Alchemy Deciphered: Statistically Significant Evidence

553 Pages·2014·3.23 MB·English

by  Aleksander Almásy

ALCHEMY
DECIPHERED

Statistically Significant Evidence Identifying a
Unified Procedure and Philosophy of Alchemy

by
Aleksander Almásy
Copyright © 2014 by Aleksander Almásy
First Edition
v.1.0
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
SOURCE SELECTION .............................................................................................. 2
METHOD ................................................................................................................... 4
ALCHEMY AS A SCIENCE OR SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE ................................. 10
FINAL WORD ON SOURCES ................................................................................ 14
STUDY ..................................................................................................................... 16
1. Many alchemical tracts must be read for one to gain a correct picture of alchemy
.................................................................................................................................. 17
2. The complete instructions are never found in one book ..................................... 19
3. The genuine alchemists all agree with one another, differing only on superficial
points or on using different terminology ................................................................... 20
4. Some alchemical tracts are forgeries and do not contain any genuine alchemical
knowledge ................................................................................................................. 24
5. Sometimes genuine alchemists lie about alchemical principles to mislead the reader
.................................................................................................................................. 27
6. True alchemical statements are apparent where there is no contradiction .......... 30
7. Different alchemists appear to be in open contradiction to one another ............. 31
8. Some alchemists wrote not to teach anything, but only to communicate with other
alchemists ................................................................................................................. 33
9. Do not believe any statement if you do not understand how and why it is the case
.................................................................................................................................. 35
10. Alchemy is a secret ........................................................................................... 37
11. Alchemists took a vow of secrecy ..................................................................... 44
12. Alchemists were afraid of being discovered ..................................................... 46
13. Alchemy is a physical science .......................................................................... 49
14. Alchemy is about making the Philosophers’ Stone ........................................... 52
15. Alchemists have always been ridiculed ............................................................ 55
16. Alchemists were jealous.................................................................................... 58
17. It is impossible for an ignorant person to obtain the Stone ............................... 61
18. Alchemists don't care about wealth ................................................................... 64
19. Bad things would happen if the secret were released ........................................ 66
20. The secret should not be released...................................................................... 70
21. The alchemists spoke in metaphors................................................................... 73
22. The alchemists were deliberately obscure to hide the secret ............................. 87
23. The alchemists became carried away with inventing elaborate enigmas, some of
which are too obscure to ever be deciphered ............................................................ 93
24. Ignore the obscure metaphors ........................................................................... 95
25. There are no separate Mineral, Animal & Vegetable Stones; these are metaphors
.................................................................................................................................. 96
26. Green lion is a metaphor ................................................................................... 98
27. Most metaphors describe the colors ................................................................ 100
28. There are 3 colors: black, white, red ............................................................... 101
29. Look for the signs ........................................................................................... 105
30. Many colors appear between the signs, but they are unimportant .................. 107
31. The substances described are metaphorical .................................................... 111
32. Many metaphors are used for one substance ................................................... 113
33. Many metaphors are used for one process ...................................................... 116
34. Chemical procedure names are to be interpreted philosophically ................... 118
35. Imitate nature .................................................................................................. 121
36. Use nature to interpret alchemy ...................................................................... 129
37. Alchemy is an acceleration of nature .............................................................. 131
38. Don't begin until you understand nature ......................................................... 133
39. Don't experiment wildly, follow only the straight path of nature ................... 135
40. Nature completes the operation, not manually ................................................ 136
41. The Stone is called a microcosm ..................................................................... 139
42. It follows the principle of yin-yang ................................................................. 141
43. Generation requires opposites (binary, yin-yang) ........................................... 143
44. Each level reflects the superior and inferior.................................................... 144
45. The Stone can be compared to natural things ................................................. 146
46. Seeds can only spring up after their kind ........................................................ 147
47. Alchemy does not require knowledge of astrology ......................................... 149
48. Everything is made from one thing: quintessence........................................... 151
49. Quintessence nourishes all things ................................................................... 155
50. Quintessence is impalpable ............................................................................. 158
51. Air contains the hidden food of life ................................................................ 159
52. All things have seed ........................................................................................ 160
53. All things have their own proper environment ................................................ 161
54. Metals develop ................................................................................................ 164
55. Metals have seed ............................................................................................. 167
56. Metals all share the same seed ........................................................................ 170
57. Metals only develop inside the earth ............................................................... 172
58. Alchemy is analogous to generation in plants, animals & minerals ................ 174
59. There is only one Stone ................................................................................... 179
60. The Stone comes in White and Red ................................................................ 181
61. The Red Stone and White Stone are made following the same method, red being
