The Way of the Crucible
Source entries are currently shown in Spanish; English-first entries arrive with the next cataloguing pass.
Segundo libro de alquimia práctica de Robert Allen Bartlett, continuación declarada del anterior: «ur first book, Real Alchemy, provides a glimpse into the general theory and practices surrounding the Art of Alchemy as handed down in the Western World. With that groundwork laid, this second work delves more deeply into “the why of the how” behind laboratory alchemy and elaborates in greater detail on some of the mineral works of Alchemy both ancient and modern» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 15» —el troceo pierde la capitular *O* de *Our*, que la maquetación imprime suelta al pie de la plana; el defecto es sistemático en cada capítulo y queda declarado en Notas de carga—. La definición que da de su objeto se enuncia contra la lectura psicológica: «Alchemy is the ancient sacred science concerned with the mysteries of life and consciousness, not just in our own psyche but reflected throughout all of Nature» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 11».
El deslinde se repite en la introducción con los tres reduccionismos que rechaza a la vez: «Alchemy is not just a psychological process, nor is it a simple spiritual allegory, or an outdated chemical demonstration. It is a harmonious blending of physical and subtle forces, linked together through hidden correspondences, which lifts the subject, be it man or metal, to a more evolved state of being» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 17». El fin que le adjudica al arte es único para el hombre y para el metal: «The goal of the alchemist is the search for perfection, bringing health on all levels, body, soul, and spirit; complete freedom from disease coupled with longevity and spiritual clarity. For man or metals, this is the real transmutation, this is the Great Work of the alchemist» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 20».
El principio del que cuelga la técnica entera es la correspondencia: «The language, symbolism and operative principles of alchemy rely on what is known as “The Law of Correspondences”. The macrocosm and microcosm are intimately linked and inseparable» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 15», y de ahí que la astrología entre como clave de lectura del vocabulario: «A key to much of this confusion can be found in the language of astrology, the sister science of alchemy» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 16». Al arte le aplica además un nombre que lo saca de la cronología: «Alchemy has been called the “Perennial Philosophy” because all throughout history it has seen many revivals, followed by periods when it was subdued, even outlawed in some countries» «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 15».
El volumen abre con una advertencia de riesgo que no es cláusula editorial sino texto del libro, encabezada *Kids! Don't try this at home!*, y cierra con dos apéndices de datos instrumentales y una bibliografía de setenta y tantos títulos. Entre medias, diecisiete capítulos que van de la comparación entre la alquimia occidental y el rasayana ayurvédico —capítulos uno a nueve— a la obra mineral y metálica propiamente dicha —capítulos diez a diecisiete, con el camino de los acetatos, el libro del antimonio y el libro del oro—, según el índice que la propia obra imprime «Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 5».
1068 claims · 1 source · 1 attribution
Attribution
recorded, never asserted«Bartlett — The Way of the Crucible (2008) · p. 1»
The chain of the work
the processed witness, in emeraldClaims
1068 entries — the work's own voice, with its passage«any people today believe alchemy is just a psychological metaphor concerning the reintegration of our fractured psyche with no basis in the physical world. But any alchemist worth his salt would beg to differ» — así abre el prefacio: la lectura de la alquimia como metáfora psicológica de la reintegración de la psique, sin base en el mundo físico, es la posición a la que Bartlett objeta de entrada. El troceo pierde la capitular *M* de *Many*, que la maquetación imprime suelta al pie de la plana.
«I’ve been exploring alchemy for most of my life and especially its practical applications here in the world around us. The ancient sages advise us that understanding the workings of Nature in this world will aid in our understanding of more subtle realms from which Nature derives» — el prefacio enuncia el orden de conocimiento que adopta: entender el trabajo de la naturaleza en este mundo sería la vía de acceso a los reinos sutiles de los que ella deriva.
«I scoured the local library for information on other experiments with minerals and quickly discovered the world of the alchemists. The artwork and mystic symbols struck a deep chord inside of me, and little did I know it would blossom into a guiding force that would follow me the rest of my days» — el prefacio cuenta el punto de entrada que declara —la biblioteca del pueblo y el mundo de los alquimistas— y el efecto que le atribuye a la iconografía y los símbolos místicos.
«I studied all the texts about alchemy that I could find, but everyone seemed to be reticent and secretive about practical works» — el reproche que dirige a la bibliografía que encontró de niño: reticente y secretiva justo en lo práctico. Es el hueco que el libro dice venir a llenar.
«By the end of high school, I was fully enmeshed in the teachings of The Golden Dawn as presented by Israel Regardie; in fact I devoured all of Regardie’s writings» — la filiación previa que declara el prefacio: la Golden Dawn en la versión de Israel Regardie, cuyos escritos dice haber leído enteros.
«In one of his works, The Philosopher’s Stone, I gained new insights into the world of alchemy, but most importantly a name, Frater Albertus of the Paracelsus Research Society in Salt Lake City, Utah» — de dónde dice haber sacado el nombre de su maestro: *The Philosopher's Stone* de Regardie, obra que tiene ficha en el corpus como `regardie-philosophers-stone-annotated`.
«I was in college now, ostensibly earning a degree in chemistry but not learning what I was really interested in» — el desajuste que declara entre la carrera de química que cursaba y lo que le interesaba.
«After purchasing The Alchemist’s Handbook by Frater Albertus, I realized that here was a man teaching the very things I had been searching after» — el libro que señala como bisagra: el *Alchemist's Handbook* de Frater Albertus, que la bibliografía del volumen cataloga en la edición de la Paracelsus Research Society de 1974 (p. 324).
«In April of 1974, I attended the first of seven 2-week intensive training courses in the Hermetic Arts taught by Frater Albertus, one of the most well-known practical alchemists of the 20th century» — el calendario de su formación —siete cursos intensivos de dos semanas— y la posición que le adjudica a Frater Albertus entre los alquimistas prácticos del siglo XX.
«I even worked underground in an antimony mine, an important resource for the practical alchemist» — el episodio con que cierra el relato de aquellos años, y de paso el anuncio del material al que el libro dedicará su capítulo dieciséis.
«In the third year of classes, Frater Albertus announced that Paracelsus Laboratories (Paralab) was being formulated and would soon be opening its doors» — cómo data la fundación de Paracelsus Laboratories: anunciada por Frater Albertus en el tercer año de clases.
«Paralab proved to be a little ahead of its time and by 1983 was all but officially closed» — el cierre de Paralab hacia 1983, que el prefacio explica por adelanto respecto de su tiempo y no por fracaso técnico.
«Being employed as a chemist allowed me to have access to state of the art chemical instrumentation by which I could follow alchemical experiments in ways undreamed of by the ancient masters of the Art» — la ventaja que reclama para su propia investigación: la instrumentación química profesional le habría permitido seguir los experimentos alquímicos de un modo inaccesible a los antiguos. Es la premisa de los dos apéndices analíticos del final.
«The time scheduled was for a three-hour talk; however, it stretched into five hours and at the end everyone excitedly requested a second class so we could continue» — cómo describe el origen de las clases de las que sale el libro: una charla de tres horas que se alargó a cinco.
«During that time I received so many requests from students for a text they could follow along with that I decided to write Real Alchemy as a primer and introduction to the much larger work I had planned to publish all along; this is that book» — la relación que instituye entre sus dos libros: *Real Alchemy* como cartilla de introducción, y este volumen como la obra mayor que dice haber planeado desde el principio.
«Herein you will find a wealth of information concerning the practical art and science of alchemy that makes this arcane subject accessible to the modern student» — la frase con que cierra el prefacio y enuncia el destinatario del volumen, el estudiante moderno.
«The practice of alchemy requires the participation of many different levels of reality. These constitute the many paths of the path, active at the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. They must all work together in unison because they are extensions of each other» — la introducción enuncia la condición que pone a la práctica: los planos físico, mental y espiritual serían extensiones unos de otros y tendrían que trabajar juntos.
«As the Emerald Tablet of Hermes says: That which is above is like unto that which is below, and that which is below is like unto that which is above» — la formulación de la ley de correspondencia que el volumen imprime, en la versión de la Tabla Esmeralda que él mismo cita; la sentencia no es suya.
«In alchemical texts, one thing may be called by many different names, or many different things are called by the same name» — el obstáculo de lectura que señala en la literatura del arte: sinonimia y homonimia deliberadas.
«Astrology teaches that everything on earth has its correspondence in the sky, and everything in the sky has its correspondence on the earth» — cómo enuncia el principio astrológico del que saca la clave del vocabulario alquímico.
«A thing on earth is said to be ruled by a planet or sign in the heavens. This planet or sign rules other things on the earth having the same vibratory quality. The substance, principle, or quality designated by an alchemist may be called by the name of any one of the various objects ruled by the same astrological influence. Thus did the alchemists write and think in the language of celestial correspondences» — la regla de sustitución que deriva de ahí: un alquimista podría nombrar su materia por cualquier objeto sujeto a la misma regencia. Es su explicación de los *decknamen*.
«Paracelsus stated this principle of correspondence very concisely in his work titled Paragranum» — la fuente que da para su formulación más apretada de la correspondencia, atribuida al *Paragranum* de Paracelso.
«If I have manna in my constitution, I can attract manna from heaven. Melissa is not only in the garden, but in the air and in heaven. Saturn is not only in the sky, but also deep in the earth and in the ocean. What is Venus but the Artemisia that grows in your garden? What is iron but Mars? That is to say Venus and Artemisia are both the products of the same essence, and Mars and iron are both manifestations of the same cause. What is the human body but a constellation of the same powers that formed the stars in the sky? He who knows what iron is, knows the attributes of Mars. He who knows Mars, knows the qualities of iron. What would become of your heart if there were no Sun in the universe? What would be the use of your Vasa Spermatica if there were no Venus» — el pasaje de Paracelso que el volumen imprime en bloque: Venus y la artemisa, Marte y el hierro serían productos de una misma esencia; el cuerpo humano, una constelación de las mismas potencias que formaron las estrellas. La voz es de Paracelso, no de Bartlett.
«to control, purify and transform then by the living power of the spirit—This is true alchemy» — el remate de ese mismo pasaje de Paracelso, que define la alquimia verdadera como captación de los elementos invisibles por sus correspondencias materiales. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 16, donde queda *To grasp the invisible elements, to attract them by*; el troceo imprime *then* por *them*, sic.
«This is Nature’s intention all along; the artist follows nature’s lead and seeks to assist her works and accelerate the process» — la posición que le adjudica al operador frente a la naturaleza: seguir su iniciativa, asistirla y acelerarla, no torcerla.
«The origins of alchemy are presently lost to us in the mists of prehistory; perhaps they will be rediscovered in some future time. The traditions have been passed down to us through several thousand years of practitioners» — cómo trata el origen del arte: perdido en la prehistoria, con la tradición como único hilo. Es la sección *Alchemy* de la introducción.
«A gift of the Gods, a gift from angelic beings, remnants from an ancient advanced culture, a spiritual knowledge passed down by numerous patriarchs of several religions, the list goes on. Where and when are of lesser importance to us compared to the message itself» — la lista de orígenes que enumera sin arbitrar entre ellos, y la razón que da para no arbitrar: el mensaje pesaría más que el dónde y el cuándo.
«The alchemist Eireneaus Philalethes, writing in the late 1600s, put the whole matter to rest very simply, saying: If it is founded on the eternal verities of Nature,» — a quién trae para cerrar la cuestión del origen: Eirenaeus Philalethes, aquí con la grafía *Eireneaus*, sic. El tramo se corta donde arranca la cita en bloque.
«why need I trouble my head with the problem whether this or that antediluvian personage had a knowledge of it? Enough for me to know that it is now true and possible, that it has been exercised by the initiated for many centuries, and under the most distant latitudes;» — el argumento de Philalethes que el volumen imprime: si el arte se funda en las verdades eternas de la naturaleza, la cuestión de qué personaje antediluviano lo conoció sería ociosa. La voz es de Philalethes.
«it may also be observed that though most of these write in an obscure, figurative, allegorical, and altogether perplexing style, and though some of them have actually mixed falsehood with truth» — la reserva que el mismo pasaje de Philalethes pone sobre los autores del arte: estilo oscuro, figurado y alegórico, y algunos mezclando falsedad con verdad para confundir al ignorante.
«Franz Hartmann, the German occultist and author of numerous works in the latter half of the 1800s, described alchemy in the following words:» — la segunda autoridad que la introducción cita en bloque, presentada como ocultista alemán de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX; la bibliografía lo cataloga por *The Life and Doctrines of Paracelsus* (p. 325).
«Alchemy is a Science of Soul that results from an understanding of God, Nature, and Man. A perfect knowledge of any one of them cannot be obtained without the knowledge of the other two, for these three are one and inseparable» — la definición de Hartmann que el volumen imprime: ciencia del alma derivada del conocimiento de Dios, la naturaleza y el hombre, los tres inseparables. La voz es de Hartmann.
«Alchemy is not merely an intellectual but a spiritual science, because that which belongs to the spirit can only be spiritually known. Nevertheless, it is also a science dealing with material things, for spirit and matter are only two opposite manifestations or poles of the eternal One» — la segunda parte de la definición de Hartmann, que sostiene a la vez el carácter espiritual del saber y su trato con lo material, resueltos en la polaridad de lo Uno eterno.
«Alchemy in its more material aspect teaches how minerals, metals, plants, animals, and men may be generated or made to grow from their “seeds”» — el lado material del arte según Hartmann: generar minerales, metales, plantas, animales y hombres a partir de sus semillas.
«In other words, how that generation, which is accomplished during long periods of time in the due course of the action of evolution and natural law, may be accomplished in a comparatively short time, if these natural laws are guided and supplied with the proper material by the spiritual knowledge of man» — y la fórmula con que Hartmann resume la aceleración: hacer en poco tiempo lo que la evolución haría en periodos largos, guiando las leyes naturales.
«It is true that the external manipulations required for the production of certain alchemical preparations may, like an ordinary chemical process, be taught to anybody capable of reasoning» — la concesión de Hartmann sobre lo que sí se enseña: las manipulaciones externas, como cualquier proceso químico.
«However, the results that such a person would accomplish would be without life, for only he in whom the true life has awakened can awaken it from its sleep in matter and cause visible forms to grow from the primordial Chaos of nature» — y el límite que le pone en la misma frase: sin la vida despierta en el operador, el producto sería sin vida. Es la reserva que hace del arte algo distinto de una técnica.
«Alchemy in its highest aspect deals with the spiritual regeneration of man and teaches how a god may be made out of a human being or, to express it more correctly, how to establish the conditions necessary for the development of divine powers in man» — el aspecto más alto del arte según Hartmann, con su propia enmienda dentro de la frase: no hacer un dios de un hombre, sino instituir las condiciones para que se desarrollen en él potencias divinas.
«For as the alchemists agree, the intention of Nature is that all metals attain to the state of gold, the perfect and incorruptible metal» — el axioma que Bartlett adjudica al acuerdo de los alquimistas: la intención de la naturaleza sería que todo metal llegue a oro.
«Through the Law of Correspondences, this attainment is true for all three kingdoms and planes of existence» — cómo extiende ese axioma a los tres reinos por la ley de correspondencia.
«Alchemy is the art of perfecting the metals, say the ancient sages; not only the metals of the forge, but those same metallic essences as reflected in our constitution» — el doble alcance que da al oficio: los metales de la forja y esas mismas esencias metálicas en la constitución humana.
«Each of our experiences in life can be attributed to the metals, from the leaden heaviness of grief, sorrow and poverty to the power and prestige of gold» — la lectura de la experiencia por los metales, del plomo del duelo al oro del poder.
«The Philosopher’s Stone is said to heal metals of their diseases, which are the source of their corruptibility, and remove the impurities that hinder their perfection into gold» — cómo describe la operación de la piedra sobre los metales, en lenguaje médico: sanar sus enfermedades y quitar lo que estorba su perfección.
«In addition to the “Stone of the Wise” is the preparation of the “Elixir of Life”, said to confer a long and healthy life to the one who partakes of it; health not only of the body but of the mind and spirit» — el segundo producto del arte que enumera junto a la piedra, el elixir de vida, con salud de cuerpo, mente y espíritu.
«The alchemists admonish us to follow Nature, for Nature» — la máxima que atribuye a los alquimistas —seguir a la naturaleza— y que el tramo corta en el salto de plana; sigue en la misma plana con *generously provides for all her creations*.
«However, Nature has all of time to bring things to their destined state of perfection» — la diferencia que pone entre la naturaleza y el arte: la primera dispone de todo el tiempo, y el segundo existe para abreviarlo.
«Frater Albertus defined alchemy very succinctly as “consciously assisted evolution” and “raising the vibrations”» — la definición corta que atribuye a su maestro, y que ya había recogido en su primer libro: evolución conscientemente asistida y elevación de las vibraciones.
«The work of the alchemist is concerned with the preservation of vitality and consciousness within his subject and ultimately provoking its evolution into a more refined being» — cómo enuncia el objeto del trabajo: preservar vitalidad y consciencia dentro del sujeto, y provocar su evolución.
«The changes we see in the laboratory do not take place without a corresponding change of conditions on other planes of existence» — la condición que pone a todo cambio de laboratorio: no habría ninguno sin cambio correspondiente en otros planos. Es el principio que separa su práctica de la química.
«The crude body of matter is a reflection of its disorganized and immature spiritual counterpart» — la relación que instituye entre materia cruda y contraparte espiritual inmadura.
«The processes of alchemy seek to remove the hinderances to this spiritual maturity, leading to the formation of an incorruptible spiritual body and its reflection in the outer world» — el fin que asigna a los procesos: quitar los estorbos a la maduración espiritual hasta formar un cuerpo incorruptible. El troceo imprime *hinderances*, sic.
«Nature has a rhythm—there are cycles within cycles occurring all around us at all times, like a symphony; everything is in motion, everything vibrates» — el marco con que abre la sección de las influencias externas: la naturaleza como ritmo de ciclos dentro de ciclos, y la vibración como estado general.
«The seeming differences between things are entirely due to varying rates and modes of vibration» — de dónde hace salir la diferencia entre las cosas: solo de la tasa y el modo de vibración. Es el supuesto que sostiene su idea de transmutación.
«In the laboratory, we can control many of Nature’s processes at our whim, but there are certain external influences we have no control over which are also important to the alchemical art» — el límite que reconoce al control de laboratorio: quedarían fuera influencias externas que igual importan al arte.
«The Earth radiates a living field of energy and is constantly rained down upon with the energies of the cosmos» — cómo describe el intercambio energético del planeta, entre lo que irradia y lo que recibe.
«The influence of the Sun and Moon are especially important to the alchemist; they are the outer garment of the spiritual fire, the Celestial Fire, we seek to incorporate into our matter, or we seek to awaken the inherent fire already residing within» — el papel que da al Sol y la Luna: vestidura externa del fuego celeste que el operador busca incorporar a su materia o despertar dentro de ella.
«As a practical example, during the processes involving the deliquescence of salts, this is not just a simple dissolution of the matter; instead we seek to infuse into our subject the life energy radiating from earth, and the celestial fire raining down from the heavens. The medium of exchange for this is the moist vapor which surrounds and permeates our planet. Water is the carrier of these subtle energies» — cómo relee la delicuescencia de las sales: no una disolución sino una infusión de energía terrestre y celeste, con el vapor húmedo de vehículo.
«This vapor is the exhalation of the earth, or “Spiritus Mundi”, the Cosmic Breath» — el nombre que da a ese vapor, tomado de la tradición: *Spiritus Mundi*, aliento cósmico. Es el término que da nombre a este corpus.
«The ancients called a properly prepared salt a “magnet”, which becomes the vehicle for the vital essence infused into it by the process of deliquescence» — la metáfora que atribuye a los antiguos para la sal bien preparada, imán de la esencia vital.
«Think about plants, getting infused all year to develop their healing potentials and then think about minerals getting infused for millions of years, and you will understand why the sages have all claimed that the most powerful medicines are to be found in the mineral realm» — el argumento que da para preferir el reino mineral: si la infusión de energía es cuestión de tiempo, los minerales llevan millones de años recibiéndola. Es la razón por la que este libro deja el reino vegetal atrás.
«In laboratory works, we try to keep within Nature’s cyclic flow of energy by timing operations compatible to the season» — la primera regla de calendario que enuncia: acompasar la operación a la estación.
«The positive phase of the year, from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox, is dominated by the Volatile, active elements of Air and Fire. During this time the vital essence and Celestial Fire are actively on the rise. This is the time to begin new works. The deliquescence of salts to capture Celestial Fire, processes of exaltation such as distillation and sublimation, regeneration by cohobation and circulations are all favored at this time of the year» — qué obras adjudica a la mitad ascendente del año, dominada por aire y fuego: delicuescencia, destilación, sublimación, cohobación y circulación.
«The negative phase of the year, running from the autumn equinox through winter to the spring equinox, is dominated by the Fixed energies of Water and Earth. The life force begins to hibernate and things start to fall apart. This is a time for works of fermentation, putrefaction, incineration and calcination. A time to separate the pure from the impure. It is also a time to work on salts by dissolution and recrystallization» — y las de la mitad descendente, bajo agua y tierra: fermentación, putrefacción, incineración, calcinación y trabajo sobre sales.
«Each day of the week is under the rule of a particular planetary energy; in fact our names for the days are derived from the planets themselves or from the names of gods and goddesses associated with the planet» — cómo funda la regencia planetaria de los días en la etimología de sus nombres.
«Laboratory works can be favorably enhanced by keeping within the timing of a compatible planetary energy flow» — la segunda regla de calendario: ajustar la operación al flujo planetario compatible.
«For example, if we are working with a Venus ruled herb, we should schedule the various operations to be performed on Fridays» — el ejemplo con que la vuelve operativa: hierba de Venus, obra en viernes.
«In a more generalized way, we might take advantage of the Moon’s influence over liquids to perform dissolutions or the fiery nature of Mars to calcine a material, or the cold, limiting qualities of Saturn to crystallize a salt» — la versión ancha de la misma regla, que empareja operación y planeta por cualidad: Luna y disolución, Marte y calcinación, Saturno y cristalización.
«However, as a practical limit, consideration of planetary hours is as far as we need to go» — el corte práctico que pone a la subdivisión del tiempo: hasta las horas planetarias y no más fino, aunque la tradición baje a minutos y segundos.
«The concept of planetary hours derives from the ancient Chaldean astrologers who divided the time from sunrise to sunset into twelve equal segments called the day hours, and from sunset to sunrise into twelve segments called the night hours» — a quién adjudica el origen de las horas planetarias y en qué consiste la división: doce segmentos de día y doce de noche.
«The progression of these hours is always the same, running from Saturn to the Moon in the same order as the spheres arise on the Qaballistic Tree of Life» — el orden que da a la progresión y la clave que le pone detrás, el ascenso de las esferas en el Árbol de la Vida cabalístico. El troceo imprime *Qaballistic*, sic.
«The first hour after sunrise is always ruled by the same planet that rules that particular day, and thus it is an especially powerful time for working with that planet’s energies» — la regla que hace de la primera hora tras el orto el momento fuerte del planeta del día.
«The traditional method for calculating the planetary hours involves finding the times of sunrise and sunset for a specific location and dividing that interval by twelve to obtain the length of the planetary hour for that day» — el cálculo tradicional que describe, por división del intervalo entre orto y ocaso.
«The length of these hours changes by about four minutes each day, being longer in the summer and shorter in the winter» — el detalle que hace variable la hora planetaria a lo largo del año.
«It all seems like a nightmare of calculation, but there are tables and programs you can find on the Internet which do all the work for you; all you have to know is what day it is and where in the world you are» — cómo despacha la dificultad del cálculo remitiendo a tablas y programas de internet. Es una marca de fecha del volumen.
«There is an easier method which is popular among many artists and was the method favored by Frater Albertus at the Paracelsus College. The method derives from an earlier Rosicrucian teaching» — el método abreviado que declara preferido por Frater Albertus en el Paracelsus College, y la filiación que le atribuye: una enseñanza rosacruz anterior.
«In this method the twenty-four-hour day, from midnight to midnight, is divided into seven equal periods. The periods follow the same order as above, and the time period that encompasses sunrise (3:26 to 6:51 am) is ruled by the planetary ruler of that day» — en qué consiste ese método: siete periodos iguales de medianoche a medianoche, con el que abarca el orto regido por el planeta del día.
«Saturday has a Mercury hour between 8:35 pm and midnight, but the influence of Saturn is constrictive and cold, not very conducive to our present aim» — el ejemplo trabajado con que enseña a elegir hora, y el criterio con que descarta una: la influencia de Saturno sería constrictiva y fría para ese fin.
«Since all of the various systems of planetary hour division agree that the hour of sunrise is ruled by the planet of that day, it is always your safest bet for important works» — la regla de decisión con que despacha las discrepancias entre sistemas de horas: la hora del orto, en la que todos coinciden.
«Most of the ancient cultures based their calendar on the cycles of the moon. The effect of the moon on the ocean’s tides is well known. Did you know this tidal influence also affects the atmosphere and even the earth’s crust? In fact everything on our planet is heavily influenced by the course of the moon» — cómo abre la sección de los ciclos lunares y las mansiones, extendiendo el efecto de marea a la atmósfera y la corteza.
«Some believe that the earth and moon share the same subtle etheric body and the cycles of the moon modulate this energy body in a predictable manner» — la creencia que consigna sin hacerla suya —marcada con *some believe*—: tierra y luna compartirían cuerpo etérico.
«The Waxing Moon is good for Enriching an Essential element by circulations, sublimations, or distillations. Its magnetic influence draws things up, volatilizing, exalting, spiritualizing them» — qué obras adjudica a la luna creciente: enriquecer un elemento por circulación, sublimación o destilación.
«The Waning Moon is good for Separating the Pure from the Impure whether by fermentation, extraction, or calcination, etc» — y las de la menguante: separar lo puro de lo impuro. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la 26 con el símil de la luz lunar que muere.
«Each month, as the moon circles around us, the signs of the zodiac become a backdrop to it, one by one. The moon concentrates these zodiacal energies and focuses them upon the earth. In this way, the alchemist has an opportunity to harness the power of a particular sign in his operations on a monthly time scale» — la función que da a la Luna como concentradora de las energías zodiacales, y el aprovechamiento mensual que saca de ella.
«Another lunar cycle involves its daily motion of about 12 degrees and 51 minutes, through the zodiac. This gives rise to what are known as the 28 Mansions of the Moon» — de dónde deriva las veintiocho mansiones: el movimiento diario de la Luna, de unos doce grados y cincuenta y un minutos.
«Each day, the moon resides in a different “Mansion”, and each mansion has a specific influence. The table below lists the 28 Mansions by their name, derived from the names of stars closest to their starting point. Also listed are the sign and planetary ruler which indicate the type of influence imparted by the moon» — cómo describe la tabla de mansiones que imprime a continuación: nombre tomado de la estrella más cercana al inicio, signo y regente planetario.
«The system of Lunar Mansions used in the West was developed by the ancient Chaldeans» — el origen que adjudica al sistema occidental de mansiones lunares.
«In laboratory alchemy, it provides another guide for opportune times in which to perform operations and capture the momentum of celestial energies» — para qué le sirven las mansiones en el laboratorio: una guía más de elección de momento.
«To such as study astrology (who are the only men I know that are fit to study physick, physick without astrology, being like a lamp without oil) you are the men I exceedingly respect, and such documents as my brain can give you at present (being absent from my study) I shall give you, and an example to shew the proof of them» — la cita que el volumen imprime en bloque sobre el médico astrólogo, con el símil de la lámpara sin aceite; la voz no es de Bartlett sino del autor que copia en esta plana.
«Fortify the body with herbs of the nature of the Lord of the Ascendent, ’tis no matter whether he be a Fortune or Infortune in this case» — la primera de las reglas de ese pasaje citado: fortificar el cuerpo con hierbas de la naturaleza del regente del ascendente, fortuna o infortuna.
«Let your Medicine be something antipathetical to the Lord of the Sixth» — la segunda regla del mismo pasaje: el remedio, antipático al regente de la casa sexta.
«Regard the Heart, keep that upon the wheels because the Sun is the Fountain of Life, and therefore those Universal Remedies, Aurum Potable and the Philosopher’s Stone, cure all diseases by fortifying the heart» — la tercera, con la razón que da: el Sol como fuente de la vida, y el *aurum potabile* y la piedra curando por fortalecer el corazón.
«Laboratory work as meditation or spiritual exercise develops concentration and focus as well as a little dexterity when performed with intention, as all alchemical works should be» — cómo describe el trabajo de laboratorio en clave de ejercicio: meditación que forma concentración, foco y destreza, siempre con intención.
«Before we go any further, you should remember that notebooks and note taking while studying alchemical texts are part of your personal alchemical fixation» — la instrucción de método que da al lector, leída en clave de operación: el cuaderno de notas sería la fijación alquímica personal.
«Later, during periods of Meditation, which is part of the alchemical circulation, your thoughts and concepts are digested and matured into a fruitful harvest of insight» — y la operación que empareja con la meditación: la circulación, que digiere y madura los conceptos.
«The nature of internal works is a personal choice of the individual» — el límite que pone a su propia prescripción interior: la elección del trabajo interno queda al individuo.
«One part of the internal work of the alchemist which we might call Mental Alchemy involves the transformation of our habitual thought patterns» — qué llama alquimia mental: la transformación de los patrones habituales de pensamiento.
«If we are filled with anxiety and fear, we attract events that are of a similar vibration» — el mecanismo que le supone, por vibración semejante.
«Each type of thought has an astrological association to a particular planet and thus, through the law of correspondence, represents the metals upon which we work to transmute» — cómo empalma esa alquimia mental con la de laboratorio: cada tipo de pensamiento tendría planeta, y por correspondencia, metal.
«Just as the various types of tissues of the physical body, such as bone, nerve, and muscle, are organized into the structures that make up the body, the subtle substance of thoughts are organized into structures within our subtle body according to their specific range of vibration; these are our interior stars» — el símil con que describe la organización de los pensamientos en el cuerpo sutil, y el nombre que da al resultado, estrellas interiores.
«The active agent affecting all of these transformations is fire. In the laboratory, we use fire to heat a substance, which in turn raises its vibratory rate. On the mental level this fire is emotion, the fire of desire and enthusiasm, the intensity of pleasure and pain. At the spiritual level it is the fire of aspiration and inspiration» — el agente único que pone detrás de las tres alquimias, con su forma en cada plano: calor en el laboratorio, emoción en lo mental, aspiración en lo espiritual.
«Although it is convenient to classify them as material, mental and spiritual alchemy, they are all really one Art, the alchemy of transformation» — la unidad que reclama para las tres clasificaciones, cerrando la introducción.
«he book Real Alchemy examines the Western alchemical tradition with ideas and methods followed by ancient as well as contemporary artists. The ancient cultures of China and India also developed alchemy into a high art. The terms may be different from those of the West but the philosophical principles are the same» — cómo abre el capítulo primero, deslindando su libro anterior y equiparando los principios filosóficos de China, India y Occidente pese a la diferencia de términos. El troceo pierde la capitular *T* de *The*.
«Chinese laboratory alchemy employs many exotic materials like jade, pearls, mercury, and arsenic, in medicines and in the quest for the Elixir of Immortality» — qué adjudica a la alquimia china de laboratorio: jade, perlas, mercurio y arsénico, en medicinas y en la búsqueda del elixir de inmortalidad.
«Indian alchemy has always been about preparing superior medicines that can work on the physical and subtle parts of man’s constitution» — y qué a la india: medicinas superiores para las partes física y sutil del hombre.
«The transmutation of base metals into gold was also part of Chinese and Indian alchemy, but never considered the primary goal of the art» — la diferencia de jerarquía que señala: en China y en India la transmutación existía, pero no como fin principal.
«The West is always going for the gold, and for a long time the whole focus on alchemy was making gold; they became synonymous in the popular mind. The art of alchemy became very distorted, labeled fraud, even outlawed during various periods of history» — el contraste con Occidente y lo que le atribuye como consecuencia: identificación del arte con la fabricación de oro, y de ahí distorsión, fraude y prohibición.
«Paracelsus (1493-1541) changed that idea around and directed the focus back onto superior medicines prepared through the alchemical art, and lifting mankind from a dark age» — la bisagra que pone en Paracelso, con fechas: el foco devuelto a las medicinas superiores.
«Here is buried Phillippus Theophrastus Paracelsus, the distinguished doctor of medicine, who by wonderful art healed malignant wounds, leprosy, gout, dropsy and other incurable diseases of the body, who gave his possessions for distribution among the poor» — el epitafio de Paracelso que el volumen imprime en bloque; la voz es de la placa, no del autor. El troceo imprime *Phillippus*, sic.
