The designations âgreen lionâ or 'verdigrisâ are found in many alchemical works. From the context, it often emerges that with them is meant the vera prima materia to the philosopherâs stone, therefore the true first matter, from which is gained the basis to the philosopherâs stone by corresponding processing. This raw material is also often concealed under the household name 'vitriolâ. Indeed the semantic fields of these household names vary from author to author, so that often it is difficult to recognize what actually is to be understood by it.
The following remarks should serve to throw light into the darkness of this important alchemical theme. For in reality, one can only work successfully who is able to distinguish these household names from each other in their sophisticated meaning and to theoretically and practically understand them.
Many have understood with vitriol (of the philosophers) the common verdigris. They thought they would not need to cook for long to manufacture the philosopherâs stone from it. Only, such practitioners have then cooked longer than they could live, or they have enjoyed from their soup and might have died awfullyâŠ
'Verdigrisâ is a translation from the Latin and originates from 'viride Hispanusâ, Spanish green. This was the name of an imported inorganic green dye from Spain in the Middle Ages. Then, common synonyms were: Span green, copper green, copper rust, aciniar, viride aeris, flos aeris, fiza, viride prassium and many more. It dealt with green colored copper salts, mostly with basic acetates, also often with sulphates.
Today, one understands with 'verdigrisâ a poisonous green cover, emerging under the influence of atmospheric oxygen and vinegar fumes on copper or brass, which thus chemically consists of copper acetates. With it the present meaning deviates from the earlier only insignificantly.
The verdigris used in alchemy was often equated with 'vitriolâ, but has nothing in common with the ordinary verdigris. Was the alchemical vitriol perhaps the 'vitriolum Romanumâ of the drugstores? The alchemists often said that their matter is to be gotten cheaply and simply. This salt, the similarly green copper sulphate, had an important significance in the Middle Ages. And because it was often confused with the related verdigris due to its color and characteristics, it is hardly astonishing that many searched for the 'veram primam materiamâ in the 'vitriolo Romanoâ. Is the answer perhaps to be found in the word 'vitriolâ?
The present understanding of the household name 'vitriolâ unfortunately brings no enlightenment, because one understands with it iron sulphate as a rule, or in further meaning all bivalent metal sulphates. The derivation of the word is taken from the Latin 'vitrumâ (glass). One assumes the introduction of the household name 'vitriolâ for such greenish salts because crystalline iron vitriol resembles pieces of broken green glass. 'Roman vitriolâ (vitriolum Romanum) was mostly especially called this, cohered with it, as this sort counted as the best green one. It was mainly used for dyeing and consisted basically of iron vitriol, to which alum (potassium aluminium sulphate) was often added. Roman vitriol was identified in the pharmacies and in the Frankfurtâs fair list of 1582 as pectone, therefore it was gained through the evaporation of naturally occurring vitriol solutions. Besides that, the 'Goslaric vitriolâ or 'German vitriolâ was also widely used. This contains, besides its main constituent of iron vitriol, still further metal sulphates.
With it the matter becomes always more complicated, as now we already have a whole palette of applicants for the vitriol of the philosophers. Helpful in the search for the mysterious substance is the conscious enclosure 'of the philosophersâ by the alchemists. With it they clearly mark that their vitriol is not the vitriol 'of the commonâ, but that 'of the philosophersâ, thus it surely cannot be identical with 'Romanâ or 'Goslaricâ vitriol and/or verdigris in any composition. Likewise, it clearly emerges from this, that the Green Lion can not be iron copper vitriol, as Manfred Junius has taught in his courses.
Then, what was or is the genuine vitriol of the alchemists? We are led more closely to an understanding by trying to understand the meaning of the word 'vitriolâ. 'Vitriolumâ is a contraction of the initial letters of the following Latin sentence: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Inveniens Occultum Lapidem Veram Medicinam. Or in one of the possible translations: âSee in the interior of the purified earth, and you will find the secret stone, the true medicineâ.
