. The Central Salt

[black]

Hello Michael

Actually, you should like him, though, since he was one of few European Medieval alchemists who did not subscribe to the view that the Great Work must be based on metals necessarily.

BTW, our discussion here stands in a long tradition of debate between those who support the "metallist" approach and those who don't. For more on that, see William R. Newman's Gehennical Fire.

I will concede that metals can have a place in Alchemy, but not in the general processes of working through the colours.

"Quintessence" is synonymous to "Prima Materia" in certain contexts.

So with this line of thought, the Prima Materia is not what we would use to start Our Alchemic Process ?

Do you (or does any other reader of this thread) happen to know who has coined the term "Central Salt"?

I don't know who coined the term, but who ever it was had a very clear understanding of what it is.

Even Van Helmont recommends that, in absence of the Alkahest, a preparation of potash (potassium carbonate) should be used.

Potash (potassium carbonate) or anything else for that matter will not extract a Quintessence, only Our Mercury (Secret Solvent, SM, etc ) is compatible enough to be able to do this.

From Black
Why do you think that Alcohol (Ethanol) is the Mercury of the vegetable realm ?

I go with Paracelsian medicine here which equates a plant's

• Sulphur with the essential oils resulting from distillation
• Mercury with the alcohol received by fermentation
• Salt with the mineral salts gained from calcination

I go with Paracelsian medicine also, but we must recognise that he conceals the True Secrets of Alchemy / Spagyrics under a very veiled speech that the students most easily accept as the Alchemic / Spagyric Gospel.

Almost all of the students of Alchemy are reading the book only by it's cover.

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".
Hamlet suggests that human knowledge is limited (as it is), though with Divine Guidance and the preparedness to accept such Guidance, it is possible to go beyond the cover of the book and also read between the lines.

Paracelsus has a very clear understanding that a plants Sulphur is it's Quintessence.
He also knows that only Our Mercury can extract Quintessence.

Paracelsus often referred to Alcohol, but he was not talking about Ethanol.
You will find the word Alcohol mentioned by many of the Old Masters, they also are not referring to Ethanol.

With the Salts we can get two types, Soluble and Non-Soluble.
Do you use both ?

If you had the Quintessence ( Universal or Particular), do you think anything would be gained by adding any of "these" salts to it ? If so why ?

As with the "Central Salt" and other Salts like you are pointing to here ... the allegory and the understanding of that allegory run very deep.

The Hermetic cosmos is also replete with subdivisions!
With a nod to Mercury's universal nature, some have emphasized that in spagyrics, ethanol in general can be substituted for a given herb's proper alcohol, though.

Those "some have emphasized" may need to return to their books and search deeper.
Even a "herb's proper alcohol" (Ethanol) cannot open the plant sufficiently enough to be able to extract it's Quintessence (Universal or Particular)
Remembering that the so called "Essential Oil" extracted with Ethanol or other puffer menstrums is not a Quintessence and never can be.

Quintessence is a "Living Essence" this is how the Work can be Fermented and grown in Virtue / Power also in it's Volume (Multiplication and Augmentation).

This is not possible with the so called "essential oils" extracted with anything other than with Our Mercury (Secret Solvent. SM, etc)

From Black
Without the use of Our Universal Mercury, it is impossible to extract a Quintessence (Universal or Particular) from any of the Three realms.

I beg to differ.

It would be of great interest to me to hear how anyone could possibly extract a Quintessence from any of the three realms without using Our Mercury ?
Remembering that Universal Quintessence (Soul) is the same as our bodily Quintessence (Soul).
The only difference is that our bodily Soul has more specific information so it is a Particular Quintessence and because of this Alchemic Quintessence Raised in Frequency (Particular or Universal) can easily raise our bodily Frequency / Vibration.

A properly prepared spagyric remedy does not contain anything toxic.

OK, now let us dig a little deeper, do you think that "A properly prepared spagyric remedy" could in fact actually be an Alchemic remedy ?
Hidden under a veil of Spagyric allegory, perhaps ?

I can tell you from many years of personal experience with spagyrics that they are highly effective in restoring health. It is no exaggeration to say that a spagyric remedy once even saved my life.

Seeing what spagyrics can do convinced me to look into alchemy's purported "higher arcana" in the first place.

How good would it be to find out what an Alchemic Remedy could do.

Don't hold your breath!

I definitely won't be holding my breath, 558 members and only 3 working with SM (Our Mercury).