«We will be examining alchemy in both Western and Eastern terms throughout this book. Eastern alchemical ideas represent a tradition which is over 5000 years old, so it is useful for the practicing alchemist to be familiar with this body of knowledge» — el programa comparativo del libro y la antigüedad que reclama para el material oriental, más de cinco mil años.
«The writings from the East very often shed light on subjects which were only disclosed under a heavy veil of secrecy and symbol in the West. We can use them to help guide us through the labyrinth of alchemy» — la función que asigna a las fuentes orientales: alumbrar lo que en Occidente quedó bajo velo de secreto y símbolo.
«Even in very ancient times, India and China had communication and in both lands, alchemy developed along similar lines; the terms and associated mythology may have differed but most of the basic concepts are the same or at least closely parallel» — el contacto antiguo que postula entre India y China, con la reserva *at least closely parallel* dentro de la frase.
«Taoist alchemy of China developed in two parts: nei tan, which is an internal process in which the body and physiological fluids of the alchemist himself formed the vessels and ingredients of the work; and wai tan, which involves laboratory alchemical works» — la partición que da a la alquimia taoísta: *nei tan* interno, con el cuerpo del operador por vasija, y *wai tan* de laboratorio.
«These manual operations provide exterior materials as medicines which assist the process of the Great Work of creating an incorruptible body and elevating man’s finer essence» — qué papel da a las operaciones manuales dentro de esa partición: medicinas exteriores que asisten la Gran Obra.
«In India, there developed two medical traditions which shared the basic tenets, one to the north called Unani ( which received Persian, Islamic, and Greek influences), and a more indigenous tradition to the south known as Siddha. Together they are collectively referred to here as Ayurveda, and comprise a system of internal processes coupled with very powerful medicines to assist one’s evolution toward perfection» — las dos tradiciones médicas indias que distingue —Unani al norte, con influjo persa, islámico y griego, y Siddha al sur— y el nombre colectivo con que las trata en el libro.
«Ayurveda literally means “The Science of Life”. Indian alchemy, and particularly the Siddha tradition, developed a wide variety of alchemical processes for the preparation of metals used in medicines for regeneration of the body and transmutation of metals, in which metallic mercury played a key role. The texts concerning this part of alchemical works are known as Rasa Shastra, one of the eight branches of ayurveda and traditionally held to have been vouchsafed to mankind by the god Shiva himself» — la etimología que da y el corpus que señala como su parte alquímica, el *Rasa Shastra*, una de las ocho ramas del ayurveda, atribuido por tradición a Shiva.
«in the West may in fact be derived from these ancient texts which made their way into the Arabian countries along the old spice trading routes and eventually found their way into the Western world, possibly even in the Library of Alexandria. The goals of Rasa Shastra are to establish perfect health of the body and mind, enhance longevity, and effect the transmutation of base metals into gold. Sound familiar?» — la filiación que propone, con reserva *may in fact*: el arte occidental derivaría de esos textos por la ruta de las especias y el mundo árabe. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 32.
«In his book concerning the life and doctrines of Paracelsus, Franz Hartmann presents the possibility that Paracelsus traveled to India and studied there for nearly 15 years» — la hipótesis que atribuye a Franz Hartmann sobre el viaje de Paracelso a la India; queda como posibilidad, no como dato.
«The common thread running through all of these ancient traditions is that alchemy presents its adherents with a truly holistic approach to individually effecting the changes necessary in body and mind, which result in perfection of self and spiritual enlightenment. We are the base metal that becomes transmuted into incorruptible spiritual gold» — el hilo común que declara entre las tradiciones y la fórmula con que cierra el capítulo: el operador mismo como metal base.
«he concept of Tridosha is of central importance to ayurveda and formed one of the important subjects taught by Frater Albertus at the Paracelsus College. Manfred Junius also mentions the close connection of ayurveda and Western alchemy in his excellent work The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy» — cómo abre el capítulo segundo: el *tridosha* como asunto que Frater Albertus enseñaba en el Paracelsus College, y Manfred Junius como el otro que señaló la conexión, en la obra que el corpus ficha como `junius-spagyrics`. El troceo pierde la capitular *T*.
«In this chapter, we present an overview of this Indian “Science of Life”, which provides valuable keys to understanding our Western “Science of Life”, called Alchemy» — el paralelo que instituye entre las dos ciencias de la vida, la india y la occidental.
«In this system, as in Western alchemy, the ultimate source of All is consciousness, infinite living mind. The principle of polarity, giving rise to the universal essences or “Mahagunas”, is expresssed as Purusha and Prakruti or Shiva and Shakti, the divine couple ( Celestial Niter and Celestial Salt in the West)» — la equivalencia que traza entre los pares fundamentales: Purusha y Prakruti, o Shiva y Shakti, serían el Nitro y la Sal celestes de Occidente.
«The gunas are universal qualities through which we perceive Nature. This is similar to Aristotle’s diagram of the elements coming forth from the qualities of hot, cold, wet and dry» — cómo empareja las *gunas* con el esquema aristotélico de cualidades. El troceo imprime *expresssed*, sic, en la frase anterior.
«The elements in turn form the three essentials of the natural world, called Vata (Air), Pitta (Fire), and Kapha (Water), which express through a body. Don’t let these terms confuse you; these are the same three essentials of Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt respectively, in the Western tradition» — la equivalencia que enuncia entre los tres *doshas* y los tres principios occidentales: Vata con Mercurio, Pitta con Azufre, Kapha con Sal.
«The three alchemical essentials of Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt, in a most subtle state, that is, their essence, are called “Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas”» — la equivalencia que enuncia en el estado más sutil: Mercurio, Azufre y Sal serían Sattva, Rajas y Tamas. El tramo se corta antes del reenvío al apéndice.
«The three essentials here are called Doshas, and everything has a unique blending and balance of the three» — cómo define los *doshas*: los tres esenciales, con mezcla y equilibrio propios en cada cosa.
«In this way, the food we eat, the thoughts we entertain, and the types of activity we perform can be a medicine or a poison to us» — la consecuencia práctica que saca: comida, pensamiento y actividad serían remedio o veneno según el equilibrio propio.
«Ojas is said to be the finest product of digestion, preventing disease, giving luster to the skin and regenerating the whole body; it is a part of man’s quintessential nature. Ojas is part of a trio of sublimated qualities we will look at later» — cómo define el *ojas* —producto más fino de la digestión, parte de la naturaleza quintaesencial del hombre— con la marca *is said to be* que le pone distancia.
«We naturally produce a certain amount of Ojas which maintains health, but it is hard to produce a sufficient amount which will allow the full expression of its power to perfect us body, soul, and spirit; this is where alchemical medicines come in» — el argumento con que hace entrar sus medicinas: el ojas natural bastaría para la salud pero no para la perfección.
«Ojas itself is further refined into Soma, “The Nectar of the Gods”, The Elixir of Immortality» — la escala de refinamiento que traza: el ojas se afinaría en Soma, néctar de los dioses y elixir de inmortalidad.
«Soma is the super refined essence that sustains Agni, the fire and light of consciousness» — y la función que le da al Soma: sostener a *Agni*, fuego y luz de la consciencia.
«In a sense the doshas are the waste products of the three Mahagunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas), which are the essential qualities of consciousness» — la relación que instituye entre *doshas* y *mahagunas*, con la reserva *in a sense*: los primeros como residuo de las segundas.
«The doshas provide a medium for the expression of a unique consciousness in the physical world» — y la función que les asigna: medio de expresión de una consciencia única en el mundo físico.
«Orchestrating this whole process of refinement is the digestive fire (Agni) which also has its several types forming the various hormones, enzymes, etc., involved with digestion and transformation of essence in each of the tissues» — el agente que pone al mando del refinamiento, *Agni*, con sus varios tipos repartidos por los tejidos.
«The products of digestion, including waste, are circulated through the body by a series of ducts or channels (Nadis) which allow communication and transport between the tissues (Dhatus)» — el aparato de conducción que describe: los *nadis* como canales entre los tejidos.
«There are twelve main duct systems (fourteen for women, including menstruation and lactation) physically within the body, and many hundreds of intangible channels which are collectively called “Srotamsi”» — el recuento que da de esos conductos, con la diferencia por sexo que registra.
«not overtaxed by excess or the wrong types of food for our nature; and this includes the type of lifestyle we have as well as our habitual mental/emotional states. Each of these things affects the balance of our blend of doshas, our constitution. The diet we have ultimately becomes digested into consciousness» — la regla de higiene que enuncia y su remate: la dieta acabaría digerida en consciencia. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 38.
«When our doshas become unbalanced, the digestive fire is thrown out of control, being either too hot or too cold to function correctly. This produces materials toxic to our systems such that disease conditions can arise» — cómo hace nacer la enfermedad del desequilibrio de los *doshas*, por descontrol del fuego digestivo.
«These toxins can be divided into three main types. The first is called “Ama”, which is a sticky waste product of incomplete digestion; it can build up in the digestive system» — la partición que da a los venenos internos, y el primero de ellos, *ama*, residuo pegajoso de digestión incompleta.
«Ama is the most common toxin we accumulate through eating the wrong foods or overloading our digestion with excesses. Ama makes you feel heavy, weak, and tired» — de dónde hace venir el *ama* más común y con qué señales se reconocería.
«If ama continues to build up over time, it can spill over into the various duct systems and begin circulating through the body. It then generally settles in some weakened organ or part of the body and obstructs the flow of vital fluids» — el recorrido que describe para el *ama* acumulado: pasaría a los conductos y se asentaría en el órgano débil.
«After ama stagnates here awhile, it becomes a more toxic and reactive substance described as “amavisha”. Visha means irregular, unstable or poisonous» — el segundo veneno de la lista, *amavisha*, con la etimología que da de *visha*.
«Amavisha can react with each of the seven tissues (Dhatus) and their waste products as well as the sub-doshas of the system it is lodged in, to create the various disease symptoms. Depending on the mixture and location, these effects can be physical, emotional, and/or mental» — cómo explica la variedad de síntomas: reacción del *amavisha* con los siete tejidos y los sub-*doshas* del lugar donde se aloja.
«A third type of toxin we can accumulate is from external sources, from our environment, and is called “Garavisha” (artificial poisons). This class of toxin includes pesticides, preservatives, food additives, spoiled food, as well as heavy metals (like lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic); even household products like detergents and the quality of air we breathe can be sources of garavisha» — el tercer veneno, *garavisha*, que es el de origen externo: pesticidas, conservantes, metales pesados, detergentes y aire. Es la entrada de lo industrial en un esquema antiguo.
«The alchemical work is concerned with the removal of all these toxins, establishing the balance of the doshas proper to our constitution, clearing out obstructions in the various channels, and the perfect refinement of substance and mind» — el programa que declara para el trabajo alquímico en clave médica: quitar venenos, equilibrar *doshas*, despejar canales y refinar sustancia y mente.
«Body posture, breath, diet (physical and mental) and specialized medicines are all part of the raw materials whose regulation is necessary to bring us into a higher state of perfection. We cultivate consciousness» — las materias primas que enumera para esa obra sobre uno mismo, y la fórmula con que cierra el capítulo segundo.
«few years back, I was teaching an introductory class on the fundamentals of alchemy. After the class, a student approached me and asked, “How does one incorporate these ideas into everyday life?” The short answer was that the Hermetic Philosophy is a way of looking at life and like ayurveda it is the science of life» — la pregunta de un alumno con que abre el capítulo tercero y la respuesta que dio: la filosofía hermética como manera de mirar la vida, hermana del ayurveda. El troceo pierde la capitular *A* de *A few*.
«Life is the alchemical process going on around us everywhere and at all times. The alchemist strives always to live in harmony with Nature and to assist Her in bringing things to their highest state of perfection» — cómo extiende el proceso alquímico a todo lo que ocurre, y la posición del operador dentro de él: asistir a la naturaleza.
«In addition to our work in the laboratory, there are many practices we can adopt in our daily routine which can assist us on the path of the Great Work» — el programa del capítulo: prácticas de rutina diaria que acompañarían al trabajo de laboratorio.
«Food, water, and air form the prime materials our bodies need in order to function correctly» — las tres materias primas del cuerpo que enumera, en el vocabulario de la *prima materia*.
«The type of lifestyle we lead, including our habitual thought and emotional patterns, provides the subtle food that keeps our mind healthy. And both of these, substance and thought, interact with each other as well, both are aspects of the One» — la contraparte sutil de esa dieta, y la unidad que reclama entre sustancia y pensamiento.
«“Let food be your medicine.” —Hippocrates» — el epígrafe con que abre la sección de la cocina alquímica; la sentencia se atribuye a Hipócrates, no al autor.
«A proper diet is crucial for self-transformation. Cooking is» — la posición que da a la dieta dentro de la obra sobre uno mismo. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la 42.
«Cooking is an art which assists the digestion and assimilation as well as the doshic balance of a meal» — la continuación de esa frase: la cocina como arte que asiste digestión, asimilación y equilibrio de *doshas*.
«The manner in which food is cooked will also affect the doshas. Boiled foods are more vata balancing because they are hot and moist, which is opposite to vata’s cold and dry qualities» — la regla de cocción que enuncia, con su ejemplo: lo hervido equilibraría *vata* por contrariedad de cualidades.
«Raw foods will increase vata with their cold, hard, rough qualities, and so they won’t be digested well by someone with predominant vata qualities» — y el reverso: lo crudo aumentaría *vata* y sentaría mal a quien lo tiene dominante. Es un consejo que va contra el sentido común dietético corriente.
«The early “Spice Roads” connected China and India with “The Arabias” and provided exotic materials and information» — la ruta que señala como vía de circulación de materiales e información entre Oriente y el mundo árabe.
«We use spices to adjust the taste of food to our palate, though not always with good judgment» — cómo introduce las especias, con su reserva sobre el uso corriente.
«Most of this is just common sense; for example, hot, spicy foods will increase the fire element or pitta» — el criterio con que empareja especia y *dosha*, que él mismo llama sentido común.
«Count St Germain, an alchemist of the 17th century, was known to be very particular about preparation of his food when he was out and about» — el ejemplo histórico con que ilustra el cuidado de la comida; data al conde de Saint Germain en el siglo XVII, y el troceo imprime *St Germain*, sin punto abreviativo, tal cual.
«The rule of usage is that “like increases like” and “opposites balance”» — la regla de dos términos con que gobierna toda la dietética del capítulo.
«Hot spicy foods will increase the hot spicy qualities of pitta and balance the cold of vata and kapha;» — el ejemplo con que la aplica al picante.
«Cold and rough foods like raw vegetables will increase vata, as will dry foods like crackers and chips» — y el que la aplica a lo crudo y lo seco, con ejemplos de comida industrial.
«of a substance represents how it was formed from the basic elements of the universe, what therapeutic properties it has, and which organs it will affect. In preparing a meal, we can use mixtures of common spices to adjust the qualities it expresses, thus making it more compatible with our elemental balance» — qué lee en el sabor: la formación del material a partir de los elementos, sus propiedades terapéuticas y los órganos que tocará. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 44, donde queda *The taste*.
«Taste affects not only the body, but the mind and emotions as well. We use these connections in our everyday speech like describing someone as “sweet” or feeling “bitter” about some incident» — cómo extiende el sabor a la mente y los afectos, con el argumento del habla corriente.
«The sweet taste is said to increase the vital essence of life. It is found in many foods, such as sugar, milk, rice, dates, bananas and raisins. It increases Kapha and decreases Vata and to a lesser extent, Pitta. It is a cooling taste, which helps in building all seven body tissues. With proper use, it increases strength and promotes longevity. In excess, it causes congestion and laziness, builds toxins and causes obesity» — la primera entrada del catálogo de sabores: el dulce, con su efecto sobre los tres *doshas*, lo que construye y lo que provoca en exceso.
«moderation, it promotes stability and a sense of contentment, and is associated with the emotions of love, compassion, happiness, and bliss. It is made of the elements earth and water» — el cierre de la entrada del dulce: sus afectos y los dos elementos que lo componen. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 45.
«The sour taste is found in fermented foods and citrus fruit, sour cream, many types of cheese, and vinegar. It increases Kapha and Pitta and decreases Vata. It is a heating taste, which counters thirst, helps maintain acidity and improves appetite and digestion. In excess, it increases acidity and causes excessive thirst, heartburn and ulcers» — la entrada del ácido, con su efecto calorífico y lo que provoca en exceso.
«It is a stimulant and can energize the body as well as enlighten the mind. It is associated with the emotions of appreciation, recognition, envy, jealousy, and hate» — los afectos que la misma entrada adjudica al ácido, junto a su acción estimulante.
«The salty taste is found in sea salt, rock salt, and seaweed. It increases Kapha and Pitta and decreases Vata. It is a slightly heating taste, which maintains proper electrolyte balance and metabolism, helps cleanse the body of waste and improves appetite and digestion» — la entrada del salado, con su acción sobre electrolitos y metabolismo.
«The hot taste is found in hot spices, like peppers or ginger; also in vegetables like onions, garlic and radishes. It increases Pitta and Vata and decreases Kapha. It is drying and heating in nature, which improves metabolism, appetite and digestion, clears the sinuses, and promotes clarity of perception. In excess it causes burning, choking and sexual debility. It can also increase irritability and anger» — la entrada del picante, con lo que mejora y lo que daña en exceso, incluida la debilidad sexual.
«The bitter taste is found in many herbs, like aloe vera, turmeric, golden seal, and coffee» — la entrada del amargo y sus materiales. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la 47.
«and increases Vata. It is a cooling and drying taste, which tones the organs, increases appetite, relieves fevers, and is detoxifying. In excess, it damages the heart and causes sexual debility» — la continuación de la entrada del amargo: tónico, febrífugo y detoxificante, con el exceso dañando el corazón. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 46.
«It is associated with the emotions introspection, selfawareness, grief and disappointment» — los afectos del amargo. El troceo une *self-awareness* partido en el renglón y lo devuelve *selfawareness*; la forma con guion es la del impreso.
«The astringent taste is found in many common herbs and green vegetables, such as alfalfa sprouts, green beans, okra, and chickpeas» — la entrada del astringente, con sus alimentos.
«It is a cooling, drying taste, which reduces secretions, particularly sweating» — la acción que le asigna: enfriar, secar y reducir las secreciones.
«Sour, salty and pungent are heating in their effect, while bitter, astringent and sweet are cooling» — el resumen térmico con que ordena los seis sabores en dos series.
«Our teeth are the mortar and pestle of the body, grinding the raw materials together with the appropriate digestive fires, provided by the saliva, into a homogeneous mass with determined qualities» — el símil con que traslada el vocabulario de laboratorio al cuerpo: dientes como mortero, saliva como fuego digestivo.
«These natural affinities allow us to modify our elemental balance through specific pathways» — para qué sirve todo el catálogo: modificar el equilibrio elemental propio por vías determinadas.
«We all possess qualities from each of the three doshas, but in different proportions» — la premisa de la constitución individual con que abre la sección de autodiagnóstico.
«This little bit of self-knowledge is key to maintaining the health of your body and mind» — el valor que da a ese autoconocimiento.
«If we accumulate too much of an excess beyond our usual constitution, we become unbalanced, our digestion is impaired and toxins (ama) are formed, which can lead to disease conditions» — cómo enlaza el desequilibrio con la formación de *ama* y la enfermedad, cerrando el círculo del capítulo segundo.
«In astrology, each of the planets, as a living being, also has its own unique blend of the doshas» — el puente que tiende entre los *doshas* y la astrología: cada planeta tendría su mezcla propia.
«The cool moisture of the Moon may turn into steam in Aries or ice under the influence of Capricorn» — cómo hace variar esa mezcla por el signo, con la reserva *may* dentro de la frase.
«If your birthchart shows a lot of water and earth qualities, that would be kapha. Fire predominant indicates pitta tendencies, while a predominance of activity in air signs will indicate vata qualities» — la regla de lectura de la carta natal en clave de *doshas*, que hace del horóscopo un instrumento de diagnóstico.
«Mars has a lot of fiery Pitta qualities» — cómo adjudica a Marte el *dosha* de fuego.
«Saturn manifests the cold, dry, and heavy qualities of Vata and Kapha» — y a Saturno, dos *doshas* a la vez.
«Materials can be conveniently classified, based on their dominant qualities, into one of the seven possible combinations of vata, pitta and kapha and thus how they will affect our doshic balance» — el sistema de clasificación de materiales que anuncia: siete combinaciones posibles de los tres *doshas*.
«Chart 6 of appendix I lists a number of herbs and spices and their effect on the doshas (their VPK Factors), as well as their overall heating or cooling quality» — a qué tabla del apéndice remite para ese sistema, con la sigla *VPK* que usa en todo el libro.
«As an example, V+ indicates the material increases vata, V- means vata is decreased and Vo means the substance has no effect on vata» — la notación que instituye para esas tablas.
«Herbs marked as VPK= are those which strengthen all three doshas equally» — y la marca que reserva para las hierbas que fortalecen los tres por igual.
«Therefore, to suggest a “magic” diet for all to follow would be useless, even dangerous» — el límite que pone a su propia dietética: no habría régimen bueno para todos.
«I have often heard people complain of constant illness popping up when they “have been so careful” to eat only fresh, raw organic fruits and vegetables. Such a regimen was entirely inappropriate for their particular blend of energies or balance of doshas, whereas for another, the same diet helped them regain a state of excellent health» — el caso con que lo argumenta: la misma dieta cruda y orgánica sería remedio para unos y enfermedad para otros, según el equilibrio de *doshas*.
«If we overburden our fire, our systems get choked by the smoke of unburned food and then we get problems; you could even choke the fire out» — el símil del fuego con que explica la sobrecarga digestiva.
«We usually favor food and activities which are like our dominant dosha, so a vata dominant person for example will always be on the go, love dry crackers and chips; all the things that increase vata» — la trampa que señala en el apetito: se tiende a lo que aumenta el propio *dosha* dominante.
«A kapha dominant person will love milk, cheese and ice cream, as well as naps in the daytime. All of these will increase kapha. The pitta person will pour on the hot spices, adding fire to fire» — los otros dos casos de esa misma trampa, para *kapha* y *pitta*.
«“Like increases like” and “opposites balance” is all we have to remember in maintaining our proper balance» — la regla a la que reduce todo el capítulo del régimen.
«In modern society, we often adopt a tendency of repressing or postponing the urge to void wastes» — la costumbre moderna que objeta: reprimir o aplazar la evacuación.
«As an example, vata predominant people tend to be hyperactive, always on the go and filled with anxieties and insecurities» — el retrato de carácter que adjudica al predominio de *vata*.
«If we sleep in later than 6 am, we will accumulate kapha rapidly and feel heavy and slow throughout the day» — la regla horaria que enuncia sobre el sueño y la acumulación de *kapha*.
«In the laboratory, vata periods are subtle and volatile, so distillations and sublimations are enhanced during these periods» — cómo traslada el reloj de los *doshas* al laboratorio: destilación y sublimación en las horas de *vata*.
«Incinerations and calcinations can be performed during pitta periods, and dissolutions or crystallizations during kapha’s influence» — y las obras que asigna a las horas de *pitta* y de *kapha*.
«If we can additionally work under the appropriate moon phase and planetary hour, the effects are especially enhanced» — cómo suma esa capa horaria a la lunar y la planetaria; los tres relojes se acumulan.
«These three universal qualities affect both our minds and our bodies. The doshas are a reflection of these qualities at a lower level, and just as all materials express a blending of the three doshas, so do all things express a combination of sattva, rajas and tamas» — la relación de niveles que instituye entre *mahagunas* y *doshas*: los segundos, reflejo de las primeras en un plano inferior.
«Although the elements are born in the womb of tamas, they each contain all three mahagunas in varying proportion» — la reserva que pone a esa genealogía: los elementos nacerían de *tamas* pero llevarían las tres cualidades.
«Tamas opposes the activity of rajas and the illuminating nature of sattva» — cómo define *tamas* por oposición a las otras dos.
«Vata is said to be composed of 75% Rajas, 20% Sattva, and 5% Tamas» — la composición que da a *vata* en porcentajes, con la marca *is said to be*.
«Pitta is 50% Rajas, 45% Sattva, and 5% Tamas» — la de *pitta*.
«Kapha is 5% Rajas, 20% Sattva, and 75% Tamas» — y la de *kapha*, invertida respecto de *vata*.
«Vata, being composed of the elements air and ether, shows its sublimed essence as Prana, working mainly through the ether element» — la esencia sublimada que asigna a *vata*: *prana*, obrando sobre todo por el éter.
«Tejas creates Ojas and Ojas protects Prana» — la cadena de dependencia que traza entre las tres esencias sublimadas.
«At the subtle level, Ojas is the substance of the aura, Tejas is the light and color of the aura, and Prana is the activity within the aura» — cómo reparte las tres esencias en el aura: sustancia, luz y actividad.
«Ayurveda says that Soma is the mother of Prana and Tejas is the father of Prana» — la filiación que la doctrina ayurvédica da al *prana*, según él.
«Its Father is the Sun; its Mother is the Moon; the Wind carries it in its womb; and its nurse is the Earth» — la sentencia de la Tabla Esmeralda que trae al lado de esa filiación; la voz es del texto hermético, no suya.
«The qualities of Ojas have been described in ancient texts as heavy, cool, soft, smooth, viscous, unctuous, sweet, stable, clear, and sticky» — las diez cualidades que los textos antiguos darían al *ojas*, según él.
«Foods such as ghee, milk, dates, almonds, basmati rice and avocados help to replenish ojas» — los alimentos con que lo repondría.
«Herbs such as ashwagandha, amalaki, and shatavari nourish ojas» — y las hierbas.
«Behaviors which promote the formation of ojas include yoga, meditation, reading sacred writings, chanting mantras or prayers, practicing selfless anonymous generosity and right thinking» — las conductas que le atribuye efecto sobre el *ojas*; es el punto donde la práctica moral entra en la economía material del libro.
«Remember that any quality applied to a substance will increase that quality in that substance» — el principio general que saca de todo lo anterior, y que le sirve de puente hacia el laboratorio.
«If a substance is exposed to qualities such as those embodied in ojas, then that substance will become more ojas-like» — la aplicación de ese principio a la materia de la obra.
«Plants and minerals also contain their own forms of Soma, which are separated and concentrated in alchemical works in order to create powerful transformative Elixirs in the service of the alchemist» — cómo cierra la analogía: plantas y minerales tendrían su propio Soma, y separarlo y concentrarlo sería el objeto del arte.
«Sattva is defined as the quality of purity and goodness» — la definición corta que da de *sattva*.
«Sattvic foods promote clarity of perception and calmness of mind» — el efecto que atribuye a los alimentos *sátvicos*.
«Rajasic food should be avoided by those whose aim is peace of mind, but can benefit those who generally feel sluggish and heavy» — la prescripción de los alimentos *rajásicos*, con su límite: convendrían a quien se siente pesado.
«In order to enhance spiritual development, the ancient masters recommend we follow a diet high in sattvic foods» — la recomendación que adjudica a los maestros antiguos.
«The traditional advice is to fill the stomach half with food, one quarter with water, leaving the last quarter empty» — la regla tradicional de proporción que cita para la comida.
«Rainwater is held to be the most sattvic of natural waters and filled with solar prana» — cómo jerarquiza las aguas naturales; el agua de lluvia arriba, con la marca *is held to be*.
«Well water is the most tamasic due to its static contact with the earth» — y el agua de pozo abajo, por su contacto estático con la tierra.
«Vata needs most (10 to 12 cups per day), and the water should be very warm, in order to balance the cold dryness of vata» — la ración de agua que asigna a *vata* y la temperatura que le conviene.
«Cold drinks seriously hamper the digestive fire and are not recommended for anyone» — la única prohibición que hace general en todo el régimen: las bebidas frías.
«Pollution is a global problem and pure water is hard to find» — el obstáculo práctico que reconoce a la doctrina del agua.
«Even the pure rain, most sattvic of all, is contaminated and in some areas can become quite corrosive» — y hasta dónde lo lleva: la lluvia, la más *sátvica*, estaría contaminada y podría ser corrosiva.
«One would think that distilled water is distilled water no matter how you divide the distillation products. However, experience has shown that there are subtle differences in the various fractions» — la objeción experimental que opone al sentido común químico: las fracciones de una misma destilación no serían equivalentes.
«One would have expected them to be uniformly frozen at those temperatures, but that was not the case» — cómo describe el resultado que contradijo su expectativa en el ensayo de congelación.
«Liquids in general, and water in particular, come under the rulership of the Moon» — la regencia astrológica que asigna al agua.
«Water has a strong connection with the Moon and shares its magnetic and nurturing qualities as well as its susceptibility to psychic impression» — las cualidades que le traspasa de esa regencia, incluida la de recibir impresión psíquica.
«The magnetic power of water, that is to say, its power to attract, is temperature sensitive» — la variable física que introduce en esa doctrina: la temperatura.
«If we impress thought and feeling onto water, those energies will be attracted to the water and held, like a magnet holds onto iron» — el símil del imán con que describe la retención de pensamiento por el agua.
«The next time you wash your hands, collect your thoughts that you are not only washing away physical impurities, but also anxiety, depression, tiredness, and sorrow» — el ejercicio doméstico con que vuelve operativa esa doctrina, y que empareja lavado físico y lavado afectivo.
«e have mentioned Prana at various points in this text as the vital life force or Mercury of the alchemist and intimated its presence streaming out from the Sun and filling the air we breathe; but this is just the tip of the iceberg» — cómo abre el capítulo sexto la identificación que sostiene todo el libro: el *prana* sería el Mercurio del alquimista. El troceo pierde la capitular *W* de *We*.
«The Mahaguna rajas, the active force of Nature, is said to give rise to the activities of prana» — de dónde hace nacer la actividad del *prana*, con la marca *is said to*.
«The control of prana is called Pranayama, a term which is often mistakenly translated to mean breath control» — la enmienda que hace a la traducción corriente de *pranayama*.
«Pranayama is not concerned solely with breath control; breathing is only one of the many exercises through which we get to the real pranayama» — y en qué consiste la enmienda: la respiración sería uno de los ejercicios, no el término.
«Although it acts passively, the skin plays an important role in eliminating wastes from the body and absorbing prana from the air» — la función que da a la piel dentro de la economía del *prana*.
«Within the body, the channels of prana include not only the respiratory tract but also the entire gastrointestinal tract, the left chamber of the heart, the hypothalamus, and of course the nose» — el mapa corporal de los canales de *prana* que traza, que mezcla anatomía moderna y doctrina antigua.
«The Latin word spiro, meaning to breathe, is the root of the word spirit, and thus we see the connection with the alchemist’s Mercury or life force carried by the air» — la etimología con que empalma *spiritus* y el Mercurio alquímico; es el nudo de su equivalencia entre las dos tradiciones.
«You may have noticed that your nostrils do not always work at the same efficiency; often one is more clear than the other, but it changes throughout the day» — la observación de la que cuelga toda la técnica de los orificios nasales.
«When the breath is predominantly through the right nostril, the body becomes more acidic and heated» — el efecto que adjudica a la respiración por la fosa derecha.
«When the left nostril predominates, the body chemistry is more alkaline and cooled, and the left lung and left side nerve currents are activated along with the right side of the brain» — y el que adjudica a la izquierda, con la lateralidad cruzada del cerebro.
«These guidelines on breath provide us with a simple means to consciously alter our body chemistry and mental states» — el alcance que reclama para esas reglas: alterar a voluntad la química del cuerpo y el estado mental.
«In order to change which nostril predominates, it is usually sufficient to lie down on the opposite side and breathe only through the nostril you want to open» — el procedimiento con que dice conseguirlo.
«Many people breathe with only a portion of the lungs; this is called shallow breathing. Usually only the upper part of the lungs are filled and this leads to poor oxygenation of the blood, making us feel tired all the time» — el defecto que señala en la respiración corriente y lo que le atribuye.
«Proper breathing begins with the abdomen and is called the total, full, or yogic breath» — el nombre que da a la respiración correcta.
«A short pause at the top of the breath allows a more efficient exchange of gases and prana to occur» — el detalle técnico de la pausa alta.
«If you can take the breath down below eight times per minute, the pituitary starts secreting fully» — el umbral de frecuencia respiratoria que asocia a la secreción de la hipófisis.
«If the breath is less than four times per minute, the pineal gland starts to function fully and deep meditation is automatic» — y el umbral que asocia a la pineal y a la meditación profunda; es una fisiología que el libro no somete a prueba.
«The technique of alternate nostril breathing balances the currents of ida and pingala along the sushumna, enhancing meditation and exaltation of consciousness» — el efecto que adjudica a la respiración alterna sobre *ida*, *pingala* y *sushumna*.