Thus vitriol was a code name for the original substance of the philosopherâs stone. It should also become understandable with it, that verdigris or common types of vitriol are not the true Vitriol of the Philosophers. This becomes clearer still, if one takes seriously the warnings of fair alchemists, who wrote there among others: âYou must take in our work the vitriol of the philosophers, and not the commonâ.
The household name 'vitriolâ stands therefore not only synonymously for the Green Lion of the philosophers as a substance, but it is also a symbol for the whole process of the operis magni. This illustrates a copy of the text of the Tabula Smaragdina (Figure 1), stamped among others in: Secret figures of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and 17th century, Altona 1785, p. 17. It concerns a circular emblem, which simplistically reproduces the process to the philosopherâs stone, around whose edge the cited Latin sentence winds itself. By the way, it is typical in alchemical works, that the same household name was widely pulled near for different matters or process steps, and conversely an individual matter or process step was illustrated with different names. The alchemists had consciously chosen this action âto forbid the unworthy the access to alchemyâ, as they said.
Many have thought the alchemists wanting to point to a green salt with vitriol. Thus it only was understandable and obvious to hold verdigris and copper salts, among others, as being the vitriol. The synonymous household name 'green lionâ for the Vitriol of the Philosophers points to it also. But this also is misleading. Let us hear what is said about it in Hermes Trismegistusâ True Old Natural Way: âThe green lion: With green they want to indicate its growth. They call it however allegorically a lion due to its power and intensity, because it is able to kill and to murder everythingâ.
Thus common verdigris or vitriol is not the Vitriol of the Philosophers or their Green Lion, also not the vera prima materia of the alchemists.
In fact, it is still more complicated. For with Vitriol of the Philosophers the alchemists marked - taken literally - not only one important substance for the opus magnum, but their two:
Take a matter out of nature, which the sages have shown you and which is called 'materia remotaâ, 'materia crudaâ etc. Thereby, it concerns a mineral which is still quite easily obtained today. Work up this mineral until you arrive at a salt, which is marked as 'first vitriol of the philosophersâ. This first dissolution is mostly colorless or easily yellowish. Rarely, it can actually appear greenish- to green-colored, according to the origin of the minerals used. The quite laborious processing steps of the materia remota lead to the purification of the crude earth, thus it is spoken of the 'terra rectificandoâ.
Then one must see in to the interior of the purified earth. Another formulation of the essential reaction step, which should be indicated with it, is the following: âSweep the interior to the outsideâ, or more concretely: âLearn to transform the vitriol into a fluid and an oil through the application of fireâ. One receives as a product an easily volatile, combustible spirit, the so-called 'spirit of philosophical wineâ. This is compared to the ordinary spirit of wine, because it owns similar characteristics, however it is called 'philosophicalâ, since it is much more penetrating. Furthermore one receives further reaction products, which often are marked as 'philosophical vinegarâ. Basil Valentine in the chapter 'About vinegarâ writes of it: â⊠I however must announce you this, that this is not the vinegar of the philosophers, for our vinegar is another drink. Namely, the matter itself, for the philosopherâs stone is made from the azoth of the philosophers, which must be prepared and be brought in a certain order through the common distilled azoth, also the spirit of wine and other waters beforeâ.
Thus the processing of the first vitriol leads to the 'spirit of philosophical wineâ and the 'philosophical vinegarâ. After that, different salts are treated with their help, whereupon the 'second green vitriol of the philosophersâ is first gained, often truly in the form of a salt.
The reversal of this second vitriol of the philosophers reveals the concealed nature inside there, in the form of the 'philosophical mercuryâ and the 'philosophical sulphurâ. The mercury appears as a pale to yellowish, often milky clouded fluid (lac virginis), the sulphur as a ruby-red oil, called 'blood of the green lionâ or 'our philosophical sulphurâ. If one finally has together with it both the material foundations of the great work, so the rest is a pure work of nature and not especially more difficult, even if the following process of the mild boiling in the hermetic vessel after the addition of the silver and/or gold ferment may still last for months. In the end the philosopherâs stone will be received as the culmination of the whole work, which additionally is the universal elixir or the true medicine of the philosophers.
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