Soul and Spirit

When an Alchemist Speaks of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt, He Speaks of His Spiritual, Astral and Physical Bodies, Not of the Elements. Alchemy Unveiled Describes the Tribulations That a Human Being Has to Pass Through in Order to Purify These Three Bodies. However, to Achieve the Level of an Alchemist Requires Daily Study and Strict Daily Mental, Astral and Physical Exercises for Many Lifetimes. Alchemy Unveiled Will Lead the Reader on a Journey of a Complete Purification of the Body, Soul and Spirit, and for the First Time the Mystery of the Philosopher s Stone Is Openly Explained... 

Albertus, Frater. Body, soul and spirit. rhttp //homepages.ihug.com.au/ panopus/ convention73/bodvetc.html. 

SYMBOLICAL ILLUSTRATION Representing the Trinity of Body, Soul and Spirit... 

It returns, and is united to the glorified body, in which, after the Resurrection, soul and spirit dwell together once more in eternal glory, never to be separated again throughout all eternity. 

Man is the most perfect of animals in man there is a union of three parts, these are body, soul, and spirit. Metals also may be said to have a body, a soul, and a spirit there is a specific bodily, or material, form belonging to each metal there is a metalline soul characteristic of this or that class of metals there is a spirit, or inner immaterial potency, which is the very essence of all metals. 

The soul and spirit of man are clogged by his body. If the spiritual nature is to become the dominating partner, the body must be mortified the alchemists, of course, used this kind of imagery, and it was very real to them. In like manner the spirit of metals will be laid bare and enabled to exercise its transforming influences, only when the material form of the individual metal has been destroyed. The first thing to do, then, is to strip off and cast aside those properties of metals which appeal to the senses. 

In the last chapter I tried to describe the alchemical view of the interdependence of different substances. Taking for granted the tripartite nature of man, the co-existence in him of body, soul, and spirit (no one of which was defined), the alchemists concluded that all things are formed as man is formed that in everything there is a specific bodily form, some portion of soul, and a dash of spirit. I considered the term soul to be the alchemical name for the properties common to a class of substances, and the term spirit to mean the property which was thought by the alchemists to be common to all things. 

The soul and spirit flow forth from the body. 

Lavoisier made many more experiments on combustion, and proved that in every case the component of the atmosphere which he had named oxygen combined with the substance, or with some part of the substance, which was burned. By these experiments the theory of Phlogiston was destroyed and with its destruction, the whole alchemical apparatus of Principles and Elements, Essences and Qualities, Souls and Spirits, disappeared. 

The alchemical process seeks to fan this fire..."carefully, with great judgment and skill." In laboratory alchemy, the Three Essentials of Body, Soul, and Spirit are most important because they provide us a means of manipulating the elements. Many alchemists indicate that the Primal Elements are too subtle even for the most skilled artist and that only Nature can work at that level. The Three Essentials are the fruit of the Elements, which Man can manipulate even at the physical level. 

To the alchemist, everything is alive and consists of a Body, Soul and Spirit or Salt, Sulfur and Mercury. This is true in the Vegetable Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom and the Mineral Kingdom. That the plant world and the animal world are filled with living beings is obvious to all. 

In a sort of resurrection, the finely powdered Salt is saturated with its Sulfur and awakened into activity by addition of its life force, the Mercury. After a period of digestion, our "Elixir" is complete. The alchemists considered such preparations to be exalted and evolved living medicines able to express the plant s true healing potentials not only on the body but at the level of the soul and spirit as well. 

Alchemy aims to produce medicines for the soul and spirit levels of being, as well as the body, and the operator is strongly linked to the material operated upon. The proper state of mind is essential for success. For example, once you have purified your essentials to a certain degree, they become very susceptible to mental impressions by those around them—good or... 

At the end of this process you will have twelve fractions representing the Body, Soul, and Spirit of each of the Four Elements ... 