«With left nostril still closed, inhale through the right nostril, then block it again with the thumb and exhale through the left nostril» — el paso de la instrucción práctica que da para esa técnica.
«A powerful method for burning toxins from the body is called the breath of fire» — la segunda técnica del capítulo, y para qué la propone.
«This is a very balanced breath with no emphasis on the inhale or exhale; both are performed with equal power» — cómo la caracteriza.
«This is a cleansing breath for the blood and helps to release old toxins from the lungs, mucous lining, and blood vessels» — el efecto que le atribuye sobre sangre, pulmones y mucosas.
«This breath technique is used to cool the body and is useful to regulate fevers and blood pressure; it also cures many digestive ailments» — el efecto que atribuye a la respiración refrescante *Sitali*, con una afirmación terapéutica sin reserva.
«An important principle to remember here is that where we focus our attention is where our energy goes» — el principio con que gobierna los ejercicios de dirección de energía.
«As you breathe in, feel the air and energy entering in through every pore of the skin’s surface and concentrating itself evenly throughout the body» — el ejercicio de respiración por la piel que describe.
«With practice you will be able to fill the body with energy of a specific vibration, concentrate it into your hands, and then release it into an object or substance you are working upon in the laboratory» — adónde lleva ese ejercicio en este libro: cargar la propia energía y descargarla sobre la materia del laboratorio. Es donde la práctica interior se vuelve operación.
«The physical body is the vehicle for our internal energies, which are derived from Prana» — la relación que instituye entre cuerpo y energías internas.
«At the most basic level, an asana is a physical pose, a kind of bodily gesture» — la definición mínima que da del *asana*.
«The goal of asana practice is to calm the body so that we can work on our Prana» — el fin que le asigna, subordinado al trabajo sobre el *prana*.
«Prana manifests most powerfully when the body is still» — la razón que da para esa subordinación.
«A gentle, slow asana practice evenly balanced on both sides of the body is the ideal exercise for Vata types» — la prescripción que da a los tipos *vata*.
«Pitta types benefit from asana practices which cool down the head and blood, calm the heart and relieve tension» — la que da a los *pitta*.
«People with Kapha dominant need movement and stimulation to balance their tendency to complacency and inertia» — y la que da a los *kapha*.
«Ayurveda does not look upon asanas as fixed forms that by themselves either increase or decrease the doshas» — el límite que pone a su propia tabla de prescripciones: la postura no obraría por sí sola.
«Asanas are conditions of energy, which in turn are manifestations of consciousness. The energy and attention that we put into the pose are as important as the pose itself» — y en qué pone el peso a cambio: la energía y la atención puestas en la postura.
«There are far too many asanas for us to do justice to the subject here, so it will be helpful to find an elementary text on Hatha Yoga as a guide» — la deuda que declara sobre este material y adónde remite al lector.
«t is common to speak of our higher levels of being or deeper aspects of ourselves, so it will be useful to gain a clear picture of just what this all means. Spiritual traditions of all ages have divided our constitution into a number of distinct aspects. In alchemy, we speak of the body, soul and spirit, or salt, sulfur and mercury inherent in all things» — cómo abre el capítulo séptimo, poniendo la partición alquímica de cuerpo, alma y espíritu junto a las de otras tradiciones. El troceo pierde la capitular *I* de *It*.
«In ancient Egypt, a person was seen to be composed of a number of physical and spiritual components, most importantly the Khat, the Ka and the Ba. The qabalist will speak of the Guph, Nephesh, Ruach and Yechidah. Today, we hear of the physical body, etheric body, astral body, mental body, and spiritual body» — las tres nomenclaturas que alinea sin arbitrar entre ellas: la egipcia, la cabalística y la teosófica moderna.
«These are all states of the one energy or consciousness; mind seems to manifest itself in different layers. As the Emerald Tablet of Hermes says, “all things are derived from the one only thing”» — la unidad que reclama detrás de esas particiones, apoyada en una sentencia de la Tabla Esmeralda que él cita.
«It is sometimes difficult to distinguish where one layer ends and another begins because all of Nature is really a continuum of energy separated only by relative rates of vibration» — la reserva que pone a toda división de niveles: la naturaleza sería un continuo, y el corte, de conveniencia.
«Emotions have their levels of vibration and thoughts have their levels. In a sense, the physical body is crystallized mind» — la fórmula con que cierra ese continuo, con la marca *in a sense*: el cuerpo físico como mente cristalizada.
«Plants and minerals have their own energy bodies as well» — la extensión que hace de esos cuerpos energéticos a plantas y minerales, que es lo que le permite trasladar toda la doctrina al laboratorio.
«In essence, the core of our being, pure consciousness, expresses itself through three bodies wrapped in a series of sheathes called Koshas. This is often described as like the layers of an onion enclosing the divine spark at its center, our innate or central fire» — el esquema de los *koshas* que adopta, con el símil de las capas de cebolla en torno a la chispa divina.
«Starting with the most dense and lowest vibratory level is the Annamaya Kosha. Anna means food and maya means “made of”, so this is often called the “Food Body”; it is the physical vehicle nourished by food and drink. Our diet and the physical components of alchemical medicines affect this level» — el primer *kosha* y qué lo toca: la dieta y el componente físico de las medicinas alquímicas.
«The term Maya is often translated as illusion, but it is not so much illusion as we normally think of that word but relative reality as opposed to absolute reality. Maya describes the principle of ever-changing matter, constantly going through the cycles of creation, preservation and destruction, so it is never static. What we perceive is constantly changing and thus a transitory illusion» — la enmienda que hace a la traducción corriente de *maya*: no ilusión sino realidad relativa, materia en cambio perpetuo.
«The second level is termed the Pranamaya Kosha, the vital body which sustains the activities of prana. This sheath is the first layer of the subtle body» — el segundo *kosha*, primera capa del cuerpo sutil.
«In the West, this is referred to as the “Etheric Body”. The solar prana in the air we breathe and the food we eat, and that captured in alchemical preparations vitalize this part of our constitution» — la equivalencia occidental que le da y qué lo vitaliza, incluidas las preparaciones alquímicas. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 82.
«The third kosha is called Manomaya Kosha. This is from the term Manas, which means mind. This portion of the subtle body is responsible for psychic activities and emotional states. In the West it is called the astral body» — el tercer *kosha* y su equivalencia occidental, el cuerpo astral.
«The subtle psychic impressions captured by or impressed upon alchemical medicines during their preparation affect this kosha and the next two» — el punto donde la impresión psíquica del operador entra en la medicina: afectaría los *koshas* superiores.
«The fourth kosha is called Jnanamaya Kosha, from the word meaning knowledge. This sheath along with the next, form the mental body. At this level, what we might term the lower mind has its seat» — el cuarto *kosha* y la parte del cuerpo mental que le adjudica.
«The fifth level is known as Vijnanamaya Kosha and is the seat of higher intellectual activities» — el quinto.
«While it is convenient to think of these several levels as distinct entities, remember they shade into one another, they all interconnect and affect each other» — la reserva con que cierra la escala entera: los niveles se degradarían unos en otros, y el corte es de conveniencia.
«as we learn to control breath, it also has beneficial effects on the other koshas;» — el efecto que atribuye al control de la respiración sobre los demás *koshas*. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 83.
«For you now have a Heavenly Oil that shines on a dark night and emits light as from a glowing coal. And the reason for this is that its innermost» — el epígrafe con que cierra el capítulo séptimo: el aceite celeste que brilla en la noche oscura. La voz es de Roger Bacon, a quien el volumen atribuye un *Tract on the Tincture and Oil of Antimony*; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«power and soul has become thrown out unto the outermost, and the hidden soul is now revealed and shines through the pure body as a light through a lantern: Just as on Judgement Day our present invisible and internal souls will manifest through our clarified bodies, that in this life are impure and dark, but the soul will then be revealed and seen unto the outermost of the body, and will shine as the bright sun» — la continuación de ese pasaje de Bacon, con el símil de la linterna y la analogía del día del juicio: el alma sale a lo exterior del cuerpo purificado. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 84.
«The rasayana or rejuvenation therapy is meant to provide the required nourishment to all these six layers of the individual and not merely the physical body» — el segundo epígrafe de esa plana, tomado del *Metallic Medicines* de Dash: la terapia *rasayana* alimentaría las seis capas y no solo el cuerpo. La voz es de Dash.
«asayana is a word for rejuvenation in Ayurveda. Rasayana is a branch of Ayurveda and a development from Rasa Shastra which most closely mirrors the alchemical tradition of the West» — cómo abre el capítulo octavo y la equivalencia que instituye: el *rasayana*, salido del *Rasa Shastra*, sería el espejo más cercano de la tradición occidental. El troceo pierde la capitular *R*.
«It literally means “the path of juice”, which aims to nourish, restore and balance the body functions» — la etimología que da del término.
«This potential is based on the constitutional type of each person. Therefore, if an imbalance or a disease process occurs within the body, it is possible to recover from this imbalance and regain equilibrium, halt deterioration or premature aging and reinstate order in all of the bodies» — el alcance que reclama para la terapia y su condición: el potencial dependería del tipo constitucional.
«According to classical Ayurvedic texts, Rasayana therapy arrests aging and enhances intelligence, memory, strength, youth, luster, clarity of voice and vigor. It works to nourish each of the seven tissues (dhatus), thus preventing degenerative changes and illness» — lo que la terapia haría según los textos clásicos, con la fuente citada dentro de la frase.
«Rasayana is held to improve metabolic processes and produce the highest quality bodily tissues in order to eradicate senility and other diseases of old age. From this treatment, one attains optimal strength of physique and clarity of the senses. It also builds natural resistance against infection» — la segunda tanda de efectos, marcada con *is held to*.
«Rasayana medicines form a group of medicinal herbs and metallic preparations that are often employed as complex mixtures which bring about a striking improvement in both the mental and physical health of the individual. These preparations not only work on the physical body but also open the subtle channels (nadis) of man’s finer structure and increase the production of refined ojas and prana» — de qué se componen esas medicinas —hierbas y preparados metálicos— y el efecto doble que les atribuye, sobre el cuerpo y sobre los canales sutiles. Es el puente hacia la mitad mineral del libro.
«Bala (Sida cordifolia), Kashmari (Gmelina arborea), and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) act as general dietary aids for increasing the strength of tissues and organs» — la primera entrada del catálogo de *rasayanas* vegetales, con el nombre botánico al lado del sánscrito.
«Pippali (Piper longum) acts as “Respiratory Rasayana”. Its use in several preparations is also mentioned by Paracelsus» — el caso que le sirve de puente entre las dos tradiciones: la pimienta larga, que dice usada también por Paracelso.
«Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) acts as “Digestive Rasayana” by eliminating waste products from the tissues and organs, particularly in the intestinal tract» — el *rasayana* digestivo del catálogo.
«Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), Gotu Kola (Hydrocotyl asiatica), Vacha (Acorus calamus), Shankhpushpi (Convolvulus pluricaulis) and Fo Ti (Centella asiatica) all help to increase intellect and memory, thereby acting as Brain Tonics» — las cinco plantas que agrupa como tónicos cerebrales.
«Guggulu (Commiphora mukul), a close relative of Myrrh, helps further digestion of waste products and removal of Ama» — el *guggulu*, emparentado con la mirra, contra el *ama*.
«Amalaki (Embelica officinalis) and Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) decrease the catabolic process and thus postpone ageing» — las dos plantas a las que atribuye retardo del envejecimiento por freno del catabolismo.
«Bhallataka (Semicarpus anacardium) has a powerful immune promoting substance held to overcome many conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and some stages and types of malignancies (cancer)» — la afirmación terapéutica más fuerte del catálogo, marcada con *held to overcome*: artritis reumatoide y algunos estadios de cáncer.
«Bhringaraj (Eclipta alba) prevents aging processes and helps rejuvenate bones, teeth, hair, sight, hearing and memory» — el *bhringaraj* y lo que dice rejuvenecer.
«Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) is perhaps best known as a female rejuvenative» — el rejuvenecedor femenino del catálogo, con la reserva *perhaps*.
«Kapikachhu (Mucuna pruriens) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) promote generative activities in the tissues, restore senile sexual dysfunctions and cure impotency» — las dos plantas a las que atribuye acción sobre la función sexual.
«Chyawanprash enhances body metabolism and immunity and is considered to be one of the most health promoting products of Ayurveda» — el preparado compuesto que sitúa en lo alto del catálogo.
«The combination of Saffron, Aloe, and Myrrh forms the basis of the “Elixir of Property” of Paracelsus and is also mentioned in the Circulatum Minus of Urbigerus as “a most excellent cordial, and almost of as great efficacy and virtue as the Universal Elixir itself in curing all curable distempers”» — la convergencia que señala entre las dos tradiciones: azafrán, áloe y mirra estarían en el elixir de Paracelso y en el *Circulatum Minus* de Urbigerus, cuya alabanza cita entre comillas.
«The imbalances in the three doshas of vata-pitta-kapha occur sometimes by the mind and sometimes by the body’s dhatu (tissues), waste products (mala), or accumulated ama (toxin deposits)» — las vías por las que hace llegar el desequilibrio, mentales o corporales.
«Though the process might give an impression that the treatment is meant solely for the physical body, there is in fact a strong impact on the subtle levels of a person as well» — la reserva que pone a la lectura solo física de la terapia.
«Rasayana therapy increases the life force, ojas and immunity of a person and thus there is a regeneration of cells and tissues in the body» — el mecanismo que le supone: aumento de fuerza vital, *ojas* e inmunidad, y regeneración de tejidos.
«Gold and diamond, two of the most powerful and highly prized rasayanas, are specially prepared to increase ojas (the essence of the body» — los dos *rasayanas* minerales que pone en lo alto, oro y diamante. Es la entrada del reino mineral en el esquema médico.
«Water conveys the effects to the plasma, while honey conveys the effects to the blood and muscle tissues; it also provides a nourishing effect» — la doctrina del vehículo: cada excipiente llevaría el remedio a un tejido distinto.
«Milk is often used to convey the effects to both plasma and blood while increasing the tonic effect as well» — el vehículo de la leche.
«Alcohol or red wine carries the effects into the marrow and nerve tissue as well as the more subtle tissues of the body» — el del alcohol y el vino tinto, que llegaría hasta los tejidos sutiles.
«They can also be used to alter the effect of planetary medicines by combination with a particular sign» — cómo cruza esa doctrina con la astrológica: el vehículo modularía la medicina planetaria por el signo.
«The effects of a Venus ruled medicine could be directed more powerfully to the kidneys using the Libra water fraction or to the skin using the Capricorn fraction» — el ejemplo trabajado de ese cruce, con Venus, Libra y los riñones.
«The possible combinations are endless, and present the operator with a means of preparing a customized medicine for the individual based on their constitution and astrological affinities» — adónde lleva el sistema entero: una medicina hecha a la medida de la constitución y la carta del paciente.
«s we have seen, the practice of alchemy is more than just a manual operation designed to prepare a medicinal substance. It requires the participation of mind and body aspiring toward the spiritual height» — cómo abre el capítulo noveno, sobre la cábala y la eucaristía alquímica: la operación manual no bastaría. El troceo pierde la capitular *A* de *As*.
«In ancient Egypt, the veil between the worlds was much thinner, so the care and maintenance of one’s physical and spiritual economy were constantly in mind. The preparation of a medicine, even the preparation of a meal, was always accompanied by the use of prayers, incantations and spells» — el cuadro egipcio con que funda esa exigencia: preparar medicina o comida iba con oración, encantamiento y conjuro.
«These helped to focus the mind and intention of the operator, but also awakened subtle forces within the subject matter, stirring them into action by a type of resonance» — los dos efectos que atribuye a esas fórmulas: enfocar la intención del operador y despertar por resonancia las fuerzas del material.
«This focusing of intention was also applied during the administration of a medicine, creating a harmony between the substance and patient, physically and energetically» — y su tercer momento, la administración del remedio, buscando armonía entre sustancia y paciente.
«In the great battle between Horus and Set, Set plucked out the eye of Horus and tore it into pieces. Later, the alchemist god Thoth/Hermes used his Art to reunite the pieces and make the eye whole again. This is the Solve et Coagula in alchemy» — la lectura alquímica que hace del mito de Horus y Set: el ojo despedazado y recompuesto por Thot sería el *solve et coagula*.
«The Eye of Horus was referred to as the “Whole Eye”, and became a symbol of total health. The priestphysicians used hieroglyphic representations of pieces of the eye to denote fractions in medical prescriptions. The fractional components of the prescription would come together as the Whole Eye» — cómo empalma ese mito con la práctica médica egipcia: fracciones de receta escritas con partes del ojo. El troceo une *priest-physicians*, partido en el renglón, y lo devuelve *priestphysicians*; la forma con guion es la del impreso.
«The modern symbol for a prescription, Rx, is derived from the Eye of Horus» — la filiación que da al signo moderno de receta.
«The “wholeness” represented by the eye referred not only to the physical body, but to the more subtle structure as well. The Eye, as the organ that perceives light, is also a symbol of spiritual perception» — el alcance que da a esa totalidad, del cuerpo a la percepción espiritual.
«The ancient mystery traditions worldwide describe the division of The One into two contending forces: the powers of light and the powers of darkness locked in eternal battle; the war in heaven between good and evil, between Cosmos and Chaos. One is the evolutionary wave, struggling to transform Chaos into order and intelligence, while the other strives towards entropy, the increase of disorder, unconsciousness, and randomness» — la partición dual que atribuye a las tradiciones de misterios, y la traducción física que le da: onda evolutiva contra entropía.
«Between these two poles exists a continuum of energies, intelligence, and substance. Within this continuum arise various levels, worlds of their own, supporting intelligence and substance appropriate to that level. The human dimension is only a small portion of that continuum, similar to the visible spectrum of light within the whole electromagnetic spectrum» — el símil con que sitúa lo humano dentro de ese continuo: una banda del espectro.
«The systems of Natural Magick which became popular in the Middle Ages divided these planes of existence into four major categories, each dependent on the others and each possessed of differing levels within itself» — de dónde toma su escala de cuatro mundos: los sistemas de magia natural medievales.
«The highest, most spiritual level was known as the Intellectual World. This represented the level of primal archetypes, the blueprints of all that which follows as the Absolute condenses into matter. In the Qabalistic tradition, this is the world of Atziluth, the divine realm» — el primer mundo de esa escala y su nombre cabalístico, Atsiluth.
«The levels within this world represent the attributes of the Gods and Goddesses of the world’s religions. Indian alchemists call this Sivaloka, the Causal Plane» — cómo puebla ese mundo y la equivalencia india que le da, *Sivaloka*.
«The next level is less rarified and known as the Celestial World. This is the Creative World or Briah of the Qabalist, and the upper planes of Devaloka of the Indian philosophers. This is where the blueprints of the archetypal world are framed in the matrix of time and space. This is the realm of exalted spiritual beings and Archangelic powers» — el segundo mundo, Beriá, donde los arquetipos entrarían en tiempo y espacio.
«Below this is the Sub-lunary or Elementary World, the realm of Yetzirah of the Qabalist, also referred to as the Astral Plane or the lower planes of Devaloka. This is the level governed by Angelic powers» — el tercero, Yetsirá, que empareja con el plano astral.
«The influences of these higher worlds finally condense or crystallize into the physical world. This is the world of Assiah of the Qabalist, Bhuloka of the Indian alchemists. The vibration of the creative force has finally slowed down enough to be in the range our senses can perceive» — el cuarto, Asiá, y el criterio con que lo define: la vibración bajada hasta el alcance de los sentidos.
«Remember this is all a continuum of energy, separated only by relative rates of vibration» — la reserva que repite sobre toda la escala.
«Throughout all time and across the world, there have been special “Words of Power” or Mantras, held to resonate with these various levels and awaken their activity in the physical world» — cómo introduce las palabras de poder, con la marca *held to*.
«Such words or mantras contain seed syllables reflecting cosmic creative vibrations. These vibrations in turn condition the expression of prana, affecting both substance and mind» — el mecanismo que les supone: sílabas semilla que condicionan la expresión del *prana*.
«The practical alchemist should investigate the subject of mantra and select those compatible with their religious or philosophical ideals» — el consejo con que deja la elección de mantra al credo del operador; es el mismo gesto de no prescribir que hizo con la dieta.
«The simplest method is to formulate in your mind what your intentions for the elixir are to be, such as healing a specific ailment, or bringing insight to some aspect of natural law» — el primer método de carga del elixir que enseña, por formulación mental de la intención.
«methods are collectively referred to as “charging” the material» — el nombre que da al conjunto de esos métodos. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 96.
«Now consume the elixir immediately as this type of charge tends to dissipate quickly» — la caducidad que atribuye a esa primera carga.
«Another powerful method of charging the elixir depends upon a little skill that takes some practice to acquire, called Transference of Consciousness» — el segundo método, y el nombre que le da.
«Begin by selecting an object nearby, say a vase or small statue, into which you will project your consciousness» — el ejercicio con que enseña a adquirir esa destreza.
«Impress your intentions on the accumulated energy, and clearly state that the energy shall remain in the material until it has accomplished its purpose» — la instrucción que da para fijar la intención dentro del material.
«This method of charging allows you to combine additional sources of energy while you are “within” the elixir, such as accumulating appropriate colors or vibrating appropriate names and words of power» — qué añade este método a los anteriores: color y nombre de poder acumulados desde dentro del elixir.
«This forms the basis of one of the Qabalistic methods for charging, wherein the operator centered within the elixir accumulates the Atzilutic color of the particular planet and charges the elixir in the associated divine name» — la versión cabalística de esa carga, con el color de Atsiluth y el nombre divino del planeta.
«All of these various forms of charging an elixir are a type of Talismanic Magic, where the elixir itself is the talisman» — la clasificación con que cierra la serie: el elixir cargado sería un talismán, y su preparación, magia talismánica.
«When completed, the elixir is wrapped in silk to keep the charge from dissipating» — el detalle de conservación que da, tomado de la práctica talismánica.
«A passive form of this charging allows the “stack” to remain exposed during a time when the specific planetary influence is at a peak intensity» — la variante pasiva de la carga, por exposición al momento planetario.
«In order to stabilize the charge on an elixir and to hold the charge for longer periods, the use of finely divided gold is recommended» — qué recomienda para fijar la carga: oro finamente dividido. Es donde el capítulo empalma con la obra metálica.
«Although we will talk about preparations of colloidal gold later on, a simple method given here will be found satisfactory for most uses» — cómo introduce la receta simple de oro coloidal, aplazando el tratamiento largo.
«It should be at least 18 karat gold» — la única especificación de material que da para esa receta.
«You can use a laser pointer to confirm that you really have a colloidal suspension of gold particles» — la prueba casera con que enseña a verificar la suspensión coloidal; es un ejemplo del método del libro, receta antigua con control moderno.
«Although written over four hundred years ago, the advice of the alchemist Basil Valentine still rings true for those who follow the Hermetic Art» — cómo presenta el pasaje de Basil Valentine que imprime a continuación, con su datación.
«Invocation of God must be made with a certain Heavenly Intention, drawn from the bottom of a pure and sincere Heart, and Conscience, free from all Ambition, Hypocrisy, and all other Vices, which have any affinity with these» — la primera condición del operador según Valentine: invocación desde un corazón limpio de ambición e hipocresía. La voz es de Valentine.
«Next in order after Prayer is Contemplation, by which I understand an accurate attention to the business it self, under which fall these considerations first to be noted» — la segunda condición de Valentine: la contemplación, entendida como atención exacta al asunto mismo.
«Operation shews how all things may be brought to light, and exposed to sight visibly: but knowledge shews the practice; and that, whence the true Practitioner is, and is no other than confirmation: because the operation of the hands manifests something that is good» — el orden que Valentine pone entre operación, conocimiento y práctica; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«For above all things, the Physician ought well to know, whether his Medicament will be weak or strong, also whether it will do good, or hurt, unless he resolve to fatten the church yard, and with the loss of his fame, and hazard of his own soul» — la advertencia de Valentine al médico sobre la fuerza de su remedio, con la amenaza doble de fama y alma.
«Hence an accurate reflexion is to be made to those things, which profit or help; and they are diligently to be noted, that we may be mindful to observe the same» — la regla de método que Valentine saca de esa advertencia: notar con exactitud lo que aprovecha.
«Many a man kicks away with his foot a stone which would be more valuable to him than his best cow, if he only knew what great mysteries were put into it by God by means of the spirit of Nature» — el dicho que abre el capítulo décimo, sobre el mineral y el metal: la piedra despreciada que valdría más que la mejor vaca.
«Modern science often describes matter as “frozen light” or “standing waves” of energy and the quality of mass as a phenomenon of light rays resonating back and forth, freezing themselves into a pattern» — la física que trae para su doctrina de la vibración: la materia como luz congelada u ondas estacionarias.
«Alchemy of the East and West teaches that everything is composed of “rays” that create, maintain, and destroy the Universe» — la doctrina de los rayos que adjudica a las dos tradiciones a la vez.
«What we call matter is a slower vibratory condensation of Cosmic or Supreme Consciousness, the modifications of prana streaming out from the Sun» — cómo define la materia dentro de esa doctrina: condensación lenta del *prana* solar.
«Metals and gems as the flowers of the mineral kingdom are especially unique with a transmittable life force and consciousness locked within their geometric and determined crystal habit» — la posición que da a metales y gemas dentro del reino, y lo que les atribuye: fuerza vital transmisible presa en el hábito cristalino.
«Although these “standing waves” we call atoms are complex, they have a spherical body of influence around them, so it is easy to picture them as little spheres» — el modelo esférico que adopta para el átomo y por qué le sirve.
«There are only two ways in which these spheres can pack themselves together, and these are called “cubic close packing” and “hexagonal close packing”» — las dos maneras de empaquetamiento que reconoce.
«Thus, the crystalline form of a material can provide information concerning the type of planetary energy it conducts» — adónde lleva ese modelo: la forma cristalina como indicio de la energía planetaria que el material conduciría.
«The cubic system, as the most perfect crystal form, reflects the balance of vata/pitta/kapha, while the hexagonal system with its rounded forms reflects the qualities of kapha» — la equivalencia que traza entre sistemas cristalinos y *doshas*, con el cúbico arriba.
«The most irregular crystal form, triclinic, reflects the erratic qualities of vata, and the sharp, thin lines of the monoclinic system show vata/pitta influence» — y el otro extremo de esa tabla, el triclínico.
«All materials are a reflection of celestial formative forces» — el principio general que sostiene toda esa lectura de los cristales.
«Through the Law of Polarity, these forces are both visible and invisible in nature» — la ley que le añade para que esas fuerzas tengan cara visible e invisible.
«In 1873, a German biochemist named William H. Schuessler found that there are certain essential minerals that the body requires, in proper balance, in all of its cells» — de dónde toma la doctrina de las sales celulares, con fecha y nombre; el troceo imprime *William H. Schuessler*, y el nombre no se coteja aquí contra otra fuente.
«An imbalance or a lack of any of these minerals may lead to disease in those tissues» — la premisa patológica de ese sistema, con la reserva *may*.
«The salts, being taken in homeopathic dilutions, do not so much replenish the bulk material but provide the body with clear information on how to utilize the individual salts» — la enmienda que hace a la lectura nutricional de esas sales: obrarían por información, no por reposición de materia.
«In the Chemical Sky of the alchemist, each planet (with the exception of Sun and Moon) occupies a day and a night house where it expresses positive or negative influence respectively» — el esquema de domicilios diurno y nocturno que llama *cielo químico*.
«This does not imply that one is good and the other is bad; instead, one is an active expression of the planetary energy while the other is passive» — la enmienda que hace a la lectura moral de esa polaridad: activo y pasivo, no bueno y malo.
«The energy of the system is said to enter in through the “Medium Coeli” or ceiling of the heavens, represented by the signs Capricorn and Aquarius. This relates to Saturn and Binah on the qabalistic Tree of Life, where the energy of the Absolute begins its decent into the material world» — por dónde hace entrar la energía del sistema, con la correspondencia cabalística de Saturno y Biná. El troceo imprime *decent* por *descent*, sic.
«n the alchemical tradition, minerals and metals have always been described as very powerful condensations of celestial energies, whose subsequent evolution towards perfection occurred in such immensely long cycles that they seemed to be immobile from our perspective. They are held to be in a state of deep sleep but their powers can be awakened» — la tesis con que abre el capítulo undécimo: metales y minerales serían condensaciones de energía celeste en sueño profundo, despertables. El troceo pierde la capitular *I* de *In*.
«As Basil Valentine instructs us in his work The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony: In very deed (that I may expound the matter in few Words) I found all Things, which are generated in the Bowels of Mountains, to be infused from the Superior Stars, and take their beginning from them, in the form of an aqueous Cloud, Fume or Vapour, which for a very long time fed and nourished by the Stars, is at length educted to a tangible form by the Elements» — la genealogía celeste de los metales según Valentine, en el *Triumphal Chariot of Antimony* que el corpus ficha como `valentine-triumphal-chariot-antimony`: nube acuosa infundida por las estrellas y llevada a forma tangible por los elementos.
«You will find these same ideas concerning the generation of metals from a “celestial vapor” elaborated in many alchemical texts. Rudolf Glauber writes concerning this in the mid-1600s in his work titled The Birth and Nativity of Metals» — cómo presenta la segunda voz de esa serie, Rudolf Glauber, con obra y datación de mediados del siglo XVII.
«The superior element Fire, as the Sun, Moon, and other Stars, send down their invisible virtues and fiery beams into the Earth’s center, where they are congregated, and cause a great heat, and not being permitted to rest, leap back again and are scattered throughout the universal globe, and impregnate it with various and wonderful powers and are called minerals by the philosophers» — el pasaje de Glauber sobre el descenso de las virtudes ígneas al centro de la tierra y su rebote por el globo. La voz es de Glauber.
«Every spiritual thing, come it from whatever body it will, is invisible and impalpable, nor can anything be made of it alone, but it’s forced to remain a spirit, until it meets with a subject unto which it may adhere, be united, and by the benefit thereof be turned into a corporeal nature answerable to the purity of the subject and spirit, the spirit is in the room of seed; but the subject answers to the Earth or matrix in which the spirit is concocted into a sensible body suitable to its own nature» — la doctrina de Glauber sobre el espíritu que necesita sujeto para hacerse cuerpo: espíritu como semilla, sujeto como matriz.
«When the Sun or any other star operates upon the moist Earth; the astral virtues are congregated and being made corporeal, do exhibit diverse minerals and metals according to the purity of the matrix, or moist Earth; where the water is instead of the matrix and the stars instead of the father, or seed: likewise, it is not possible for metals to be generated in the Center, where all things are dry, but far off from that place, where the waters moisten the Earth, and with which the Central Spirits can join themselves and pass into bodies and metals» — el corolario de Glauber sobre dónde se generan los metales: no en el centro seco sino donde el agua humedece la tierra.
«For a dry spirit cannot coagulate himself into a body by reason of his dryness, but wants a fit subject from whence to take its body, which is Water; as soon as ever the sulphureous spirit is mixed with the Water, it is no more common water, but the rudiment and beginning of a metallic generation called “Mercury” by the philosophers, not the vulgar, being already made metalline, but a viscous water, which the metallurgists call Gur or a Fermenting Spume, which if contained in a convenient place, and cherished with the due Central Heat and humidity, is in length of time maturated into a metal» — el nombre que Glauber da al primer estado de esa generación: el *Gur* o espuma fermentante de los metalúrgicos, que él identifica con el Mercurio de los filósofos y no el vulgar.
«The Conception therefore, and generation of metals is not in the profundity of the Earth by the mediation of the Central Spirits carried upwards, but also in the superficies by the stars casting their invisible beams into a subtle, and fat earth where they are held and become corporeal» — la enmienda de Glauber a su propio esquema: la generación ocurriría también en la superficie, por los rayos de las estrellas.
«For the Sidereal Fire never ceaseth to infuse its virtues into the Earth, and to impregnate it with various products of vegetables, animals, and minerals, according as it meets with a matrix, nor is this done only in the Earth as being most fit for metallic generation, but even in the air in thick clouds do they act the same thing» — hasta dónde extiende Glauber esa acción del fuego sideral: a los tres reinos y hasta a las nubes espesas del aire.
«Everything possesses a unique combination of the Five Elements which express through the Three Essentials» — el puente que tiende entre los cinco elementos y los tres esenciales, para aplicar a los metales la notación *VPK* de las hierbas.
