Alchemy – The Divine Work
English Publications
The translation of our Magnum Opus – Alchemy: The Divine Work
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Content of Alchemy – The Divine Work
INTRODUCTION
PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION 15
PREFACE 17
THE EMERALD TABLET OF HERMES 21
INTRODUCTION TO ALCHEMY 23
HISTORY
1. AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY 29
Egyptian alchemy 31 · Words to be spoken in the preparing of medicines 33 · Greek alchemy 33 · Zosimos & Theosebeia 38 · Chinese alchemy 42 · Arabic alchemy 43 · Western alchemy 45 · Nicolas & Perenelle Flamel 48 · Renaissance alchemy 50 · Paracelsus 51 · Jakob Böhme 52 · The Rosicrucians 54 · Federico Gualdi 55 · The Dark ages of alchemy 58 · The dawning light of alchemy 59 · Mary Anne Atwood 59 · Fulcanelli 60 · Carl Gustav Jung 62 · Julius Evola 65 · The awakening sun 66
2. THE ALCHEMICAL ISIS 69
Isis the Prophetess to her son Horus 72
3. HERMES TRISMEGISTUS 76
The golden tractate of Hermes Trismegistus 81
4. MARY THE PROPHETESS 83
PHILOSOPHY
5. THE ALCHEMICAL CREATION PHILOSOPHY 89
From unity to plurality 91 · The redemption of the One 93
6. PRIMA MATERIA 96
The black madonna 99
7. THE TWO FORCES 103
Involution & evolution 103 · Solve et Coagula 104 · Good & evil 105 · The king & queen 106
8. THE THREE ALCHEMICAL PRINCIPLES 110
The transmutation of nature 111 · Mercury 112 · Sulphur 114 · Salt 115 · The three principles of the Rosicrucians 116 · The three principles of Hjärne 117
9. THE BODIES OF ALCHEMICAL CONSCIOUSNESS 118
The bodies of the world-soul 118 · Body, soul & spirit 119 · The physical, the astral & the etheric bodies 120 · The alchemical bodies 121
10. THE FOUR ELEMENTS 123
The elements complain to the creator 124 · Fire 127 · Water 128 · Air 129 · Earth 130 · The four principles of the Rosicrucians 131 · The kingdoms and cherubs of the four elements 132 · The elemental teaching of Aristotle 133 · Hippocratic medicine 134
11. THE ALCHEMICAL FIRES 137
The heavenly fire 139 · The central fire 139 · The fountain of nature 141 · The secret fire 143 · The invisible and most secret occult fire of the philosophers 149 · The general fire 149
12. THE QUINTESSENCE 151
The Ether 152 · The son of darkness and night 152 · Quinta essentia 152 · Azoth 155 · The primordial essence of all things 157 · The extraction of the quintessence 160
13. THE MENSTRUUM OF THE PHILOSOPHERS 166
The treasure of water 167 · Distilled and philosophical wine 168 · The menstruum of the different kingdoms 171 · The essence of wine 172 · The philosophical waters 172 · Philosopher’s water 174
14. THE ALCHEMICAL REDEMPTION 175
The Hexagram 175 · Palingenesis 176 · The macrocosmic palingeneses 177 · The microcosmic palingeneses 179 · The ages 184
15. EGYPTIAN ALCHEMY 188
The seven Egyptian souls 188 · The Egypto-alchemical myth 189 · The Egyptian operations 192
16. THE SEVEN ALCHEMICAL OPERATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT 194
The seven series of developments in the work of incarnation 195
17. THE PLANETS, ANGELS & METALS 202
The forces of the holy number seven 202 · The seven planetary levels 205 · The Moon 211 · Gabriel 212 · Silver 212 · Mercury 215 · Raphael 216 · Quicksilver 216 · Venus 219 · Anael 219 · Copper 220 · The Sun 222 · Michael 223 · Gold 223 · Mars 227 · Kamael 228 · Iron 229 · Jupiter 231 · Sachiel 232 · Tin 232 · Saturn 234 · Tzapkiel 234 · Lead 235 · The nature of the medicine, and government of the metals 236
18. PROGENITORS & ANTAGONISTS 238
Sandalphon 240 · Metatron 244 · Lucifer 247 · Samael 250 · The angels of the Grail 252
19. THE 14 ALCHEMICAL OPERATIONS 255
Operation 1 – Destillatio 257 · Operation 2 – Extractio 258 · Operation 3 – Fermentatio 259 · Operation 4 – Mundificatio/Ablutio 260 · Operation 5 – Separatio 261 · Operation 6 – Putrefactio 262 · Operation 7 – Calcinatio 263 · Operation 8 – Mortificatio 264 · Operation 9 – Solutio 265 · Operation 10 – Sublimatio 266 · Operation 11 – Coniunctio 267 · Operation 12 – Coagulatio 268 · Operation 13 – Proiectio 269 · Operation 14 – Multiplicatio & Exaltatio 270
20. HUMANITY’S TRANSFORMATION FROM LEAD TO GOLD 272
Nigredo 273 · Obstacles 277 · Albedo 278 · Obstacles 283 · Citrinitas 284 · Obstacles and assistance 289 · Rubedo 291 · The flaming heart 293 · Beyond the black hole 294
21. THE FOUR PHASES AND THE TREE OF LIFE 296
PRACTICE
22. ALCHEMICAL PRAYERS 301
Prayer of unity 301 · The emanation of the duad 302 · Hymn to the Moon 302 · Hymn to the Sun 303 · The fire of the trinity 304 · The invocation of the four archangels 304 · The five-fold prayer of the quintessence 305 · The manifestation of the hexad 306 · The invocation of the seven stars 307 · Prayer of the eighth house 309 · The emanation of the nine 309 · The flaming heart 310
