Paracelsvs Of the supreme mysteries of nature.: Of [brace] the spirits of the planets. Occult philosophy. The magical, sympathetical, and antipathetical cure of wounds and diseases. The mysteries of the twelve signs of the zodiack. / Englished by R. Turner, philomathēs.

The second Treatise; of the Philosophers Mercury, and the medium of Tinctures.

In the first Treatise we have written of the Spirits and Tinctures of Metals, &c. Declaring all their properties and natures, and what every Metal ge∣nerateth. In this second, we shall treat of the me∣dium of Tinctures, that is, of the Philosophers Mer∣cury; whereby are made the Tinctures and Lea∣ven of Metals, in seven Chapters following.

CHAP. I. Of what the Tinctures and Leavens are made.

WHosoever desireth to have the tincture of Metals, he ought to take the Phi∣losophers Mercury, & let him cast the same into its own end, that is, into quick Mercury, from whence it proceedeth; & hereby it wil come to pass, that the Philosophers Mercury shall be dissolved in the quick Mercury, and shall receive its strength: so that the Mercury of the Philoso∣phers killeth the quick Mercury, & maketh it re∣main fixed in the fire of the same existence with it self: for there is the like concordancy between these Mercuries, as is between Male and Female,

man and wife; for they are both derived of the gross spirits of metals, except that the body of Sol remaineth firm & fixed in the fire: but the quicke Mercury is not fixed; nevertheless they may be appropriated one to another, as graine of corn or seed are to the earth; which we will demon∣strate by an example, after this manner: If any one sowe barley, the same he shall reape; if Wheat or Rye, or any other grain, the same he shall gather, &c. even so it is in this art; if any one sowe the Gold of Sol, the same he reapeth; & of the Moon, he shall gather; and so also of all other Metals. For this reason we say in this place, that the Tinctures do spring out of Mettals, that is, out of the Philosophers Mercury, and not from the quicke Mercury; but this produceth the Seed which first conceiveth.

CHAP. II. Of the Conjunction of Male and Female, of man and woman.

IT is first of all necessary to be known, that the Mercury of the Philosophers, and the quicke Mercury, are both to be conjoyned and firmly united and fixed together; how much there∣of is to be taken: neither more nor less then equal, is to be taken, lest it hindreth, or alto∣gether destroyeth the whole worke; For the seed is suffocated with superfluity, that it cannot live so long until it be joyned and fixed to the

Philosophers Mercury. But if there be too little, that it cannot be dissolved into a body, it is also destroyed, that it cannot be able to bring forth any fruit: wherefore the Artificer ought certainly to know how much of the one, and the other ought to be taken, if he would bring this worke to its perfect end; the Receipt thereof is this: Take one part to two, or three to four, and thou canst not erre, but shalt attain to thy desired end.

CHAP. III. Of the form of the Instruments of Glass.

THe Materials being thus rightly and duly prepared and mixt together, then you must have Glass-vessels, of due proportion, and even fitness and capacity; neither too great nor too little, but fit: For if the vessels be too big, the Female, that is, the flegme, is dispersed and lost; whereby it comes to pass that the seed cannot bring forth: where the vessels are too little, the growth is suffocated that it cannot come to fruit, no otherwise but as if seed should be sowne under trees or under thornes, so that it cannot bud and spring up, but perisheth without any fruit; therefore no little error may happen by the vessels; which being once committed, cannot be any more mended in the same worke: nei∣ther can that worke be perfected or brought to

any good end. Wherefore, note what follows, to wit, that you take three ounces with the half, and four pounds; so the proceeding is right, and you shall preserve the matter that it be not dispersed, nor the Phlegme nor the generation impedited, &c.

CHAP. IV. Of the properties of the fire.