«Alchemists have described certain metals as having a greater proportion of Mercury or Salt than another which has more Sulfur. Each one is a unique combination of qualities which give it the properties we recognize as iron or lead or gold and so on. The following quote from Basil Valentine concerning the natures of metals illustrates the concept» — la doctrina de la proporción variable de los tres principios en cada metal, y a quién trae para ilustrarla.
«Therefore the metal of Mars (Iron) is found to have the least portion of Mercury, but more of Sulphur and Salt» — la composición que Valentine da al hierro.
«The reader must moreover know concerning the generation of copper, and observe that it is generated of much Sulphur, but its Mercury and Salt are in an equality» — la que da al cobre.
«Among all metals Gold hath the pre-eminence because the sidereal and elementary operation hath digested and refined the Mercury in this Metal the more perfectly to a sufficient ripeness» — la razón que Valentine da a la preeminencia del oro: Mercurio digerido y refinado hasta su madurez.
«Good Jupiter (Tin) possesses almost the middle or mean place between metals, it being not too hot, nor too cold, nor too dry, nor too moist, it hath no excess of Mercury, nor of Salt, and it hath the least of Sulphur in it....» — la posición media que Valentine adjudica al estaño; el troceo conserva los puntos suspensivos del corte de la cita.
«I tell thee that Saturn is generated of little Sulphur, little Salt, and much unripe gross Mercury, which Mercury is to be esteemed a froth that floats upon the Water in comparison of that Mercury which is found in Sol (Gold)» — la composición que Valentine da al plomo, con el símil de la espuma flotante frente al Mercurio del oro.
«The alchemist Edward Kelly (1555-1597) presents a summary of the constituents we can expect to derive from the» — la tercera voz de la serie, Edward Kelly, con fechas. El nombre va tal cual lo imprime el troceo; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la 117 con el título *Theater of Terrestrial Astronomy*, datado hacia 1580.
«Although he speaks mainly about the Sulfur and Mercury qualities acting through the body, his descriptions supplement Basil Valentine’s with additional distinctions on the qualities of the Sulfur and Mercury. The terms Red and White are used to denote solar and lunar natures, respectively» — cómo acota el aporte de Kelly frente al de Valentine y la clave de color que da para leerlo.
«The Sulfur/Mercury theory of metallic composition was popular prior to Paracelsus, who added Salt as the third component of the “Tria Prima”, or Three Essentials present in all things» — cómo data la entrada de la Sal en el esquema: la teoría era de dos principios antes de Paracelso.
«It is clearer than daylight that there are seven planets, seven days, seven metals, and seven operations. The metals are called after the planets, because of their influence and their mutual relations. The mineral principles are living Mercury and Sulphur» — la correspondencia séptuple que Kelly enuncia y los dos principios minerales que le pone debajo. La voz es de Kelly.
«Gold is a perfect body, of pure, clear, red Mercury, and pure, fixed, red, incombustible Sulphur» — la entrada del oro en el catálogo de Kelly.
«Tin is a pure, imperfect body, of pure, fixed and unfixed, clear, white Mercury outside, and red Mercury inside, with Sulphur of the same kind» — la del estaño, cuerpo puro pero imperfecto.
«Lead is an impure, imperfect body, of impure, unfixed, earthy, white, fetid Mercury and Sulphur outside, and red Mercury inside, with Sulphur of the same quality» — la del plomo, impuro por fuera y rojo por dentro.
«Copper is an impure and imperfect body, of impure, unfixed, dirty, combustible, red Sulphur and Mercury» — la del cobre.
«Nature cannot develop anything out of a substance that is not in it» — el axioma que corta el paso a la transmutación por adición: nada saldría de lo que no está dentro.
«For every Thing must have its own Matter; but not without Distinction» — el mismo axioma con su reserva: la materia propia, pero con distinción.
«All metallic seed is the seed of gold; for gold is the intention of nature in regard to all metals» — la tesis de la semilla única, que es la que autoriza toda la obra metálica del libro.
«If the base metals are not gold, it is only through some accidental hindrance; they are all potentially gold» — y la consecuencia que saca: los metales viles serían oro en potencia, detenido por estorbo accidental.
«Alchemy takes up where Nature leaves off» — la fórmula más corta con que sitúa el arte respecto de la naturaleza.
«Many of the alchemical texts, both Eastern and Western, speak of the “amelioration” of metals; that is, making them better or curing them of their diseased condition for use as medicines or further elevating them to their proper end state, which is gold» — el término técnico que rescata, *amelioration*, y su doble sentido: curar el metal o llevarlo a su fin, el oro.
«Through the Doctrine of Correspondences, the same laws and principles apply to all three kingdoms of nature, from the amelioration of plants as herbal elixirs to the amelioration of the “raw ores” of our daily life experience» — cómo extiende esa mejora a los tres reinos y hasta a la experiencia diaria, tratada como mena en bruto.
«Metals have always provided the ultimate test in application of alchemical principles, and supplied valuable medicines to aid in accomplishing the Great Work of transforming the alchemist himself» — la posición que da a los metales dentro del arte: prueba última de los principios y medicina para la obra sobre el operador.
«Outside of New Delhi in India, there stands the famous “Iron Pillar” a little over 20 feet in height and held by some to have been prepared by alchemical processes» — el testimonio material que trae, con la atribución marcada como ajena: *held by some*.
«Ayurvedic tradition calls this fire “Agni”; we mentioned it earlier as the digestive fire» — cómo enlaza el fuego del capítulo doce con el *agni* de la mitad ayurvédica del libro.
«Agni, as the Divine Child, represents the soul or alchemical Sulfur which evolves through the kingdoms of nature» — la identificación que hace de *agni* con el Azufre alquímico y con el alma que evoluciona por los reinos.
«Gold was held to be the purest form of Agni in the mineral world, like pure condensed sunlight» — la posición que la tradición daría al oro dentro de esa escala, con la marca *was held to be*.
«The waters of the Earth are also impregnated by the solar fire and quickened by the fire of lightning, thereby raining down with an additional portion of this celestial fire» — por dónde hace entrar el fuego celeste en las aguas: sol y rayo, y de ahí la lluvia.
«The plant is still intimately connected to the mineral soul which sustains it» — el lazo que conserva entre el reino vegetal y el mineral.
«The animal fire is built up around a digestive system (the first system to appear in the developing fetus) and various structures arise which allow it to hunt, capture, and assimilate fuel to keep the fire burning» — cómo describe el salto al reino animal: un fuego organizado en torno a la digestión.
«The human soul represents the height of evolution in the animal world» — dónde sitúa al alma humana dentro de esa escala.
«Our intelligence allows us to open up to the higher light of wisdom gained through experience, but when it is unbalanced, it often feeds the drives, passions and egoism of the lower nature» — la ambivalencia que adjudica a la inteligencia, con su reserva dentro de la frase.
«Through this solar fire, the human fire can transcend form and enter into higher states of awareness; it can free the flame of the soul imprisoned in dense matter» — el fin que da al fuego solar en el hombre: liberar la llama del alma presa en la materia densa.
«The alchemists, the “Fire Philosophers”, seek to consciously assist this transforming power of fire which propels us toward our ultimate perfection» — el nombre que da a los alquimistas y el oficio que les adjudica dentro de esa doctrina del fuego.
«While we can’t possibly cover all of the fascinating operations available to the student of the Art, I hope enough has been presented to firmly plant your feet on the path so you will feel confident to take up your own line of research with a solid background of both theory and practice» — el límite que declara para el volumen al abrir la parte práctica, en el capítulo trece.
«The alchemical work on plants has been described in the highly recommended Alchemist’s Handbook, by Frater Albertus, and The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy, by Manfred Junius (details in the bibliography)» — adónde remite para el reino vegetal, que este libro no trata: el *Alchemist's Handbook* de Frater Albertus y el manual de Manfred Junius, fichado en el corpus como `junius-spagyrics`.
«Little has been published which makes the mineral and metallic aspects of alchemy accessible to the modern student» — el hueco bibliográfico que declara y que su libro dice venir a llenar.
«The first section presents “The Acetate Path”, a popular method of working with the mineral realm, steeped in ancient tradition» — la primera de las tres partes prácticas y cómo la presenta.
«It provides an accessible method for preparing materials which can selectively act on the tissues and channels of the body to remove obstruction and restore balance to the elements» — el uso médico que le adjudica, en el vocabulario de canales y tejidos de la mitad ayurvédica.
«This path also provides the raw materials to create powerful menstruums which can unlock the entire mineral realm, and is one of the traditional Wet Ways of creating the Philosopher’s Stone» — y su segundo uso: menstruos que abrirían el reino mineral entero, por una de las vías húmedas de la piedra.
«The second section is called “The Book of Antimony”. Antimony holds a special place in Western alchemy as one of the great “Rasayanas”» — la segunda parte, y la posición que da al antimonio: uno de los grandes *rasayanas* occidentales.
«Held to have life-extending and rejuvenative powers, antimony is closely associated with metallic mercury, the main rasayana of Rasa Shastra» — el paralelo que traza entre el antimonio occidental y el mercurio metálico del *Rasa Shastra*.
«The work on antimony provides both a Wet and a Dry Way for confecting the Stone of the Wise» — las dos vías que dice ofrecer el trabajo del antimonio, húmeda y seca.
«The final section is “The Book of Gold”, the incorruptible and immortal metal, congealed sunlight. We examine some of its history, and how to obtain it and work with it to prepare various alchemical medicines, including a few methods to prepare the famous “Aurum Potabile” or potable gold, the most sought after rasayana of the western world» — la tercera parte y lo que anuncia en ella, incluido el *aurum potabile*, que llama el *rasayana* más buscado de Occidente.
«Safety and fire preparedness are an essential part of the alchemist’s circle of protection in all works» — cómo traduce la seguridad de laboratorio al vocabulario del círculo mágico.
«Since fire is the main transformative tool in the laboratory, you will be working with various forms of it, so give it due respect and know how to subdue it if it gets out of control» — la razón práctica que le pone debajo.
«There are Material Safety Data Sheets available online for most materials you are likely to encounter, at least as far as raw materials go» — el recurso moderno al que remite, con su límite: cubriría las materias primas y no los productos de la obra.
«A fire extinguisher is an essential piece of lab equipment» — el equipo mínimo que exige antes de cualquier operación.
«If you have access to a room that can be dedicated to the purpose, that would be ideal; however, for most workers adequate space is at a premium and other options need to be explored» — cómo abre el capítulo catorce, el de la alquimia de guerrilla: el laboratorio propio como ideal, y la falta de espacio como condición real del lector.
«If you have room outside and zoning allows, one can often find an old camping trailer for little money or even for free» — la solución de bajo costo que propone: un remolque de acampar viejo.
«Also, some operations need to be performed under adequate ventilation and unless you have a very good fume hood, this means you will need some space outside» — la razón técnica que obliga a trabajar fuera si no hay campana de extracción.
«Once you have a space to work in, you should clean the area very well, and depending on your religious or philosophical preferences, perform a banishing or blessing to prepare the area for sacred works» — la preparación del sitio que prescribe, con la elección de rito dejada al credo del operador.
«Anything you can do to enhance the effect of entering sacred space when you undertake an operation will be helpful in all of your works» — el efecto que atribuye a esa preparación.
«Whether in the lab or outside of it, you should have a space which serves as a temple or shrine during meditations and charging of elixirs» — el segundo espacio que pide, templo o santuario para meditación y carga.
«You may have artwork in the lab as a constant reminder of the higher aspects of the Art and the fact that this is not just a chemistry experiment» — la función que da a la imaginería en el laboratorio, y el deslinde que repite con la química.
«Standard laboratory glassware is, of course, the ideal for all of these works; but it can be an expensive undertaking to equip your lab» — el obstáculo económico que reconoce al equipamiento de vidrio.
«It is also very disheartening to have your precious glassware reduced to rubble during some of the operations which place a heavy demand on equipment» — el segundo argumento contra el vidrio de laboratorio: estas operaciones lo rompen.
«Fortunately there are alternatives we can take advantage of, many of which closely mirror the simple implements used by alchemists in times past» — el argumento con que hace virtud del sustituto casero: se parecería a los útiles antiguos.
«In many cases we can perform operations using the simple items you might find in any kitchen» — hasta dónde lleva esa sustitución: la cocina como laboratorio.
«With a little ingenuity we can accomplish our lab work in such a way that it will fit into anyone’s budget» — la promesa con que justifica el capítulo entero.
«I tell my wife that alchemists have strange tastes in garbage» — la broma con que describe su método de aprovisionamiento; el capítulo se surte de desecho y de tienda de segunda mano.
«Thrift stores always have assorted canning jars for extractions and storage» — el ejemplo concreto de ese aprovisionamiento.
«For heaters, try to obtain those that allow a continuous range of settings instead of the preset low, medium, and high range, as this will give a greater degree of control» — el criterio con que elige calentadores: control continuo antes que escalones.
«As an alternative, a light dimmer switch, rated to the appropriate wattage, can be used to control heaters, pumps, etc» — el apaño eléctrico que propone para conseguirlo.
«Practical alchemy teaches you to be aware of your surroundings at all times» — la disciplina de atención que adjudica a la práctica, y que enlaza con los ejercicios interiores de la primera mitad.
«The second type of extraction allows us to use a greater heat without loss of the volatile components» — el segundo método de extracción del capítulo y la ventaja que le atribuye.
«A soxhlet extractor is a nice investment but not essential; it is definitely not something you will find in a thrift store» — el único aparato del capítulo que no admite sustituto de segunda mano.
«It may not be terribly efficient or suitable for all distillations, but it is easily available for anyone to experiment with» — el criterio con que defiende sus montajes caseros: accesibilidad antes que eficiencia.
«It may seem silly but it actually works; I call it “Distillation by Baggie”» — el nombre que da a uno de esos montajes, con la bolsa de plástico por condensador.
«While not very elegant, it works just fine to collect essential oils and costs very little» — cómo lo valora.
«Of course in more advanced operations, there is no substitute for chemistry glassware» — el límite que pone al apaño: en las operaciones avanzadas haría falta vidrio de laboratorio.
«It is often necessary to keep moisture out of the system and yet maintain its ability to vent excess pressure» — el problema técnico de la humedad y la presión que plantea en el montaje.
«This can easily be accomplished by attaching a balloon to the vent outlet tube or by attaching a simple drying tube as shown below» — las dos soluciones que da para ese problema, la del globo y la del tubo secante.
«The addition of a few small “boiling stones” to the distillation flask is also recommended» — el detalle de seguridad que añade a las destilaciones.
«Distillations are often performed under a vacuum. This allows the operation to proceed using much less heat and thus prevents scorching delicate oils and aids preserving the life in them» — la razón que da para destilar al vacío, y el término con que la enuncia: preservar la vida en los aceites.
«Mechanical vacuum pumps can be expensive. As an alternative, the pump and motor from an old refrigerator can be used to provide adequate vacuums» — el sustituto que propone para la bomba de vacío, sacado de un refrigerador viejo.
«A word of caution: if your apparatus is closed and under vacuum, do not reapply the vacuum to the heated system if the vacuum slowly leaks out during an operation» — la advertencia de seguridad que da sobre el vacío que se pierde en caliente.
«Silicone lubricants are used to help form a good seal, but they should be applied sparingly to avoid contaminating your products» — el cuidado que pide con los lubricantes de junta.
«The final sublimation temperature will depend on the matter you are sublimating and can range from near room temperature to a full red heat» — el margen de temperatura que da para la sublimación, sin fijar cifra.
«However, they do not stand up to acidic conditions or concentrated, hot alkalis» — el límite de resistencia que señala en un material de laboratorio.
«You can construct a simple furnace by nesting one can inside of another and then pouring in a layer of insulating material such as vermiculite, pearlite, or even sand or kitty litter» — el horno de dos latas y aislante barato que enseña a construir; es la pieza central de la alquimia de guerrilla.
«Although the furnace has a limited lifespan, it costs practically nothing» — cómo lo valora, con su límite dentro de la frase.
«A small adjustable hot plate mounted below the microscope can provide a “hot stage” on which you can observe melting points, sublimations, distillations, in fact any of the laboratory operations, using 100 mg or less of total material» — el montaje de platina caliente con que propone observar las operaciones en escala mínima.
«You will also be able to follow reactions on a small scale before you proceed with a larger preparation using precious materials that have taken months to purify» — la razón que da para trabajar así: no arriesgar materiales de meses de purificación.
«They are not detailed analytical reports, but serve only to indicate the types of substances obtained and their complexity» — el alcance que declara para los datos instrumentales que va a publicar.
«This data will be of use to future researchers involved with comparing and identifying the physical components of alchemical products, though they give no indication of the subtle energies associated with them» — para quién los publica y la reserva que les pone en la misma frase: no dirían nada de las energías sutiles.
«We can identify alcohol, the body, but with the present technology we can make no determination as to the nature or quality of the subtle principle which is the alchemical Mercury» — el ejemplo con que acota lo que su instrumental alcanza: el cuerpo sí, el Mercurio no.
«Modern instrumentation has limitations in the detection of “subtle forces” of alchemical works, similar to modern medicine’s inability to accurately map acupuncture meridians» — el paralelo con que argumenta esa limitación.
«Our senses, taste, smell, sight, sound, and feel, were the analytical instruments of the ancients» — el instrumental que adjudica a los antiguos.
«From this we can deduce a structure and identity for the material body, but at present we have no reliable method for determining the quality of its inherent intelligence or life force» — el corte que traza entre lo que la analítica alcanza y lo que se le escapa.
«One day, future instrumentation will bridge this gap» — la expectativa con que cierra esa reserva; queda como anuncio, no como resultado.
«The action of vinegar (which is mainly a dilute acetic acid) on many mineral or metallic bodies of ancient use produces what we today call the metal acetates» — cómo abre el capítulo quince, el del camino de los acetatos: la traducción química del proceso antiguo.
«Prior to the 1700s, chemical terminology was not very well defined, so you will often read alchemical texts wherein an acetate of a mineral or metal is referred to as a vitriol because they are generally glassy in appearance and water soluble, just as the more commonly recognized copper and iron vitriol (ie, copper sulfate and iron sulfate)» — el problema de nomenclatura que señala en los textos antiguos: acetatos llamados vitriolos por su aspecto vidrioso.
«The acetates from the mineral realm form the starting material for an interesting and valuable method of obtaining the Three Essentials of this kingdom» — para qué sirven los acetatos en su esquema: punto de partida para separar los tres esenciales del reino mineral.
«Many of the alchemical adepts describe the process of using acetates, or their end products, in varying degrees of subtlety and veiled terminology» — cómo describe el estado de la fuente antigua sobre este proceso, velada en grados diversos.
«One of the earliest clear descriptions of the process comes to us from Sir George Ripley, the English alchemist who lived from about 1415 to 1490» — a quién adjudica la descripción más temprana y clara, con fechas: Sir George Ripley.
«The following text on his work was published much later and describes one of the methods for confecting the Philosopher’s Stone» — la reserva editorial que pone al texto de Ripley que va a imprimir: publicado mucho después.
«It gives an indication of just how far the “Acetate Path” can take us» — qué muestra ese texto según él: el alcance del camino de los acetatos.
«In the beginning of the text, Ripley speaks of taking Sericon or Antimony as the matter to be worked upon» — el nombre de la materia en Ripley, *Sericon* o antimonio.
«This is usually translated as meaning lead oxide, but for our purposes in using the method, we can translate this to be any of the metals» — la lectura corriente de *Sericon* y la licencia que él se toma: ampliarlo a cualquier metal. Es una decisión de uso, no de filología.
«Then put all these cold Liquors thus filtered into a fit Glass Vessel, and set it into Balneo Mariae to evaporate in a temperate heat, which done our Sericon will be coagulated into a green Gum called our green Lyon, which Gum dry well, yet beware thou burn not his Flowers nor destroy his greeness» — el paso de Ripley que produce la goma verde llamada *green Lyon*, con la advertencia de no quemar sus flores. La voz es de Ripley; el troceo imprime *greeness*, sic.
«Then take out the said Gum, and put it into a strong Retort of Glass very well Luted, and place it in your Furnace, and under that at the first, make sober Fire, and anon you shall see a faint Water issue forth, let it waste away; but when you see a white Smoak or fume issue forth, then put too a Receiver of Glass, which must have a very large Belly, and the mouth no wider then it may well receive into that the Neck of the Retort, which close well together that no fume issue forth of the Receiver» — el paso siguiente de Ripley, la destilación de la goma en retorta lutada, con las señales de agua débil y humo blanco.
«Then take out all the Feces which remaineth in the Retort, and are blackish like unto Soot, which Feces are called our Dragon, of which feces Calcyne one pound or more at your pleasure in a fervent hot Fire in a Potters or Glass-makers Furnace, or in a Furnace of vente (or a Wind Furnace) until it become a white Calx, as white as Snow, which white Calx keep well, and clean by it self, for it is called the Basis and Foundation of the Work, and it is now called Mars, and our white fixed Earth or Ferrum Philosophorum» — cómo Ripley nombra las heces negras —*our Dragon*— y el producto de su calcinación, que llama base y fundamento de la obra.
«Then dissolve those Citrine Feces in such distilled Vinegar, as you did before, and then filter it likewise, three times as before, and after make or evaporate it to a Gum again, and then draw out of it more of our Menstruum, called now, Dragons Blood, and iterate this Work in all points as afore, until you have either brought all, or the most part of the Feces into our Natural and Blessed Liquor, all which Liquor put to the first Liquor or Menstrue called the Green Lyons Blood, and set that Liquor then altogether in one Vessel of Glass fourteen days in Putrification, and after proceed to the Separation of Elements, for now have you» — la reiteración que Ripley manda hacer hasta pasar las heces al licor, con los nombres *Dragons Blood* y *Green Lyons Blood*; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«Isaac Holland describes the work on Lead Acetate, in Opus» — la segunda autoridad del capítulo, Isaac Holland, y la obra a la que remite. El tramo se corta en el salto de renglón del título.
«My child shall know, that the Stone called the Philosopher’s Stone, comes out of Saturn» — la tesis de Holland sobre el origen de la piedra: saldría de Saturno, es decir del plomo. La voz es de Holland.
«And know, my Child, for a Truth, that in the whole vegetable work there is no higher nor greater Secret than in Saturn; for we do not find» — la jerarquía que Holland da a Saturno dentro de la obra vegetal; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«for internally it is good Gold, herein all Philosophers agree, and it wants nothing else, but that first you remove what is superfluous in it, that is, it’s impurity, and make it clean, and then that you turn it’s inside outwards, which is it’s redness, then will it be good Gold;» — la doctrina de Holland sobre el plomo: oro por dentro, y bastaría quitarle lo superfluo y volverlo del revés.
«require a year’s space to open the body of Gold, before you can extract the Mercury out of the Gold, and you may extract the Mercury out of Saturn in 14 days, both being alike good» — el argumento de plazo con que Holland prefiere Saturno al oro: catorce días contra un año. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 153.
«take the Matter out, and put it into a thick glass which can endure the Fire, set a head on it, put it in a Cupel with Ashes, which set on a Furnace, first make a small Fire, and so continually a little stronger, till your Matter come over as red as Blood, thick as Oil, and sweet as Sugar, with a Celestial Scent» — las señales sensoriales con que Holland describe el producto: rojo como sangre, espeso como aceite, dulce como azúcar y de olor celeste.
«Reiterate this distillation in the Bath until the Matter hath no more Spirit of the Vinegar in it, then take it out, set it in a glass pot, distill all that will distill forth in ashes, till the Matter become a red Oil, then have you the most noble Water of Paradise, to pour upon all fixed stones, to perfect the Stone;» — el nombre que Holland da al aceite rojo final, *Water of Paradise*, y su uso sobre las piedras fijas.
«The philosopher’s Saturn is properly the Markasite of Lead, and in deed doth excel Sol and Luna, in so much that Raymond saith, that in this inferior» — la identificación que Holland hace del Saturno de los filósofos con la marcasita del plomo, y la autoridad que invoca, Raimundo. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«world, there is no greater secret than that which consisteth in the Markasite of Lead…» — el remate de la sentencia de Holland sobre la marcasita del plomo. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 154 y conserva los puntos suspensivos del corte.
«The markasite of lead is lead sulfide as it occurs in the mineral Galena. Paracelsus directs one to extract this ore with vinegar; evaporate the vinegar to obtain a solid which is distilled as described in the excerpts above. He calls the clear distillate “Aqua Philosophorum” or “Ardantem” and also mentions the red oil» — la traducción química que da al término de Holland, y la receta que atribuye a Paracelso con los nombres que este da al destilado.
«The residue, or Black Dragon, is to be calcined and extracted with vinegar again. The vinegar is evaporated off and the residue calcined to redness a second time. This red calx is dissolved in vinegar, then evaporated to obtain fine clear crystals which are the prepared Salt» — el ciclo de calcinación y reextracción con que se obtiene la sal preparada.
«This Salt is ground fine and saturated with the red oil, then digested in a sealed vessel for 21 days, after which it will be fixed into a red stone. The red stone is then ground to a powder and fine gold calx is added as a ferment. Add to this mixture an equal weight of the Aqua Ardens or Ardantum, seal the vessel and digest in a gentle heat until it is fixed» — la fijación final del proceso, con el oro en calx como fermento y veintiún días de digestión.
«During this digestion various colors will appear, and in the end you will have “The True Oil and Elixir, … which being duly prepared, doth not only alter and change the filthy and corrupt humors of our bodies, but also can change and transmute Luna into Sol”» — el producto que promete la fuente citada: alterar los humores del cuerpo y transmutar plata en oro. La promesa va entre comillas porque es del texto que copia, no suya.
«In 1685, Johannes Segerus Weidenfeld published his work called Secrets of the Adepts. The main premise of the work was to show that there was a central ingredient necessary for the special menstruums used by the alchemical adepts and hidden by a variety of names. He calls this “Spiritus Vini Philosophici” or The Secret Wine Spirit of the Adepts» — cómo presenta a Weidenfeld, con año y obra, y la tesis que le atribuye: un ingrediente central escondido bajo muchos nombres.
«He cites many alchemical texts extensively, including those of Raymond Lull, Paracelsus, Isaac Holland, George Ripley, and Basil Valentine, in order to show that what they term “Spirit of Wine” used in the preparation of their various menstruums, alkahests, and circulatums is not common spirit» — a quiénes cita Weidenfeld —Lull, Paracelso, Holland, Ripley, Valentine— y para qué, según él. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la 156: el *spirit of wine* de los adeptos sería el producto del proceso de los acetatos.
«I found an easie way from Paracelsus to Lully, Basilius, and other Philosophers of the same Faculty, who I saw agreed all unanimously in confirmation of the Paracelsian Menstruums; yea Light adding Light to Light, appeared so clear, that their preparation, variety, simple and literal sense showed themselves all at once, one only word remaining unknown, yet expressing the universal Basis of all the Adepts, and that is Spirit of Wine, not Common, but Philosophical; which being known and obtained, the greatest Philosophical, Medicinal, Alchymical, and Magical Mysteries of the more secret Chymy, will be in the power of the Possessor» — el pasaje de Weidenfeld que enuncia su hallazgo: una sola palabra desconocida, el espíritu de vino filosófico y no común. La voz es de Weidenfeld.
«You will find, that all the Secrets of Chymy depend upon one only Centre of the Art, namely the Spirit of Philosophical Wine» — la formulación más apretada de esa tesis, en palabras de Weidenfeld.
«The twenty four following Kinds of Menstruums will prove, that amongst the Dissolvents of the Adepts, no one is made without the Vegetable Mercury, or Spirit of Philosophical Wine: for it is the foundation, beginning and end of them all» — el alcance que Weidenfeld reclama para su argumento, sobre veinticuatro menstruos.
«It is necessary to observe that the Spirit of Philosophical Wine appears in two forms; either like an Oyl swimming upon all Liquors, or like the Spirit of Common Wine» — las dos formas en que Weidenfeld dice que aparece ese espíritu, aceite o espíritu de vino común.
«The process of distilling the metal acetate in order to prepare the philosophical wine is clearly described as Weidenfeld quotes Ripley: … making at first a gentle Fire, but not luting the Receiver, till the Phlegm be gone over, and this continue, till you see fumes appear in the Receiver white as Milk; then increasing the Fire change the Receiver, stopping it well, that it may not» — cómo enlaza esa tesis con el procedimiento, y el pasaje de Ripley que Weidenfeld cita para describirlo; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«evaporate, and to continually augment the Fire, and you will have an Oyl most red as Blood, which is airy Gold, the Menstruum foetens, the Philosophers Sol, our Tincture, Aqua ardens, the Blood of the Green Lyon, our unctuous Humor, which is the last consolation of Man’s Body in this Life, the Philosophers Mercury, Aqua solutiva, which dissolves Gold with the preservation of its Species, and it hath a great many other Names» — la letanía de nombres que el pasaje da al aceite rojo —oro aéreo, *menstruum foetens*, sangre del León Verde, Mercurio de los filósofos— y su virtud de disolver el oro conservando su especie. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 157.
«By Green Lyon, the Philosophers mean the Sun, which by its attractive Virtue makes things Green, and governs the whole World» — la lectura que Weidenfeld da al León Verde: el Sol, por su virtud atractiva que hace verdear.
«These Menstruums they called White Fume, because of their white and opake Colour. It is also called White Fume, saith Ripley, not without cause, for in distillation a white fume goeth out first, before the red Tincture, which ascending into the Alembick, makes the Glass white as Milk, from whence it is also called Lac Virginis, or Virgins Milk» — la explicación que Weidenfeld da al *White Fume*, con la observación de Ripley sobre el vidrio que se pone blanco como leche.
«If you would make the white Elixir, you must of necessity divide your Tincture (the Blood of the Green Lyon) into two» — la partición de la tintura que Weidenfeld exige para el elixir blanco; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«Ripley the first, and indeed the only man of all, declares to us, that the Key of all the more secret Chymy lyes in the Milk and Blood of the Green Lyon, that is, that the stinking Menstruum (or the parts of it, Mercury and Sulphur, Virgins Milk and the Lyons Blood, white and red Mercury) being fourteen Days digested gently, is the white and red Wine of Lully, and other Adepts» — la posición que Weidenfeld adjudica a Ripley: el único que declara la clave, en la leche y la sangre del León Verde.
«When therefore you have extracted all the Mercury out of the Gum, know, that in this Mercury are contained three Liquors, whereof the first is a burning Aqua vitæ, which is being extracted by a most temperate Balneo: This Water being kindled, flames immediately, as common Aqua vitæ, and is called our attractive Mercury, with which is made a Cristalline Earth, with all Metallick Calxes also» — el primero de los tres licores que el pasaje distingue dentro del Mercurio: el *aqua vitae* ardiente.
«After that there follows another Water thick and white as Milk, in a small quantity, which is the Sperm of our Stone, sought by many men; for the Sperm is the Original of men and all living Creatures; whereupon we do not undeservedly call it our Mercury, because it is found in all things and all places; for without it no man whatsoever lives and therefore it is said to be in every thing» — el segundo licor, esperma de la piedra, y la razón que da para llamarlo Mercurio: estaría en todas las cosas.
«With this Mercurial Water we wash away the Original sin, and pollution of our Earth, till it becomes white, as Gum, soon flowing; but after the distillation of this aforesaid Water, will appear an Oyl by a strong Fire; with this Oyl we take a red Gum, which is our Tincture, and our Sulphur Vive, which is otherwise called the Soul of Saturn, and Living Gold, our precious Tincture, and our most beloved Gold» — el uso de esa agua mercurial y los nombres del aceite rojo que sigue: alma de Saturno, oro vivo, tintura preciosa.
«Consequently therefore, red Mercury (or the red Wine of Lully) is the Blood of the Red or Green Lyon:» — la equivalencia que Weidenfeld fija entre el Mercurio rojo, el vino tinto de Lull y la sangre del León.
«For Eagle and Green Lyon are to the Adepts Synonymas of the same thing:» — la sinonimia entre Águila y León Verde que Weidenfeld declara para los adeptos.
«That the milky Liquor or Spirit, Virgins Milk, white Mercury, the White Wine of Lully, and the Glew of the Green Lyon, called by Paracelsus the Glew of the Eagle, are terms synonymous; and that the Red Liquor, Blood of the Green Lyon, Red Mercury, the Philosophers Sulphur, and the Red Wine of Lully, otherwise by Paracelsus, the Blood of the Red Lyon, are likewise» — las dos series de sinónimos que Weidenfeld alinea, la blanca y la roja, con los nombres de Paracelso al lado; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«Without these Waters we do little Good in this Art; but he that hath these Waters, will without all doubt compleat the Art» — la sentencia con que el pasaje cierra la importancia de esas aguas.