a further development of white ............................................................................... 184
62. The method is simple ...................................................................................... 185
63. The work is easy ............................................................................................. 187
64. Patience ........................................................................................................... 189
65. It takes a long time .......................................................................................... 193
66. The time it takes is obscure ............................................................................. 196
67. Periods of time mentioned are not to be taken literally ................................... 198
68. Development occurs gradually ........................................................................ 199
69. Don't disturb it ................................................................................................ 201
70. There is only one method ................................................................................ 203
71. The work consists of a first part and a second part ......................................... 208
72. The first part requires manual labor while the second part does not ............... 210
73. The first part and second part are confused..................................................... 211
74. The logical order is deliberately confused ...................................................... 212
75. It's all about heat ............................................................................................. 214
76. Be gentle with the heat .................................................................................... 217
77. The degree of heat must be exact .................................................................... 226
78. The heat must be continuous ........................................................................... 227
79. The way of working is one .............................................................................. 230
80. Only coction is required for the Stone's development ..................................... 233
81. The moisture is repeatedly distilled and returned to the body......................... 236
82. The circulation is to continuously imbibe the substance ................................. 239
83. Solid becomes liquid; liquid becomes solid .................................................... 240
84. Only one vessel is required ............................................................................. 242
85. The vessel must be hermetically sealed .......................................................... 246
86. The vessel must be round ................................................................................ 250
87. The vessel must have a long neck ................................................................... 252
88. The vessel should be made of glass ................................................................ 254
89. The ingredient is known to all people ............................................................. 256
90. The ingredient is found everywhere ................................................................ 259
91. The ingredient is looked down on ................................................................... 261
92. The ingredient is very common ...................................................................... 264
93. The ingredient is one water ............................................................................. 265
94. Only one thing is the matter of the Stone ........................................................ 267
95. The work begins with separation .................................................................... 272
96. Two things are made from one thing .............................................................. 273
97. There are two things ........................................................................................ 276
98. The two things are a liquid and a solid ........................................................... 281
99. The Stone is made of volatile and fixed .......................................................... 284
100. Body and spirit are solid and liquid .............................................................. 286
101. Mercury is the moisture ................................................................................ 287
102. The two things can be called male and female .............................................. 288
103. The body is female, the water is male ........................................................... 291
104. Separate the pure from the impure ................................................................ 292
105. Purify by separation ...................................................................................... 294
106. The water must come from the body ............................................................. 297
107. Distillation is used to separate the substance ................................................ 299
108. Use an alembic for distillation ...................................................................... 301
109. The distillation must be done slowly ............................................................ 303
110. Return the distilled water back to its body .................................................... 305
111. Each separated part must be separately purified before recombining ........... 307
112. The number of distillations should be 3-10 ................................................... 309
113. The distillate dissolves gold .......................................................................... 310
114. The body is left behind after distillation ....................................................... 311
115. The salt is hidden in the body left behind after distillation ........................... 314
116. The salt is extracted from the earth by high-heat calcination ........................ 315
117. The preparation of the ingredient causes a great stench ................................ 319
118. Fire removes impurities ................................................................................ 320
119. The good salt is that which ascends .............................................................. 321
120. The salt is soluble .......................................................................................... 323
121. Calcined things are more soluble .................................................................. 324
122. Some of the salt is distilled with the water.................................................... 325
123. The water purifies the salt ............................................................................. 327
124. The salt is white when pure ........................................................................... 329
125. When the salt is pure it emits a sweet fragrance ........................................... 332
126. Do not add any foreign matter ...................................................................... 333
127. Nothing is added or taken away, except the superfluities ............................. 335
128. The superfluity is the part of the body that is not the salt ............................. 337
129. The body and spirit are complimentary ........................................................ 339
130. The body and spirit are to be combined ........................................................ 341
131. The salt must be powdered before being imbibed ......................................... 347
132. Moisture protects the body from being burnt ................................................ 348
133. The distillate must be added gradually .......................................................... 349
134. During imbibing the substance must not dry out .......................................... 351
135. If the substance appears dry, add more water ............................................... 352
136. It must be dissolved ...................................................................................... 353
