P.O.N. Seminars 1992

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Theory - Rules for the Work in the Alchemical Laboratory

Lecturer: Jean Dubuis
Translator: Patrice Malézé
Commentary by Russ House is indicated as [RH: ...]

(Yves Arbez) We have the Mendeleiev table of elements according to alchemy - and then we will end with the Nicolas Flamel work. It's important to see the table of Mendeleiev because it's important to understand the Flamel (work), because it's important to understand alchemy by logic. Magic and mathematics are the work of the divine. What's not understandable by logic and common sense in alchemy is not a real path.

(Jean) I will try to explain a certain number of conditions necessary to respecting the laboratory in the work to succeed. If you like, in the alchemical work it's a spiritual path that needs much more caution than in a chemistry lab. So I'll try to make a short range of what can be seen there. First of all alchemical energies are spiritual energies and you must be cautious that the laboratory is not hostile to these energies. And I think that it is a good thing to make a washing once a moon of the laboratory. This laboratory can be on the physical path but you must concentrate on the fact that you also clean the psychic part (aspect) of the laboratory.

In the laboratory, and that's where the key of alchemy stays, is created a link between the operation and the alchemist. When this link is properly done the alchemist has direct knowledge of nature, found in no book. When you work in the alchemical lab it's better to have an oratory and to clean yourself psychically before you begin any physical work. So first put the lab in a good vibration state, and second put the operator in a good vibration state.

And next to this are two kinds of work in the laboratory - say the delicate ones and the others. For the delicate ones which are those where the alchemical life can be endangered, the operator is alone in the laboratory - nobody can work with him in that case.

The maximum would be the couple Nicola and Pernelle, no more. When you work on sensitive products, when these products are prepared that's when they are in the phase of preparation. Because then they are more sensitive or in intermediate phases we must - according to cases - must see our products do not necessitate incubation, they are put in the oratory (away) from everybody, nobody can see them. If the products need incubation they are put in the incubator and only the alchemist opens it. Particularly the mercuries are very, very delicate products whatever kingdom they belong to. When you prepare alcohol to make a vegetable mercury above 70 alcoholic degrees [RH: that is, 70 percent pure, or 140 proof] only the operator can touch the alcohol - because you must understand - for instance the alcohol that will be used for a mercury - if you put a parasitic load in it you will never be able to extract it. The alcohol (in this case) is only good to wash the dishes. (glassware).

When the products are done - for instance when the stone has been incubated and it's entirely done - it can be exposed to the public, but it's much less delicate. As long as the surroundings are O.K. you can show it to familiars.

Q. Did you say the alcohol should be 70 degrees ---- ? [RH: the confusion is in the terminology of 'degree', which means percentage.]

A. (Patrice) Yes, about 70 degrees to 100 or 99.9 - I think?

When you manipulate the mercuries you can have different types of vegetable mercuries. But some rules are to be respected. When you want to extract the vegetable mercury the extraction liquid must contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen - otherwise the extraction will be dead. For instance you can extract the vegetables with alcohol, acetone, acetic acid, hexane, but you cannot extract with (carbon tetrachloride or ethylene?) You cannot extract with these because in these are not the elements that can keep the vegetable life. We spoke about the mineral kingdom. In the mineral kingdom only the animated mercury allows extractions.

We have research on extractions of sulfur by mercuries of the metallic kingdoms that are all very dangerous products. When we will have finished our study on the security on these products we will publish those.

You must also be very careful that in the vegetable kingdom the liquid products must not touch metal and particularly aluminum. And next to this -- we spoke of it earlier, but I will speak of it again because it's a very delicate problem -- of the loss of the alchemical life. If we consider a living body from an alchemical point of view, the alchemical life is kept by the crystalline network. If you crush the product, you do not free life - because the crystalline network is in the atomic state and it's impossible to crush down to the atomic state. When the crystal is in powder it's just as living as when it was in crystals, it's just an indication. If you melt the crystal, the life is gone, except in certain cases. We will explain now.

If you dissolve the crystal in a liquid - the life is gone unless the liquid is a mercury of the (same) kingdom. If the liquid is a mercury of the (same) kingdom it takes life and eventually it will be possible to transfer it somewhere else. To illustrate this the ancients say that the transmutation stone must be wrapped in wax before it's used and it must be rapidly dipped in a fusing metal. Then it doesn't melt before it's in the metal and its fusion (occurs) in the middle of the metal - it frees its energies there in the metal.

When you take a vegetable stone the interest is to take it with a slightly alcoholic liquid (wine) in order to have it come really fast in your stomach. The stomach liquids destroy the alcoholic structures of the vegetable stone, and if everything is fine the energy is freed next to the solar plexus. And that explains its effects.

Considering special liquids you must take care of - particularly in the vegetable or acetic acid ways - acetic acid. I don't know where you will go to in alchemy, but I must tell you two things on this acid and on another. When you have a commercial acid usually they are obtained by distilling wood and we don't really know well the nature of life that's in it. [RH: Much commercial acetic acid is from wood: pyroligneous acid.]

If you want to be certain of the alchemical quality of this acetic acid you can only extract it (acetic acid) from vinegar, extracted from red wine. There's no need for distilling, the only concentration possible is done through freezing. It was probably described in the P.O.N. paper (The Stone newsletter) and in the Lessons. A freezing to 25 (degrees) C allows a very rapid separation of the acetic acid - of the vinegar. Since I explained some things from the past, in the ancient texts we don't know uric acid but there is a difference in the ancient books. The ancients would say the uric acid is a dead acid. That can be done by yourself very easily - when they (ancients) say sea salt acid it's the living acid - we'll show you a sample there and have work with the acid used in the butter of antimony.

Questions?

Q. (Question not understood)

A. O.K. And we will explain why. Anyway when you're considering the vegetable salt you wish it to be dead. The vegetable salt must be dead, there must be no life in it, so (that) when you put pure life in it - it won't be contaminated by the ancient life in the salt. You're certain that there is no more life in the vegetable salt when there is no more carbon in it.

Q. Jean mentioned certain acids that you couldn't use on vegetables and I didn't get them?

A. It wasn't mentioned but it's written down here (handouts) so you can read it from there. O.K. We are a bit late in the program. We hadn't (anticipated) different technical problems. 110 volts a bit slower for the furnace and the stibnite is too rich and we didn't have the proper proportions for the salts. So we are a bit late.

So what you have in the general rules of the laboratory (handouts) is more than what he said here.