«These are the two Dragons fighting in the Gulf of Sathalia, this is the white and red Fume, whereof one will devour the other» — la imagen de los dos dragones del golfo de Satalia con que el texto figura los dos humos, blanco y rojo.
«And these, namely, the Mineral and Vegetable Water, being mix’d together, and made one Water, do operate contraries, which is a thing to be admired; for this one dissolves and congeals, moisteneth and dryeth, putrefies and purifies, dissipates and joyns, separates and compounds, mortifies and vivifies, destroyeth and restoreth, attenuates and inspissates, makes black and white, burneth and cooleth, beings and ends» — la serie de contrarios que el texto adjudica al agua única resultante de mezclar la mineral y la vegetal; el troceo imprime *beings* por *begins*, sic.
«I had hoped for additional information in Weidenfeld’s writings “De Secretis Adeptorum”, but the main theme, the “Spiritus Vini Lullianus”, remained a mystery» — la búsqueda negativa que consigna sobre Weidenfeld: el *Spiritus Vini Lullianus* le quedó sin resolver. Es de las pocas veces que el libro declara un muro propio.
«The wine spirit is chemically always the same, but technically and physiologically it is different depending» — la distinción que trae de la fuente que cita: químicamente idéntico, técnica y fisiológicamente distinto según el origen. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«While acetone derived from the distillation of acetates became an important raw material of the emerging chemical industry, interest in it shifted to determining its chemical composition and structure, which was accomplished by the mid-1800s» — cómo data el desvío industrial de la acetona y el desplazamiento del interés hacia su composición.
«Today, people don’t usually consider rocks and minerals to be alive; but to the alchemist the mineral realm is just as full of life as the other two kingdoms of Nature» — el deslinde con el sentido común moderno con que abre la sección de la vida mineral.
«Minerals are alive; they grow, evolve, produce seed, and die just like plants and animals, but they do this at an imperceptibly slow rate» — la tesis en su forma más desnuda, con la escala de tiempo como única diferencia.
«It goes without saying that these are not things you want to be breathing, so have good ventilation» — la advertencia de seguridad que intercala en el trabajo con vapores ácidos.
«If the acids are “philosophically” prepared according to the dry methods for distilling aqua fortis or strong waters, the effects are not so harsh» — la diferencia que sostiene entre el ácido preparado por vía seca y el comercial.
«Some operators avoid this if possible, saying the corrosiveness of the acid will kill the alchemical life of the subject, but the mineral world is born of corrosive vapor» — el desacuerdo que consigna sin arbitrar: unos evitarían el corrosivo por matar la vida del sujeto, y él objeta que el mundo mineral nace de vapor corrosivo.
«Muriatic acid, is said to be so filled with the life force, it can actually revive dead metals» — la virtud que la tradición adjudica al ácido muriático, con la marca *is said to be*.
«It is the death and corruption of one body and rebirth into a new body which is improved and whose evolution is accelerated» — cómo lee la corrosión en clave de muerte y renacimiento, y no de destrucción.
«The alkali metals, sodium and potassium, and the alkaline earths, calcium and magnesium, are good choices for initial experiments with the acetate method» — con qué metales aconseja empezar el camino de los acetatos.
«Although silicon, germanium and tin are also members of the IVa group of elements, they are very difficult to work with in forming stable acetates» — el límite químico que reconoce dentro de su propia tabla de metales.
«In practice you will find that these alkaline metals produce much more of the oils or alchemical Sulfur, along with their volatile spirit, than the more acidic metals like iron, zinc or lead» — el resultado práctico que declara medido: más aceite y espíritu volátil en los alcalinos que en los metales ácidos.
«This also makes them good choices for beginning experiments as you learn to rectify the distillation products, a subject we will come back to later» — la razón didáctica que suma a esa elección.
«Vinegar was known to the Egyptians, and Caesar’s armies drank it» — cómo abre la historia del vinagre con que introduce la materia prima del capítulo.
«Hippocrates prescribed the drinking of vinegar for his patients in ancient Greece» — el testimonio médico antiguo que añade a esa historia.
«Vinegar is nothing more than an alcoholic beverage which has gone sour» — la definición llana que da del vinagre antes de dar la química.
«When alcoholic beverages sour, it is the action of certain bacteria, known as acetobacter, on alcohol, turning it to acetic acid and water» — la explicación microbiológica que pone debajo de esa definición.
«The acetobacter reaction, unlike that of yeast on sugar to make alcohol, is an aerobic reaction» — la diferencia que señala entre las dos fermentaciones, y que decide el modo de trabajo.
«If possible it is always preferred to make your own vinegar so you know exactly what has gone into it» — la regla que da sobre la materia prima: mejor hacerse el vinagre uno mismo.
«Vinegar made from red wine is held to be the best for alchemical works» — qué vinagre prefiere la tradición para la obra, con la marca *is held to be*.
«If the wine is too weak on the other hand, less than 5%, the vinegar won’t keep well» — el umbral de graduación que da y su consecuencia práctica.
«The optimum temperature for this conversion is about 29 deg C» — la temperatura óptima que fija para la acetificación.
«The reason for this is that a scum will form on the surface of the liquid as it is converted to vinegar» — el fenómeno que explica la instrucción de no remover: la película que se forma en la superficie.
«While succeeding batches of vinegar will proceed even if this layer is broken up, they will get off to a much better start if this layer is left undisturbed» — la reserva que le pone: rompiéndola el proceso sigue, solo que peor.
«The concentrated vinegar can be used at this point without further preparation, and you can be confident that the delicate plant life has been preserved because there has been no exposure to high temperatures» — la razón que da para concentrar por frío: preservar la vida vegetal del vinagre.
«Some operators prefer to gently distill the concentrated vinegar but discard the first 1/4 to 1/3 as it is mostly water» — la práctica alternativa que consigna, con su regla de descarte de la primera fracción.
«This will produce a very strong and clear vinegar, but it is best to perform this distillation under vacuum so the lowest temperature can be used» — el resultado de esa vía y la condición que le pone, destilar al vacío.
«There is another way to make a highly concentrated vinegar and though it requires much more work, it will already be loaded with mineral fire united with the vegetable life and thus readily accepted by any of the metals» — la tercera vía que ofrece, más laboriosa: un vinagre ya cargado de fuego mineral unido a la vida vegetal.
«The copper wire is balled up loosely and heated to redness several times in order to oxidize it to a black color» — el paso material de esa vía, con el cobre oxidado al rojo.
«After some time, the liquid will become deep emerald green» — la señal de color que da para saber que la operación va bien.
«The temperature must be able to hit the range of 400 to 700 deg C» — el intervalo térmico que exige la destilación seca del acetato.
«Gas heating from bunsen burners, gas ranges, or propane torches are also an option which allows good control of the temperature; however, be aware that the distillate and gasses evolved are flammable, and some are toxic, so provide good ventilation and have a fire extinguisher ready if things get out of control» — las opciones de calentamiento y la advertencia doble que les pone, inflamabilidad y toxicidad.
«While the use of thermometers is helpful, they are not essential to success» — el lugar que da al instrumento moderno dentro de la operación: útil, no necesario.
«Mercury thermometers are only useful to about 350 deg C, so if you want to monitor the sandbath temperature, it is better to use a thermocouple and meter» — el límite del termómetro de mercurio y el sustituto que propone.
«The first time I saw the dry distillation of a metal acetate used a simple test tube, heated by a propane torch, with a bent piece of tubing into a second test tube on ice» — el montaje mínimo con que dice haber visto hacer la destilación seca por primera vez.
«No doubt we lost a great portion of the more volatile Mercury but were successful in obtaining a volatile distillate from which an oil and flammable spirit could be collected» — lo que declara perdido en aquel montaje y lo que aun así se recogió.
«Anything from here is an improvement as far as apparatus goes, but it demonstrates how readily available the method is for anyone to experiment with» — el uso que da a ese recuerdo: fijar el piso de la práctica, accesible a cualquiera.
«A very serviceable way to accomplish this is to construct a lattice consisting of 1/4 to 3/8 inch iron pipe cut into three- or four-foot lengths and lashed together with strong iron wire» — la estructura de soporte que enseña a montar con tubo de hierro.
«After the lattice is attached to the benchtop, it is a good idea to attach a safety wire from the top rail to the ceiling in order to lend additional support for top-heavy loads» — el refuerzo de seguridad que añade a esa estructura.
«The flask can be buried in a sandbath to provide an even heating all around the vessel and lend support to the glass which may tend to deform at the high temperatures» — las dos funciones que da al baño de arena: calor uniforme y sostén del vidrio deformable.
«The cold trap provides an especially low temperature cooling environment to capture the most volatile portions of the spirit» — para qué sirve la trampa fría dentro del tren de destilación.
«This setup presents an ideal, but there are options such as replacing flask A with a simple erlenmeyer flask and attaching it with a dense cork or silicone stopper to the rest of the distillation train» — la reserva que pone a su propio esquema y las sustituciones que admite.
«The main objective is to provide enough cooling surface to slow down and condense the vapors that will be streaming through the apparatus» — el criterio que gobierna todas esas sustituciones.
«The illustration above is from The Art of Distillation by John French, published in 1651» — de dónde toma la ilustración del aparato: el *Art of Distillation* de John French, con año.
«Many operators prefer to use a dry ice and acetone bath, which can reduce the temperature to nearly –80 deg C» — el baño frío que declara preferido por muchos operadores y la temperatura que alcanza.
«The disadvantage is that the acetone vapors are flammable, so gas heating is not advisable; use electric heating only» — el inconveniente que le opone y la regla que impone en consecuencia.
«Even with these very icy temperatures, the spirits rising from the minerals can be subtle and hard to capture» — el límite que reconoce a la trampa fría: los espíritus más sutiles se le escapan igual.
«For this, the vent line from the distillation train is connected to a series of bottles set up as shown in the diagram below» — el tren de botellas que añade para recuperarlos.
«The first bottle is left empty and acts as a safety container in case there is a sudden drop in pressure» — la función de la primera botella de ese tren.
«The second bottle is partially filled with alcohol or acetone» — la de la segunda.
«As the distillation proceeds, the subtle vapors which are not condensed bubble through the liquid and become dissolved into it» — el mecanismo por el que ese tren recupera lo que la trampa fría no condensa.
«Before describing the process of distilling the acetate and subsequent rectification of the products, here is another excerpt on the process, which is held in high esteem for its clarity, written by the French alchemist Joseph Du Chesne, who was also known as Qercetanus. This piece contains valuable keys to the entire acetate work» — cómo presenta el texto de Joseph Du Chesne que va a imprimir, con el alias *Qercetanus* tal cual lo trae el troceo, y con la valoración que le da: claves del trabajo entero.
«Distill a large quantity of good vinegar, till you have a cask full of it, because it is the basis and the foundation of this Work» — la primera instrucción de Du Chesne, que pone el vinagre destilado por base de toda la obra. La voz es de Du Chesne.
«The dregs that remain at the bottom are put in a retort over a good fire, by means of which one can extract an excellent oil from them, which can burn of its own and dissolve all kinds of minerals» — qué hace Du Chesne con las heces del fondo: un aceite que ardería por sí solo y disolvería todo mineral.
«Extract the salt of Saturn by a slow digestion, and on the feces that are left after the extraction of the salt and the crystals, pour once more the same amount of menstruum as indicated above» — el paso de Du Chesne para extraer la sal de Saturno por digestión lenta y reiterar el menstruo sobre las heces.
«The philosophers call it water of life (brandy) of Saturn» — el nombre que Du Chesne da al primer destilado.
«It is an infallible sign that all of the spirit has risen, and you must therefore stop this distillation and extract this first precious spirit» — la señal con que Du Chesne manda detener la destilación.
«However, if you wish, you can make it go over with a stronger fire» — la licencia que Du Chesne deja al operador sobre la intensidad del fuego.
«There are some who divide this earth into two, but although Isaac (Hollandus) himself adopts this division, I am nevertheless of the opinion that the best and shortest method is to calcine all the earth together» — el desacuerdo que Du Chesne consigna con Isaac Hollandus sobre dividir o no la tierra, y la posición que él prefiere; el texto lo deja como opinión, no como sentencia.
«then red and oily, but it will be heavy and lie at the bottom of the receptacle» — la señal de color y peso con que se reconoce el producto en ese paso.
«If you work this process exactly, you will find an excellent earth at the bottom» — la promesa condicionada con que ese pasaje cierra la operación.
«If foaming becomes a problem, the sages recommend saturating granulated, porous brick or pottery shards with the acetate solution and letting them dry» — el remedio que la tradición da a la espuma, con ladrillo poroso o tiestos empapados en la solución.
«Therefore, wonderful works can be made with this truly philosophical solvent, both for the health of human and of metallic bodies» — la promesa doble que el pasaje da al disolvente filosófico: salud del cuerpo humano y del metálico.
«The temperature at the distilling head may level off even though the flask temperature is still rising» — la observación instrumental que da como señal de marcha de la destilación.
«After the distillation is complete, we will have several products collected and saved separately» — la regla con que cierra la operación: separar y guardar aparte cada producto.
«The phlegm can be purified by gentle distillation several times» — qué hacer con la flema, el primero de los productos separados.
«It possesses a solvent power and medicinal virtue in its own right, due to its intimate association with the metal it was derived from» — la virtud que le adjudica aun siendo la fracción más pobre, por su asociación con el metal de origen.
«This liquid has power to dissolve many of the metals, even gold if it is prepared in a finely divided state» — el alcance disolvente que reclama para ese producto, hasta el oro finamente dividido.
«By a very gentle distillation, the white wine spirit or aqua ardens will separate and come over at about 56 deg C» — la temperatura a la que separa el espíritu de vino blanco; es donde la receta antigua recibe una cifra moderna.
«During these digestions and distillations, a clear to golden yellow oil may separate from the bulk of the liquid; save it aside separately, it is the Quintessence of the White Wine Spirit» — la señal por la que reconoce la quintaesencia y la instrucción de apartarla.
«The red oil remains in the distillation flask and represents the Philosophical Fixed Sulfur of the metal» — qué principio adjudica al aceite rojo que queda en el matraz.
«The oils derived from the acetate distillation are not simple compounds but instead are very complex mixtures of many constituents, much like the essential oils derived from plants» — la enmienda que hace a quien espere un compuesto único, con el paralelo del aceite esencial vegetal.
«Another way to separate the red oil from the red wine spirit is by extraction with ether» — la alternativa moderna que ofrece para esa separación.
«The solid residue remaining in the distillation flask, our black dragon, is generally in the form of an oxide or carbonate» — la traducción química que da al *black dragon* de los textos.
«This fine lead powder is so anxious to oxidize that upon contact with the air it will spontaneously calcine itself, like the phoenix, and turn into a beautiful yellow to red lead oxide» — el fenómeno del plomo pirofórico, descrito con el símil del fénix que la tradición le presta.
«Some operators use only the Mercury and Sulfur» — la práctica divergente que consigna sin arbitrar: hay quien deja fuera la Sal.
«From an ayurvedic perspective, the Philosophical Mercuries represent the vata part with drying, cold, mobile, subtle qualities» — cómo traduce los productos de la destilación al esquema de los *doshas*.
«He describes twenty-four classes of menstruums useful for extracting the essences from vegetable, animal, or mineral subjects» — el alcance de la clasificación de Weidenfeld, sobre los tres reinos.
«Each of the menstuums he describes also possesses a unique medicinal virtue in its own right as well as the power to reanimate materials, even smelted metals, imbibed with them» — la doble virtud que Weidenfeld les adjudica: medicinal y reanimadora, hasta sobre metales fundidos. El troceo imprime *menstuums*, sic.
«Aqua vitae is the Soul and Life of Bodies, by which our Stone is vivified» — la sentencia sobre el *aqua vitae* que el pasaje cita; la voz es de la fuente que Weidenfeld copia.
«So also Ripley in Libro Mercurii, saith, The Sperm of Metals is also called Metallick Aqua Vitae, because it administreth life and health to Metals, being sick, dead, etc» — la cita de Ripley que trae para el mismo punto: el esperma de los metales como agua de vida metálica.
«The Count also recommends its use internally: “Take 20 drops in the morning before eating for 15 days in order to completely clean the blood since there is no blood cleansing like it in the whole world”» — la posología interna que ese testimonio prescribe, con la promesa de limpieza de la sangre. La afirmación es de la fuente citada, no suya.
«He calls the substance spiritus simplex, and cites from Lully that “the quintessence heals all tiredness and sickness, removes all weakness, protects from all sicknesses and retains the youth, he clearly says: ‘And I swear the truth that I have seen wonderful things done by this Simplici Spiritu Vini philosophici, and I have even healed gout completely with it.’”» — el testimonio en primera persona que se cita dentro de la cita: Lull jurando haber curado la gota con ese espíritu. Son dos voces encajadas, y ninguna es la del autor.
«As a medical doctor, Becker recorded his own observations on the medicinal uses of the rectified wine spirit which he calls “Spiritus Aceti Oleosus”» — quién es la voz médica moderna que trae, y el nombre que Becker da al espíritu rectificado.
«He summarizes a number of case histories wherein the preparation was successful in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, edema, colds, flu, infected wounds, gonorrhea, neuralgia, sciatica, and fever» — la lista de dolencias que Becker declara tratadas con éxito; el libro la consigna como historial de casos ajeno.
«Through his practice he was convinced that this spirit has great utility in medicine and urged his fellow physicians to regain possession of this valuable remedy» — el llamado de Becker a sus colegas médicos.
«Once the separation and purification of the three essentials has been performed by distillation of the acetate, most of the old texts instruct us to imbibe the purified Salt with the Mercury and Sulfur as is done when making the Vegetable Stone» — lo que los textos antiguos mandan hacer después de separar los tres esenciales, con el paralelo de la piedra vegetal.
«this quintessence is the true and living, clearest source in which Vulcan washes Phobus (gold), and cleans of all impurities and creates the means to fortify the strength of life, improves everything weak, and renews the power of youth» — la promesa que la fuente citada hace a la quintaesencia, con la imagen de Vulcano lavando a Febo.
«hat is antimony? It’s not a word you hear everyday and as a material, it’s not generally well known either. Today we find antimony used in batteries, matches, and electronics. It’s used in metal alloys to provide a degree of hardness required for bearings» — cómo abre el capítulo dieciséis, presentando el antimonio por sus usos industriales de hoy. El troceo pierde la capitular *W* de *What*.
«Did I mention it’s toxic? Quite deadly really, like its close associate Arsenic. Antimony is a very odd material with a thousand uses in modern technology; it has an equally odd history filled with secrecy, mystery, miracles and scandal» — el retrato con que resume la materia del capítulo: tóxica como el arsénico y de historia llena de secreto y escándalo.
«Archeological evidence points to man’s knowledge of antimony as early as 4000 BCE, not only as a mineral but as a metal used to cast vessels and small ornamental items» — cómo data el conocimiento del antimonio, hacia el 4000 a.C. y ya como metal.
«Ancient Egyptians used finely powdered stibnite, which they called Mestem, as eyeliner for both cosmetic and medicinal purposes as mentioned in the Ebers medical papyrus of about 1700 BCE» — el testimonio egipcio que cita, con el papiro Ebers por fecha.
«This fine powder was later called Khol, and you will still see eyeliner sold under this name. Khol was a term used for centuries to describe anything in a very finely powdered state. Later, Arabic influence changed this to Al-Khol, and still later it became known as Alcohol, meaning the finest powder» — la etimología que traza de *alcohol*, desde el *khol* egipcio por el árabe.
«It was not until the middle ages that the term alcohol was used to designate the spirit of wine. It is interesting to note that the Arabic term Al-iksir, from which we get our word elixir, was also used to designate a finely powdered substance. The word is derived from the early Greek word xirion, meaning a dry powder or ash» — cómo data el desplazamiento de sentido de *alcohol*, y la etimología paralela que da de *elixir*.
«In the ayurvedic tradition, antimony is also prepared as a fine powder used to treat diseases of the eyes» — la convergencia que señala entre el uso egipcio y el ayurvédico del antimonio en polvo.
«Antimony was also used to purify gold, a subject we will talk about later in “The Book of Gold”» — el otro uso antiguo que registra, y el reenvío a la tercera parte del libro.
«The alchemist Roger Bacon presents a clear description of the antimony work leading to medicines for man and metals» — cómo presenta el pasaje de Roger Bacon que va a imprimir; el volumen le atribuye un *Tract on the Tincture and Oil of Antimony*.
«Stibium, as the Philosophers say, is composed from the noble mineral Sulphur, and they have praised it as the Black Lead of the Wise» — la composición que Bacon adjudica al antimonio y el nombre que le dan los filósofos. La voz es de Bacon.
«The Arabs in their language, have called it Asinat vel Azinat, the alchemists retain the name Antimonium. It will however lead to the consideration of high Secrets, if we seek and recognize the nature in which the Sun is exalted, as the Magi found that this mineral was attributed by God to the Constellation Aries, which is the first heavenly sign in which the Sun takes its exaltation or elevation to itself» — los nombres árabes que Bacon consigna y la correspondencia astrológica que le da, con Aries y la exaltación del Sol.
«These words and opinions are perhaps good and right, but that it should be thus in fact and prove itself, this will not be» — la objeción que Bacon opone a la opinión corriente sobre la vitrificación del antimonio, con su reserva *perhaps* delante.
«Therefore you must remember to take the Antimonium out as soon as possible after the Solution, and precipitate it and wash it after the custom of the alchemists, so that the matter with its perfect oil is not corroded and consumed by the water» — la instrucción de tiempo que Bacon da para no perder el aceite en la disolución.
«And beware of its spirits, for they are subtle and harmful in their penetration» — la advertencia de Bacon sobre los espíritus del antimonio; la peligrosidad del material está dentro del texto antiguo, no solo en la advertencia moderna del libro.
«The Philosophers, when they have thus prepared our Antimonium in secret, have remarked how its outermost nature and power has collapsed into its interior, and its interior thrown out and has now become an oil that lies hidden in its innermost and depth, well prepared and ready» — la fórmula con que Bacon describe la inversión de la materia: lo exterior caído adentro y lo interior arrojado afuera como aceite.
«And this is true, for it has become so subtle and volatile, that as soon as it senses the power of fire, it flies away as a smoke with all its parts because of its volatility» — la volatilidad que Bacon adjudica a ese aceite.
«And henceforth it cannot, unto the last judgment, be brought back to its first essence» — la irreversibilidad que Bacon declara para esa transformación.
«If however something should remain behind, you overpour the same with fresh Spiritu vini, and put it into the Balneum Mariae again, as said before, and everything should become well dissolved» — el remedio que el texto da cuando queda materia sin disolver.
«And in case there are some more faeces there, but there should be very little, do them away, for they are not useful for anything» — el descarte que el texto autoriza, con su cautela: debería quedar muy poco.
«I tell you, you have a heavenly medicine to prevent and to cure all kinds of diseases and ailments of the human body» — la promesa médica con que el texto cierra ese tramo.
«But I will show and teach you a much shorter, better and more useful way» — cómo el texto anuncia una vía abreviada frente a la de los antiguos.
«Take, in the Name of God, very pure refined gold, as much as you want and think will suffice» — cómo abre esa vía abreviada, con la invocación por delante de la instrucción material.
«Draw off its airy water so that it becomes a subtle dust and calx» — el primer paso de esa vía sobre el oro.
«And such is the manner and opinion of several of the ancients on how to prepare the gold» — cómo el texto atribuye ese método a varios de los antiguos, sin nombrarlos.
«For this colour is only due to the Mercurio Solis, that has swallowed up our blessed oil, and now covers it with the innermost part of its body» — la explicación que el texto da al color del compuesto.
«Therefore it is time, when twenty years have passed, that you open the window of the third degree» — el plazo que el texto asigna a ese grado de la obra: veinte años.
«The external white colour and force will then completely recede inwardly, and the internal red colour will, by the force of the fire, become external» — la inversión de colores que el texto anuncia por fuerza del fuego.
«And the oil with its very bright red colour will rule over it and remain on the outside» — el resultado de esa inversión.
«You will then see your powder, that was previously white, now become very red» — la señal visible con que el texto da por concluido el paso.
«This stone may be used for Projection, as has been taught in the tract on Vitriol» — el uso final que el texto da a esa piedra, con reenvío a otro tratado.
«One of the most popular stories of a successful alchemist is that of Nicholas Flamel» — cómo introduce a Flamel dentro de la historia del antimonio; el troceo imprime *Nicholas Flamel* y le da fechas 1330-1417.
«His method for preparing the Philosopher’s Stone is a Dry Way of working with antimony, which some have named “The Flamel Path” in his honor» — el método que le adjudica —vía seca del antimonio— y el nombre que otros le habrían puesto.
«Basil Valentine was well aware of the poisonous nature of antimony in its raw state; in fact he called it “a very great and excellent poison”» — el reconocimiento del veneno que atribuye a Valentine, con sus propias palabras.
«Following the correct and true preparation of stibnite, there is no more poison to be found in it at all, for the antimonium must be completely transmuted by means of the spagyric art, and a medicine thus be produced from the poison» — la respuesta de Valentine a esa toxicidad: el arte espagírico transmutaría el veneno en medicina. Es la premisa de todo el capítulo.
«Soon antimony had a bad reputation which prompted the Counsel of Paris to ban its use in medicine» — cómo data la prohibición médica del antimonio; el troceo imprime *Counsel* por *Council*, sic.
«This stand was also taken on by several other countries and the use of antimony for medicine was banned from 1566 to about 1650» — la duración que da a esa prohibición y su extensión a otros países.
«The great genius of Issac Newton was focused on the practice of alchemy for over thirty years» — cómo sitúa a Newton dentro de esta historia. El troceo imprime *Issac*, sic.
«His notes indicate that he believed he was very close to perfecting the Stone of the Wise» — lo que adjudica a los papeles de Newton, con el verbo puesto en la creencia de Newton y no en el resultado.
«Laboratory accidents involving metallic mercury vapors may have led to an early demise, a clear warning that “Dragons” are only approached with due precautions» — la hipótesis que consigna sobre la muerte de Newton, con la reserva *may have*, y la lección práctica que le saca.
«In Antimony are Mercury (in the regulus), Sulfur (in the redness) and Salt (in the black earth which sinks to the bottom), which three, corrected, separated, and finally united together in the proper manner of Art so that fixation be obtained without poison, give an opportunity to the artificer to approach the Stone of Fire» — el reparto de los tres principios dentro del antimonio que el pasaje citado enuncia, y la condición que pone: fijación sin veneno.
«Antimony rarely occurs in a pure state and so before use in alchemical works it must be cleaned and concentrated to some degree» — por qué la obra empieza por la limpieza del mineral.
«The most common impurities associated with antimony ores are arsenic, free sulfur, and mercury» — las impurezas que enumera, dos de ellas tan tóxicas como el propio antimonio.
«Fortunately these are volatile materials and a simple roasting of the powdered ore will remove most of them» — el remedio simple que da para esas impurezas.
«Stibnite, being the principle ore of antimony, is also purified from its surrounding matrix rock by taking advantage of its relatively low melting point» — el segundo método de limpieza, por fusión; el troceo imprime *principle* por *principal*, sic.
«This process is called “Liquation” and is often performed at the mine itself before shipping the ore to a refinery» — el nombre técnico de ese método y dónde se practica.
«The material that did melt out is often well over 95% pure antimony trisulfide and suitable for use in alchemical works; it forms especially nice glass and regulus» — la pureza que declara para ese producto y su aptitud para la obra.
«For the crucible, an unglazed earthenware flowerpot with a hole at the bottom works well» — el crisol de maceta de barro con que rehace esa operación industrial en casa.
«Three or four nails poked in through the side of the can will hold it in place an inch or two from the furnace bottom» — el detalle de montaje que completa ese apaño.
«Stibnite is easily soluble in strong alkaline solutions, forming alkali antimonates» — la vía húmeda que abre para el mismo material.
«The preparation is easy but involves using a strong caustic solution and it produces a foul-smelling odor like rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide), which is quite toxic to breathe, so this is best performed outside or in a fume hood» — la advertencia de seguridad que acompaña a esa vía, con el sulfuro de hidrógeno por peligro.
«A 20 to 30% solution works well; this will get very hot as the lye dissolves, so add it slowly to avoid boiling; also wear eye and hand protection» — la concentración que fija para la lejía y las precauciones de manejo.
«The solution can even be heated to near boiling to hasten the dissolution of the stibnite» — el acelerador que admite para esa disolución.
«This solution is very caustic and will eat right through paper filters; you can find glass wool at aquarium suppliers» — el problema práctico del filtro y la solución barata que da, lana de vidrio de tienda de acuarios.
«As the acetic acid is added, you will begin to see a red-brown solid form and fall to the bottom; this is the Kermes Mineral» — la señal por la que reconoce el *Kermes Mineral*, uno de los productos clásicos del antimonio.
«If the dried powder has a white crystalline crust, it means the sodium acetate was not washed out completely and you will have to repeat the water washing again to remove it» — el control de calidad que enseña por inspección visual del polvo seco.
«Other alkalis will also work to dissolve the stibnite, such as potassium hydroxide, salt of tartar, even liquid ammonia» — las alternativas de álcali que admite.
«Some use borax as a flux, but this often leads to problems in washing it out it later with water; in fact some claim that borax as well as aluminum lead to alchemical death of the subject and avoid their use at all costs» — el desacuerdo que consigna sobre el bórax, y hasta dónde lo llevan algunos: bórax y aluminio matarían alquímicamente al sujeto.
«Basil Valentine mentions the use of borax to form the glass, but this is a trap for the unsuspecting beginner» — cómo lee ese pasaje de Valentine: no receta sino trampa puesta al principiante. Es la clase de lectura que el libro hace de sus fuentes.
«He also states clearly that glass made without any additions is the best for all uses» — y la otra afirmación de Valentine que sí toma al pie de la letra.
«The glass is held by many to be the preferred starting material for extracting the Sulfur of antimony» — la posición que muchos darían al vidrio de antimonio, con la marca *is held by many*.
«Isaac Newton recommended 2 parts stibnite, 1 part of iron filings, and 4 parts of burnt tartar» — la proporción que atribuye a Newton para la fusión del régulo.
«A slag or scoria forms at the surface and easily comes off the metal with a hammer blow» — la señal física con que se separa la escoria del metal.
«The metal or regulus at the bottom of the crucible may show some signs of starring, but generally requires additional purification by grinding and fusion with niter to bring out the stars» — la estrella del régulo, y lo que hace falta para sacarla: molienda y fusión con nitro.
«The inclusion of raw tartar is said to increase the yield of the “seed of gold” in the scoria during the first fusion» — el efecto que la tradición atribuye al tártaro crudo, con la marca *is said to*: aumentaría la semilla de oro en la escoria.
«A word of caution: the mixtures with niter are essentially a form of gunpowder, which you will be placing into a very hot crucible» — la advertencia más dura del capítulo: las mezclas con nitro son pólvora.
«Add material slowly or you will soon find out why the ancients called this process “detonation”» — cómo explica el término antiguo por la experiencia física del riesgo.
«Niter is a powerful oxidizer and the purification of the regulus with its aid must be done quickly or you will lose a significant portion of the metal as scoria» — el compromiso técnico que impone el nitro: rapidez contra pérdida de metal.
«Others suggest varying proportions of niter and salt of tartar» — la divergencia de proporciones que consigna sin arbitrar.
«Remember that many of these mixtures present an explosion hazard» — la advertencia que repite al cerrar la serie de fusiones.
«Antimony is held to bring in the necessary fire to accelerate metallic evolution» — la función que la tradición da al antimonio dentro de la obra metálica, con la marca *is held to*.
«In addition, as each of the metals is held to be under the rulership of a particular planet, antimony is said to ruled by the planet Earth» — la regencia insólita que le adjudica: la Tierra, fuera de la serie de los siete planetas.
«Because of this, antimony is said to be immortal; its spirit is fixed to the sphere of the earth and can be transferred to other metals in order to reanimate them and awaken their generative power» — lo que deriva de esa regencia: espíritu fijo a la esfera terrestre y transferible a otros metales para reanimarlos.
«One of the very important preparations from antimony is the Vinegar of Antimony, which is its pure fixed Mercury» — qué es el *vinagre de antimonio* en su esquema de principios.
«The fermentation itself takes some time, several months at the least, but the preparation is well worth the effort» — el plazo que da para esa preparación.
«Some believe it is a specific against many forms of cancer» — la afirmación terapéutica que consigna como creencia ajena, marcada con *some believe*.
«Basil Valentine gives a very clear description of its preparation in his Triumphal Chariot of Antimony as follows» — a qué texto remite para la receta, la obra de Valentine fichada en el corpus como `valentine-triumphal-chariot-antimony`.
