Alchemy Deciphered

573 Pages·2016·3.45 MB·English

by  Alasdair Forsythe

ALCHEMY
DECIPHERED

Statistically Significant Evidence Identifying a
Unified Procedure and Philosophy of Alchemy

by
Alasdair Forsythe
Alchemy Deciphered: Statistically Significant Evidence
Identifying a Unified Procedure and Philosophy of Alchemy
by Alasdair Forsythe
ISBN 978-1-334-99902-4
Published by Passageway Press
An Imprint of FB &c Ltd. London.

Second Edition

First Printing 2014

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Copyright © 2016 Alasdair Forsythe
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More from this author

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Or, The Nature of Existence

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
SOURCE SELECTION ................................................................................... 2
METHOD ........................................................................................................ 4
ALCHEMY AS A SCIENCE OR SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE ......................... 11
FINAL WORD ON SOURCES ...................................................................... 15
STUDY ......................................................................................................... 17
1. Many alchemical tracts must be read for one to gain a correct picture of
alchemy ......................................................................................................... 18
2. The complete instructions are never found in one book ............................. 20
3. The genuine alchemists all agree with one another, differing only on
superficial points or on using different terminology ........................................ 21
4. Some alchemical tracts are forgeries and do not contain any genuine
alchemical knowledge .................................................................................... 25
5. Sometimes genuine alchemists lie about alchemical principles to mislead the
reader ............................................................................................................ 28
6. True alchemical statements are apparent where there is no contradiction ... 31
7. Different alchemists appear to be in open contradiction to one another ...... 32
8. Some alchemists wrote not to teach anything, but only to communicate with
other alchemists ............................................................................................. 34
9. Do not believe any statement if you do not understand how and why it is the
case ............................................................................................................... 36
10. Alchemy is a secret................................................................................. 38
11. Alchemists took a vow of secrecy ........................................................... 45
12. Alchemists were afraid of being discovered ............................................ 47
13. Alchemy is a physical science ................................................................. 50
14. Alchemy is about making the Philosophers’ Stone .................................. 54
15. Alchemists have always been ridiculed ................................................... 57
16. Alchemists were jealous ......................................................................... 60
17. It is impossible for an ignorant person to obtain the Stone ....................... 64
18. Alchemists don't care about wealth ......................................................... 67
19. Bad things would happen if the secret were released ............................... 69
20. The secret should not be released ............................................................ 73
21. The alchemists spoke in metaphors ......................................................... 76
22. The alchemists were deliberately obscure to hide the secret ..................... 91
23. The alchemists became carried away with inventing elaborate enigmas, some
of which are too obscure to ever be deciphered ............................................... 97
24. Ignore the obscure metaphors ................................................................. 99
25. There are no separate Mineral, Animal & Vegetable Stones; these are
metaphors .................................................................................................... 100
26. Green lion is a metaphor ....................................................................... 102
27. Most metaphors describe the colors ...................................................... 104
28. There are 3 colors: black, white, red ...................................................... 105
29. Look for the signs ................................................................................. 109
30. Many colors appear between the signs, but they are unimportant ........... 111
31. The substances described are metaphorical............................................ 115
32. Many metaphors are used for one substance .......................................... 117
33. Many metaphors are used for one process ............................................. 120
34. Chemical procedure names are to be interpreted philosophically ........... 122
35. Imitate nature ....................................................................................... 125
36. Use nature to interpret alchemy ............................................................. 133
37. Alchemy is an acceleration of nature ..................................................... 135
38. Don't begin until you understand nature ................................................ 137
39. Don't experiment wildly, follow only the straight path of nature ............ 139
40. Nature completes the operation, not manually ....................................... 140
41. The Stone is called a microcosm ........................................................... 143
42. It follows the principle of yin-yang ....................................................... 144
43. Generation requires opposites (binary, yin-yang) ................................... 147
44. Each level reflects the superior and inferior ........................................... 148
45. The Stone can be compared to natural things ......................................... 150
46. Seeds can only spring up after their kind ............................................... 151
47. Alchemy does not require knowledge of astrology ................................ 153
48. Everything is made from one thing: quintessence .................................. 155
49. Quintessence nourishes all things .......................................................... 159
50. Quintessence is impalpable ................................................................... 162
51. Air contains the hidden food of life ....................................................... 163
52. All things have seed.............................................................................. 164
53. All things have their own proper environment ....................................... 165
54. Metals develop ..................................................................................... 168
55. Metals have seed .................................................................................. 171
56. Metals all share the same seed .............................................................. 174
57. Metals only develop inside the earth ..................................................... 176
58. Alchemy is analogous to generation in plants, animals & minerals ........ 178
59. There is only one Stone ........................................................................ 183
60. The Stone comes in White and Red ....................................................... 185
61. The Red Stone and White Stone are made following the same method, red
being a further development of white ............................................................ 188
62. The method is simple ............................................................................ 188
63. The work is easy................................................................................... 191
