The Three Basic Essentials of Alchemical Work

First and foremost let me address a common misconception about alchemy.  It is not all about turning base metals into gold.  In fact this is quite a loaded concept.  Whether or not alchemists of the past actually manufactured gold in their laboratories is not what’s important here.  What’s important is that transmutations did take place; however, they were the transmutation of the alchemist’s soul.  The great Paracelsus said, “We only transmute without, that which we have first transmuted within,” and “You will transmute nothing if you have not first transmuted yourself.”  That’s right. The key and ultimate tool for working with alchemy is self-work and maintaining an equilibrium between mind, body, and soul.  Which brings us to the 3 main essentials of alchemy, also known as the Tria Prima.

SALT
Yeah, that’s right, salt!  But we’re not just talking good ‘ol sodium chloride from off the kitchen table.  Salt is representative of the body as well as the beginning and the end of the work and is considered “the imperfect matter at the beginning of the experiment that has to be destroyed and dissolved to release its essences which are reconstituted into the more perfect form at the end of the experiment.” (1)  More simply, salt is symbolic of the material aspect of the alchemical work and acts as the mediator between the other two essentials.  For instance, outside of the self-work of the alchemist, salt is the beginning matter (the raw form of the mineral or plant in which you start with) and the ending matter after the other two essentials are separated from the original salt form.  The salt aspects of the alchemist will reflect the quality of the salt aspects of the work they are doing in their laboratory.

MERCURY
Mercury is representative of the mind or consciousness and inspiration of the alchemist and the fiery unchangeable form of the triad.  The mercury that we are referring to is not per se the element of mercury or quicksilver that you can find in thermometers.  Working with this element has its dangers and is reserved for a more advanced form of the art.  According to Paracelsus the fire in which burns within the bellows of the alchemists laboratory is the mercurial aspect of the triad as well as the hot vapors that rise from the fire.  Mercury is also the feminine or lunar aspect of this triad when compared to the third essential which will be addressed later.  Much like the Roman god Mercury it is representative of a duality of masculinity and femininity or hermaphroditism.  This does not mean that the alchemist must quite literally be of both sexes, but that there is a self-awareness of divine masculine and divine feminine balanced within her or him.  This will also of course reflect the outcome of the work.

SULFUR
Within every alchemist or magician an acknowledgment of a soul or spiritual aspect is most effective for a truly beneficial outcome in whatever work is done within the laboratory or temple space.  Therefore, sulfur is the aspect of the spirit.  Interestingly, the term “spirits” in which we use to refer to alcohol (alc-alchemy) is derived from the ancient alchemical process of distillation.  During this process, one is extracting the spirit of the plant and the ending result is the liquid of infused plant essences in which we consume later for our enjoyment.  More on this exact process in a later article though!  In regards to the Tria Prima, the part in which sulfur takes place is the act of the original matter (salt) being consumed by the mercurial (fire) and is changed in the process.  Materials that fuel the fire, wood, coal, oil, etc. are also forms of sulfur because they are added to the salt aspect in order for the mercurial process to ignite and produce an ending result.  Sulfur in relation to mercury is the masculine and solar correspondence of the triad with salt maintaining the balance between the two.  The harmonious process of the Tria Prima eliminates the soul contained within the salt-matter and liberates it.  This is also reflective of the process in which takes place within the alchemist and vice versa.  These processes must both take place within the laboratory and within the alchemist to create a most purified and true form of the Stone from the soul of the alchemist.

The concept of creating a Stone will be elaborated on in later articles as well as other essentials of alchemy. 





KYLE FORD
  
(1) Hauck, Dennis William. Sorcerer's Stone: A Beginners Guide to Alchemy. New York: Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2004.