You speak about four elements, three principles and seven metals which must be used in

the Great Work.

The fact of speaking about seven metals makes me think of the way known as synthesis
path.
In this way, the goal is to prepare philosophical sulphur with red metals and philosophical
mercury with white metals.
Two French authors spoke much about it.
They are Roger Guasco and Jean-Pascal Percheron.
In this way, we extract philosophical sulphur from iron, copper and realgar (regarded as
alive gold, contrary to traditional gold, having reached its maturity and thus not being
able more to evolve).
Philosophical mercury is extracted from lead, tin and silver.
The easy way consists in using mercury and antimony like tools allowing this extraction.
In the method of Guasco, mercury is used in the form of bichloride (sublimated corrosive)
while antimony is added in pure metal form. But it is in my opinion completely possible
to use the antimony chloride for this work, or even the powder of Algaroth (white salt
obtained by the reaction between water and the antimony chloride).
Concerning the four elements, I find them here: the earth can as well be realgar (arsenical
sulphur considered as the impure sulphur of the Earth in the texts) that antimony (the
symbol of antimony being also that of the Earth). Water is used for the manufacture of the
powder of Algaroth if one wishes to use it (for manufacture of philosophical mercury or
for secret fire of the conjunction between philosophical sulphur and philosophical
mercury). The air is represented by the niter, used here in the shape of iron nitrate and
copper nitrate. Fire is represented by the oil used for final distillation making it possible
to obtain philosophical sulphur.
The protocol in itself is rather complex, which shows me this way like different from the
way from Old Masters, even if the alchemical theory behind this work holds the road.
Approximately, here the process such as I know it:
- Preparation of philosophical sulphur:
- It is necessary to destroy realgar with potash so that it is fixed because it is a very
volatile body, then we add to the composition, the iron and copper reduced out of salt
(nitrate).
- Fermentation will occur with the balneo-maria during 40 days. After that we let slowly
dry the preparation with the sun which finally reduces it out of powder.
- We will work this powder with a regulator because the operation will be far too
dangerous. It is another natural elements which we will take, called stone oil, oils earth (it
is necessary to remain in the mineral kingdom), that we know and use all: colourless
petroleum.
- It is necessary to use a retort with the frayed collar so that the exhaust is done with
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moderation and so that there is inside the balloon a light compression.
- Distillation will be done with soft fires, 30C to the maximum at the beginning and we
will increase maximum heat until 80C gradually.
- Then will appear a red distillate: it is the blood of Christ, the blood of Graal, one also
says that the pelican bores its sides. This work is long and difficult because the
temperature should be supervised constantly so that it never exceeds 80C.
- It is necessary to put aside the red distillate collected; the residues which the retort
contains must be washed several times with the first distillate obtained and colourless.
We filter this preparation with an ordinary filter to recover all the red dye.
- At the end of the operation we will slowly reduce red liquor to 30C, by evaporation
until a red matter with resinous consistency called philosophical sulphur appears.
- Preparation of philosophical mercury:
- The crushing of these metals must be made very thoroughly, we will work initially with
mercury in the bichloride state (6 parts) with antimony (3 parts) and to add tin (1 part),
lead (1 part), silver (1 part).
- The work of mercury requires some care because of the harmfulness of the mixture:
mask, protective gloves, plus a porcelain retort of which the top is withdrawn at will and
to which to the exit a container of passage, provided with an exhaust (vase or retort) is
added which will be cooled to condense its distillate of it. The joints must be hermetic.
- We will heat gradually until the appearance of mercury in the container of passage then
in the receiver. When all mercury passed, we will heat until 500C in order to make some
disappear the remainder, and we will open the retort: we will find in the high part crystals
of silver color. These first crystals which will have to be used thereafter will be taken
carefully.
- But, to collect the totality of the crystals, it will be necessary to start again several times
the operation to recover the residues inside the retort which one will pulverize with the
distillate, mixes to which we will add mercury bichloride (1 part), at each operation.
- Once all the white flowers collected, we will introduce them into a vase with long collar
with the distillate.
- For the last operation: we will put the mixture to be evaporated slowly in a sand bath
while starting with a temperature of 60C.
- Each day, we will turn over the vase to avoid thickening and that during 20 days, i.e.
until we obtained a limpid water with metal reflections which will shine like the outgoing
mercury of the mine: it is the water which does not wet the hands, heavy water, the quick
silver of Wise, it is the made flying white metal dragon.
Where this way diverges from what I believed to understand of what you say to us, it is
concerning the secret fire which will use to make the conjunction between philosophical
sulphur and philosophical mercury. Indeed, Guasco and Percheron use the sea salt made
fusible by successive purifications (fusion, dissolution, drying, fusion, dissolution,
drying).
But nothing prevents from using antimony chloride, or better, powder of Algaroth to
make the marriage.
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Concerning the use of realgar and potash, we are not far from work as completed in the
cinnabar path, or some purification practices on arsenic or sulphur in ayurvedic alchemy.
The philosophical sulphur obtained in this manner is a very great medicine, hardly weaker
on human being than the completed Philosopher's stone.
The second part of work is a metal sublimation which takes place at relatively low
temperature thanks to the presence of mercury and chlorine.
We remain a little in the same logic as the way of animated mercury. The goal being in
fact of transferring metal sulphurs from certain metals (in the case of animated mercury)
or metal mercuries from certain metals (in the case of the synthesis path) in vulgar
mercury. Vulgar mercury has in fact a photographic alchemical property, a little like the
silver nitrate plates.
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