64. Patience................................................................................................ 193
65. It takes a long time ............................................................................... 197
66. The time it takes is obscure ................................................................... 200
67. Periods of time mentioned are not to be taken literally ........................... 202
68. Development occurs gradually .............................................................. 203
69. Don't disturb it...................................................................................... 205
70. There is only one method ...................................................................... 207
71. The work consists of a first part and a second part ................................. 212
72. The first part requires manual labor while the second part does not ........ 214
73. The first part and second part are confused ............................................ 215
74. The logical order is deliberately confused ............................................. 216
75. It's all about heat................................................................................... 218
76. Be gentle with the heat ......................................................................... 221
77. The degree of heat must be exact .......................................................... 230
78. The heat must be continuous ................................................................. 231
79. The way of working is one .................................................................... 235
80. Only coction is required for the Stone's development ............................ 238
81. The moisture is repeatedly distilled and returned to the body ................. 241
82. The circulation is to continuously imbibe the substance ......................... 244
83. Solid becomes liquid; liquid becomes solid ........................................... 245
84. Only one vessel is required ................................................................... 247
85. The vessel must be hermetically sealed ................................................. 251
86. The vessel must be round ...................................................................... 256
87. The vessel must have a long neck ......................................................... 258
88. The vessel should be made of glass ....................................................... 260
89. The ingredient is known to all people .................................................... 263
90. The ingredient is found everywhere ...................................................... 266
91. The ingredient is looked down on ......................................................... 268
92. The ingredient is very common ............................................................. 271
93. The ingredient is one water ................................................................... 272
94. Only one thing is the matter of the Stone ............................................... 274
95. The work begins with separation ........................................................... 280
96. Two things are made from one thing ..................................................... 281
97. There are two things ............................................................................. 284
98. The two things are a liquid and a solid .................................................. 289
99. The Stone is made of volatile and fixed ................................................. 292
100. Body and spirit are solid and liquid ..................................................... 294
101. Mercury is the moisture ...................................................................... 295
102. The two things can be called male and female ..................................... 297
103. The body is female, the water is male .................................................. 301
104. Separate the pure from the impure ....................................................... 303
105. Purify by separation ............................................................................ 304
106. The water must come from the body ................................................... 308
107. Distillation is used to separate the substance........................................ 310
108. Use an alembic for distillation............................................................. 313
109. The distillation must be done slowly ................................................... 315
110. Return the distilled water back to its body ........................................... 317
111. Each separated part must be separately purified before recombining .... 319
112. The number of distillations should be 3-10 .......................................... 321
113. The distillate dissolves gold ................................................................ 322
114. The body is left behind after distillation .............................................. 323
115. The salt is hidden in the body left behind after distillation ................... 326
116. The salt is extracted from the earth by high-heat calcination ................ 328
117. The preparation of the ingredient causes a great stench ........................ 332
118. Fire removes impurities ...................................................................... 333
119. The good salt is that which ascends ..................................................... 334
120. The salt is soluble ............................................................................... 336
121. Calcined things are more soluble......................................................... 337
122. Some of the salt is distilled with the water ........................................... 338
123. The water purifies the salt ................................................................... 340
124. The salt is white when pure ................................................................. 342
125. When the salt is pure it emits a sweet fragrance ................................... 345
126. Do not add any foreign matter ............................................................. 346
127. Nothing is added or taken away, except the superfluities ..................... 348
128. The superfluity is the part of the body that is not the salt ..................... 350
129. The body and spirit are complimentary ............................................... 352
130. The body and spirit are to be combined ............................................... 354
131. The salt must be powdered before being imbibed ................................ 360
132. Moisture protects the body from being burnt ....................................... 361
133. The distillate must be added gradually ................................................ 362
134. During imbibing the substance must not dry out .................................. 364
135. If the substance appears dry, add more water ....................................... 365
136. It must be dissolved ............................................................................ 366
137. The body is dissolved by the water ...................................................... 368
138. The liquid is coagulated ...................................................................... 370
139. The Stone is nourished with its own water until saturated .................... 372
140. The imbibing happens gradually and takes a long time ........................ 374
141. The body and spirit are combined with gentle heat .............................. 376
142. The body and spirit are to be combined at the temperature resembling that
with which a hen hatches her eggs ................................................................ 378
143. The body and spirit once combined can no longer be separated............ 380
144. The saturation is complete when there is a black film on the surface of the
water ........................................................................................................... 382
145. It must putrefy .................................................................................... 384