«You will notice that the process begins with the melting and purification of stibnite, which is the liquation process described above» — cómo enlaza la receta de Valentine con la operación industrial que acaba de describir.
«For six pounds of Antimony are required sixteen pounds of Distilled Water, and when (after Digestion) we would distil it, a certain manual Operation must be observed, on which depends» — las proporciones que Valentine da y la advertencia de que todo depende de una manipulación manual; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«Then let all cool, and the Sublimate, as he teaches, must again be mixed with the Antimony;» — el paso de recombinación del sublimado que el texto manda repetir.
«If you tinge this Vinegar with new Minera of Antimony, you will have a Tincture, which Basilius names his Balsome of Life, so often described, but never sufficiently commended» — el nombre que Valentine da a esa tintura, *Balsome of Life*, y el elogio con que la acompaña.
«O, did Mortals know what Mysteries lie absconded in this Tincture, I question whether they would be desirous to set about any other Preparation of Antimony» — la exclamación con que Valentine pone esa tintura por encima de toda otra preparación del antimonio.
«It is important to calcine out any free sulfur prior to the digestion in order to prevent the formation of sulfuric acid» — la corrección técnica que el autor añade por su cuenta a la receta antigua.
«Save all of the antimony residues after the process, as they can still be used to prepare oils and the regulus» — la regla de economía de materiales que da al cerrar la operación.
«Yet they are not endued with the same Virtues, but each enjoys its own, according to the Diversity of its Preparation» — la doctrina que el texto citado enuncia: la virtud dependería de la preparación y no solo de la materia.
«And although every Preparation of it ought to be made by Fire, without which the Virtue of it cannot be manifested: yet consider, that the Addition of Earth gives it wholly another Nature, than the Addition of Water» — la reserva que el mismo texto pone al fuego: sin él no se manifiesta la virtud, pero tierra y agua le cambian del todo la naturaleza.
«This “Fixed Tincture of Antimony” has powerful healing properties unrecognized by modern medicine» — la afirmación terapéutica que hace por su cuenta sobre la tintura fija, sin reserva y sin dato.
«This preparation is attributed to Kerkring who mentions it in his commentary to Basil Valentine’s Triumphal Chariot of Antimony» — a quién adjudica el menstruo que sigue: Kerkring, el anotador de la edición de Valentine que la bibliografía registra (p. 326).
«In this menstruum, we make use of the salt Ammonium Chloride (NH4Cl) or Sal Ammoniac to sharpen the alcohol» — el ingrediente que define ese menstruo, con su fórmula química moderna al lado del nombre antiguo.
«When we have prepared these two ingredients, they are combined at the New Moon in the proportion of 4 parts Sal Ammoniac to 10 parts Alcohol» — la proporción y el momento astrológico que fija para esa combinación: luna nueva.
«The final distillate will be the “Kerkring Menstruum”; seal it tightly in a glass vessel for use» — el nombre y la conservación del producto final de esa vía.
«One of the best solvents or menstruums to use for preparing the unfixed tincture of antimony is “The Acetone of the Wise” or “The White Wine Spirit” derived from the distillation of a metallic acetate» — el enlace que traza entre el capítulo del antimonio y el camino de los acetatos: el disolvente sale de aquel.
«We can use either of these prepared solvents to extract powdered antimony glass, calcined stibnite or calcined kermes» — los tres materiales de antimonio sobre los que admite usar esos disolventes.
«A slow roasting at 90 deg C for a day is wise, then very gradually increase the heat with constant stirring until the matter begins to lighten» — el régimen de calcinación que prescribe, con la señal de color por control.
«Always keep in mind that these vapors are very toxic, so have adequate ventilation or work outside» — la advertencia que repite en cada operación con antimonio.
«The oil is dissolved into strong alcohol and allowed to stand several days before filtering for use» — el acabado del aceite antes de usarlo.
«Medicinally, the volatile or unfixed elixirs are warming, energizing, toning in their effects, while the fixed elixirs are cooling, and contracting» — la partición terapéutica que traza entre elixires fijos y volátiles, en el vocabulario de cualidades de la primera mitad del libro.
«Unfixed tinctures are said to be more effective in acute illnesses, while Fixed tinctures are more useful for chronic diseases» — cómo empareja esa partición con la distinción entre enfermedad aguda y crónica, con la marca *are said to be*.
«Remedies that are unfixed heal unfixed diseases and the radically fixed nonvolatile ones expel fixed diseases which do not move the excrements through evacuation but through sweating and by other means» — la formulación antigua del mismo principio que el volumen imprime, con la vía de evacuación distinta para cada clase.
«The dried powder is extracted with strong alcohol which has been dried over potassium carbonate. The resulting tincture is filtered off for use and represents a more purified form of the Unfixed Tincture from Antimony. In each case, fixed or unfixed oil, it is important to have little or no water present in the alcohol used for the final tincture extraction. This will prevent solution of any toxic antimony salts that may have carried through the process» — la precaución que toma para no arrastrar sales tóxicas de antimonio al producto final; es el punto donde el manual atiende al riesgo real.
«Also, the oil may be “sweetened” by gently distilling the tincture and then returning the distillate to the residue. This should be repeated several times. A small amount of “feces” will drop out with each cycle and the final tincture will mature» — la operación de endulzado que describe y la señal de maduración por caída de heces en cada ciclo.
«The final powder mentioned above, which is distilled “by a subtile operation”, is distilled as in the acetate process, by which you will obtain a red oil» — cómo traduce la fórmula velada del texto antiguo —*by a subtile operation*— a la destilación del acetato que ya enseñó.
«This Oil is of a singular and incredible Sweetness, with which no other thing may be compared, it is grateful in the Use, and all Corrosiveness is separated from it» — la señal de dulzura con que el texto citado reconoce el aceite acabado, y la corrosividad ya separada.
«No man can by Cogitation judge, by Understanding comprehend, what incredible Effects, potent Powers, and profitable Virtues are in this Royal Oil» — la alabanza con que el texto pone ese aceite fuera del alcance del entendimiento.
«Therefore this Sulphur of Antimony, I have given no other Name, than my Balsam of Life» — el nombre propio que el autor citado reserva para ese azufre del antimonio.
«These dry Salts mix with three Parts of Venetian Earth, and by Retort distil the Mixture with strong Fire, and you will have a wonderful Spirit» — el paso de destilación con tierra de Venecia que el texto prescribe.
«The Salt of Antimony, I say, only resolves itself into Liquor, which filter, and put into a Cucurbit, that it may be condensed by extraction of the phlegm; and again set it in moist Place, then will yield you fair Crystals» — la delicuescencia de la sal de antimonio y su cristalización, en palabras del texto citado.
«Separate these from their Phlegm, and they will be pellucid, mixt with a red Colour; but when again purified become white» — la secuencia de colores de esos cristales según el mismo texto.
«The so-called “Fire Stone”, or “Lapis Ignis”, represents the summit of work on antimony itself» — dónde sitúa la piedra de fuego dentro de la obra del antimonio.
«The Tincture of Antimony prepared fixed and solid, or the Stone of Fire (as I name it) is a certain pure, penetrative spiritual and fiery Essence, which is reduced into a coagulated Matter, like the Salamander, which in Fire is not consumed, but purified and conserved» — la definición que el texto citado da a la piedra de fuego, con el símil de la salamandra que el fuego no consume.
«Yet the Stone of Fire tingeth not universally, as the Stone of Philosophers, which is made of the Essence of Gold itself» — el límite que el mismo texto le pone en la frase siguiente: no tiñe universalmente como la piedra de los filósofos. Citarla sin ese límite la convertiría en otra cosa.
«Take in the Name of the Lord, of the Minera of Antimony, which grew after the Rising of the Sun, and Salt Nitre, of each equal Parts; grind them subtily and mix them; burn them together with a moderate Fire very artificially and warily; for in this the principal Part of the Work consists» — la receta de la piedra de fuego: mena de antimonio crecida después del orto y nitro a partes iguales, con la quema por parte principal de la obra.
«Then you will have a matter inclining to Blackness. Of this matter make Glass, grind that Glass to a subtile Powder, and extract from it an high red Tincture with sharp distilled Vinegar, which is made of its proper Minera» — el paso siguiente de esa receta, con el vidrio molido y la extracción por vinagre de su propia mena.
«This Operation being completed, take living Mercury of Antimony, which I taught you how you should make, and pour upon it red Oil of Vitriol made upon Iron, and highly rectified. By Distillation in Sand remove the Phlegm from the Mercury; then you will have a precious Precipitate, in Colour such, as never was any more grateful to the Sight;» — la operación con el mercurio vivo del antimonio y el aceite de vitriolo hecho sobre hierro, y la señal de color del precipitado.
«For it vehemently dries up all Symptomatical Humors, whence Martial-Diseases proceed; in which the Spirit of the Oil, which remains with the Mercury, and conjoins and unites itself thereto, powerfully helps» — la virtud médica que el texto adjudica a ese precipitado, contra las enfermedades marciales.
«Now my Follower, and Disciple of Arcanums, I will speak after a Prophetic manner» — el cambio de registro que el texto anuncia antes de su tramo final; el volumen lo imprime sin comentario.
«This Mercury of Antimony is not fixed as it is in the preparation of Vinegar of Antimony, so the alcohol solution must be kept cold or the Spirit will escape» — el contraste que traza entre este Mercurio del antimonio y el del vinagre, y la precaución de frío que exige.
«Since it does not stay around for very long, it is a good idea to use it as a menstruum soon after preparation» — la caducidad del preparado.
«It has great medicinal virtues on its own, but our aim here is to unite it with a prepared body and form the Fire Stone» — el fin al que subordina esa virtud médica dentro del capítulo.
«Collect these crystals and keep them dry and out of air contact, as they will readily deliquesce» — la conservación que exigen esos cristales.
«The crystals are called the “Magnets of the Philosophers”; they have the property of fixing the Philosophical Mercury» — el nombre antiguo de esos cristales y la propiedad que se les adjudica.
«In the First Perfection, pure antimony metal is formed from stibnite when iron substitutes for the antimony in a liquid mixture» — la primera de las perfecciones de la vía seca, descrita en química de sustitución.
«The reaction takes place through the agency of Ignis Innaturalis or Secret Fire, which is prepared from urine enhanced by the addition of potassium chloride, which was called Muriate of Potash» — qué es el *Ignis Innaturalis* en esta receta: orina reforzada con cloruro de potasio. Es el punto donde el fuego secreto recibe una fórmula.
«There is a slow reaction as the Compost absorbs the liquid in the first few days» — la señal de marcha de los primeros días.
«The vapor of Antimony Trichloride forms as a white “metallic, volatile humidity”, called the “Mercury of the Wise”, the “white wife” or White Goddess of the First Perfection» — los nombres antiguos que el proceso da al tricloruro de antimonio: Mercurio de los sabios, esposa blanca, diosa blanca.
«It will fume slightly in air and is very corrosive, irritating and hygroscopic» — las propiedades reales de ese producto, que el libro pone junto a sus nombres antiguos.
«Remove the matter from the distilling flask and separate the regulus from the black matte of iron sulfide» — el paso de separación con que cierra la primera perfección.
«The Second Perfection is performed in a “Philosophical Egg”, which is a flask having a long neck sealed with a ground glass stopper or silicone rubber stopper» — el vaso que la segunda perfección exige, con la traducción moderna del *huevo filosófico*.
«It takes about two more months before the “Peacock’s Tail” appears. Slowly increase the temperature to 45 deg C. Then a water washes the Nigredo and beautiful colors appear, Alchemists called this the Peacock’s Tail. It signals the end of Jupiter’s Rule» — el plazo que da para la cola de pavo real y el régimen que cierra.
«It takes about 28 days in Luna’s Rule to achieve the Second Stone, which is when the matter turns white» — el plazo del régimen de la Luna y su señal, el blanqueo.
«This period was called the “albedo”, or whitening, or the white dove» — los tres nombres del mismo estado.
«The Rule of Venus is 42 days more with heat increased to about 70 deg C» — el régimen de Venus, con plazo y temperatura; el libro pone cifra donde la tradición ponía figura.
«The King (gold) unites with the Queen (albedo). The Queen is also called Philosophical Mercury, rosa alba (the white rose). In uniting, the king and queen remove impurities from each other. The King and Queen produce the Green Lion» — la boda química de ese régimen y su producto.
«During this time azure, gray and citrine overcome the Green Lion, which finally changes to a red color. This red matter is now called “Sulphur”» — la sucesión de colores de ese tramo y el nombre del producto rojo.
«The red Sulphur fixes the white Mercury and they dissolve into a liquid state» — la fijación que cierra el régimen de Venus.
«The Rule of Sol is another 42 days, with the temperature increased to between 100 deg C and 121 deg C» — el régimen del Sol, con plazo y ventana térmica.
«In a short time, a crimson or Tyrian purple color forms as a sparkling oil» — la señal final de la obra: el aceite de púrpura de Tiro.
«It is said to be one of the fastest and most reliable ways to make the Stone of the Wise, but filled with many dangers» — cómo valora la vía seca entera, con la marca *is said to be* y el peligro dentro de la misma frase.
«The mercury should leave no trail when rolled across a smooth surface and should be without any appearance of scum at the surface» — la prueba sensorial con que se juzga puro el mercurio; es el control de calidad antiguo que el libro conserva.
«This is a difficult and dangerous process which requires careful control of the heating» — la advertencia con que abre la purificación del mercurio.
«The black residue remaining in the retort is mostly antimony sulfide which can be used to make more of the Martial Regulus» — la reutilización que da al residuo negro.
«Again, it is best to sublimate this black form of cinnabar into the red orange variety, but either form will work» — la preferencia que declara entre las dos formas del cinabrio, con su límite dentro de la frase.
«Continue this water wash until all of the blackness is out and the resulting amalgam appears bright and clean» — la señal de fin del lavado de la amalgama.
«The amalgamation and distillation process is repeated 7 to 10 times and is often referred to as “letting the eagles fly”» — el número de ciclos que da y el nombre antiguo de la operación, las águilas que vuelan.
«The regulus of antimony won’t amalgamate very easily with mercury metal, so the silver is added to absorb the fixed spirit of antimony and transfer it to the mercury» — la función que da a la plata dentro de esa operación: intermediaria del espíritu fijo del antimonio.
«After the distillation, the residue of silver which remains in the retort, called now the “Dead Doves of Diana”, is cleaned and used again each time with the addition of fresh regulus» — el nombre que la tradición da a ese residuo de plata, palomas muertas de Diana, y su reutilización.
«With each cycle of amalgamation and distillation, the mercury metal becomes more enlivened and ultimately is called “Animated Mercury”, or “Sophic Mercury”, containing the generative power of the metallic realm» — el producto de los ciclos y sus nombres: Mercurio animado o sófico, portador del poder generativo del reino metálico.
«This is the “Philosophical Mercury” of the Dry Way» — la identificación que cierra esa serie.
«Thus common mercury becomes reanimated by the fire of antimony and the principles of life hidden in the iron and copper» — cómo resume el mecanismo entero: el mercurio vulgar reanimado por el fuego del antimonio y por los principios del hierro y el cobre.
«For the White Work, purified silver is “seeded” into this animated mercury; for the Red Work, we use purified gold» — la bifurcación de la obra en blanca y roja según el metal sembrado.
«The salt is fused in a crucible at about 800 deg C, then dissolved in rainwater» — el detalle de la preparación de la sal marina, con agua de lluvia por disolvente; la doctrina del agua de la primera mitad reaparece aquí como receta.
«For the White Work, silver metal is dissolved in Aqua Fortis or nitric acid» — el ataque de la plata, con el nombre antiguo y el moderno juntos.
«Grind together one part of the dried silver powder with six parts of mercury which has been purified with vinegar and salt» — la proporción de la amalgama para la obra blanca.
«The ancient artists thought of this process as a type of calcination of the precious metals, wherein they are reduced to a fine ash like consistency, and hence the name “calx” of the metal» — cómo explica el término *calx* por la operación que lo produce.
«This is the “Philosopher’s Gold” and represents “the true radical and central calcination of gold”» — el nombre del producto y la fórmula entrecomillada con que la fuente citada lo describe.
«These are “the ashes of the philosophers, wherein the Royal Diadem is hidden” and is “the nearest matter of the Stone, out of which the Great Work may be made”» — los dos dichos que el volumen imprime sobre esas cenizas; las comillas interiores son del texto citado.
«This “Sophic Gold” provides the foundation for confecting the Red Stone of the Philosophers, but first we must augment or multiply its virtue and quantity» — la posición que da al oro sófico y lo que falta hacer con él.
«At no point should the temperature rise high enough to sublime or distill the mercury within the flask» — el límite térmico que gobierna la multiplicación.
«You can repeat this process of multiplication as many times as you like and thus have a constant supply of Sophic Gold» — el rendimiento que promete a la multiplicación.
«The matter will become very dark but soon will begin to look lighter and finally take on a reddish hue» — la sucesión de colores que da como control del proceso.
«After six months of continuous digestion, the matter will be of a uniform red color» — el plazo que fija para la digestión.
«When you perceive that all of the moisture has gone out, seal the flask tightly» — la señal con que manda cerrar el vaso; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«The matter will ferment, swell and bubble, then turn black like pitch» — la primera fase de la digestión y su color.
«This is called “The Regimen of Saturn”» — el nombre tradicional de esa fase.
«Within several months, the matter will become lighter, and finally a pure white powder will form» — el blanqueo que sigue al negro y su plazo.
«The matter will become dark at first but will turn red much quicker than the first time» — la aceleración que declara para las multiplicaciones sucesivas.
«The matter will turn red sooner each time» — la misma ley enunciada en su forma más corta.
«At the end of this process, you will have “The Red Stone of the Philosophers”, “The Medicine of Metals”, which can transmute impure metals into gold» — el producto final de la vía y los nombres que le da.
«The process of transmutation of metals into gold is called Projection» — el término técnico de esa operación.
«Making a judgment of how much metal your stone will transmute requires a little experimentation» — el límite práctico que reconoce: el rendimiento de la piedra habría que tantearlo.
«If the metal is still brittle, you must remelt it with more mercury» — la señal de fallo y el remedio.
«With slight modifications, this is the same process for confecting the Philosopher’s Stone advocated by Flamel and Philalethes» — la filiación que da a su receta, con dos nombres.
«Some modern artists even refer to this as the Flamel Work because his was one of the earliest descriptions of it» — cómo consigna el nombre moderno de esa vía y la razón que le dan.
«The healing and rejuvenative virtues hidden in Antimony certainly earn it a place as one of the great Rasayanas of Western alchemy» — la conclusión con que cierra el libro del antimonio, y que cierra también el paralelo con el *rasayana* de la primera mitad.
«It’s one of few metals that occur in nature as an actual metallic body, which is called “native gold”; it’s never been smelted» — cómo abre el libro del oro: el metal que se halla ya en forma metálica.
«Copper is often found in native form but is more difficult to recognize as it is susceptible to corrosion, as are most other metals, but not gold» — el contraste con el cobre nativo por la corrosión.
«Bury gold in the ground or under the ocean for a thousand years and when you dig it up, it still glows warm like solidified sunlight» — la imagen con que describe la incorruptibilidad del oro.
«In fact, from ancient times, gold has been described as congealed sunlight» — la fórmula antigua a la que remite esa imagen.
«The gold remains unaffected and falls to the bottom as a fine brown powder» — la señal de que el oro sobrevive al ataque que disuelve lo demás.
«The gold will immediately fall to the bottom in a very pure form as a golden brown heavy solid» — la señal de la precipitación del oro puro.
«Caution! This gets very hot very fast and tends to splatter if you add the lye too quickly» — la advertencia que intercala en la preparación con lejía.
«The dried white silver chloride can be used for alchemical work, where it has been named “horn silver” and silver calx» — los dos nombres antiguos del cloruro de plata seco.
«If you want to regain the silver as a metal, you can mix the silver chloride with dilute sulfuric acid and add zinc metal to saturation» — el método de recuperación de la plata metálica.
«An alternative method begins with the freshly precipitated silver chloride which has been washed and decanted into a thick slurry» — el segundo método que ofrece para lo mismo.
«When addition of sugar no longer causes a reaction, add water to wash the silver several times» — la señal de fin de ese método, por azúcar.
«The mass will darken and the silver falls to the bottom» — la señal visible de la reducción de la plata.
«There is evidence of fire assaying being practiced in the ancient mediterranean area as early as 2600 BCE» — cómo data el ensayo de fuego, la técnica analítica más vieja que trae al libro.
«Even today, fire assaying is considered as much an art as it is a science; but then that makes sense when you realize that the methods sprang up from the “Dry Ways” of alchemical work» — la filiación que le adjudica: la analítica moderna vendría de las vías secas del arte.
«The process of fire assaying can provide us with some valuable insight to alchemical works as an example of dry working» — para qué mete el ensayo de fuego en un libro de alquimia.
«Flux design is key to success in the fire assay as it is with the mineral works of alchemy in the Dry Ways» — el punto en que las dos prácticas coinciden, el diseño del fundente.
«The lead acts as a “collector” of gold and silver from the melt» — la función del plomo en el ensayo.
«The color of this slag tells a lot about what is in the mineral ore other than gold and silver» — la lectura por color de la escoria, que es analítica sensorial dentro de un procedimiento moderno.
«This process of slowly “cooking” off the lead is called cupellation» — el nombre de la operación que separa el plomo.
«If we want to know the total of gold and the total of silver separately, we need to separate the two by a process called “parting”» — el nombre de la operación que separa oro y plata.
«The insoluble residue is the gold, which is washed with water, dried and weighed» — el paso final del ensayo.
«One of the interesting properties of antimony is that it dissolves gold quite rapidly» — la propiedad del antimonio que lo hace útil sobre el oro.
«The antimony-gold alloy was then heated in a stream of air, causing antimony to volatilize as the trioxide, leaving behind the purified gold much like the cupellation with lead in the fire assay» — el procedimiento antiguo de purificación del oro por antimonio, emparejado con la copelación.
«Due to this property, antimony was sometimes referred to as “Aries of the Philosophers”, because the Sun is exalted in the sign of Aries» — el nombre que esa propiedad le valió y la razón astrológica que se le pone detrás.
«Know that this is the only right and legitimate way of purifying our substance: for the Lion purifies himself with the blood of the wolf, and the tincture of its blood agrees most wonderfully with the tincture of the Lion, seeing that the two liquids are closely akin to each other» — el pasaje del *lobo* y el *león* que el volumen imprime para esa purificación; la voz es del texto citado, no suya.
«For whoever drinks of this golden fountain, experiences a renovation of his whole nature, a vanishing of all unhealthy matter, a fresh supply of blood, a strengthening of the heart and of all the vitals, and a permanent bracing of every limb» — la promesa médica que ese mismo texto hace a quien bebe de la fuente dorada.
«If gold is not purified prior to its preparation as a medicine, it causes reduction of strength, loss of potency and suppression of digestive power, and it diminishes enthusiasm, complexion and happiness» — el daño que la fuente ayurvédica atribuye al oro sin purificar; el libro pone la advertencia antes de la promesa.
«After proper purification, gold acts like ambrosia and rejuvenates the body and mind» — y la contrapartida de esa misma fuente.
«The first one is an Astral Gold, whose center is in the Sun, which with its rays communicates it, at the same time as its light, to all heavenly bodies under it» — el primero de los oros que el texto citado distingue: el oro astral, con centro en el Sol.
«The second one is an Elemental Gold, that is, the purest and most fixed portion of the elements, and of all substances composed by them; so that every sublunar being of the three genera contains in its center a precious grain of this Elemental Gold» — el segundo: el oro elemental, que estaría en el centro de todo ser sublunar de los tres reinos.
«The third one is the handsome metal, whose brightness and inalterable perfection give it a price, which make it to be considered by all men as the sovereign remedy for all evils and needs of life, and as the only foundation of greatness and human power» — el tercer oro que ese texto distingue, el metal común, y la función social que le adjudica: fundamento de la grandeza y del poder.
«Gold and, to a certain extent silver, remain in the metallic state even after a prolonged roasting at high temperatures» — la propiedad física que hace difícil calcinar el oro, y de ahí el capítulo entero.
«The preparation of a finely divided gold dust, called gold calx, is an important form of gold useful for many preparations» — qué es el *gold calx* y para qué sirve.
«The first two methods begin with the amalgamation of gold with metallic mercury» — el punto de partida común de los dos primeros métodos.
«The final washed and dried gold calx will be exceedingly fine and ready for use in “seeding” animated mercury or in the preparation of other gold products» — el producto de ese primer método y sus dos usos.
«Instead of distilling the mercury out, it is dissolved out by the use of aqua fortis, nitric acid» — en qué se aparta el segundo método del primero.
«The mercury nitrate is a powerful oxidizer so be careful with it or you might start a fire or have an explosion» — la advertencia sobre el nitrato de mercurio.
«Also, Do Not use an ammonia-based material to precipitate the mercury or you may form the very unstable fulminating mercury and definitely have an explosion» — la prohibición expresa sobre el amoniaco y el mercurio fulminante; es de las pocas veces que el libro usa mayúsculas de énfasis.
«This holds true for gold also; never precipitate gold from a solution using an ammonia based material» — la misma prohibición aplicada al oro.
«Fulminating gold is extremely powerful and unstable when dry» — la razón que la sostiene.
«A simple method for preparing gold calx is by repeated calcinations with common salt» — el tercer método, por sal común.
«The cycle of heating and grinding is repeated 7 to 20 times» — el número de ciclos que da a ese método.
«In this last method we examine, gold is first dissolved in Aqua Regia» — el cuarto método, por agua regia.
«Gently evaporate the solution to obtain beautiful golden orange crystals of hydrochloroauric acid» — el producto cristalino de esa vía, con su nombre químico moderno.
«The gold will become quite soft and can be pounded and rubbed» — la señal táctil con que la fuente citada reconoce el oro bien tratado.
«Then it is correctly and well calcined, and you may be sure that you cannot get a better calcination» — la seguridad con que esa fuente da por buena su calcinación.
«It will become so subtle that it can easily be used in medicines for several sicknesses without any further preparation, for this calx is sweet and not contaminated by any corrosives» — la ventaja médica que la fuente reclama para ese *calx*: dulce y sin corrosivo.
«It will extract its tincture in a few hours like blood, leaving its metallic slime behind» — el símil de la sangre con que la fuente describe la extracción de la tintura.
«How that is to be correctly prepared will be found further on in the Treatise on Tartar» — el reenvío interno de la fuente citada a otro de sus tratados.
«Set it closed to digest and it will extract a yet purer tincture» — la reiteración que esa fuente manda hacer.
«Distill the spirit of wine to half, and you will have a wonderful potable gold» — cómo esa fuente da por obtenido el oro potable.
«With the subtle spirit a beautiful, transparent, shining salt will rise» — la señal con que reconoce la sal que sube con el espíritu sutil.
«Rinse all the salt with the spirit out of the alembic, weigh this spirit, mix it with the same amount of the best spirit of wine, let it gently putrefy together for 8 days, then distill it, and you will have a wonderful menstruum for all metals, minerals, and precious stones» — el menstruo universal que ese pasaje promete, con su plazo de ocho días de putrefacción.
«Very gently evaporate the vinegar and you will obtain a yellow salt» — el paso del vinagre evaporado y su producto.
«The white vapor and a “saffron” colored oil will come over into the first receiver and resolve itself into a red liquor» — las señales de color de esa destilación.
«This is one of the greatest medicines under the Sun, and you can hardly get a better» — la alabanza con que la fuente citada valora el aceite de oro.
«Three drops are able to extinguish any sickness, and in this oyl of gold is the greatest secret of Nature» — la posología y la promesa con que remata; el volumen la imprime sin comentario y sin reserva propia.
«The following description is from Secreta Alchemiae, written by Kalid ben Jazichi» — la fuente árabe que cita para el aceite de oro; el nombre va tal cual lo imprime el troceo, *Kalid ben Jazichi*, y no se coteja contra otra grafía.
«The resulting crystals are extracted with the “White Wine Spirit” to produce a blood red oil of gold» — cómo enlaza esa receta con el disolvente que sacó del camino de los acetatos.
«Commercial acetone does not work very well either, but the wine spirit prepared from distillation of other acetates will work» — la diferencia que sostiene entre la acetona comercial y la de la obra; es su respuesta a quien identifique las dos.
«The physical and physiological properties of materials can change dramatically when they are reduced to a finely dispersed state» — el principio con que introduce coloides y monoatómicos: el tamaño de partícula cambiaría las propiedades.
«Their effectiveness is dependent on their particle size; the finer the better» — la regla que saca de ahí para las medicinas metálicas.
«Although the medicinal use of colloidal and monoatomic metals is found in western alchemical tradition, this form of metallic medicine is especially important in the bhasmas of rasa shastra» — dónde sitúa el peso de esa práctica: en los *bhasmas* del *Rasa Shastra* más que en Occidente.
«Although the materials required to produce a bhasma are common or easily obtained, the process itself is laborious» — el contraste entre materiales fáciles y proceso laborioso, con su reserva delante.
«When done correctly, none of the arsenic or mercury are present in the final product» — la afirmación de inocuidad que hace sobre el producto acabado, condicionada al *when done correctly*.
«This purified gold is mixed with an equal amount of arsenic (or sometimes mercury is used), then triturated with a mortar and pestle for seven days using the juice or a strong decoction of plants to keep a thin pasty consistency» — el procedimiento del *bhasma* de oro: siete días de trituración con jugo de plantas.
«The ground pasty material is now formed into small cakes about an inch in diameter and left in the sun to dry» — el paso de las tortas secadas al sol.
«The final product will have a pinkish color and be exceedingly fine (compare this with Agricolla’s description» — el aspecto del producto acabado y el cotejo que propone con una descripción de *Agricolla*, grafía que el troceo imprime así.
«If a small amount is sprinkled onto water, it will not sink but instead spread out like oil on water» — la primera prueba sensorial de calidad del *bhasma*.
«If a small amount is rubbed between the fingers, the finest lines of your fingerprint will be filled with powder, yet you will feel no grittyness but instead a soft oilyness» — la segunda, táctil; el troceo imprime *grittyness* y *oilyness*, sic.
«Success is indicated by the refusal of gold to reduce into metal, which is the state it usually prefers» — la tercera prueba, y la más fuerte: el oro que ya no vuelve a metal.
«Medicinal use of gold bhasma includes cardiac tonic, promoter of eyesight and intellect, and rejuvenator» — los usos médicos que la tradición da al *bhasma* de oro.
«Gold bhasma has a long history as a curative agent in a wide range of illnesses which plague mankind, including heart disease, tuberculosis, nervous disorders, epilepsy, asthma, anemia and cancer» — la lista larga de dolencias que esa tradición le adjudica; el libro la da como historia de uso, no como resultado medido.
«The recommended dose ranges from 10 to 25 mg» — la dosis que consigna.
«Metallic zinc is another important medicine used in ayurveda» — el segundo metal del capítulo.
«The material in the can is mainly manganese dioxide with some alkalis, and there is also a carbon rod in the center» — de dónde saca el material: una pila abierta por él. Es el gesto característico de su alquimia de guerrilla.
«To prepare kajalli, we must first purify a quantity of mercury metal» — el punto de partida del *kajalli*.
«Place the mercury into a mortar of porcelain or iron and triturate it with fresh garlic cloves to form a thick paste» — el ajo como reactivo de esa purificación.
«This takes about 60 hours of grinding to correctly form the paste, as all traces of the metal must disappear, resulting in a homogenous black paste» — el tiempo de molienda que exige y la señal de fin; es la medida del trabajo manual que el libro da por supuesto.
«The first method is a little more difficult but perhaps the most common in use» — cómo presenta el primero de los dos métodos de *bhasma*, con su reserva *perhaps*.
«Ghee itself possesses remarkable healing properties on its own, both internally and externally; many consider it to be an effective rasayana in doses of less than two tablespoons per day» — las virtudes que adjudica al *ghee* por sí mismo, y la dosis que consigna como opinión de muchos.
«It also does not need refrigeration and is said to increase in potency with age» — la propiedad que le atribuye la tradición, con la marca *is said to*.
«Ghee shares many of the same qualities as Ojas and thus its use increases Ojas in the body» — el argumento por cualidades con que justifica el uso del *ghee*, aplicando el principio de que lo semejante aumenta lo semejante.
«Be sure to have adequate ventilation, because the sulfur fumes will get quite strong» — la advertencia que intercala en la purificación con azufre.
«If we repeat this process two more times with fresh ghee and milk, the sulfur itself will become a powerful medicine for skin diseases, but one time will be sufficient for our present purpose of making kajalli» — el subproducto medicinal que se obtendría repitiendo el ciclo, y el corte que él pone por economía.