WHen you have placed the matter in fit ves∣sels, you shall carefully keep and maintain the natural heat, that the externall heat do not overcome or abound over the internal; for if the heat be too much, there can be no conjunction made, by reason that the matter is dispersed and burnt by the vehemency of the heat, so that no good ariseth thereby. Wherefore the middle regi∣on of the air is by nature ordained between hea∣ven and earth; otherwise the Sun and Stars would burn up all the creatures upon the earth, so that nothing could be produced or spring forth from it: therefore so work, that you put such an Airy part or distance between the matter and the fire; after this manner let it be done, that the heat may not easily do hurt any wayes, nor dis∣perse the matter, much-less burn it: but if the fire be too little, and not quick enough, the Spirit then resteth, the fire nothing operating upon its humidity; neither will it be exsiccated nor fixed:

for the Spirits of Metals are dead of themselves, and do rest, so that they cannot at all operate of themselves, unless they are quickned by the fire. It is no otherwise in the great Universe of the world, where seed being cast into the earth, is dead, and cannot grow nor increase of it self, unless it be quickned by the heat of the Sun; It is chiefly necessary therefore in this worke, to erect and build the fire right and proportion∣ably, neither too great nor too little; other∣wise this worke will never be brought to a per∣fect and desired end.

CHAP. V. Of the Signes appearing in the union of Conjunction.

THe fire being moderately kept & maintained, the matter by little and little will be moved to blackness; afterwards, when the dryness be∣gins to worke upon the humidity, there will likewise arise in the Glass, various flowers of divers colours, such as appeare like the taile of a Peacocke, and such as no man ever saw before. Also somtimes the Glass appeareth as if it were almost drawn into Gold; which being perceived, it sheweth certainly that the seed of the Male doth rule and operate upon the seed of the Fe∣male, and that the same is fixed together; that is, this Mercury is fixed and worketh upon the quick Mercury, and beginneth to be mixed with

it: afterwards, when the humidity begins to weare away by the dryness, those colours do dis∣perse, and the matter then beginneth at length to wax white, and so proceedeth until it come to the highest degree of whiteness. But especially it is to be noted, that the thing is not to be hastened, according to their opinions who suppose such work to be like unto that which is discerned in the production of corn, and of mankind; to wit, the time of bringing forth the one, is in the Space of nine moneths; the other, ten or twelve moneths. For so soon the Sun and Moon do cause Maturity, and bring to the birth, as the in∣fant from the belly of his Mother; so the grain from the bowells of the earth. For it is to be known, that every thing that is quickly or hastily made or born, doth soon perish: An example hereof, both men & herbs do afford. They which are soonest produced or born, their life is short: it is not so with the Sun and Moon; for they cause a far more perfect nature in men; whereby it comes to pass, that they produce long life to them, and preserve them from many accidents and dis∣eases.

CHAP. VI. Of the knowledge of the perfect Tincture

IN the foregoing chapter, we have set forth how the matter it self worketh by degrees: but in

this, we shall declare, by what means it may be known when it is perfect. Thus do: take the white stone of the Moon, by which the white springeth, and separate a little peece from it with a paire of Scissars, and put it upon a plate of Copper, heating it glowing hot in the fire: if it smoke, then the stone is not perfect, therefore it must remain longer in the decoction, until the stone come to its degree of perfection: but if it do not smoke, then be assured it is perfect: the same is to be done with the Red stone of the Sun, in the degrees of the operation thereof.

CHAP. VII. To Augment or Multiply the Tinctures.

WHen you would Multiply or increase the Tincture you have found, mixt it together again with common Mercury, and worke it in all things as at first, and double one part a hundred times more then it was coloured before; this do often-times over again, until you have as much matter as you will: and by how much the longer it remaineth in the fire, by so much the higher and more sublime will the degrees thereof be; so that one part thereof will change the infinity of the quick Mercury, into the best and most per∣fect Luna and Sol. Now you have the whole progression from the beginning to the end; wherewith we end this second Treatise, and be∣gin the third.

The end of the second Treatise.