146. One cannot change one thing into another, except by putrefaction first 390
147. Moisture is needed for putrefaction ..................................................... 394
148. For proper putrefaction the degree of moisture must be exact .............. 396
149. Putrefaction should be done without cycling of moisture ..................... 397
150. The end of putrefaction is dryness ....................................................... 398
151. If there is no dryness, there are no colors ............................................. 401
152. After imbibing comes black ................................................................ 402
153. Blackness is a sign of putrefaction ...................................................... 404
154. Black stage can be called all kinds of black things ............................... 408
155. If red before black then something is wrong ........................................ 410
156. Generation follows corruption............................................................. 413
157. The fire should be increased when the Stone is black and dry .............. 416
158. After black comes white ..................................................................... 416
159. There are many colors in between black and white .............................. 421
160. After white comes red ......................................................................... 424
161. The Red Stone is only a further development of the White Stone ......... 431
162. The Red Stone is made from the White Stone with more heat .............. 433
163. Between white and red use a dry fire ................................................... 435
164. The Red should be made from the White by recirculation .................... 437
165. Don't ferment the White Stone before raising it to Red ........................ 440
166. Only a part of the White Stone should be further developed to Red ...... 442
167. Between White and Red there is orange .............................................. 444
168. The Stone is to be fermented ............................................................... 446
169. Fermentation is recirculation with more distillate and silver/gold
added ........................................................................................................... 449
170. Fermentation can be repeated for purposes of multiplication ................ 451
171. Fermentation makes the Stone less volatile.......................................... 454
172. Fermentation increases the quality ...................................................... 455
173. Fermentation is required for transmutation .......................................... 457
174. Silver and gold are used in fermentation .............................................. 459
175. White Stone is fermented with silver ................................................... 461
176. Red Stone is fermented with gold ........................................................ 463
177. The silver/gold is the ferment .............................................................. 465
178. For fermentation the quantity of the metal should be greater ................ 467
179. The Stone can be multiplied ................................................................ 470
180. The Stone can be increased in quality and quantity .............................. 474
181. The Stone can be multiplied to almost infinity ..................................... 477
182. Each multiplication increases the quality of the Stone by ten-fold ........ 480
183. Multiplication is performed by reiteration of the process ..................... 483
184. Things more often dissolved are increased in virtue ............................. 487
185. The Stone can be multiplied in quantity by projecting it onto its metal . 489
186. Multiplication gets faster .................................................................... 491
187. The final Stone is a red color .............................................................. 492
188. The final Stone is very heavy .............................................................. 495
189. The final Stone is incombustible ......................................................... 496
190. The final Stone is crystalline ............................................................... 497
191. The final Stone is soluble in any liquid ................................................ 498
192. The Stone is a universal medicine ....................................................... 499
193. The White Stone is a medicine for humans .......................................... 507
194. The Stone prevents the appearance of old age and restores youth ......... 509
195. The Stone prolongs life ....................................................................... 514
196. The Stone cures sorrow....................................................................... 517
197. The Stone transmutes metals ............................................................... 520
198. The White Stone transmutes metals into silver .................................... 525
199. The Red Stone transmutes metals into gold ......................................... 527
200. It is possible to change gold into a lesser metal .................................... 530
201. When projecting the metal should be molten ....................................... 531
202. The Stone can transmute gems ............................................................ 533
203. The Stone can make everburning lamps .............................................. 536
204. The biblical patriarchs possessed the Stone ......................................... 538
205. The Golden Fleece is a book containing a full account of the preparation of
the medicine ................................................................................................ 540
PREMISES IN ORDER OF STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE ..................... 542
STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT PREMISES ........................................... 549
PROBABLY SIGNIFICANT PREMISES .................................................... 554
RESULT ...................................................................................................... 555
DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. 556
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................ 557
APDX. Determining the statistical significance of multiple qualitative sources
representing a single school of thought ......................................................... 560
INTRODUCTION p.1

INTRODUCTION

This book is a definitive study on alchemy in which I provide proof
beyond reasonable doubt for the existence of a single specific and
replicable chemical procedure and accompanying philosophical theory.
Due to the nature of the subject nothing presented is left open to
interpretation; every single statement made herein has been carefully
considered and accompanied by statistically significant evidence.
The research which forms the backbone of this book is an in-depth
study of 64 alchemical sources, from which a total of 948 quotations were
collected and classified into one or more of 81 different categories. The
quotations were then further analyzed for implied statements, 789 of the
quotations from 58 of the alchemical sources giving 549 different
statements, or premises, about alchemy, of which 205 premises were
supported by at least 2 different sources.
The result is a database of alchemical quotations which can be
browsed by both the category of the quotation and by the premises implied
by the quotations. This allows for cross-reference of any alchemical
statement, immediately highlighting any agreement or contradiction
across the full range of source material.
The database of quotations is freely accessible via the Internet from
this link: www.alchemy.ws/quotes
Using a formula for statistical significance, I will utilize the database
of quotations in order to isolate ‘laws’ of alchemy, defined and identified
by premises which are present in a statistically significant number of
sources.

Alasdair Forsythe
January, 2014
www.alchemy.ws