An alchemical process liberates a particular matter from some of its material boundaries, thus freeing its potential and raising its frequency towards the realm of the Spirit.

I do like this definition, the only alteration I would make is to swap the word Spirit for the Divine Light. The term Spirit is very misunderstood.

Is the Mentor you often mention an actual (physical) person or a different kind of entity?

My Mentor is the Ouroboros, the Alpha and Omega, the All Knowing, the All, from whence we came we shall return and the Divine Light are just a few of His names.

Alchemy uses physical operations for elevating a substance to a state in which it more freely resonates with Spirit.

"Elevates a substance to a state in which it more freely resonates with the Divine".
Yes, apart from other things, Alchemy can be used to elevate the frequency of
our soul to more freely resonate (more freely communicate) with the "All Knowing".

The production of nano matter is one of those procedures - at least potentially.

Perhaps you could open a new thread and explain the theory in detail ?

 

[Michael Sternbach]

So with this line of thought, the Prima Materia is not what we would use to start Our Alchemic Process ?

No. Folks thinking that "First Matter" refers to some common substance used at the beginning the Great Work misunderstand the meaning of the term.

When in fact, for all intents and purposes, Prima Materia is the result of certain philosophical operations. It is true that some authors treated it as standing at the beginning of the Work, though.

I go with Paracelsian medicine also, but we must recognise that he conceals the True Secrets of Alchemy / Spagyrics under a very veiled speech that the students most easily accept as the Alchemic / Spagyric Gospel.

Almost all of the students of Alchemy are reading the book only by it's cover.

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".
Hamlet suggests that human knowledge is limited (as it is), though with Divine Guidance and the preparedness to accept such Guidance, it is possible to go beyond the cover of the book and also read between the lines.

Paracelsus has a very clear understanding that a plants Sulphur is it's Quintessence.
He also knows that only Our Mercury can extract Quintessence.

Hmm. Would you have any references handy that support your reading of Paracelsus to a certain extent? If so, I would be genuinely interested in learning more.

Paracelsus often referred to Alcohol, but he was not talking about Ethanol.
You will find the word Alcohol mentioned by many of the Old Masters, they also are not referring to Ethanol.

Again, it wholly depends on context.

Essential oils, alcohols, and mineral salts are not identical with the three philosophical principles, however, they are analogous to/physical expressions of those.

With the Salts we can get two types, Soluble and Non-Soluble.
Do you use both ?

No. Only the soluble salts are being extracted. The non-soluble salts remain in the ashes of the calcined plant and are discarded as part of the caput mortuum. In some cases, there is even a degree of toxicity to them.

If you had the Quintessence ( Universal or Particular), do you think anything would be gained by adding any of "these" salts to it ? If so why ?

A Spagyric tincture is the result of the separation and reunification of the three principles (or, more precisely, of their more tangible analogues). The mineral salts have medical value in their own right. Dr Schüssler's famous Tissue Salts are an application of such alone.

Again, I am not saying that there could be no more sophisticated ways of processing plants (and other substances, for that matter), but they are not easily accesible. This is, at least in part, because those who know them insist on being so secretive; at the end of the day, they are doing a disservice to humanity by their reluctance.

For example, Dr Zimpel's method of manufacturing Spagyric remedies (which are widely used in the German speaking countries, in particular) was inspired by Cesare Mattei's so called "Electro Homoeopathy", which seems to have been stunningly effective. Maybe Mattei was indeed using Our Mercury for manufacturing his medicines. At any rate, he did not reveal the process, so Zimpel was forced to come up with an approach of his own - mostly based on his reading of Paracelsus and Glauber.

Zimpel's process was further altered and standardised later for practical reasons. However, what is distributed as Zimpel Spagyrics today remains an effective method of alternative medicine nevertheless.

It would be of great interest to me to hear how anyone could possibly extract a Quintessence from any of the three realms without using Our Mercury ?
Remembering that Universal Quintessence (Soul) is the same as our bodily Quintessence (Soul).
The only difference is that our bodily Soul has more specific information so it is a Particular Quintessence and because of this Alchemic Quintessence Raised in Frequency (Particular or Universal) can easily raise our bodily Frequency / Vibration.

Raising our bodily and, in fact, also our emotional, mental and spiritual frequencies is also the way spagyric and homeopathic remedies, Dr Bach's flower essences, and other systems of vibrational remedies work. They all make use of alchemical principles in their own specific fashion.

