A Modern Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery

Part I: An Overview of Alchemy’s History and Theory

Chapter 2: The Theory of Transformation and the Universal Matter (Continued)

The Hidden Fire of Alchemy

Ancient philosophers and alchemists believed in a universal spirit, distinct from the visible fire we know, which they saw as merely an effect of a deeper, hidden force. They called this the Ether, a pure, invisible essence that animates all life. Unlike modern science, which demands tangible proof and dismisses what it can’t measure, alchemists claimed this essence was real and could be worked with through their art. Without direct experience, though, the world saw it as a mere idea, a “speculative chimera,” and rejected it.

Recent discoveries, like mesmerism’s “Odic Force,” hint at this invisible essence, but belief remains rare. Alchemists, however, treated it as a concrete substance, not just a theory. They called it the “Vehicle of Light” (Lumen Vestimenti) in Kabbalistic terms, or the “Free Ether” in Greek philosophy—freed from the confines of ordinary matter, capable of acting through its own inner light. Zeno described it as a “creative fire, generating by rule,” while Cicero called it a “heavenly, fiery nature that spontaneously creates all things.”

Euripides captured its essence poetically:

The light of life, the vital breath,
Sustains all living things.
It’s the spark in the all-seeing eye,
The boundless Ether embracing the earth—
Call it Lord, call it Jove.

Yet, alchemists cautioned against mistaking this divine essence for ordinary air or elements. It’s subtle, mingled in nature, and only visible through its effects. Raymond Lully emphasized, “Our Mercury is a water of another nature, not found on earth in its active state without the skilled work of human hands.” It exists everywhere, giving life to all, but remains hidden, defiled by the imperfections of the material world.

Transforming Nature’s Order

Alchemists believed nature operates in a flawed, reversed state—darkness and imperfection dominate, while true light is concealed. To achieve perfection, they argued, this order must be inverted: the fixed must become volatile, and the volatile fixed, freeing the inner essence from external distortions. As an alchemical maxim states:

Dissolve the fixed, let the dissolved take flight,
Fix the fleeting, and you’ll live secure.
Dissolve, coagulate, fix.

Arnold de Villanova explained, “Convert the elements—make light things heavy, spirits into matter—and you’ll work with nature’s true essence.” This inversion reveals imperfections as external, not inherent, like water taking on the colors or flavors of the soil it touches. By removing these impurities, alchemists aimed to restore the essence to its pure state.

Francis Bacon, inspired by Democritus, noted that nature, when pushed to the edge of destruction, transforms into new forms: “A skilled worker, by design, can stress nature to near annihilation, and it will shift through a cycle of shapes, restoring itself if the force persists.” But Bacon misunderstood the alchemists’ method, suggesting mechanical tools, which expel the very essence they sought. Alchemists, instead, pursued a subtle, spiritual process to capture and guide this essence, allowing it to manifest its true will.

Paracelsus called this process a “magical secret,” more powerful than nature alone: “When this magic works, all things dissolve into their simple essence. Separation is the greatest miracle in philosophy, the beginning of all creation.” Arnold added, “Convert the elements, and you’ll find what you seek. Our Mercury’s transformation reduces nature to its root.” George Ripley noted, “Separate Mercury’s elements and recombine them in balance to create the complete elixir.”

Defining the First Matter

This universal matter, or Mercury, is not the common elements—fire, air, water, or earth—nor the gases of modern chemistry. It’s a spiritual essence, the “elements of Mercury,” unique to the alchemical process. Paracelsus clarified, “Don’t think of elements as physical substances. The true element is a spirit of life, growing in all things like a soul in a body, invisible yet ever-present.”

Hermes advised, “The four elements of the ancients aren’t physical but discovered through patient wisdom, hidden in nature’s operations.” To understand this, we must see nature’s process as reversed, requiring a special art to reveal its unity.

Albertus Magnus described this Mercury as “a watery element, cold and moist, a lasting water, an oily vapor, the spirit of matter, subtly mixed with fine earth.” Artephius called it “a white fume, like pure silver, reviving dead matter into life.” Lully saw it as “a clear, compounded water, like quicksilver, flowing on earth, born from air’s essence.” Arnold added, “It’s a stone and not a stone—spirit, soul, and body. Dissolve it, and it dissolves; fix it, and it fixes; make it fly, and it flies. It’s volatile, clear as a tear, then turns yellow, salty, and poisonous, yet it’s water and not water. Don’t be fooled by its many names—it’s one thing, needing nothing added.”

Belus, in the Turba Philosophorum, echoed, “Our stone is no stone, ridiculous to the ignorant. Who’d believe water can become stone, or stone water? Yet it’s true—this permanent water is the stone.” Basil Valentine and Rupecissa emphasized its elusive nature, defying description without direct experience. Ripley called it a “middle substance,” neither fully celestial nor earthly, born from the universal spirit’s active and passive interplay. Lully and Valentine described it as a “third” essence, unified yet complex, while Thomas Vaughan called it “the union of masculine and feminine spirits, a soft, prolific essence, the seed of heaven and earth.”

Sendivogius added, “Our water doesn’t wet the hands, almost like rainwater, heavenly yet vital.” Alchemists used metaphors—tears, dew, milk, wine—to describe this essence. Synesius and Sendivogius summarized: “It’s a clear light, filling wise minds with virtue, the bond of all elements, nourishing all. Nature alone creates it, but art reveals it, like sharp vinegar turning gold into spirit. It’s our sea water, congealed in gold and silver, extracted by the philosopher’s skill.”

The Elusive Essence

This First Matter is the simple substance of life and light, flowing unseen through nature, essential to all existence. Yet, words alone can’t capture it without experience. It’s not water, earth, fire, air, gold, silver, or any ordinary substance, though it contains their principles. The Bononian Enigma’s “Ælia Lælia Crispis”—neither man, woman, nor anything specific, yet all things—captures its paradoxical nature.

Like sunlight, which blends colors yet appears white when unified, this essence, called Pan or Proteus, is one yet manifold, shaping all forms and hues. A poetic verse sums it up:

The ever-changing essence, ethereal, watery, earthly soul,
Immortal fire, all the world is yours,
Proteus, divine power, all nature’s forms combined.

Moving Forward

To grasp alchemy’s promise, we must seek this Mercury through patient study and practice, as the art demands. Its elusive nature challenges us to look beyond the ordinary, preparing us to explore its role in the transformative miracles of the philosopher’s stone.