Paracelsus: The Book Concerning the Tincture of the Philosophers · 11 of 13 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Section 1k
But in its third nature it appears as an aerial body, of an oily nature, almost freed from all imperfections, in which form it does many wondrous works, producing beauty and strength of body, and (a small quantity being taken in the food) preventing melancholy and heating of the gall, increasing the quantity of the blood and seed, so that frequent bleeding becomes necessary.
It expands the blood vessels, cures withered limbs, restores strength to the sight, in growing persons removes what is superfluous and makes good defects in the limbs.
In its fourth nature it appears in a fiery form (not quite freed from all imperfections, still somewhat watery and not dried enough), wherein it has many virtues, making the old young and reviving those at the point of death.
For if to such an one there be given, in wine, a barleycorn's weight of this fire, so that it reach the stomach, it goes to his heart, renewing him at once, driving away all previous moisture and poison, and restoring the natural heat of the liver.
Given in small doses to old people, it removes the diseases of age, giving the old young hearts and bodies.
Hence it is called the Elixir of Life.
In its fifth and last nature, it appears in a glorified and illuminated form, without defects, shining like gold and silver, wherein it possesses all previous powers and virtues in a higher and more wondrous degree.
Here its natural works are taken for miracles.
When applied to the roots of dead trees they revive, bringing forth leaves and fruit.
A lamp, the oil of which is mingled with this spirit, continues to burn for ever without diminution.
It converts crystals into the most precious stones of all colours, equal to those from the mines, and does mayn other incredible wonders which may not be revealed to the unworthy.
For it heals all dead and living bodies without other medicine.
Here Christ is my witness that I lie not, for all heavenly influences are united and combined therein.
This essence also reveals all treasures in earth and sea, converts all metallic bodies into gold, and there is nothing like unto it under Heaven.
This spirit is the secret hidden from the beginning, yet granted by God to a few holy men for the revealing of these iches to His Glory - dwelling in fiery form in the air, and leading earth with itself to heaven, while from its body there flow whole rivers of living water.
This spirit flies through the midst of the Heavens like a morning mist, leads its burning fire into the water, and has its shining realm in the heavens.
And although these writings may be regarded as false by the reader, yet to the initiated they are true and possible, when the hidden sense is properly understood.
For God is wonderful in His works, and His wisdom is without end.
This spirit in its fiery form is called a Sandaraca, in the aerial a Kybrick, in the watery an Azoth, in the earthly Alcohoph and Aliocosoph.
Hence they are deceived by these names who, seeking without instruction, think to find this Spirit of Life in things foreign to our Art.
For although this spirit which we seek, on account of its qualities, is called by these names, yet the same is not in these bodies and cannot be in them.
For a refined spirit cannot appear except in a body suitable to its nature.
And, by however many names it be called, let no one imagine there be different spirits, for, say what one will, there is but one spirit working everywhere and in all things.
That is the spirit which, when rising, illumines the Heavens, when setting incorporates the purity of Earth, and when brooding has embraced the Waters.
This spirit is named Raphael, the Angel of God, the subtlest and purest, whom the others all obey as their King.
The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.
The passage extensively details the transformation of base substances into purified or perfected states, such as converting crystals to precious stones and making dead trees revive.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The spirit's cosmic functions (illumining heavens, incorporating earth, embracing waters) mirror its microcosmic effects on the human body (healing limbs, restoring sight, increasing blood), making each level a legible map of the others.
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The spirit is 'the secret hidden from the beginning,' its true nature concealed from the unworthy, and the writings themselves 'may be regarded as false by the reader' — the supreme reality is radically concealed beyond ordinary perception.
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
The one spirit works 'everywhere and in all things,' 'from its body there flow whole rivers of living water,' and it is present in fire, air, water, and earth simultaneously — the divine pervading all of creation rather than remaining solely transcendent.
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The fifth nature 'appears in a glorified and illuminated form, without defects, shining like gold and silver' and the spirit 'illumines the Heavens' — uncreated luminous quality as the mark of the highest divine state.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage explicitly states that 'to the initiated they are true and possible, when the hidden sense is properly understood' and that wonders 'may not be revealed to the unworthy,' making esoteric concealment and readiness-to-receive a central structural theme.
A non-physical dimension of reality, interpenetrating the physical world, populated by forces, beings, and forms ordinarily imperceptible to physical senses and instruments, that can affect embodied life without being seen — Dion Fortune's 'mind-side of nature,' the astral plane of Western esotericism broadly construed. Distinct from astral_light (a specific transmitting medium or fluid operating within this realm, not the realm itself), pleroma (the divine fullness at the summit of a cosmic hierarchy, not a parallel plane coextensive with ordinary life), and animism (particular indwelling spirits bound to specific natural objects, not the general unseen dimension itself).
The spirit 'flies through the midst of the Heavens like a morning mist' and 'has its shining realm in the heavens' — a non-physical dimension interpenetrating the physical that affects embodied life (healing, rejuvenation) while remaining imperceptible.
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The human body is the privileged site where the spirit's cosmic work is enacted — its effects on blood, limbs, and organs mirror the same spirit's work on heavens, earth, and waters, making the human a small-scale image of the cosmos.
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The passage explicitly states 'there is but one spirit working everywhere and in all things,' presenting a single undivided principle that manifests in all its multiple forms and natures.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The spirit carries multiple ontologically-significant names (Sandaraca, Kybrick, Azoth, Alcohoph, Aliocosoph, Raphael) that encode its nature in each element, and the passage warns that seeking by name without instruction leads to error — the names carry real power and identity.
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The five natures trace a staged journey upward from aerial to fiery to glorified form, with the spirit 'leading earth with itself to heaven' — a progressive ascent through levels of being toward the divine source.