When the spirit of darkness and of foul odour is rejected, so that no stench and no shadow of darkness appear, then the body is clothed with light and the soul and spirit rejoice because darkness has fled from the body. And the soul, calling to the body, that has been filled with light, says Awaken from Hades Arise from the tomb and rouse thyself from darkness For thou hast clothed thyself with spirituality and divinity, since the voice of the resurrection has sounded and the medicine of life has entered into thee. ... 

J. R. Jacob, Robert Boyle and Subversive Religion in the Early Restoration, Albion 6, 1974, 275-293 idem, Restoration, Reformation and the Origins of the Royal Society, History of Science 13, 1975, 155-176 idem, Robert Boyle and the English Revolution (Franklin, 1977) idem, Boyle s Atomism and the Restoration Assault on Pagan Naturalism, Social Studies of Science 8, 1978, 211-233 idem, Restoration Ideologies and the Royal Society, History of Science 17, 1980, 25-38 Simon Schaffer, Godly Men and Mechanical Philosophers Souls and Spirits in Restoration Mechancial Philosophy, Science in Context 1, 1987, 55-85. 

In the colour and fixing. Bacchus says By means of Sublimation are Soul and Spirit dissolved and expanded in the dissolved body of the Sun. This is the Arcanum, the Mystery, and the Power. 

But there is something peculiar in this operation, for the Metallic Sun is a true Father, and gives the masculine seed. The Moon is a true Mother, and gives the feminine seed. The Wind and Air must raise it and conduct it, as Hermes says. Our Mercury rises in the glass the Earth lies beneath and comprehends in itself soul and spirit, so that a perfect child and king may be born. 

PRINCIPIA CHYMIA — The Principles of the Alchemists are three in number Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury, i.e., Body, Soul, and Spirit. Thence spring all things which exist they can be exhibited in all things, and into them all things can be resolved. 

And this white vapor, this white gold, to wit, this quintessence, is called also the compound magnesia, which like a man does contain, or like a man is composed of a body, soul and spirit. Now the body is the fixed solar earth, exceeding the most subtile matter, which by the help of our divine water is with difficulty lifted up or seperated. The soul is the tincture of... 

It is therefore of the utmost importance, when it comes to the Magnum Opus of the true Hermetics, that the Soul and Spirit join into an inseparable union. What is meant by this, is the union with the Divine Spirit, because only through this can the Soul of the Human Being reach immortality. 

In this Ravenshead or Mercury Water, the Sun and the Moon (Soul and Spirit) are being eclipsed (darkened), that means they no longer can be seen. 

In hypnosis, an artificial separation of Spirit and Soul takes place, whereby contact with the outer world is being maintained for the present (= being aware of surroundings). When the hypnosis is being deepened, it then turns from sleep into a deep sleep. Also, the condition of hallucination and sleepwalking is based upon a separation of Soul and Spirit. 

Insanity also shows, in its various forms, distinct characteristics of the segregation of Soul and Spirit, in that it appears as ailments These are unnatural by nature, commencing with the lighter forms of manias (manic-depressive insanity), and obsessive or compulsive ideas, leading to graver forms of schizophrenia, semiconsciousness, or stupor Schizophrenia especially shows all the characteristics of a split personality, whereby the transcendental Subject is divided into many personalities, which are mostly hostile to each other and eventually totally destroy the personality of the Human Being. 

In the preparatory work, you must separate Body, Soul and Spirit from each other, purify and reunite them. Be only concerned about our water and the foliated earth, the Spirit cannot be seen he moves all the time above the water. The foliated earth is like a little island in a philosophical ocean. You must crush and close up this earth, then it will, because of being thirsty in prison, shatter by itself and it will, like a thick water, mix with oil. You must know how you unite this, as terra foliata, in proper proportion with the water. Pondus aquae esto plurale, terrae vero foliatae singulare."... 

Isabella s book was little in size but big on advice. One recipe instructed on how to join metaphorically body, soul, and spirit in a process combining fixed camphor, quicksilver, and sulphur so as to create a universal medicine. But to this Isabella also added instruc-... 

---