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Let the studious Reader have a care of the manifold significations of words, for by deceitful windings, and doubtful, yea contrary speeches (as it should seem), Philosophers wrote their mysteries, with a desire of veiling and hiding, yet not of sophisticating or destroying the truth; and though their writings abound with ambiguous and equivocal words; yet about none do they more contend than in hiding their Golden Branch.

The Hermetic Arcanum

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.

The Bible, Proverbs 3: 13-20

Introduction to Alchemy




Alchemy is generally defined as an art which aims to change impure metals into silver or gold. The goal of the Great Work of alchemy, called also the Art, is the "Philosopher's Stone". The Stone was viewed as a magical touchstone that could immediately perfect any substance or situation. The Philosopher's Stone has been associated with the Salt of the World, the Astral Body, the Elixir, and even Jesus Christ. The Elixir of the alchemists has essentially the same ability to perfect any substance. When applied to the human body, the Elixir cures diseases and restores youth.

The alchemists' dream is to attain knowledge of the mysterious Philosopher's Stone, or "that Elixir by which such wonders are performed".
The Stone is "a blessing beyond all blessings upon earth... given to but very few, and to those few rather by revelation of the good angels of God than the proper industry of man".

Alchemical texts should not be read literally and their content is purely allegorical and mystical. The studies of Carl Gustav Jung show it is possible to detect correspondences between alchemy and mysticism: the alchemist himself, too, was to live through the process of transmutation, and become transformed as a result.

In modern language the Stone is a symbol of incorruptible wisdom achieved by uniting both rational, intellectual thinking (masculine, rational, right brain activity) with our intuitive knowing of the heart (feminine, intuitive left brain activity)

The basis of all the alchemical transformations required to obtain the Stone (called the Great Work) is seven-stepped formula described by the Emerald Tablet of Hermes.

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes



History of the Tablet
(largely summarized from Needham 1980, & Holmyard 1957)

The Tablet probably first appeared in the West in editions of the psuedo-Aristotlean Secretum Secretorum which was actually a translation of the Kitab Sirr al-Asar, a book of advice to kings which was translated into latin by Johannes Hispalensis c. 1140 and by Philip of Tripoli c.1243. Other translations of the Tablet may have been made during the same period by Plato of Tivoli and Hugh of Santalla, perhaps from different sources.

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes.

From Bacstrom's Original Alchemical Manuscripts (specially redrawn).
Copyrighted by Manly P. Hall.







The date of the Kitab Sirr al-Asar is uncertain, though c.800 has been suggested and it is not clear when the tablet became part of this work.
Holmyard was the first to find another early arabic version (Ruska found a 12th centruy recension claiming to have been dictated by Sergius of Nablus) in the Kitab Ustuqus al-Uss al-Thani (Second Book of the Elements of Foundation) attributed to Jabir. Shortly after Ruska found another version appended to the Kitab Sirr al-Khaliqa wa San`at al-Tabi`a (Book of the Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature), which is also known as the Kitab Balaniyus al-Hakim fi'l-`Ilal (book of Balinas the wise on the Causes). It has been proposed that this book was written may have been written as early as 650, and was definitely finished by the Caliphate of al-Ma'mun (813-33).
Scholars have seen similarities between this book and the Syriac Book of Treasures written by Job of Odessa (9th century) and more interestingly the Greek writings of the bishop Nemesius of Emesa in Syria from the mid fourth century. However though this suggests a possible Syriac source, non of these writings contain the tablet.
Balinas is usually identified with Apollonius of Tyna, but there is little evidence to connect him with the Kitab Balabiyus, and even if there was,the story implies that Balinas found the tablet rather than wrote it, and the recent discoveries of the dead sea scrolls and the nag hamamdi texts suggest that hiding texts in caves is not impossible, even if we did not have the pyramids before us.
Ruska has suggested an origin further east, and Needham has proposed an origin in China.
Holmyard, Davis and Anon all consider that this Tablet may be one of the earliest of all alchemical works we have that survives.
It should be remarked that apparantly the Greeks and Egyptians used the termtranslated as `emerald' for emeralds, green granites, "and perhaps green jasper". In medieval times the emerald table of the Gothic kings of Spain, and the Sacro catino- a dish said to have belonged to the Queen of Sheba, to have been used at the last supper, and to be made of emerald, were made of green glass [Steele and Singer: 488].



The Emerald Tablet of Hermes - Translations
Tis true without lying, certain & most true. That wch is below is like that wch is above & that wch is above is like yt wch is below to do ye miracles of one only thing.

And as all things have been & arose from one by ye mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.

The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nourse.

The father of all perfection in ye whole world is here.

Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth. Seperate thou ye earth from ye fire, ye subtile from the gross sweetly wth great indoustry.

It ascends from ye earth to ye heaven & again it desends to ye earth and receives ye force of things superior & inferior.

By this means you shall have ye glory of ye whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

Its force is above all force. for it vanquishes every subtile thing & penetrates every solid thing. So was ye world created.

From this are & do come admirable adaptaions whereof ye means (Or process) is here in this.

Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of ye philosophy of ye whole world.

That wch I have said of ye operation of ye Sun is accomplished & ended.

Translation of Issac Newton c. 1680.

Trouth hath hym so, and it is no doubt, that the lover is to the heigher, and the heigher to the lower aunsweren.

The worcher forsoth of all myracles is the one and sool God, of and fro Whom Cometh all meruelous operacions.

So all thynges were created of o soole substance, and of o soole disposicion,
the fader wherof is the sone, and the moone moder,
that brought hym forth by blast or aier in the wombe, the erthe taken fro it,
to whom is seid the increat fader, tresour of myracles, and yever of vertues.

Of fire is made erthe. Depart the erthe fro the fire, for the sotiller is worthier than the more grosse, and the thynne thynge than the thik. This most be do wisely and discretly.

It ascendith fro the erth into the heven, and falleth fro heven to the erthe, and therof sleith the higher and the lower vertue.

And yf it lordship in the lower and in the heigher, and thow shalt lordship aboue and beneth, which forsoth is the light of lightes, and therfor fro the wolle fle all derknesse.

The higher vertue ouer-cometh all, for sothe all thynne thyng doth in dense thynges.

After the disposicion of the more world rynneth this worchyng.

And for this prophetisyng of the trynyte of God Hermogenes it called Triplex, trebil in philosophie, as Aristotle seith.

Translation from Roger Bacon's edition of Secretum Secretorum made c 1445

True, true, with no room for doubt, certain, worthy of all trust.

See, the highest comes from the lowest, and the lowest from the highest;
indeed a marvelous work of the tao.

See how all things originated from It by a single process.

The father of it (the elixir) is the sun (Yang), its mother the moon (Yin).
The wind bore it in its belly, and the earth nourished it.

This is the father of wondrous works (changes and transformations), the guardian of mysteries, perfect in its powers, the animator of lights.

This fire will be poured upon the earth...

So separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, acting prudently and with art.

It ascends from the earth to the heavens (and orders the lights above), then descends again to the earth; and in it is the power of the highest and the lowest.

Thus when you have the light of lights darkness will flee away from you.

With this power of powers (the elixir) you shall be able to get the mastery of every subtle thing, and be able to penetrate everything that is gross.

In this way was the great world itself formed.

Hence thus and thus marvellous operations will be acheived