137. The body is dissolved by the water ............................................................... 355
138. The liquid is coagulated ................................................................................ 357
139. The Stone is nourished with its own water until saturated ............................ 359
140. The imbibing happens gradually and takes a long time ................................ 361
141. The body and spirit are combined with gentle heat....................................... 363
142. The body and spirit are to be combined at the temperature resembling that with
which a hen hatches her eggs .................................................................................. 365
143. The body and spirit once combined can no longer be separated ................... 367
144. The saturation is complete when there is a black film on the surface of the water
................................................................................................................................ 369
145. It must putrefy ............................................................................................... 371
146. One cannot change one thing into another, except by putrefaction first ....... 377
147. Moisture is needed for putrefaction .............................................................. 381
148. For proper putrefaction the degree of moisture must be exact ...................... 383
149. Putrefaction should be done without cycling of moisture ............................. 384
150. The end of putrefaction is dryness ................................................................ 385
151. If there is no dryness, there are no colors ...................................................... 388
152. After imbibing comes black .......................................................................... 389
153. Blackness is a sign of putrefaction ................................................................ 391
154. Black stage can be called all kinds of black things ....................................... 395
155. If red before black then something is wrong ................................................. 397
156. Generation follows corruption ...................................................................... 400
157. The fire should be increased when the Stone is black and dry ...................... 403
158. After black comes white ............................................................................... 404
159. There are many colors in between black and white ...................................... 408
160. After white comes red ................................................................................... 411
161. The Red Stone is only a further development of the White Stone ................ 418
162. The Red Stone is made from the White Stone with more heat ..................... 420
163. Between white and red use a dry fire ............................................................ 422
164. The Red should be made from the White by recirculation ............................ 424
165. Don't ferment the White Stone before raising it to Red ................................ 426
166. Only a part of the White Stone should be further developed to Red ............. 428
167. Between White and Red there is orange ....................................................... 430
168. The Stone is to be fermented ......................................................................... 432
169. Fermentation is recirculation with more distillate and silver/gold added ..... 435
170. Fermentation can be repeated for purposes of multiplication ....................... 437
171. Fermentation makes the Stone less volatile .................................................. 440
172. Fermentation increases the quality ................................................................ 441
173. Fermentation is required for transmutation ................................................... 443
174. Silver and gold are used in fermentation ....................................................... 445
175. White Stone is fermented with silver ............................................................ 447
176. Red Stone is fermented with gold ................................................................. 449
177. The silver/gold is the ferment ....................................................................... 451
178. For fermentation the quantity of the metal should be greater ....................... 453
179. The Stone can be multiplied .......................................................................... 456
180. The Stone can be increased in quality and quantity ...................................... 460
181. The Stone can be multiplied to almost infinity ............................................. 463
182. Each multiplication increases the quality of the Stone by ten-fold ............... 466
183. Multiplication is performed by reiteration of the process ............................. 469
184. Things more often dissolved are increased in virtue ..................................... 473
185. The Stone can be multiplied in quantity by projecting it onto its metal ........ 475
186. Multiplication gets faster .............................................................................. 477
187. The final Stone is a red color ........................................................................ 478
188. The final Stone is very heavy ........................................................................ 481
189. The final Stone is incombustible ................................................................... 482
190. The final Stone is crystalline ......................................................................... 483
191. The final Stone is soluble in any liquid ......................................................... 484
192. The Stone is a universal medicine ................................................................. 485
193. The White Stone is a medicine for humans................................................... 492
194. The Stone prevents the appearance of old age and restores youth ................ 494
195. The Stone prolongs life ................................................................................. 499
196. The Stone cures sorrow ................................................................................. 502
197. The Stone transmutes metals ......................................................................... 505
198. The White Stone transmutes metals into silver ............................................. 510
199. The Red Stone transmutes metals into gold .................................................. 512
200. It is possible to change gold into a lesser metal ............................................ 515
201. When projecting the metal should be molten ................................................ 516
202. The Stone can transmute gems ...................................................................... 518
203. The Stone can make everburning lamps ....................................................... 521
204. The biblical patriarchs possessed the Stone .................................................. 523
205. The Golden Fleece is a book containing a full account of the preparation of the
medicine .................................................................................................................. 525
PREMISES IN ORDER OF STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE ............................. 527
STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT PREMISES .................................................... 533
PROBABLY SIGNIFICANT PREMISES ............................................................. 537
RESULT ................................................................................................................. 538
DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 539
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 540
APPENDIX. Determining the statistical significance of multiple qualitative sources
representing a single school of thought ................................................................... 543
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.

