Maria the prophetess

The Alchemists said nothing or very little about the actual hermetic receptacle that must endure all the work in the Magnum Opus. Details about this were given by the Alchemists to their Students only from the mouth to the ear. Maria, the Prophetess, points this receptacle out as being Divine, and that through God s Wisdom, it has been hidden from the Nations. 

Other laboratory operations performed by the Alexandrian alchemists included solution, filtration, crystallisation, sublimation, and distillation. The art of distillation shows a steady improvement over the years. In the earliest form of distillation apparatus, the vapours ascending fi om the flask or bikos were condensed in the hood or ambix, and then ran down the spout into the receiver (Figure 2.4). The Arabs later used the name alembic for the condensing hood. This method of condensation was inefficient, and it was not until much later that water-cooled condensers were introduced. The alchemists employed several different kinds of furnace, and also introduced the sand bath and water bath for heating purposes. The water bath is reputed to have been invented by one of Zosimos s predecessors called Maria the Prophetess or Maria the Jewess. Today, when a pan of hot water is used to heat another vessel in the kitchen, the contrivance is still called a bain -Marie. 

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