For those who are interested, an article I once wrote about Spagyrics for an audience of homeopathic practitioners can be accessed via my blog:

https://michaelsternbach.wordpress.com/category/vibrational-remedies/

OK, now let us dig a little deeper, do you think that "A properly prepared spagyric remedy" could in fact actually be an Alchemic remedy ?
Hidden under a veil of Spagyric allegory, perhaps ?

Whether you count Spagyrics as belonging to Alchemy or not is more a question of semantics. Personally, I see no necessity to draw a dividing line in this regard. It certainly wouldn't have occurred to the old masters to do so.

How good would it be to find out what an Alchemic Remedy could do.

Sure, and that's why I am conducting my own research. In the meantime, I will keep using the best remedies at hand, however. What can be achieved with them suffices to puzzle more orthodox practitioners of medicine.

Michael wrote:

The production of nano matter is one of those procedures - at least potentially.

Black replied:

Perhaps you could open a new thread and explain the theory in detail ?

I will share my respective insights in one manner or another in due course.

 

[black]

So not to fill this thread with posts not relevant, I am replying to Michael to HERE.

 

[Vyacheslav]

What an interesting topic. I still find old topics (but no less interesting).

The central salt of nature is a very precise definition, from my point of view. The closest analogue is indeed found in all three kingdoms, and even more. If we think literally, then "our sea" is really full of this salt. Less fixed only. And the wind carries it in its belly...

Moreover, nature itself prepares this matter for work, if I understand correctly.

This forum inspires me. As well as some of its participants. ) Thank you friends. But I will return to my thoughts.
We have to take this ready-made matter and expose it to the agent. In the way that nature does. Multiple ascents/descents...But I can't figure out the agent yet. If the patient is a fixed matter, then the agent is volatile. The analogue suggests itself, of course...does the agent have a similar chemical composition or not?)

 

[Andro]

If we think literally, then "our sea" is really full of this salt. Less fixed only. And the wind carries it in its belly...

Indeed. And it can be "fixed" with a Magnet or with other means (some of them optical in nature).

 

[Vyacheslav]

Great. It seems to me that I understood the essence of the process and the matter. But I can't find an agent for this matter in any way...in addition, I can not decide in the dark it needs to be done or sunlight will not interfere...

Usually all matters are called philosophical and are shrouded in mystery. But at the same time, philosophers say that they learn from nature. And art is nature in a flask (partly of course). It seems so simple...and I have been looking for a long time how to make conception. )) Practice will show me, I hope.

 

[Kiorionis]

Great. It seems to me that I understood the essence of the process and the matter. But I can't find an agent for this matter in any way...in addition, I can not decide in the dark it needs to be done or sunlight will not interfere...

Usually all matters are called philosophical and are shrouded in mystery. But at the same time, philosophers say that they learn from nature. And art is nature in a flask (partly of course). It seems so simple...and I have been looking for a long time how to make conception. )) Practice will show me, I hope.

Perhaps this thread will help:

(non)Mineral, (non)Metal, (non)Magnet

 

[Vyacheslav]

"Water driven by hot air in the bowels of the earth rises, condenses and falls down by its weight. In this ascent and descent, water each time takes something from the finest essential parts of the earth and unites with them. And the further it goes, the thicker it becomes. And can no longer ascend. This water is called metal seed." - Isaac Holland

In this particular case, it looks more like the embodiment of the first seed principle than the preparation of the central salt.
Therefore, I think that the result of this work will not be an alkahest or mercury or a universal solvent.

I built a circulator from two round-bottomed flasks connected vertically. All this works on a water bath...But from a practical point of view, it will be easier to make a series of repeated distillations. Besides, it is unclear how much water and time are needed...

 

[Vyacheslav]

Greetings. It turned out to be harder than I thought. Circulation is very slow. It takes hours for individual drops to appear. It will be months before I see the results. If there are any at all, including most likely I will have to change the technology. Interestingly, from a technical point of view, it is possible to do without salt and water in this scheme (theoretically). If I understand the very essence of this operation correctly. There is enough warm air that will circulate inside...For this reason, I would like to discuss my understanding of the central salt of nature, by which I mean nitrogen-fixed compounds.