Aleksander Almásy
January, 2014
www.alchemy.ws
p.2 SOURCE SELECTION

SOURCE SELECTION

To this day hundreds of alchemical manuscripts exist in a variety of
museums, libraries and private collections. With the mass-digitization of these
collections well underway a large number of these manuscripts are now
available on the Internet in digital editions and facsimiles. The existence of
such alchemical literature existing in the libraries of respected institutions,
such as in the British Museum’s Sloane Collection, is an established fact and
not a subject of debate or controversy.
For the purpose of this study I selected as many primary sources I could
obtain. This was 64 originally, but 6 of them did not supply any obvious
premises which reduced the number of usable sources to 58. See the
Bibliography for the complete list. The sources were selected according to the
following criteria:
1. The source must be a primary source, not a work discussing alchemy
from a third party perspective.
The reason for this criterion is to avoid any third party interpretation or
opinion influencing the results.

2. The source must be an alchemical tract, not notes on an alchemical
experiment, i.e. the tract must be intended for teaching.
The reason for this criterion is because this is not a study of experimental
research.

3. The source must have been originally written prior to the 19th century.
The reason for this criterion is because what is defined as alchemical
literature during and after the 19th century is misrelated to pre-19th century
alchemy, as will be discussed later.

4. The source must be authentic, i.e. not a forgery.
An ‘authentic’ source is defined as a source which is not a forgery. A
‘forgery’ is defined as a source which contains no compatibility to any
other source, i.e. a forgery contains no statements which are supported by
any other source (either authentic or another forgery.)

5. The source must be in English (either originally in English or an
English translation.)
The reason for this criterion is because this is an English study.
To elaborate on the authenticity of the sources: manuscripts were not
rejected from the study on suspicion of being forgeries, but rather the study
itself gives weight only to those sources which contain statistically significant
statements. The study is therefore self-policing as a forgery by definition will
SOURCE SELECTION p.3
not be statistically significant and so will not influence the results of the study.
Performing the study in this way eliminates bias in the source selection.
Of the 64 selected sources: the majority originated in Europe, the others
from China; the majority were written within the last 1,000 years, with others
having unknown origins, possibly more than 2,000 years old. The year of
original publication is indicated where known.