William Wynn Westcott - The Collected Works

"There is a pure Matter" (saith another) "which is the Matter of Gold, containing in itself the Heat that giveth Increase." (Fire of Generation.) This is lock'd under thick Folds in common Gold; nor is it to be extracted, but by a strong and tedious Decoction, which is a Work liable to many Errors, and hath always occasioned those that wrought in it to complain of the length and trouble of it. But in the other Work, the Body is soon dissolved, by a sweet and kindly Bath, or moist Fire.

As the former Path requires much Pain and Patience to effect the Work, so this requires great Skill and Application to find it out, it being deeply concealed. The Masters of these Secrets do also affirm, that these Works (which are all one in the Beginning) may be conjoin'd, and made their grand Medicine. And I have been informed, that the way of making them one is but slenderly hid. For should they but change some Words (which they affect to use in order to conceal it) of one Syllable, and sometimes of two, for others of three, and sometimes of four or more, it would not be difficult for a Tyro, to conceive it. And the Reason given for this slender Covering is, that if any one should discern it and yet be ignorant of the means of both it would be of little avail; and that if he knew the means he could not long remain ignorant of the Practice. So that the Knowledge of the Means seems absolutely necessary in the first place.

These Norton calls his "Means Mineral," which, he saith, are no other than Magnetia and Litharge her Brother. And he asserts that to clarifie them is the foulest Work of all.

And though he makes these means two, yet he tells you how they differ, viz., as a Mother from her Child, or as a Male from a Female: Which we see brings his to the general Doctrine of Philosophers, viz., Agent and Patient, which seems to be their one intention, whatever Skill they use to perplex their Sayings.

Litharge, he says, is a subtil Earth, brown, ruddy, and not bright.

"Old Fathers called it a thing of vile price,

For it is nought Worth by way of Merchandise;

No man that findeth it would bear it away,

No more than they would an Ounce of clay.”

He likewise saith, it is not to be sold in all Christian Ground, but thou must be fain to make it.

Magnetia is fair and bright, known by few, and is found in High Places as well as in Low and called by Plato, Titanos; these are the Materials to make Elixir; and addeth: -

"This Secret never was before this Day

So truly shewed, take it for your Prey.”

Now to apply these things to the Doctrine of Philosophers; Litharge must be their Brass or Philosophical Sol: Magnetia must be understood to be their Subtil Humidity or Philosophical Mercury; which is Living and not only so, but Inlivening; Clean and not only so, but cleansing; Volatile, and not only so, but Volatilizing, even the most fixed Body of Sol; and is the Radical Moisture of Metals.

How this is attained, is worthy our Inquiry, and whether they agree in the manner of preparing it, as well as from whence it is to be drawn, viz., From the Sun and Moon; for it seems it must have the Influences of both.

But to collect these Virtues requires a Mean, as Ripley hath it, speaking of the Green Lion,

"He is the mean, the Sun and Moon between, etc."

Also the Author of 'Hunting the Green Lion' saith,

"The Lion is the Priest, the Sun and Moon the Wed;

Yet they were both born in the Priest's Bed.”

By which Green Lion another saith, "All Philosophers understand Green Gold, multiplicable, spermatick, and not yet Perfected by Nature; Or Assa Foetida, because in the very first of this Operation or Distillation, a white Fume with a stinking smell exhales." It was by this strong scent that Flammel knew this Subject.

That this Agrees with the rest of the Philosophers, I need not enlarge to shew, it being well known to them who read their Books.

This Distillation, Hermes, as well as many others, declares must be made by a gentle Fire, by little and little, with great Discretion, lest the thick he mixed with the thin, the subtile with the gross, or the foul with that which is clean. Lully is very famous for his witty Description of this Operation, under the Figure of Distilling of Wine, which he sometimes also calls Juice of Lunaria, from which he extracts the Sweat with a gentle Fire, in the form of a white Water.

This is also called by other Names, as Adrop, Saturn, Brass, Leprous Gold, and Imperfect Body; and which they all agree lies in great Obscurity, saturnine and foul, in the making of which there is a great Stink; that 'tis not fixed, a Medium between a Metal, and a Mineral partaking of the Nature of both, and very crude, containing an Argent vive, which is the Basis and Groundwork of their precious Medicine. And thus, saith the Philosopher, you will come to understand how Saturn contains the greatest Secret in this Art. This is "The Golden Branch, so much conceal'd, which all the Groves with Shadows overcast and gloomy Vallies hide, and which will follow none, but him that knows Dame Venus's Birds and him to whom of Doves a lucky Pair," etc. - Arcanum Hermeticae.

The Masters of this Science agree with one Voice in this, viz., That this Matter must be exactly purified, and dissolved into an Argent vive, of such Virtues as are nowhere else possible to be found.

This is performed by a wonderful Cohobation: the Number of which Cohobations are much varied: But in this they all agree, that there must be so many, till a total Dissolution and perfect Purity be known.

The time of doing this; some will have it, is hinted in Arcanum Hermeticae where 'tis said, "Cause the Dragon to Drink Three times the Magical Number Seven, until being drunk, he put off his hideous Garment."

Thus, I say, Three times Seven is Twenty-One, which some will interpret Days, and to which some other Philosophers seem to agree; but whether these are One and Twenty Days or Cohobations, he will rightly determine, who shall be blessed with the Knowledge of their "Light bringing Venus, and Horned Diana."- Arcanum Hermeticae.

Likewise the Philosophers agree in the Virtues of this Water, viz., that as it partakes of the Natures of both Sexes, so it acts the part of both, viz., Dissolving and Congealing. For they assert, That it will Congeal itself into a Lunar or a Solar Nature, (according to the design of the Workman) without any addition whatsoever.

There are also some Cautions given concerning Proportion in Compounding the Imperfect Body, as well as with relation to its Dissolution; for that in case of undue Weight or Measure, the Virtue will be much diminished, if not altogether spoiled. But if a due Proportion be observed, and a proper Fire given, the true Sign will follow.

The true Union between the imperfect Leprous Body, and its Water, they have deeply conceal'd, as the Philosophers own, and Searchers find; because as they say, the rest is so easie in the Work of Generation, that 'tis hardly to be missed, by one that hath attained their wonderful Mercury, so united and purified.

Concerning which, they have declared, they have given such hints as are sufficient to an enlightened Mind; and that none shall ever dare to do it more openly, without a Curse from God.

But all have not done it with the same Candor nor by the same Similes and Enigmas; 'The New Light' under that of Chalibs; 'The Way to Bliss', by that of tile Witty Fire of Hermes, and so of the rest, Norton says:-

"Bacon did it darkly, in his Three Letters all

But Raimond better in his Art general.”

And since the Readers can expect no better Account from me, concerning the Means and Medium of this Wonderful Union, than the Philosophers have learnt in their Books, I must refer them for more ample Satisfaction and Information therein. For, as Norton saith:-