 

[Vyacheslav]

I think it's worth clarifying one thing. For me, these are different things - the central salt of nature and nitrogen-fixed compounds. Like is extracted by like. And philosophy says that it learns from nature. Visible nature is an abundance of organic life, first of all. And the cycle is organic. Therefore, it is not necessary to deny such a phenomenon as the nitrogen cycle in nature. The end of all organic life (literally) is the beginning or basis for another life. Which is based on either nitrogen fixation or decomposition of its compounds into more accessible ones.

The language barrier does not allow me to write messages quickly*

Nitrogen is represented in all three kingdoms of nature. In organic, of course, it is not so obvious. But this is urea and ammonia first of all. Getting into the soil, they make it more fertile. As well as agricultural fertilizers based on saltpeter.
The air we breathe in general consists mainly of nitrogen. Almost 80%. According to the principle of similarity or analogy, the heavens or the sky can be represented as a "sea". Then fixed nitrogen compounds can be compared with "sea salt".

 

[Vyacheslav]

Nitrogen compounds are the basis of life, the basis of amino acids and proteins. It is a source of soil fertility. This is the basis of the atmosphere we breathe... This is what is contained in dew, rain or snow. This is the ozone layer...This is the basis of gunpowder and explosives, finally. Saltpeter is one of the most affordable compounds that fix atmospheric nitrogen. In fact, it is a salt that nature makes without our participation from organic materials. We just need to clean it up. I can confidently call it the "sea salt" of the philosophical sea." Or the central salt of nature, without any doubt. For the reasons mentioned above.

And like is extracted by like. I believe that nitrogen compounds either already contain the real salt of nature. Or this "subtle essence" is attracted by the principle of similarity.
"As Above So Below"

For this reason, I put ammonium nitrate and water in the circulator. Water should "take" subtle essences from this salt over time. This is the essence of my practice now.
I was constantly distracted when I was writing this. I can't say it better. So that's all I wanted to say and can say.

 

[Illen A. Cluf]

Nitrogen compounds are the basis of life, the basis of amino acids and proteins. It is a source of soil fertility. This is the basis of the atmosphere we breathe... This is what is contained in dew, rain or snow. This is the ozone layer...This is the basis of gunpowder and explosives, finally. Saltpeter is one of the most affordable compounds that fix atmospheric nitrogen. In fact, it is a salt that nature makes without our participation from organic materials. We just need to clean it up. I can confidently call it the "sea salt" of the philosophical sea." Or the central salt of nature, without any doubt. For the reasons mentioned above.

And like is extracted by like. I believe that nitrogen compounds either already contain the real salt of nature. Or this "subtle essence" is attracted by the principle of similarity.
"As Above So Below"

For this reason, I put ammonium nitrate and water in the circulator. Water should "take" subtle essences from this salt over time. This is the essence of my practice now.
I was constantly distracted when I was writing this. I can't say it better. So that's all I wanted to say and can say.

You said it quite well, Vyacheslav! Your English is quite good.

This is an avenue well worth exploring. Nitrogen, in its various forms, is far more amazing than most people seem to realize. But, apart from existing in a gaseous form, explore what other form it may exist in.

You likely won't find it in any chemistry text! This is alchemy!

 

[Jimmy Rig]

I think your thoughts are pretty well elaborated upon considering English is not your first language. Your thoughts and observations on nitrogen are in my opinion worth considering. I really liked your "Saltpeter is one of the most affordable compounds that fix atmospheric nitrogen. In fact, it is a salt that nature makes without our participation from organic materials. We just need to clean it up. I can confidently call it the "sea salt" of the philosophical sea."
I am assuming you have read the golden chain of homer? This text goes well with your train of thought here. Thanks for sharing.

I personally feel that the niter is one side of a dualistic salt. When both are allowed to coexist together you have the central salt.

One acidic, one alkaline

 

[Jimmy Rig]

You said it quite well, Vyacheslav! Your English is quite good.

This is an avenue well worth exploring. Nitrogen, in its various forms, is far more amazing than most people seem to realize. But, apart from existing in a gaseous form, explore what other form it may exist in.

You likely won't find it in any chemistry text! This is alchemy!

I am glad to read what your wrote here Illen confirmations always feel good!

 

[Andro]

This is an avenue well worth exploring.
Nitrogen, in its various forms, is far more amazing than most people seem to realize.
But, apart from existing in a gaseous form, explore what other form it may exist in.
You likely won't find it in any chemistry text! This is alchemy!

- Alchemy texts talk a lot about "Niter" (a.k.a. Astral Spirit) and its "corporification".