«I know this all sounds like a lot of work, but nobody said these preparations were easy, just powerfully effective and time tested over several thousand years» — cómo responde a la objeción del esfuerzo: no fáciles sino eficaces y probadas por milenios. Es su argumento de autoridad más desnudo.
«The purified zinc is now ready for the second stage of the work, called “Marana of Zinc”, which is the actual formation of the bhasma» — el nombre de la segunda etapa, *marana*.
«Zinc bhasma is held to be a powerful medicine for all complaints associated with diabetes, anaemia, asthma, obstinate skin problems, and ailments of the eyes and it helps build muscle tissue» — las dolencias que la tradición adjudica al *bhasma* de cinc, con la marca *is held to be*.
«It alleviates pitta and kapha doshas» — y su acción en el esquema de *doshas*.
«Four such cycles is the minimum, and often several more will be required to obtain an acceptable bhasma; some recommend 21 cycles» — el número de ciclos que exige y la divergencia que consigna sin arbitrar.
«The ground, finished product should pass all of the tests for a bhasma mentioned in the section on gold bhasma» — el control de calidad que remite a las pruebas del *bhasma* de oro.
«In addition, note that the mercury used in the initial preparation stage will be long since vaporized and hence not in the final product» — la aclaración de seguridad que repite sobre el mercurio de la primera etapa.
«Although this form of zinc bhasma is said to be less powerful that that made using mercury, it is a straightforward method of working with the lower melting metals like lead, tin and zinc which avoids the use of mercury and its attendant dangers» — el compromiso que declara entre potencia y riesgo: menos fuerte, pero sin mercurio.
«The last bhasma preparation we will look at is for a mineral product, in this case calcium» — el tercer *bhasma* del capítulo, ya no metálico sino mineral.
«Why minerals alone should be excluded from God’s primal benediction, when He bade all things increase and multiply after their kind, I am unable to see; and if minerals have seed they have it for the purpose of generic» — el argumento teológico que el texto citado da a la semilla mineral, apoyado en el mandato bíblico de crecer y multiplicarse; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«Our Arcanum is gold exalted to the highest degree of perfection to which the combined action of Nature and Art can develop it» — cómo define ese texto el arcano, con la naturaleza y el arte obrando juntos.
«In gold, Nature has reached the term of her efforts; but the seed of gold is something more perfect still, and in cultivating it we must, therefore, call in the aid of Art» — el reparto de tareas entre naturaleza y arte que el mismo texto enuncia.
«The seed of metals is hidden out of sight still more completely than that of animals; nevertheless, it is within the compass of our Art to extract it» — la dificultad que el texto reconoce a la semilla metálica y la competencia que reclama para el arte.
«There is only one seed of metals. It is “Ojas” of the mineral kingdom when refined by alchemical art» — la identificación con que el autor amarra las dos tradiciones del libro: la semilla única de los metales sería el *ojas* del reino mineral.
«The seed of all metals is the same; but that in some it is found nearer to, and in some further from the surface, all metallic seed is the seed of gold; for gold is the intention of nature in regard to all metals» — la versión del axioma de la semilla única que el texto citado da, con la diferencia de profundidad entre metales.
«If the base metal is not gold, it is only through some accidental hindrance; they are all potentially gold» — y su corolario en ese mismo texto.
«The Red Sulfur is the solar, male aspect, the growth soul» — el primero de los dos azufres y el sexo que le adjudica.
«The White Sulfur is the lunar, female aspect, the corporeal soul» — y el segundo.
«The gold is tested by the fire and dies again but is revived with fresh herbal soul» — el ciclo de muerte y reanimación del oro por alma vegetal, que es la operación central de este tramo.
«In practice we take a metal and calcine it with an herb, but the temperature is very critical, because we want to gently drive» — la operación en términos llanos y la variable crítica que señala, la temperatura; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«These stronger souls will be the male-growth soul of the herb and the female soul aspect of the metal» — el reparto de sexos entre planta y metal en esa unión.
«This is a true “Chemical Wedding” wherein the opened female soul of the metal accepts the growth inducing soul or male soul of the herb» — el nombre tradicional que da a esa unión.
«When such a herbo-metallic complex, with an hermaphrodite soul, is taken as a drug, the accepting system never lacks the presence of soul and is therefore bound to become everlasting: thus man can become immortal» — la promesa que el texto saca de ese compuesto: alma hermafrodita, sistema que nunca carece de alma, y de ahí la inmortalidad. Es la afirmación más fuerte de esta sección.
«When the same substance is seeded into mercury, the latter becomes everlasting as metal; which is gold» — el paralelo mineral de esa misma promesa.
«Thus Alchemical Gold, like the original herbo metallic substance, is an Hermaphrodite by constitution and a Ferment by function» — la doble caracterización del oro alquímico, por constitución y por función.
«You can’t move from one extreme to another extreme without the proper medium» — el principio de mediación que gobierna la operación.
«In order to pass from one extreme, the mineral realm, to another extreme, the animal realm, we make use of the medium between then, which is the vegetable realm» — y su aplicación: el reino vegetal como medio entre el mineral y el animal. El troceo imprime *between then* por *between them*, sic.
«A low fire clay (cone 4 to 6) works well; you can find it at any pottery supply store» — la arcilla que especifica para el huevo filosófico, con el cono de cocción.
«Of course our “Philosophical Egg” can be fired in an oven with an exhaust fan as well» — la alternativa doméstica que admite para cocerlo.
«Rudolf Glauber describes another way of uniting vegetable and metallic natures in his work Centuries» — la segunda autoridad de esta sección y la obra a la que remite.
«He mentions “the manner of conjoining gold with any burning and volatile vegetable sulfur” to produce a red extract which is “nearly as good as potable gold”» — lo que Glauber promete de esa unión, con su propia acotación *nearly as good as* dentro de la cita.
«Current medicine considers it only as a mild laxative, but Glauber describes it as a key to opening the mineral realm and releasing great healing potentials» — el desacuerdo que consigna entre la medicina de hoy y Glauber sobre la sal de Glauber; consigna las dos lecturas sin arbitrar.
«Water will dissolve large volumes of hydrogen chloride, and the resulting solution will be hydrochloric acid, which is useful in many alchemical works so save it aside tightly sealed» — el subproducto que manda guardar en esa operación.
«The sulfuric acid treated salt remaining in the flask has now been converted into sodium sulfate or Sal Mirabilis» — el nombre antiguo y el moderno de la misma sal, puestos uno junto al otro.
«The salt looks like crushed ice and melts at an incredibly low temperature of 32 deg C» — la propiedad que la hace reconocible.
«the salt is also insoluble in alcohol and is frequently used to dry alcohol of residual water, similar to the use of salt of tartar» — el uso de laboratorio que le da.
«Now that we have our starting material, we can proceed to make what Glauber calls “The Golden Carbuncle of the Ancients”» — el producto que anuncia con el nombre que Glauber le da.
«The best charcoal for this is from grape vines, but you can use oak, cedar, juniper, beech, or boxwood also» — los carbones que especifica, con la vid en primer lugar; la materia vegetal sigue eligiéndose por su especie.
«The mass will have a deep red color due to the finely divided gold» — la señal de color y la explicación física que le da.
«This is the “Golden Carbuncle” that “shines in the night like a burning coal”» — el nombre y la señal luminosa del producto, con la cita interior del texto antiguo.
«The residue from the extraction can be put through the process again to create more of the red extract which is a form of colloidal gold» — la reutilización del residuo y la identificación moderna del producto.
«In the Birla Temple of New Delhi stand two marble plaques carved in Sanskrit which give testimony to public demonstrations held in 1941 and 1942 before government dignitaries, prominent industrialists, and scientists» — el testimonio material que trae para la transmutación: dos placas de mármol con fechas de 1941 y 1942.
«The plaques detail how a master of Rasa Shastra, using just a small amount of powder derived from metallic mercury, which had undergone arduous processing, successfully transmuted nearly a kilogram of common mercury into fine gold» — lo que esas placas declaran; el libro reporta el testimonio y no lo somete a control.
«Metallic mercury was known by a variety of interesting names including “Maker of Gold”, “Seed or Semen of Shiva” and “King of Rasas”» — los nombres que la tradición india da al mercurio metálico.
«The preparation of mercury to be used medicinally and for the transmutation of metals must undergo eighteen “samskaras”, or complex treatments» — el número de *samskaras* que exige la preparación completa.
«If mercury is to be used in the preparation of other metallic medicines and not for transmutation, only the first eight processes are considered essential» — el corte que la tradición hace en esa serie según el fin, medicinal o transmutatorio.
«This helps to restore the therapeutic “vigor or potency” of mercury and also makes it more thermostable» — el efecto que uno de los *samskaras* tendría sobre el mercurio.
«This helps to restrain the mobility of mercury and increases its luster» — el de otro.
«This sequence for processing mercury was painstakingly followed by Indian alchemists; but there were also variations possible in the choice of pla» — cómo describe la transmisión de esa secuencia y admite variantes; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana, donde queda *plants*.
«The ultimate goal which lay behind all of this was that the mercurial product, after undergoing sequentially the first seventeen processes, was considered to have all the powers of transmutation» — el fin que la tradición ponía al final de los diecisiete primeros procesos.
«At this stage, it was to be tested for its efficacy in transmuting base metals into gold and, if the test was positive, it was to be used for the eighteenth process, which is the transformation of the alchemist himself» — el orden que esa tradición instituye: la transmutación del metal como prueba, y la del propio alquimista como decimoctavo proceso. Es la inversión de jerarquía que el libro sostiene desde el principio.
«The final product, if consumed in proper quantity would, it was claimed, rejuvenate the body in such a way that it would become as “resplendent and imperishable as gold”» — la promesa final de esa serie, marcada con *it was claimed* y con la comparación entre cuerpo y oro.
«Sattva gives rise to the mind and senses as well as clarity of perception» — lo que la tabla del apéndice adjudica a *sattva*.
«Rajas is responsible for all forms of movement, and Tamas gives rise to the “Five Elements” and the sensory inputs of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing» — y lo que adjudica a *rajas* y a *tamas*, con los cinco elementos y los sentidos del lado de la última.
«Nor do they address medical applications or toxicity issues. They are provided to illustrate the nature and complexity of the various materials and lend some guidance to future researchers» — el alcance que declara para el apéndice segundo, con la toxicidad expresamente fuera.
«From the alchemical viewpoint, these materials represent vehicles for subtle principles» — cómo lee esos materiales desde su doctrina: vehículos de principios sutiles.
«Just as alcohol is considered the vehicle for the vegetable spirit, these are the vehicles of mineral essence» — el paralelo con el alcohol vegetal que hace legible ese papel.
«The alcohol is not the spirit, just a body housing it; a magnet holding an invisible power» — la distinción con que separa el cuerpo medible del espíritu que no lo es; es la que sostiene toda la reserva del apéndice.
«Infrared spectra provide information on molecular structure. The bending and stretching of chemical bonds between atoms in a compound occur at frequencies in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum» — cómo explica el infrarrojo, y en qué vocabulario: enlaces que resuenan a frecuencias determinadas.
«A compound exposed to infrared energy will absorb those frequencies which resonate with the various chemical bonds present» — el principio de la técnica, enunciado como resonancia, que es el mismo término de su doctrina de la vibración.
«By examination of the frequency ranges absorbed, we can determine the types of chemical bonding present and then deduce a structure of the compound» — qué permite deducir esa técnica.
«The broad absorption around 3400 is due to the OH portion of the molecule, stretching back and forth from its attachment to the carbon atom» — la primera lectura concreta que enseña sobre un espectro.
«This broad absorption is characteristic of alcohols and phenols. Its peak of absorption will vary depending on other aspects of the compound’s geometry» — la reserva que le pone: el pico varía con la geometría del compuesto.
«The strong absorption around 1700 is characteristic of the double bond stretching between carbon and oxygen (C=O) as found in ketones, esters and organic acids» — la segunda lectura de espectro que enseña.
«Gas chromatography uses a similar process to effect the separation of compounds in a mixture» — cómo presenta la segunda técnica del apéndice.
«The relative size of the signal provides information on the amounts of each compound present» — qué da la cromatografía además de la separación.
«There are many types of column packing material and many variable parameters, such as gas flow and heating conditions, which can be optimized to obtain a good separation of the compounds in a mixture» — las variables que reconoce en esa técnica.
«It takes a lot of trial and error, using known compounds, to determine when and where a compound will emerge from a particular chromatographic system» — el trabajo de calibración que exige, dicho sin adorno.
«In a nutshell, this is the technology behind the various scans presented in this appendix» — cómo cierra la exposición metodológica del apéndice.
«This is a unique look into the world of practical alchemical work and hopefully will lay the groundwork for future researchers» — la pretensión que declara para el material: primer conjunto de datos instrumentales sobre productos alquímicos.
«The sodium acetate liquified below 100 degrees and the “phlegm” distilled rapidly» — la primera observación de la serie del acetato de sodio.
«The sharp increase of the head temperature near the end is where the blood red oil began coming over» — la señal instrumental que empareja con el aceite rojo de los textos antiguos; es el punto donde la curva de temperatura y el vocabulario alquímico se tocan.
«Using a 1-liter distilling flask, an optimum quantity of 400g sodium acetate was found to give fairly consistent results» — la escala de trabajo que declara óptima, con la reserva *fairly consistent*.
«The Phlegm proved to be mainly water, which was associated with the crystalline sodium acetate» — el resultado analítico de la flema.
«The Menstruum Foetens was found to be much more complex, similar to an essential oil from plants» — el resultado del *menstruum foetens*, con el paralelo vegetal que ya había anticipado.
«GC-MS analysis indicates the presence of acetone as a major constituent, along with a variety of aromatic compounds such as 1,2,3-Trimethyl Benzene, 2,6-Dimethyl Phenol and 2-Ethyl Phenol» — los compuestos que el análisis identifica en ese menstruo.
«An infrared scan of the Menstruum Foetens shows its phenolic nature» — la conclusión que saca del espectro.
«First was the separation of the “White Wine” from the “Red Wine”» — la primera separación de la destilación fraccionada, con los nombres antiguos de las dos fracciones.
«The fourth fraction came over between 100 and 130 deg C and was quite acidic in nature» — la cuarta fracción, con su intervalo térmico.
«The fifth fraction collected came over between 210 and 219 deg C with a strong aromatic scent» — la quinta.
«One can readily see the complex nature of the Menstruum Foetens, even after fractional distillation into five parts» — lo que concluye de esa serie: el menstruo sigue siendo complejo tras cinco cortes.
«The first fraction represents Becker’s “Spiritus Aceti Oleosus”, containing not only acetone, but some of the volatile oils as well» — la identificación que hace entre su primera fracción y el preparado que Becker describía.
«It definitely attacks and dissolves many of the common metals» — la propiedad que declara comprobada en esa fracción.
«The third fraction seemed to be unique in the way it separated itself from the second fraction by collecting itself to the top layer as a golden oily liquid» — la particularidad de la tercera fracción, con la reserva *seemed to be*.
«The fourth fraction obtained from the Menstruum Foetens distilled over between 100 to 130 deg C and represents 12.5% of the original volume» — el rendimiento que da para esa fracción.
«The infrared scan shown below indicates a strong presence of phenolic substances» — la lectura del espectro correspondiente.
«The distillate which collected in the cold trap during the sodium acetate distillation was found to consist mainly of acetone with a trace of acetaldehyde» — qué capturó la trampa fría en esa serie.
«As noted in the text, the alkali metals and alkaline earths tend to produce a larger quantity of oil» — el resultado que repite lo anunciado en el cuerpo del libro sobre alcalinos y alcalinotérreos.
«Fractional distillation of the very small amounts of oil derived from the transition metals proved to be quite difficult» — la dificultad que declara con los metales de transición; el apéndice consigna también lo que no salió.
«Approximately 20% of the distillate obtained was acetone, 2.5% were the oils, and the remainder was the watery, acetic “phlegm”» — el reparto cuantitativo de la destilación del acetato de sodio.
«The ether soluble oil contained a mixture of complex ketones and traces of phenolic materials» — la composición de la fracción soluble en éter.
«The acetone soluble fraction proved to be much more concentrated with substituted phenols» — y la de la soluble en acetona.
«Similar to the sodium acetate distillation, the lead acetate became liquified as the “phlegm” distilled over» — el paralelo de conducta entre el acetato de plomo y el de sodio.
«They are only guidelines, because the set-up itself can alter the results toward greater or lesser yields» — la reserva que pone a sus propias cifras de rendimiento: dependerían del montaje.
«About 67% of the distillate was a dilute aqueous acetic acid, labeled as the “phlegm”» — la proporción de flema en la destilación del acetato de plomo.
«Analysis of a sample of the whole distillate by inductively coupled argon plasma optical emission spectroscopy did not reveal its presence, down to a detection level of 40 parts per billion» — la búsqueda negativa que declara sobre el plomo en el destilado, con el límite de detección dicho. Es el control de toxicidad que el apéndice sí hace.
«Acetone can be catalysed in acidic or alkaline environments to link itself together, forming larger molecules often with an oily consistency» — el mecanismo químico con que explica la formación de los aceites.
«Thus each metal plays its part in forming a unique blend of compounds found in the oily distillation product» — la conclusión que saca: cada metal daría una mezcla propia. Es la traducción química de la doctrina de la firma del metal.
«Analysis for metals content in the final tincture, by plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP), indicated that there were traces of magnesium, sodium and zinc» — los metales hallados en la tintura fija de antimonio.
«Antimony and arsenic were below the detection limits of 60 and 30 parts per billion respectively» — la primera medida sobre el antimonio y el arsénico de esa tintura, por debajo del límite.
«Later analysis for arsenic by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy revealed arsenic at 7 parts per billion» — la segunda medida, más sensible, que sí halla arsénico. El apéndice consigna las dos sin armonizarlas.
«The final tincture was also examined by GC/MS and revealed the presence of a complex mixture of organic compounds» — el resultado del análisis orgánico de esa tintura.
«These included residual acetic acid, 1,1-diethoxy-ethane; 4-methyl-3-penten-2-one; ethyl oleate; and 2,6,10,14tetramethyl-pentadecane as major components» — los compuestos mayoritarios que enumera; el troceo une *2,6,10,14-tetramethyl* partido en el renglón y lo devuelve sin guion, y la forma con guion es la del impreso.
«The dried and powdered mineral was reflux extracted with acetone for 9 days» — el protocolo de extracción del antimonio con acetona.
«Evaporation of the acetone left an amber red oil representing 0.5% of the original weight of antimony extracted» — el rendimiento de esa extracción.
«By volume, there was one part light oil to three parts red oil» — la proporción entre los dos aceites que se separan al reposar.
«Most of the trace organics were poorly resolved, so their identification remains tentative at best» — la reserva más fuerte del apéndice sobre sus propias identificaciones.
«The source metal was placer gold flakes obtained by panning river sands» — de dónde salió el oro de sus ensayos.
«The gold was dissolved in aqua regia, filtered and recrystallized. The resulting brilliant orange crystals were dissolved in water, then neutralized with a solution of potassium carbonate (oil of tartar per deliquiem» — el protocolo de partida, con el nombre antiguo del carbonato de potasio delicuescente al lado del moderno.
«There was a rapid effervesence and the solution became dark amber red in color» — la señal de reacción; el troceo imprime *effervesence*, sic.
«After 4 months of digestion, the solution was deep red and oily with some metallic gold settled out» — el resultado tras cuatro meses de digestión.
«Only about half of the gold came out of solution, and this seemed to be the case with other trials using various proportions of gold and acetone» — el rendimiento parcial que declara, con la reserva *seemed to be*; es un resultado negativo consignado como tal.
«The acetone from sodium and zinc also worked well in the extraction, whereas a commercial acetone worked very slowly and without the initial effervesence» — la diferencia medida entre su acetona de acetatos y la comercial, que es la afirmación experimental que sostiene todo el camino de los acetatos.
«The negative states of mind and emotion keep us focused at lower vibratory rates and cloud spiritual perceptions. This will also affect the body in a negative way, obstructing vital channels, disrupting elemental balance and initiating diseased conditions» — el efecto que atribuye a los estados negativos: bajarían la vibración y acabarían obstruyendo canales y produciendo enfermedad.
«The alchemist strives to cultivate the positive aspects of thought and emotion for personal spiritual development, but also because the mental states will affect the sensitive materials worked upon in the laboratory» — la razón doble que da para cultivar los estados positivos, y la segunda es la que importa al manual: el estado mental afectaría la materia del laboratorio.
«The hot summer months predominate in pitta qualities and it is easy to accumulate an excess of pitta during this time. Summer gives way to the cold dry months of autumn. The plants dry up and shed their leaves, the winds pick up and the days become colder. This is the season of vata, and exposure to these qualities can lead to an excess of vata. The cold and wet winter months predominate in kapha qualities. Everything slows and begins to break down. The moist heat of spring is a blending of the doshas pitta and kapha. The nurturing quality of this moist heat brings the rebirth of nature, and the cycle begins again as pitta slowly takes prominence and summer is upon us» — el ciclo anual de los *doshas* que traza estación por estación.
«Knowing this cycling of influences, we can take measures to dress appropriately, eat the proper foods and perform the proper activities which will maintain our balance and avoid accumulating an excess of the seasonal dosha» — para qué sirve ese calendario en la práctica diaria.
«On the daily level, each dosha is prominent in four-hour periods» — la escala diaria del mismo ciclo.
«Sattvic foods are light in nature, easy to digest, mildly cooling, refreshing and not disturbing to the mind. They are best prepared with love and awareness. Remember that just as our food affects our mind, our thoughts and emotions also affect our food» — cómo caracteriza los alimentos *sátvicos* y la reciprocidad que sostiene entre comida y pensamiento.
«Fresh Organic Dairy: We need to use the highest quality fresh dairy products to benefit from their sattvic qualities. Milk, butter, clarified butter (ghee), fresh homemade cheese, and fresh yogurt are all recommended. In fact, fresh dairy products along with fruit have been described as the most sattvic of foods, though they should never be eaten together. As dairy products become older, they tend to increase kapha and can be considered tamasic; that is why freshness is important, with the exception of ghee, which is said to become more valuable with age» — la entrada de los lácteos en el catálogo *sátvico*, con la incompatibilidad con la fruta y la excepción del *ghee*.
«Organic Vegetables: Most mild organic vegetables are considered sattvic, including beets, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes and squash. Pungent vegetables like hot peppers, garlic, chives, leeks and onions are considered rajasic and vegetables such as mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes are considered tamasic» — el reparto de las verduras entre las tres cualidades, con setas, tomate, berenjena y papa del lado *tamásico*.
«Whole Grains: Whole grains provide excellent nourishment when well cooked. Consider organic rice, basmati rice, whole wheat, oatmeal and barley. Yeasted breads are not recommended unless toasted. Wheat and other grains can be sprouted before cooking as well» — la entrada de los cereales, con el pan fermentado desaconsejado salvo tostado.
«Sweeteners: Use raw honey (never heat or cook with honey), maple syrup, and raw sugar (not refined)» — la regla de los endulzantes, con la prohibición de calentar la miel.
«Sattvic spices are the mild spices including basil, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, fresh ginger, licorice and turmeric. Rajasic spices like black pepper, red pepper and garlic are sometimes used in small amounts to keep the various channels or nadis open (rajas is used to counter tamasic qualities)» — las especias *sátvicas* y el uso táctico que admite de las *rajásicas* para abrir canales.
«As a practical sidebar, here are a couple of simple teas for general use that are held to be useful in breaking up accumulated ama and flushing it from the system» — cómo introduce las dos infusiones contra el *ama*, con la marca *held to be*.
«Take equal parts of coriander, cumin and fennel seeds reduced to powder. Simmer one teaspoonful in a cup of hot water for five or ten minutes, then strain and drink. This is also an excellent drink to settle an upset stomach» — la primera de esas recetas.
«The second recipe is to steep one teaspoonful each of powdered ginger and turmeric along with one-eighth teaspoon of black pepper in eight to ten ounces of hot water for ten minutes. Strain, then add one teaspoonful of raw cane sugar or pure maple syrup. Finally add the juice from half a lemon and enjoy» — la segunda.
«These recipes can also be compounded as spagyric extracts with powerful effects» — el puente que tiende de la cocina a la espagiria: las mismas recetas preparadas por el arte.
«These three primary channels of the life force are often depicted as two serpents coiled upon a staff and form the caduceus, modern symbol of the medical profession. This is also called the staff of Hermes (Thoth/Mercury), recalling the myth of Thoth mediating a fight between two serpents by placing his staff between them, upon which they climbed» — cómo deriva el caduceo de los tres canales del aliento, con el mito de Thot y las dos serpientes.
«The dual currents of Ida and Pingala (Moon and Sun) coil up Sushumna (Mercury/Prana), the central channel of the spine. The points where the serpents cross give rise to the nodes of consciousness called Chakras» — cómo hace nacer los chakras de los cruces de esos canales.
«Coral (Corralium rubrum), calcined bones, and calcined eggshells provide calcium essential for bone growth and development as well as certain enzymatic processes. The use of coral preparations is also found in many Western alchemical texts» — la convergencia que señala entre el uso ayurvédico del coral y el occidental. El troceo imprime *Corralium*, sic.
«The concepts of rasayana closely mirror the Western alchemical tradition concerning the “Elixir of Life”. In practice, the individual must strictly follow the diets and other physical and mental regimens which constitute a powerful detoxification process before undertaking the rejuvenation process. Rejuvenation is done with the help of specific medicinal formulations and a specific lifestyle regimen dependent on the individual’s constitution» — la equivalencia que instituye entre *rasayana* y elixir de vida, con la condición previa que pone: desintoxicar antes de rejuvenecer.
«Another factor which is often overlooked is the medium or vehicle in which the medicine is applied or ingested. In ayurveda, this is called the Anupana» — el factor que dice desatendido y su nombre técnico.
«Most often an alchemical medicine is in the form of an alcohol or water and alcohol mixture which is placed directly on or under the tongue. Many of the old texts recommend using red wine as the vehicle. The choice of vehicle can have dramatic effects on how and where a material will act within the bodies» — la forma corriente de administración y la importancia que da a la elección de vehículo.
«The anupana can enhance the therapeutic effects of a substance, relieve side-effects, exhibit a catalytic effect which carries the material into deeper, more subtle tissues, and change the dosha the material works upon» — los cuatro efectos que atribuye al vehículo, incluido cambiar el *dosha* sobre el que obra el remedio.
«In the mid-nineteenth century, the work of Dr. G.W. Carey established a correspondence between the 12 cell salts and the 12 signs of the zodiac. This has provided medical astrologers with a valuable key to maintaining an individual’s health» — a quién adjudica la correspondencia entre las doce sales celulares y los signos; el nombre va tal cual, *Dr. G.W. Carey*.
«There are several ways in which cell salts are applied therapeutically. First is through knowledge of the individual salts and their particular healing virtues. This is the common homeopathic practice and does not require knowledge of the individual’s birthchart» — la primera vía de aplicación de esas sales, que no requiere carta natal.
«The second method relies on interpretation of the birthchart. The usual indications for individual use include the salt representing the sign which the sun was in at birth. We tend to use this salt in greater quantity and thus can find ourselves deficient if it is not replenished. The placement of Saturn in our chart gives an indication of things we tend to be lacking, so the salt for this sign is also used. In addition, the sign where the Moon’s south node is placed indicates an area where we tend to “leak” energy, so this salt is also included. The Moon’s south node is one of the two points at which the Moon’s orbit crosses the ecliptic. These are held to be “karmic points”, with the south node indicating our past and the things we cling to because they are so familiar» — la segunda vía, con las tres sales que saca del Sol, de Saturno y del nodo sur lunar; es donde la astrología entra como diagnóstico.
«Finally, we have what is called the “cell salt bridge”. This is a combination of three salts we need the most and encompass the sun sign and two succeeding signs. So, for example, if one is born with the sun in Aquarius, they would take the salts related to Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries. The idea behind this comes from the fact that gestation takes nine months, during which time we receive each salt during its “season” provided by our mother. The experience of these salts and how to use them is passed on to us while we are in the womb. At birth, we find ourselves three months shy of a full circle of the signs and so we tend to be a bit uncoordinated in the use of these three missing salts» — la tercera vía y el argumento gestacional con que la explica: nueve meses de circuito zodiacal dejarían tres signos sin recorrer.
«In addition to the seven ancient metals and cell salts, there are many other materials used in alchemy, and each has its energetic associations. Some of the lesser-known planetary connections are presented in the following table» — cómo introduce las regencias de los materiales que quedan fuera de la serie clásica de siete.
«Element Planetary Ruler Sodium Jupiter Potassium Mercury/Uranus Calcium Saturn Magnesium Mercury Aluminum Moon Zinc Venus/Neptune Platinum Sun Antimony Earth/Uranus» — la tabla de esas regencias tal como el troceo la rinde; el antimonio queda bajo Tierra y Urano, coherente con la regencia insólita que le da en el capítulo dieciséis.
«The traditional correspondences for a selection of important mineral medicines used in ayurveda are shown below» — cómo introduce la tabla de piedras del ayurveda con sus factores *VPK*.
«stood exposed to the elements for about 1600 years, it shows no signs of corrosion» — el dato con que cierra el caso del pilar de hierro de Delhi: mil seiscientos años a la intemperie sin corrosión. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 120.
«balanced flame burns clean and stable, and its brightness illuminates the darkness around us» — el símil de la llama con que describe el fuego equilibrado, en el capítulo de los secretos del fuego.
«We can consciously select the fuels and conditions for our particular lamp to burn healthy and bright for a very, very long time» — cómo traslada ese símil al régimen de vida: elegir combustible y condiciones de la propia lámpara.
«In the laboratory we take care to nourish the fire inherent in our subject slowly and by degrees. You wouldn’t throw a log onto smoldering tinder without first feeding it with small twigs, then larger and larger sticks until it is able to accommodate the log without being extinguished. So too in the laboratory our subject is gently matured until its soul fire can shine out in all its glory» — la regla de graduación del fuego, argumentada con la imagen del leño sobre la yesca.
«temperature, which for general work ranges from about 90 to 104 degrees F. Many operators prefer to wrap vessels with aluminum foil to protect them from the bright light» — el intervalo térmico de digestión que da y la protección contra la luz. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 132.
«As an alternative, you can pour in a layer of sand at the bottom of the ice chest and place a heating pad on top of it. Pour another layer of sand 2 to 3 inches deep on top of the heating pad. Now your flasks and containers can be nestled down into the sand for a gentle surrounding warmth. With a little luck, you can get up to a year’s worth of service from the heating pad before it needs replacing» — el incubador casero de nevera portátil, arena y manta eléctrica, con su vida útil estimada.
«If water for cooling is problematical, you can use a gallon jug suspended several feet above your apparatus, then use a siphoning tube to feed condensers, etc., with a second jug as a drain. A good alternative to this is to use a small submersible water pump such as those used in tabletop fountains. Place the pump into a large bowl as a water reservoir and use it to feed into condensers, etc., then run the drain line back into the bowl so you have a continuous loop of cooling water» — las dos soluciones de refrigeración sin instalación: sifón por gravedad o bomba de fuente de mesa.
«Extraction refers to methods for separating the pure from the impure. As with all of these basic operations, there are many ways to accomplish the end» — la definición de extracción en el vocabulario de la obra, no en el de la química.
«In general, extraction methods use an extraction medium to effect separation. When you brew tea, water is the extraction medium; when you made the seven herbal basics, vodka was the extraction medium. Remember that the Mercury of a kingdom has an affinity for the Sulfur of that kingdom. In herbal extraction we use alcohol, the vehicle for vegetable Mercury, to pull out the Sulfur of the plant. The resulting extract is called a tincture, from the Latin tinctura, that which colors. It contains the Mercury and Sulfur of the plant. The extracted plant residue contains the salt which we obtain by calcination» — la regla de afinidad que gobierna toda extracción —el Mercurio de un reino atrae el Azufre de ese reino— y la etimología de *tinctura* que le pone al lado.
«There are three methods widely used to effect extraction of a tincture from plants or minerals; the first is called Maceration. We used this method to make the seven basics. Pour the extraction media, also called the solvent, over the material to be extracted until it stands about two finger widths above the material. Seal tightly and shake well. Place into a warm spot to digest, and remember to shake it daily. After the extraction period, which can be a few hours to over a year in» — el primero de los tres métodos, la maceración, con su procedimiento; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«and with caution. Be sure to have adequate personal protection, including safety goggles or full-face shield and heavy gloves. Don’t forget that you are dealing with a dragon» — la advertencia del régulo, que remata con el nombre antiguo del material. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 206.
