An Open Entrance to the Closed Palace of the King

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CHAPTER XXIII. Of the different Regimens of this Work
Let me assure you that in our whole work there is nothing hidden but the regimen, of which it was truly said
by the Sage that whoever knows it perfectly will be honoured by princes and potentates. I tell you plainly that
if this one point were clearly set forth, our Art would become mere women's work and child's play: there
would be nothing in it but a simple process of "cooking." Hence it has always been most carefully concealed
by the Sages. But I have determined to write in a more sympathetic and kindly spirit: know then that our
regimen throughout consists in coction and digestion, but that it implies a good many other processes, which
those jealous Sages have made to appear different by describing them under different names. But we intend
to speak more openly in regard to this subject.
CHAPTER XXIV. Of the First Regimen, which is that of Mercury
This first regimen has been studiously kept secret by all the Sages. They have spoken of the second regimen,
or that of Saturn, as if it were the first, and have thus left the student without guidance in those operations
which precede the appearance of that intense blackness. Count Bernard, of Trevisa, says, in his Parable, that
When the King has come to the Fountain, he takes off the golden garment, gives it to Saturn, and enters the
bath alone, afterwards receiving from Saturn a robe of black silk. But he does not tell us how long it takes to
put off that golden robe; and thus, like all his brethren, leaves the poor beginner to grope in the dark during
40 or 50 days. From the point where the stage of blackness is reached to the end of the work their directions
are more full and intelligible. It is in regard to these first 40 days that the student requires additional light.
This period represents the regimen of Mercury (of the Sages), which is alone active during the whole time,
the other substance being temporarily dead. You should not suffer yourself to be deluded into the belief that
when your matters are joined, namely, our Sun and Mercury, the "setting of the Sun" can be brought about in
a few days. We ourselves waited a tedious time before a reconciliation was made between the fire and the
water. As a matter of fact, the Sages have called the substance, throughout this first period, Rebis, or
Two-thing: to shew that the union is not effected till the operation is complete. You should know, then, that
though our Mercury consumes the Sun, yet a year after you shall separate them, unless they are connected
together by a suitable degree of fire. It is not able to do anything at all without fire. We must not suppose that
when our gold is placed in our Mercury it is swallowed up by it in the twinkling of an eye. This conception
rests on a misunderstanding of Count Bernard's teaching about the King's plunge in the fountain. But the
solution of gold is a more difficult matter than these gentry appear to have any idea of. It requires the highest
skill so to regulate the fire in the first stage of the work as to solve the bodies without injuring the tincture.
Attend to my teaching therefore. Take the body which I have shewed you, put it into the water of our sea, and
bring to bear on the compound the proper degree of heat, till dews and mists begin to ascend, and the
moisture is diminished night and day without intermission. Know that at first the two do not affect each other
at all, and that only in course of time the body absorbs some of the water, and thus causes each to partake of
the other's nature. Only part of the water is sublimed; the rest gradually penetrates the pores of the body,
which are thereby more and more softened, till the soul of the gold is enabled gently to pass out. Through the
mediation of the soul the body is reconciled and united to the spirit, and their union is signalized by the
appearance of the black colour. The whole operation lasts about 40-50 days, and is called the Regimen of
Mercury, because the body is passive throughout, and the spirit, or Mercury, brings about all the changes of
colour, which begin to appear about the 20th day, and gradually intensify till all be at last completed in black
of the deepest dye, which the both day will manifest.
CHAPTER XXV. The Regimen of the Second Part, which is that of Saturn
The Regimen of Mercury, the operation whereof despoils the King of his golden garments, is followed by the
Regimen of Saturn. When the Lion dies the Crow is born. The substance has now become of a uniform
colour, namely, as black as pitch, and neither vapours, or winds, or any other signs of life are seen; the whole
CHAPTER XXIII. Of the different Regimens of this Work 14
An Open Entrance to the Closed Palace of the King
is dry as dust, with the exception of some pitch-like substance, which now and then bubbles up; all presents
an image of eternal death. Nevertheless, it is a sight which gladdens the heart of the Sage. For the black
colour which is seen is bright and brilliant; and if you behold something like a thin paste bubbling up here
and there, you may rejoice. For it is the work of the quickening spirit, which will soon restore the dead bodies
to life. The regulation of the fire is a matter of great importance at this juncture; if you make it too fierce, and
thus cause sublimation at this stage, everything will be irrecoverably spoilt. Be content, therefore, to remain,
as it were, in prison for forty days and nights, even as was the good Trevisan, and employ only gentle heat.
Let your delicate substance remain at the bottom, which is the womb of conception, in the sure hope that after
the time appointed by the Creator for this Operation, the spirit will arise in a glorified state, and glorify its
body -- that it will ascend and be gently circulated from the centre to the heavens, then descend to the centre
from the heavens, and take to itself the power of things above and things below.
CHAPTER XXVI. Of the Regimen of Jupiter
Black Saturn is succeeded by Jupiter, who exhibits divers colours. For after the putrefaction and conception,
which has taken place at the bottom of the vessel, there is once more a change of colours and a circulating
sublimation. This Reign or Regimen, lasts only three weeks. During this period you see all conceivable
colours concerning which no definite account can be given. The "showers" that fall will become more [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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