- The Nitrogen Cycle is surprisingly similar to what is described in the Emerald Tablet ("travels" from above to below and back).

- Volcanic eruptions give the atmosphere a little Nitrogen boost every now and then, in which regard also see Compass of the Wise, with one of the images depicting an erupting volcano:

- Lightning also fixes Nitrogen. Another image from "Compass of the Wise":

And yet another image from "Compass of the Wise":

- The association of Azoth/Azot/Azote with Nitrogen is hard to ignore. A. L. Gerbant writes in his commentary on the Cyliani work: "The Nitrogen of the Air, for certain, is indeed the Nitrogen of the Philosophers".

- The Central Salt of the Microcosm is possibly a likewise "hidden" version of the Central Salt of the Macrocosm, yet it is in every "thing", but we must "visit the interior/bowels of the earth" to render it visible/tangible. It has been observed to rather be on the more "inert" side, unless/until "awakened" by the Central Salt/Water of the Macrocosm. See the first plate of the Mutus Liber:

I personally feel that the niter is one side of a dualistic salt. When both are allowed to coexist together you have the central salt.

One acidic, one alkaline

A "fusion" of those two can render a body on which we perform our subsequent alchemical operations.

But let's not go fusing salt and niter in a crucible just yet... It's not the "common" salts that the adepts talk about... People have lost fingers (or worse) from exploding crucibles...

To prepare a (central) "Royal Bath", we can, as an alternative to shorter ways, perform the tediously long and repetitive process of Roger Guasco, from his work "The Dew Burns the Salt".
____________________________________


- Finally, we know the saying: "Ignis & Azoth Tibi Sufficiunt". Added it to my current signature line as well.

In the image below, one hand is holding a torch/flame/fire. What is he holding in the other hand? Can anyone make anything of it? (genuine question, not rhetorical)

 

[Illen A. Cluf]

In the image below, one hand is holding a torch/flame/fire. What is he holding in the other hand? Can anyone make anything of it? (genuine question, not rhetorical)

The hand holding the candle is represented by Sulfur (see pointed star), the Sun (see symbol above the canfle) and the King (see image below the candle). Also Anima. Simiarly, the other hand is represented by Mercury, the Moon nd the Queen (also Spiritus). What is held in the hand is the most visual representation of "Mercury" that I have yet seen. It's far too secret and never before revealed to elaborate.

 

[Andro]

The hand holding the candle is represented by Sulfur (see pointed star), the Sun (see symbol above the canfle) and the King (see image below the candle). Also Anima. Simiarly, the other hand is represented by Mercury, the Moon nd the Queen (also Spiritus). What is held in the hand is the most visual representation of "Mercury" that I have yet seen. It's far too secret and never before revealed to elaborate.

Among the many details in the above plate, I believe what he's holding in his hands are not entirely allegorical representations. But is looks like he's holding/squeezing something between his thumb and index finger.

Edit: It does look a bit like Vyacheslav's circulating setup

 

[Illen A. Cluf]

They look a bit like Vyacheslav's circulating setup

No, they're much too small for that ;-)

 

[Andro]

If we go by "Fire & Azoth are enough" and one hand holds the fire, the other one must hold the Azoth, then

Also, let's not forget the Corpus (bottom Cube), the Foundation/Corner Stone, "rejected by the builders", where we fix the principles.

Some people here will probably resonate to where exactly the "Corpus" is located in the image...

 

[Andro]

What is held in the hand is the most visual representation of "Mercury" that I have yet seen.

Maybe he's splitting the N2 molecule with his thumb and index finger

More "modern" renderings of this image have placed a feather in the Mercury hand, which is just as well... A particular type of crystallization...

 

[Illen A. Cluf]

Maybe he's splitting the N2 molecule with his thumb and index finger

Of course they didn't know about the modern configuration of Nitrogen in those days, and Nitrogen actually has 7 protons. The gas has two Nitrogen atoms.

I don't think I've ever seen this depicted in any other alchemical diagram, so this may be unique. There is another major clue in this diagram concerning that object(s).

Being depicted as a feather seems highly erroneous, although the artist was likely tring to convey the concept of volatility.

 

[elixirmixer]

Of course they didn't know about the modern configuration of Nitrogen in those days, and Nitrogen actually has 7 protons. The gas has two Nitrogen atoms.

I don't think I've ever seen this depicted in any other alchemical diagram, so this may be unique. There is another major clue in this diagram concerning that object(s).

