable of turning base metals into gold and granting eternal life and cannot be its primary material. The artist can only transform such water into earth through a swift, violent movement which, as stated, causes the Mercuryoriginal: "Mercurius"; in alchemy, this refers to the principle of fluidity and transformation rather than just the liquid metal necessary for the goal to be lost.

It is true that water also turns to earth without violent movement and without losing much of its Mercury—namely, if one adds earth to it during the movement and thus augments the earth with the water. This can happen countless times and even unto infinity. However, because this earth is mixed with the earth that has been cursed since Adam’s FallA reference to the biblical account in Genesis where the ground was cursed due to original sin; alchemists sought "virgin" earth that escaped this corruption, it is of no use for our work, and the Salt of Natureoriginal: "Salz der Natur"—or more clearly, the Salt of Motion—cannot be reborn from it. Our water must be slimy and stand in a disposition toward earthiness; thus, through movement and with gentle labor, one can obtain from it an earth that is fatty and full of Universal Mercuryoriginal: "Universal-Mercurii"; the fundamental spirit or "life force" believed to permeate all matter, and because

21

Of Water.

because it has only touched the cursed earth, it is full of blessing and without curse. Our water is an Air-Lyeoriginal: "Luft-Lauge"; a liquid believed to have been "washed" or condensed from the air, carrying celestial virtues, yet without taste or smell, except that it stinks like a dead body during the process of putrefactionThe stage of "decay" in alchemy, often called the "blackening" or nigredo, necessary for rebirth. If you can dissolve the bond of air, water, and earth in this water—or more clearly, if you can expand this World-Slimeoriginal: "Welt-Schleim"; the primordial, viscous matter from which the alchemists believed the world was formed into air, water, and earth without fire or violence, so that the best part of the water (in which the air remains with the Mercury) becomes earth—then you will obtain a snow-white earth that is better than gold and precious stones. Our water cannot be forced by distillation or precipitation; rather, it is destroyed by the sharp nature of fire and yields no Mercury. However, someone who has since passed away demonstrated to me that he could, within a few days, produce a Mercury-metaloriginal: "Queck-Metall"; likely a purified or "living" form of quicksilver from the World-Slime through exceedingly gentle distillation and cohobationThe process of repeatedly distilling a liquid off its own solid residue to concentrate its essence in a water-bathoriginal: "Balneo"; a gentle heating method using hot water, similar to a bain-marie. I saw it hanging above in the alembicoriginal: "Alembico"; the top part of a still where vapors condense between other superfluous fatty parts of the World-Slime, and I marveled at it. Yet, to the discovery of another artist, something can easily be added original: "Alterius Artificis invento facile aliqvid addi potest". I myself have never yet performed the experiment; nevertheless, it appears from this that the sharp nature of fire—when it acts through fire as if through a water-bath and the air in the space between the glass and the water

C 3