«Preparing the regulus of antimony is always an exciting undertaking which seems to create its own sacred space» — cómo describe la experiencia de esa operación, en el vocabulario del espacio sagrado del capítulo catorce.
«The illustration below is from The Book of Lambsprinck, written by a German adept around 1600. In it we see the “Scaly Dragon” (stibnite) being subdued by Mars (iron)» — de dónde toma la lámina del dragón escamoso sometido por Marte, y la lectura química que le da: estibina y hierro.
«Antimony is hermaphroditic, male and female, of both natures, Sulphur and, Mercury, fixed and volatile, the first-born of the metallic nature, middle substance between Mercury and metal, the only natural solvent and natural fire with which all things can be mixed, the Dragon and the devouring Lion, the solvent and the coagulant» — la definición de Du Chesne del antimonio, que lo pone entre el mercurio y el metal y le adjudica los dos oficios contrarios. La voz es de Du Chesne.
«In the modern periodic table of elements, antimony is listed under the group 5A elements along with nitrogen, phosphorus» — la clasificación moderna con que empareja esa definición antigua; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«apply an Alembick, and distil off the Vinegar with Moderate Fire; then the Vinegar passeth out clear, and in the bottom a sordid matter remains; grind that to a subtle Powder, and edulcorate it with distilled Rain Water, then dry it with gentle heat, and put it in a Circulatory with a long Neck (the Circulatory must have three Cavities or Bellies, as if three Globes were set one above another, yet distinct or apart each from other, as Sublimatories, with their Aludel [or Head] are wont to be made, and it must have a long Neck like a Phial, (or Bolthead) and pour on it Spirit of Wine highly rectified, til it riseth three Fingers above the Matter, and having well closed the Vessel, set it in a moderate Heat for two Months» — el pasaje de Valentine sobre la extracción de la tintura de antimonio, con el vaso circulatorio de tres vientres descrito por dentro. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 215.
«Then follows another new Extraction, and the Spirit of Wine becomes transparently red as a Ruby, or as was the first Extraction of the Vinegar, yea more fair» — la señal de color con que Valentine reconoce la segunda extracción, roja como rubí.
«Pour off the Spirit of wine thus tinged, filter it through Paper, and put it into a Cucurbit (the black Matter which remains set aside, and separate from this Work; for it is not profitable therein) to which apply an Head and Receiver, and having firmly closed all Junctures, begin to distil in Ashes with moderate Fire: then the Spirit of wine carries over the Tincture of Antimony with it self, the Elements separate themselves each from other, and the Alembeck and Recipient seem to resemble the form of pure Gold transparent in Aspect» — el paso siguiente de Valentine, con el descarte de la materia negra y la señal de oro transparente en el vidrio.
«The red Matter, which in distilling passed over into the Receiver, put into a Circulatory for ten Days, and as many Nights. By that Circulation Separation is made; for the Oil thereby acquires Gravity, and separates itself to the bottom from the Spirit of Wine; and the Spirit of Wine is again Clear, as it was at first, and swims upon the Oil» — la circulación de diez días con que Valentine separa el aceite del espíritu de vino.
«Method by me prescribed) to this end, you have the Medicine of Men and Metals» — la fórmula con que ese pasaje cierra la obra: una sola medicina para hombres y metales. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 220.
«Another method of preparing the Fire Stone, advocated by contemporary artists, begins with the preparation of Kermes as detailed above» — la vía moderna que ofrece junto a la antigua, partiendo del *Kermes*.
«The Kermes is rinsed with rainwater until neutral. Be careful in this rinsing that the water does not become acidic, as that is a sign that some of the vinegar of antimony is beginning to come out and be lost with the rinse water» — la señal de acidez con que enseña a no pasarse de lavado, para no perder el vinagre de antimonio.
«Decant as much of the water from the Kermes as you can and then extract the still moist Kermes with a strong vinegar solution, at least 30 to 60% acetic acid. Let this digest at about 60 deg C, until the solution becomes golden yellow to orange in color» — la extracción con vinagre fuerte y la señal de color que la cierra.
«The collected crystals are then dry distilled as in the acetate path using a suitably sized apparatus. The distillation train shown below is suitable for this part of the process» — cómo remite al camino de los acetatos para el paso final de esta vía; los dos caminos del libro se cruzan aquí.
«The next step is to form the Martial Regulus. The recommended proportions are 1 part regulus to 1/10th part iron or steel nails. Iron is said to have a volatile magnetic quality and steel, a fixed magnetic quality. Steel is preferred here, but not stainless steel» — las proporciones del régulo marcial y la distinción que hace entre hierro y acero por su magnetismo, volátil el uno y fijo el otro.
«Now melt your “Stellate Martial Regulus” in a clean crucible and slowly add pure silver metal filings until they stop melting, signaling it is saturated. This is now a Lunar Martial Regulus» — cómo se pasa del régulo estrellado al lunar, con la plata como señal de saturación.
«This is sufficient if you plan to make the White Stone which can transmute metals to silver. If you wish to make the Red Stone which transmutes metals to gold, you will need to add a small amount of copper» — la bifurcación de la obra en blanca y roja, decidida por el cobre.
«Melt the Lunar Martial Regulus and slowly add pure copper metal powder until it refuses to melt anymore. It won’t take very much. Cast the metal out and you will have a Lunar Venusian Martial Regulus with a beautiful violet sheen. Save this regulus aside for the amalgamation phase of the work» — el régulo lunar venusino marcial y su señal de color violeta.
«The Stone of the Philosophers is nothing more than a subtilized, exalted and seminal gold» — la definición de la piedra que el epígrafe de esa plana da: oro sutilizado, exaltado y seminal.
«Therefore, let men know, that Antimony not only purgeth Gold, cleanseth and frees it from every peregrine Matter, and from all other Metals, but also (by a power innate in itself) effects the same in Men and Beasts» — el pasaje del *Triumphal Chariot* que extiende al hombre y a la bestia la acción purgante que el antimonio tiene sobre el oro. La voz es de Valentine.
«The texts of rasa shastra describe five types of gold. Three are said to be of celestial origin and tied to the activities of the gods. A fourth type is that obtained from the mines and a fifth type, curiously, is that derived by the transmutation of mercury» — los cinco oros que el *Rasa Shastra* distingue, con el quinto —el transmutado del mercurio— señalado por él como curioso.
«In addition, gold is said to be subject to ten defects which prevent its use in medicine» — los diez defectos que esa tradición reconoce en el oro y que lo inhabilitan para la medicina; el catálogo de defectos es la contraparte de la doctrina de la purificación.
«Dilute the solution with water and repeat the precipitation with oil of tartar. Repeat this process of “Solve et Coagula” at least seven times and the final precipitate will be an extremely fine gold calx suitable for preparations such as potable gold» — el ciclo de *solve et coagula* que prescribe —siete veces al menos— para llegar al *calx* de oro del oro potable.
«Potable gold is literally drinkable gold. This was a much sought after rasayana in the Western world, said to cure most diseases and extend life» — cómo define el oro potable y qué se le prometía, con la marca *said to*.
«There are many recipes for its preparation, some good, some not so good. The good ones are either fine dispersions of colloidal gold, or the essence of gold; its Sulfur and Mercury, dissolved in a suitable menstruum. The bad ones are just solutions of gold salts which can precipitate out in the body and cause problems» — el criterio con que separa las recetas buenas de las malas, y el daño concreto que atribuye a las segundas: sales de oro que precipitarían en el cuerpo.
«The first process comes from Johann Agricolla, in his Treatise on Gold written about 1620. This is one of several methods he describes for the extraction of the alchemical Sulfur and Mercury from the body of gold» — la primera fuente de esa serie, *Johann Agricolla*, con obra datada hacia 1620; el nombre va tal cual lo imprime el troceo.
«The preparation of calcium bhasma is relatively easy, so it is a good choice to start with in learning the methodology of these materials» — por qué recomienda empezar por el *bhasma* de calcio.
«The Shodhan or purification begins by placing the shells into a container and covering them with a solution of one part fresh lemon juice and four parts rainwater. Let this stand undisturbed overnight. The shells will get a white coating on them. Pour off and discard the liquid, then let the shells dry» — la purificación de las conchas con jugo de limón y agua de lluvia.
«Once dry, the crucible is fired in a pit as described above. They can also be fired in a gas or electric furnace at 800 deg C, up to a maximum of 1100 deg C. Once cooled, the shells are triturated with Aloe Vera gel for eight hours, then spread out to dry. The dried material is now triturated with fresh lemon juice to form a paste. Form the paste into small flat cakes and dry them in the sun. Place the dried cakes into the crucible again and seal as before. Repeat the process of firing, and subsequent triturations at least two more times» — el ciclo de cocción y trituración con áloe y limón, repetido al menos tres veces.
«The final bhasma should pass the test of floating on water. In addition, there should be no “itching” on the tongue when it is tasted. Repeat the process until it meets these tests» — las dos pruebas de calidad de ese *bhasma*, la de flotación y la del picor en la lengua.
«750° F; 480° C faint red 850° F; 580° C dark red 1000° F; 730° C bright red 1200° F; 930° C bright orange 1400° F; 1100° C pale yellow-orange 1600° F; 1300° C yellowish white above 1700° F or 1400° C white» — la tabla de temperatura y color del apéndice primero, que es la que vuelve operativas las indicaciones de *rojo*, *naranja* y *blanco* de las recetas antiguas.
«This third fraction was subjected to fractional distillation and seemed to split itself into four convenient temperature ranges. In the hope that these were now four easily identifiable compounds, they were subjected to gas chromatography in order to confirm their relative purity» — el intento de resolver la tercera fracción en cuatro compuestos identificables.
«As one can see, from the resulting chromatograms of Fraction 3 A through D, these were anything but simple compounds. It seemed the closer one looked, the more complex things became» — el resultado de ese intento, que consigna como fracaso: cuanto más de cerca se mira, más complejo.
«The final fraction (number 6) was the residue remaining in the stillpot. This was a thick, blood red oil with a strong aromatic odor, representing 3.5% of the original volume distilled» — la sexta fracción, el residuo de fondo, con su rendimiento.
«The source mineral was a type of antimony oxide called senarmontite or “Flowers of Antimony”. This was produced at the mine, where the antimony ore was roasted in large kilns and the “flowers” sublimated into chimneys, where it was later collected» — de dónde sale el material del segundo apéndice: óxido sublimado en las chimeneas del propio horno de mina.
«Major contaminants in the material included sodium and the other volatile metals arsenic, lead, mercury and zinc» — los contaminantes de ese material, tres de ellos tóxicos.
«A long slow calcination up to 450 deg C, followed by washing in water, removed most of the contaminants» — el procedimiento de limpieza y su alcance, declarado parcial.
«The dried and finely powdered antimony oxide was placed into a glass container and digested with 70% acetic acid at 45 deg C for sixty days. This produced an amber colored liquid extract which was filtered and evaporated into a dark amber gummy resin» — el protocolo de digestión con ácido acético: sesenta días a cuarenta y cinco grados.
«The resin was washed with water, dried and separated into two portions. One portion was extracted with ether and one with acetone. Both extractions produced a deep red amber colored oil after removal of the solvent» — la partición de esa resina entre éter y acetona.
«Infrared scans indicate that they are essentially the same product, as shown by comparison below» — el resultado de comparar los dos extractos por infrarrojo.
«On standing, the oil separated into two fractions, similar to the unfixed oil from antimony. One was light, at the top, and the other deep red, at the bottom. Their infrared scans and gas chromatograms are presented below for comparison» — la separación espontánea del aceite en dos fracciones, con el paralelo del aceite no fijo.
About the work
62 entries — what the apparatus and scholarship say about it«he practice of Alchemy is inherently dangerous. Formal laboratory training is encouraged. Consulting a licensed physician is encouraged before consuming herbal or mineral preparations. Familiarize yourself with the laws that may apply to you in your jurisdiction and act accordingly» — la advertencia que el volumen imprime en su plana de derechos, bajo el título *Kids! Don't try this at home!*: peligro inherente de la práctica, formación de laboratorio, médico antes de ingerir preparados herbales o minerales, y leyes del lugar. El troceo pierde la capitular *T* de *The*, que la maquetación imprime suelta al pie de la plana.
«Read as many of the other books on the subject of Alchemy as possible. (A list of recommended books can be found in the Bibliography.) Learn as much as you can from a qualified teacher. And above all, know the theory before attempting the practice» — la segunda mitad de la misma advertencia: leer cuanto se pueda, aprender de un maestro cualificado y saber la teoría antes de intentar la práctica. La bibliografía del final es la lista a la que remite.
«This book is sold for informational purposes. The author and publisher will not be held accountable for the use or misuse of the information in this book» — la cláusula de descargo de responsabilidad, que nombra a un editor sin identificarlo: la plana no imprime pie editorial y el copyright va a nombre del propio autor.
«Copyright © 2008 Robert Allen Bartlett All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Robert Allen Bartlett. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Front cover art by Benjamin Vierling, www.bvierling.com Back cover photograph by Steve Jackson ISBN: 978-0-6152-0682-0» — la plana de derechos entera: copyright de 2008 a nombre del autor, reserva que remite a él el permiso de reproducción, arte de cubierta de Benjamin Vierling, fotografía de contracubierta de Steve Jackson e ISBN. No hay sello editorial ni ciudad.
«For my wife, Karen. Without her encouragement this book and Real Alchemy may never have come about. She is the real mother of both books» — la dedicatoria, que nombra a Karen Bartlett como origen de los dos libros del autor.
«CONTENTS FOREWARD by Dennis William Hauck 1 PREFACE 5 INTRODUCTION 9 CHAPTER ONE East and West—Medicines vs 25 Gold CHAPTER TWO Ayurveda—Science of Life 29 CHAPTER THREE The Art of Alchemy 35 CHAPTER FOUR Alchemical Lifestyle 47 CHAPTER FIVE Importance of Water 61 CHAPTER SIX Manipulating Chi/Prana/Mercury 65 CHAPTER SEVEN Koshas/Chakras/The 75 Energy Bodies CHAPTER EIGHT Science of Rasayana 81 CHAPTER NINE Qabalah and Alchemical 95 Eucharist CHAPTER TEN Of Minerals and Metals 99 CHAPTER ELEVEN Alchemical Origin of Metals 107 CHAPTER TWELVE Secrets of the Fire 117 CHAPTER THIRTEEN» — el índice hasta el capítulo trece, con el folio impreso de cada pieza; el orden que traza va del prólogo de Hauck y el cotejo entre Oriente y Occidente a la teoría del fuego y la entrada en las obras prácticas. El troceo imprime *FOREWARD* por *foreword*, sic.
«n my work in alchemy over the last forty years, I have met a lot of people who call themselves “alchemists” who never set foot in a laboratory. In fact, just about anyone who talks about transformation—whether it is on the personal level, in the arts, or in business—is likely to call themselves alchemists» — [Hauck] abre el prólogo con el reproche que dirige al uso corriente del término: alquimistas que nunca pisaron un laboratorio. El troceo pierde la capitular *I* de *In*, que la maquetación imprime suelta al pie de la plana.
«In the popular mind, the psychological and spiritual aspects of alchemy have overshadowed the work in the lab» — [Hauck] describe el desplazamiento que adjudica a la percepción popular: lo psicológico y lo espiritual habrían tapado el trabajo de laboratorio.
«Traditionally, however, the alchemists were much more than intellectuals or philosophers. To accomplish lasting transformations, they had to succeed not only on the mental and spiritual levels but on the physical level as well» — [Hauck] opone a eso lo que llama la tradición: la transformación duradera exigiría los tres planos, mental, espiritual y físico.
«But the fascination with gold brought a new class of mercenary alchemists known as “puffers”, who sat at their furnaces constantly fanning their bellows, hoping to produce gold by purely physical means» — cómo data [Hauck] la aparición de los *puffers*: la fascinación por el oro habría traído una clase mercenaria de alquimistas de fuelle.
«The puffers worked only with external fires, never kindling the “secret fire” of the initiated alchemist that originated in psychological purification and spiritual meditation» — el deslinde que [Hauck] traza entre los dos fuegos: el externo de los sopladores y el *secret fire* del iniciado, que hace nacer de la purificación psicológica y la meditación.
«The purely physical work of the puffers, who discovered many new compounds and laboratory techniques, gave rise to modern chemistry» — la filiación que [Hauck] adjudica a la química moderna: descendiente del trabajo puramente físico de los sopladores.
«True alchemists rejected this commercialization of alchemy and were forced to practice their art in seclusion» — y la otra rama de esa partición, según [Hauck]: los alquimistas verdaderos, retirados al secreto por rechazo de la comercialización.
«Today, however, the two paths of alchemy are converging again» — la tesis con que [Hauck] justifica el volumen: los dos caminos volverían a converger hoy.
«Advances in quantum physics have revealed the hidden role consciousness plays in nature, and many other fundamental alchemical principles are being proven in practical demonstrations» — las dos razones que [Hauck] da para esa convergencia: el papel de la consciencia en la física cuántica y la comprobación práctica de principios alquímicos.
«The new alchemist is a hybrid born out of the two cultures of science and mysticism» — la figura que [Hauck] propone para el practicante de hoy: híbrido de las dos culturas, la científica y la mística.
«Robert does traditional alchemy using modern tools. Educated as a chemist, he was initiated into alchemy by Dr. Albert Reidel (Frater Albertus)» — [Hauck] adjudica a Bartlett esa figura y da su línea de iniciación, con la identidad civil de Frater Albertus. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la misma con el puesto de químico jefe en Paralab.
«In short, Robert is the modern epitome of the true alchemist, and I highly recommend his work to both beginning and advanced students of the Art» — la recomendación con que [Hauck] cierra el prólogo, para principiantes y avanzados por igual.
«Dennis William Hauck is an author, consultant, and lecturer working to facilitate personal and institutional transformation through the application of the ancient principles of alchemy» — la nota biográfica del prologuista impresa al pie de su firma; es voz editorial sobre Hauck, no suya.
«Hauck’s interest in alchemy began while he was still in graduate school at the University of Vienna, and he has since translated a number of important alchemy manuscripts dating back to the thirteenth century» — la misma nota: la formación que le atribuye en la Universidad de Viena y los manuscritos alquímicos que dice haber traducido.
«He is the publisher of the Alchemy Journal and on the board of directors of the International Alchemy Guild» — los cargos que la nota le adjudica. La nota equivalente en `bartlett-real-alchemy` lo llama *editor* de la misma revista y esta lo llama *publisher*: las dos grafías se consignan sin arbitrar.
«APPENDIX I CHART 1. Properties of the three Mahagunas» — el apéndice primero abre con la tabla de las tres *mahagunas*; las planas 275 a 286 son tablas y láminas —los sellos planetarios van como imagen y el troceo solo imprime sus rótulos—, de ahí que apenas rindan texto citable.
«CHART 6. VPK Factors Herb Planet Taste Energy Effect on Doshas» — el rótulo y el encabezado de la tabla de factores *VPK* de hierbas y especias, a la que el capítulo tercero remitía: planta, planeta, sabor, energía y efecto sobre los *doshas*.
«CHART 8. Planetary Seals Planetary Seal of the Sun Planetary Seal of the Mo» — el rótulo de la lámina de sellos planetarios, que el troceo no rinde porque es imagen; solo quedan los pies. El tramo se corta en el salto de plana.
«CHART 9. Table of Common Bhasmas» — el rótulo de la tabla de *bhasmas* comunes, con sabor, energía, factores y dosis.
«Allen, Paul M., ed. “Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and 17th Centuries” in A Christian Rosenkreutz Anthology. New York: Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1968» — la primera entrada de la bibliografía; el volumen se surte de antologías modernas de material rosacruz.
«Anonymous. Praxis Spagyrica Philosophica, English translation from the original 1711 German edition with commentary by Frater Albertus. Salt Lake City, Utah: Paracelsus Research Society, 1966» — una de las ediciones de la escuela de Frater Albertus que la bibliografía registra, con comentario del propio Albertus.
«Altus. Mutus Liber, first published at La Rochelle in 1677. French edition with commentary by Magophon, translated by Kjell Hellesoe. Stavenger, 1985» — cómo cataloga el *Mutus Liber*, por la edición francesa con comentario de Magophon vertida al inglés.
«Bardon, Franz. Initiation Into Hermetics. Dieter Ruggeberg, Wupertal. W. Germany, 1971» — la entrada de Bardon, única de magia ceremonial moderna en la lista.
«Bartlett, Robert Allen. Real Alchemy. Lulu Press, Minnesota, 2007» — cómo cataloga su propio libro anterior: la edición de Lulu de 2007, no la de Ibis de 2009 que el corpus ficha como `bartlett-real-alchemy`.
«Dash, Bhagwan. Alchemy and Metallic Medicines in Ayurveda. Concept Publishing Co., New Delhi, India, 1986» — la fuente ayurvédica que el cuerpo del libro cita como *Metallic Med.*
«Dobbs, B.J.T., The Foundations of Newton’s Alchemy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975» — la única obra de historia académica de la alquimia que la bibliografía registra.
«Dubuis, Jean. PON Seminars 1992. Translated by Patrice Maleze. Winfield, Illinois: The Philosophers of Nature, 1992» — la entrada de Jean Dubuis, cuyos cursos el corpus ficha como `dubuis-spagyrics-1` y `dubuis-mineral-alchemy-1`.
«Essentia: Journal of Evolutionary Thought in Action. Salt Lake City, Utah: Quarterly publication of Paracelsus College, 1980» — la revista de la escuela en que se formó, catalogada como fuente.
«Frater Albertus. Alchemist’s Handbook. Salt Lake City, Utah: Paracelsus Research Society, 1974» — la entrada del manual de Frater Albertus al que el prefacio atribuye el giro de su vida.
«French, John. The Art of Distillation. Original 1651 edition published in London. San Francisco, CA: Para Publishers, 1978» — la entrada del tratado de French del que sale la ilustración del aparato de la plana 175.
«Fulcanelli. The Dwellings of The Philosophers. Translated by Donvez and Perrin. Boulder, CO: Archive Press and Communications, 1999» — la entrada de Fulcanelli, obra que el corpus ficha como `fulcanelli-dwellings-of-the-philosophers`.
«Glauber, Johann Rudolf. The Complete Works of Rudolf Glauber. Translated by Christopher Packe. Boulder, CO, 1983» — la entrada de Glauber, de donde salen los pasajes sobre la generación de los metales.
«Hauck, Dennis William. The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation. New York: Penguin, 1999» — la entrada del prologuista del volumen, fichada en el corpus como `hauck-emerald-tablet`.
«Holland, Isaac. A Compendium of Writings by Johan Isaaci Hollandus. Translated from German by RAMS. Richardson, Texas: Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts, 1981» — cómo cataloga a Holland, con las dos formas del nombre en la misma entrada, *Isaac Holland* y *Johan Isaaci Hollandus*.
«Junius, Manfred M. The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy. New York: Inner Traditions, 1985» — la entrada del manual de Junius, que el corpus ficha por su título de la tercera edición como `junius-spagyrics`.
«Newton, Isaac. Keynes Ms 64, King’s College Library, University of Cambridge» — la única entrada manuscrita de la lista, el papel alquímico de Newton en King's College.
«Paracelsus. The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus, edited by Arthur Edward Waite. Reprint of the 1894 edition» — la edición de Paracelso que usa, la de Waite reimpresa; el tramo se corta en el salto de plana y sigue en la 326 con el pie de University Books.
«Philalethes, Eirenaeus. An Open Entrance to the Closed Palace of the King. Richardson, Texas: Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts, 1981» — la entrada de Philalethes, con la grafía *Eirenaeus* que el cuerpo del libro imprime como *Eireneaus* (p. 17). Las dos van tal cual.
«Regardie, Israel. The Philosopher’s Stone, 2nd Edition. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 1970» — la entrada del libro de Regardie por el que dice haber conocido a Frater Albertus; el corpus lo ficha como `regardie-philosophers-stone-annotated`.
«Ripley, George. Liber Secretisimuss. Richardson, Texas: Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts, 1982» — la entrada de Ripley; el troceo imprime *Liber Secretisimuss*, sic.
«Sendivogius, Michael. The New Chemical Light. First published in 1608. Richardson, Texas: Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts, 1982» — la entrada de Sendivogio.
«Three Initiates. Kybalion. Chicago: The Yogi Publication Society, 1922» — la entrada del *Kybalion*, catalogado por su autoría colectiva declarada, *Three Initiates*, sin arbitrar la atribución.
«Trismegistus, Hermes. Golden Tractate of Hermes. Salt Lake City, Utah: Para Publishing Co. Inc., 1973» — cómo cataloga el *Tratado de Oro*: bajo Hermes Trismegisto como autor, sin nota de seudoepígrafe.
«Valentine, Basil. Triumphant Chariot of Antimony with annotations of Theodore Kirkringius MD. Printed for Dorman Newman at the Kings Arms in the Poultry, 1678. Photocopy of original edition» — la entrada del *Triumphal Chariot* con las anotaciones de Kerkring, en fotocopia del original de 1678; es la fuente de los pasajes largos del libro del antimonio.
«Valentine, Basil. The Last Will and Testament of Basil Valentine. Printed by S. G. and B. G. for Edward Brewster, and to be sold at the Sign of the Crane in St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1672» — la segunda entrada de Valentine.
«Weidenfeld, Johannes Segerus. Secrets of the Adepts. 1685. Richardson, Texas: Restorers of Alchemical Manuscripts, 1982» — la última entrada de la bibliografía, la obra de Weidenfeld de la que sale el capítulo del espíritu de vino filosófico.
«The Way of the Crucible Robert Allen Bartlett» — la portada entera: título y autor, sin subtítulo, sello ni fecha.
«Guerrilla Alchemy 125 CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Acetate Path 143 CHAPTER SIXTEEN The Book of Antimony 183 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Book of Gold 231 APPENDIX I 269 APPENDIX II 281 BIBLIOGRAPHY 317» — la segunda mitad del índice, con el folio impreso de cada pieza: los cuatro capítulos prácticos, los dos apéndices y la bibliografía.
«Alchemy for Personal Transformation (Penguin Putnam 1999), presents startling new revelations about the mysterious “time capsule of wisdom” that inspired over 3,500 years of alchemy. His next book, The Sorcerer’s Stone: A Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy (Citadel Press, 2004), is an entertaining introduction to both practical and spiritual alchemy. His latest book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Alchemy, is a modern apprenticeship for anyone interested in the ancient craft of alchemy» — la continuación de la nota biográfica del prologuista, con sus tres libros; los dos primeros tienen ficha en el corpus, `hauck-emerald-tablet` y `hauck-sorcerers-stone`. El tramo abre a mitad de frase por el salto de plana desde la 8.
«Hauck has been interviewed on nearly four hundred radio and TV programs, including such popular national shows as “NPR’s Morning Edition”, “Sally Jessy Raphael”, “Geraldo”, “A&E Unexplained”, “Sightings”, “Extra”, “Martha Stewart Live”, “The O’Reilly Factor”, and “CNN Reports”. He also serves as a special consultant to a several leading film production companies and a number of popular television programs. Website: www.AlchemyLab.com» — el cierre de esa nota, con la lista de programas de televisión y el sitio web; es voz editorial sobre Hauck, no suya.
«CHART 3. Dosha Types Determine Your Constitution» — el rótulo de la tabla con que el apéndice invita al lector a determinar su propia constitución; es el instrumento de autodiagnóstico del capítulo tercero.
«Appetite variable excessive moderate Hunger every two hours four hours six hours» — una fila de esa tabla tal como el troceo la rinde, en columnas desplomadas: apetito y periodicidad del hambre por *dosha*.
«running away passionate romantic Speech quick, talkative sharp, convinci» — otra fila de la misma tabla, ya en la plana siguiente; el troceo corta la palabra en el salto de plana.
«Oregano Merc pun hot V- P+ K» — una fila de la tabla de factores *VPK*, con planeta, sabor, energía y efecto sobre los tres *doshas*.
«CHART 7. Rasayanas for the seven tissues Rejuvenatives and Vehicles for the 7 Dhatus» — el rótulo de la tabla de *rasayanas* por tejido, a la que remitía el capítulo octavo.
«Planetary Seal of Mercury Planetary Seal of Jupiter Planetary Seal of Venus» — los pies de tres de los sellos planetarios; los sellos mismos son imagen y el troceo no los rinde. El de Saturno queda solo en la plana 284, que no lleva más texto que el encabezado corrido y el folio, y por eso no se cita.
Concepts treated
Piedra filosofal (lapis philosophorum) — Sana los metales de sus enfermedades y quita lo que estorba su perfección en oro; el producto final de la vía seca se llama Piedra Roja de los Filósofos y se define como oro sutilizado, exaltado y seminal.
Azufre (principio sulfúreo) — Uno de los tres esenciales; el aceite rojo que queda en el matraz tras destilar el acetato es el Azufre Fijo Filosófico del metal, y en el antimonio el mismo azufre se llama Bálsamo de Vida.
Mercurio de los filósofos (Mercurius) — El mercurio vulgar reanimado por ciclos de amalgamación y destilación con régulo de antimonio se llama Mercurio Animado o Sófico, y es el Mercurio Filosófico de la vía seca.
Materia prima — El vinagre destilado se declara base y fundamento de la obra de los acetatos, y el texto de Du Chesne llama al antimonio *materia prima*.
Quintaesencia (quinta essentia) — El aceite claro a amarillo dorado que se separa durante las digestiones es la Quintaesencia del Espíritu de Vino Blanco; los textos citados le atribuyen el lavado del oro y la renovación de la juventud.
Putrefacción (putrefactio) — Obra de la mitad descendente del año, bajo las energías fijas de agua y tierra; en la receta de Ripley el licor se deja catorce días en putrefacción antes de separar los elementos.
León verde (leo viridis) — La goma verde del proceso de Ripley se llama León Verde y su licor Sangre del León Verde; Weidenfeld lo lee como el Sol, que por virtud atractiva hace verdear, y lo declara sinónimo del Águila.
Spiritus mundi (espíritu del mundo) — El vapor húmedo que rodea y permea el planeta, exhalación de la tierra y aliento cósmico, es el medio por el que la sal delicuescente capta la energía terrestre y celeste.
Microcosmos (el hombre-mundo) — Macrocosmos y microcosmos van unidos e inseparables por la Ley de Correspondencias, que es el principio del que cuelga el lenguaje y la operación del arte.
Cuatro elementos (fuego, aire, agua, tierra) — Las gunas se emparejan con el diagrama aristotélico de lo caliente, lo frío, lo húmedo y lo seco; las mitades del año quedan bajo aire y fuego la ascendente y bajo agua y tierra la descendente.
Nigredo (la obra al negro) — El régimen de Saturno, con la materia que fermenta, se hincha y se vuelve negra como pez, precede al blanqueo en la digestión de la vía seca.
Albedo (la obra al blanco) — Los veintiocho días del régimen de la Luna llevan a la Segunda Piedra, cuando la materia se vuelve blanca; el periodo se llama albedo, blanqueo o paloma blanca.
Horas planetarias — Se calculan dividiendo en doce el intervalo entre orto y ocaso, siguen el orden de Saturno a la Luna según ascienden las esferas en el Árbol de la Vida, y la primera hora tras el orto pertenece al planeta del día.
Mansiones lunares (los 28 sectores del recorrido de la Luna) — Veintiocho mansiones derivadas del movimiento diario de la Luna, con nombre tomado de la estrella más cercana a su inicio, signo y regente; el sistema occidental se adjudica a los caldeos y sirve para elegir el momento de operar.
Decknamen (nombres cubiertos) — Una sustancia puede nombrarse por cualquier objeto sujeto a la misma regencia astrológica, de modo que un mismo nombre cubre cosas distintas y una misma cosa lleva muchos nombres.
Talismán (imagen astrológica) — Todas las formas de cargar un elixir se clasifican como magia talismánica, con el elixir mismo por talismán; se envuelve en seda para que la carga no se disipe.
Caduceo (vara de Mercurio) — Los tres canales del aliento —Ida, Pingala y Sushumna— se figuran como dos serpientes enroscadas en un báculo; el volumen los identifica con el caduceo médico y con el báculo de Hermes.
Secreto (lo que se jura no fijar por escrito) — Weidenfeld sostiene que los adeptos escondieron un solo ingrediente bajo muchos nombres, y que la única palabra que quedaba por descifrar era el espíritu de vino filosófico.
Iniciación (recepción por grados / metamorfosis del ser) — Hauck presenta a Bartlett como iniciado en la alquimia por el doctor Albert Reidel; el propio prefacio describe la Paracelsus Research Society con doce alumnos aislados del exterior.