Being depicted as a feather seems highly erroneous, although the artist was likely tring to convey the concept of volatility.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe Andro is referring to the crystallization of the early stages of this central salt, which appear like Nitre. Nitre has a unique shape of crystallization that one could consider feather-like in its appearance.

Am I right?

 

[Triune One]

Of course they didn't know about the modern configuration of Nitrogen in those days, and Nitrogen actually has 7 protons. The gas has two Nitrogen atoms.

I don't think I've ever seen this depicted in any other alchemical diagram, so this may be unique. There is another major clue in this diagram concerning that object(s).

Are you referring to the colorful diagram with the feather depicted in the left hand or
the diagram with this in the left hand?

I noticed in both of the images, the order of the planets is according to height in the "firmament" (Saturn is highest and the moon, lowest or closest to earth) rather than the order of the stages / seals of the planets as they unfold after the conjunction.

 

[elixirmixer]

Vyacheslav. Please try not to die. The process you are using is quite capable of generating an explosive. Glass shards in the eyeballs is not a path to the stone.

I would like to remind the readers that the Central Salt is a type of Virgin Earth.

This Virgin Earth, as has been mentioned several times, goes through a process of generation and RE-generation.

This regeneration occurs after Putrifaction. We are looking for a substance that has endured this process in order to supply us with a ready-made living virgin earth, that has not been specified by chemistry, since when viewed chemically I think you will find that it is in fact a number of things, albeit, from a conceptual point of view, truely is just "One Thing"

What I am interested to know, and soon will be the subject of my practise, is how, and why, if at all, does this Salt interact with light.

Does this Salt literally volatize under certain optical conditions?

Let us look to the hand of the philosopher's. We see "Nitre" on the thumb, surrounded by the symbol of the moon.

But this is not actual potassium nitrate. Potassium nitrate is used here as the allegory because the crystallization structure of the Central Salt in its pre-mature phase looks similar to this salt, and it is my speculation here that moonlight may play a part in its volitalization and subsequent transformations.

We then see 4 more salts, again, allegorical to the transformation of crystallization that occurs when this central salt undergoes particular energetic upgrades as a result of the alchemical process.

Now let's also try to clarify something to bring us closer to some actual success.

The central salt, is the result of a successful extraction from the prima materia. This is distinct from a magnet that may be used to collect and fixate the Universal spirit, which can be used to ramp up the alchemical process.

What I am still to discover, when I get the time, is how the moonlight imbusions differ from saturation with Universal spirit

Or at least this is how I currently understand the process from my theoretical point of view.

@Black. The expensive set up is about half complete. Slowed down by the unexpected divorce. But don't worry. It's coming.

Furthermore:
So if "Nitre" is not really nitre. And "Common Salt" is not really common salt. And "Sal ammoniac" is not really sal ammoniac. Then it should be easy to see for the discerning ear, that NO chemical substance that can be found in a regular laboratory is in fact this Central Salt. And experiments with various salts are for learning and demonstration purposes only OR may be used to prepare a magnet for the collection of SM, remembering though, that this magnet is NOT the prima materia, or the virgin earth or the Central Salt.

The Central Salt could be chemically defined if you wanted to define it, but it would serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever, since to go out and re-create this chemically would not give you Living Virgin Earth. Nor is it one particular chemical anyway, but in fact several.

And if it is in fact several, why do the authors speak about it like one thing?? Because it serves a purpose to view it as one thing, and does not at all serve any purpose to try and specify its chemical properties. I feel like to do so would actually be detrimental. And that, I can say from practical experience.

 

[elixirmixer]

"Water driven by hot air in the bowels of the earth rises, condenses and falls down by its weight. In this ascent and descent, water each time takes something from the finest essential parts of the earth and unites with them. And the further it goes, the thicker it becomes. And can no longer ascend. This water is called metal seed." - Isaac Holland

In this particular case, it looks more like the embodiment of the first seed principle than the preparation of the central salt.
Therefore, I think that the result of this work will not be an alkahest or mercury or a universal solvent.

I built a circulator from two round-bottomed flasks connected vertically. All this works on a water bath...But from a practical point of view, it will be easier to make a series of repeated distillations. Besides, it is unclear how much water and time are needed...

I admire the thought process here. And while good in theory, it is lacking in potency and could take decades to reach the desired results, and unfortunately, arriving at an explosive won't take nearly as long.