23. THE TOOLS OF THE ALCHEMICAL WORK 311
Contemplation 312 · Imagination 312 · The key of interpretation 313 · Breath 315 · Blood 316 · The alchemical athanor 317 · The alchemical vessel 319 · The transformative forces 322
24. THE ALCHEMICAL ROOM 325
The oratory 326 · The laboratory 328 · The mediator 329 · Summary 330
25. FUNDAMENTAL ALCHEMICAL IMAGINATION 333
Creating the alchemical room 334 · The three alchemical principles 335 · Imagination through the phases 336 · Tabula smaragdina 339 · The emerald journey 339
26. ALCHEMICAL ANIMAL ARCHETYPES 343
The green work 344 · The green lion and the Sun 346 · The fighting beasts 348 · The deer 350 · The unicorn 351 · Ouroboros 353 · The red lion 356
27. PRIMA MATERIA PRACTICE 358
The mercurial fire 358 · The keys to the fire 360 · The alchemical fountain 360 · Prima materia 362 · Prima materia keys 362 · Imagination – The Black Madonna 364
28. THE PRACTICE OF NIGREDO 366
The keys to nigredo 369 · Awakening the four elements 370 · Gichtel’s planetary seal 372 · Basic Exercise 374 · Operation: To awaken and experience the seven planets 374
29. THE PRACTICE OF ALBEDO 377
The keys to albedo 381 · The Book of Revelation 382 · The mercurial consciousness 383 · The angelic tower and the holy guardian angel 385 · Operation 389 · The colours of the peacock 391 · Memory meditation 393 · Imagination – alchemical masters 394
30. THE PRACTICE OF CITRINITAS 395
The keys to citrinitas 399 ·The quaternity model 400 · The Gnostic quaternity 403 · Gnostic contemplation 404 · The practice of the Egyptian quaternity 405 · The quaternity of the psyche and the soul 407 · The quaternity and the caduceus rod 408 · Imagination 410 · Gichtel’s second operation 410
31. THE PRACTICE OF RUBEDO 413
Rubedo keys 414 · The theosophical human 415 · Theosophical imagination 417 · The alchemical-kabbalistic quaternity 418 · The Solar operation of the Phoenix bird 420 · The seven operations of the Great Work 422 · The prayer of the new human 429
32. THE THREE ALCHEMICAL WEDDINGS 430
The alchemical weddings in christian hermetic doctrine 432 · The incarnation – prima materia 435 · Baptism and the transformation of the white wedding 437 · The mount of transfiguration and the yellow wedding 440 · Ritual of the transfiguration 442 · The resurrection and the transmutation of the red wedding 443 · The union of the two brothers 445 · The resurrection 447· Formations of the opposition 447 ·The wine of wrath 449 ·
The way of the cross 451 · The Rosary 453 · Redemption of the Fall through the red wedding 456 · The holy operation of the ark 462
33. THE STONES OF THE ALCHEMICAL BODIES 465
The philosophical development 467 · The microcosmic transcendence 469 · The macrocosmic transcendence 470
34. THE LEAD BODY OF SATURN 472
Keys to the purification of the lead body 474 · The fountain of nature 476 · The two microcosmic suns 477 · Squaring the lead body 478 · The cubic stone 479 · Sacrifice to the priest or priestess of the temple 480
35. THE SILVER BODY OF THE MOON 482
Keys to the transformation of the silver body 483 · The restoration of the salt body 484 · The lunar sphere of the silver body 484 · Operation for the first palingenesis 485
36. THE ANGELIC BODY OF MERCURY 495
Keys to the transfiguration of the angelic body 496 · The sphere of the golden mercury 497 · To generate the mercurial angelic body 498 · Ritual to generate the angelic body 502 · Operation for the second palingenesis 503 · The second palingenesis ritual 505 · To reveal the egg of angelic mercury 505
37. THE GOLDEN BODY OF THE SUN & THE STONE OF THE WISE 508
Keys to the transmutation of the golden body 509 · The red sun of the wholeness – exaltatio 510 · Preparation for the creation of the regenerated tree of life 512 · The third palingenesis: The regenerated Tree of Life 515 · Human metamorphosis into a sphinx 518 · The manifestation of the golden body in the world 519 · The sacred fire of the seraphim 522 · The new Jerusalem 523 · The transmutation of the phoenix bird 524 · The Stone of the Wise 526
38. ROSARIUM PHILOSOPHORUM 529
APPENDIX
I. THE VISIONS OF ZOSIMOS 555
II. THE PRACTICE OF MARY THE PROPHETESS, SISTER OF MOSES 564
IÍI. THE ALCHEMICAL MASS 569
IV. LIBAVIUS ON THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE 575
V. RULANDUS ON THE PRIMA MATERIA 579
VI. EUGENIUS PHILALETHES MAGICAL APHORISMS 583
VII. THE TRUE AND GENUINE STONE OF THE WISE 586
VIII. THE SECRET OF SECRETS 596
IX. SOLOMON’S KABBALISTIC SIGILS 604
FIGURE REGISTRY 609
BIBLIOGRAPHY 623
INDEX 628
OUR HEARTFELT GRATITUDE GOES TO 654
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 655
By Tommy Westlund
