Alchemy seeks the magnum opus or great work. This twelve step program comes from the anonymous Ripley Scroll, so called as alchemist George Ripley is mentioned there in a poem. Here are explanations regarding the practical processes as listed in the Ripley Scroll.
Phases, Stages & Steps: Origins in Alchemy
Lists, steps, stages or phases should not be considered guidelines for all. Besides the Ripley Scroll many other sets of phases also exist, as in the Tabula Smaragdina or Emerald Tablet of Hermeticism.
Alchemical texts like the Mutus Liber and Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine highlight a synthesis of mysticism and practical experimentation. In the end this contributes to the decline of alchemy.
In c. 100 AD Maria the Jewess uses a four-color process to explain desired changes in a work involving copper. It's a method of alloying and otherwise treating metals based on the popular Greek palette.
This becomes a constant in recycled meaning, as the work of Maria is beloved even to the present day. However somewhere along the line, by the 13th century, people get the idea steps like these are formulae for turning lead into gold.
Philosophical talk of the properties and coloring of metals almost two thousand years later turns into an over-mystified, over-codified representation of rules apparently made up by powerless geeks on a dateless Saturday night.
Twelve stages of the Magnum Opus appear in numerous manuscripts. So do seven. In spiritual alchemy ancient use of colors black, white, yellow and red burgeons into therapeutic self-indulgence and somewhere along the line yellow is dropped, but no one seems to notice.
Twelve Steps to the Magnum Opus from the Ripley Scroll
1. Calcination
The process of calcination involves the heating of a substance to remove impurities and break down its structure. The breakdown of materials through heat, or heat decomposition, is considered the initial step in attainment of the Magnus Opus according to the Ripley Scroll.
Fundamentally calcination involves heating solids to a high temperature. The purpose is to eliminate volatile substances, oxidize part of the mass, or make them more brittle.
Calcination differs from thermal decomposition, the general process of breaking down a compound with heat. Calcination is a specific type of thermal decomposition achieved by heating a substance to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen to produce oxides.
2. Solution (or Dissolution)
Dissolution is the process where a solute in a gaseous, liquid, or solid phase dissolves in a solvent to form a solution. Solubility is the maximum concentration of a solute that can dissolve in a solvent at a given temperature.
A solution refers to a uniform blend of two or more substances in varying proportions. These can be adjusted continuously to the solubility limit.
While "solution" is typically associated with liquids, it can also describe mixtures of gases and solids. For instance, air is a solution primarily made of oxygen and nitrogen, along with small quantities of various other gases, while brass is a solution comprising copper and zinc.
3. Separation
Separation can refer to extraction, distillation, sifting or other methods of separating the components of matter. This is commonly used in the alchemy of plants, Spagyria, but is overall one of the most basic and popular of alchemical steps.
Separation can involve one or more steps, such as multiple or circulatory distillation, or various types of separation like smelting then acid treatment. It can be carried out with centrifugal force. Separation is also a type of purification.
Distillation is the most commonly employed method for purifying liquids. In its basic form, it requires heating the liquid until it reaches its boiling point. The vapor is directed through a water-cooled condenser, causing it to condense back to a liquid state to accumulate in a flask.
4. Conjunction / Conjugation
The word "conjugation" comes from the Latin meaning "to link together". In organic chemistry terms, it is used to describe the situation that occurs when π systems (e.g. double bonds) are "linked together". An "isolated" π (pi) system exists only between a single pair of adjacent atoms.
A conjugate acid is created when an acid donates a proton (H+) to a base, essentially turning the base into a compound with an added hydrogen ion for example, ammonium. Conversely, a conjugate base is residue left after an acid has given away a proton in a chemical reaction.
Consequently, a conjugate base results from the elimination of a proton from an acid, which can then attract a hydrogen ion in the opposite reaction. Given that certain acids can donate multiple protons, the conjugate base of an acid might exhibit acidic properties.
5. Putrefaction
Also regarded as a process of decay, putrefaction is the breakdown of matter to its essentials, allowing for the emergence of new forms. Decomposition, the fifth stage of death, comes after pallor mortis, livor mortis, algor mortis, and rigor mortis.
This phase involves the deterioration of an animal's body after death. Essentially, it entails the breakdown of proteins, the eventual loss of tissue cohesion, and the liquefaction of major organs.
The decomposition of organic matter by bacterial or fungal digestion results in the release of gases. These penetrate the body's tissues, leading to the breakdown of tissues and organs.
6. Congelation / Crystallization
Crystallization is the process in which solids are created as atoms or molecules are arranged in a highly organized structure called a crystal. Crystals can form through various methods such as precipitation from a solution, freezing, or occasionally deposition directly from a gas.
The characteristics of the resulting crystal are largely influenced by factors like temperature, air pressure, cooling rate, and, in the case of liquid crystals, the duration of fluid evaporation.
Salt formation is an example of crystallization. The process involves two main stages.
The initial stage is nucleation, which involves the emergence of a crystalline phase from a supercooled liquid or a supersaturated solvent. The subsequent stage is crystal growth, where particles increase in size, ultimately leading to the formation of crystal or crystalline structure.
7. Cibation
Cibation is the act of feeding the crucible with fresh material. A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.
Although crucibles are historically clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents. Graphite crucibles are recommended by practitioners today.
8. Sublimation
Sublimation is the process where a substance transitions directly from a solid to a gas without going through the liquid phase. The verb form of sublimation is "sublime," or alternatively, "sublimate."
"Sublimate" also refers to the material produced through sublimation. The critical point at which sublimation happens quickly is known as the critical sublimation point, or simply the sublimation point.
Examples of sublimation include dry ice sublimating at room temperature and pressure, as well as solid iodine sublimating upon heating.
9. Fermentation
Fermentation is a type of redox metabolism carried out in the absence of oxygen. During fermentation, organic molecules such as glucose are catabolized and donate electrons to other organic molecules.
In the process, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy source for cells, and organic end products such as lactate are formed. Because oxygen is not required, it is an alternative to aerobic respiration.
Over 25 % of bacteria and archaea carry out fermentation. They live in the digestive system, sediments, food, and other environments. Eukaryotes, including humans and other animals, also carry out fermentation.
10. Exaltation
Exaltation (from the Alchemy Website) is "an operation by which a substance is raised into a purer and more perfect nature." This can be accomplished several ways already mentioned, or the practitioner can think of something new and exciting.
Exaltation is also the process of jumping for joy when the patron hands over the cash.
11. Multiplication
The Act Against Multiplication comes into effect in 1404 England, forbidding alchemists to make gold out of thin air or anything else. Specifically, the Act addresses the multiplication of gold from a smaller amount of gold.
Multiplication is a common term in alchemy and for centuries alchemists have worked on the multiplication of metals. Thus the English laws hit some hard. About forty years later Charles VI, hoping for war funds, begins issuing special licenses to alchemists.
Maria teaches multiplication or diplosis as part of the curriculum in the philosophical and alchemical centers of ancient Alexandria. She explains the treatment of various metals to achieve the effect. Turning lead into gold is a later invention.
12. Projection
Projection in alchemy involves throwing a ferment or tincture onto a substance in order to effect a transformation of the substance. It's done after the magic philosophers' stone, powder, liquid, vapor is made or discovered.
It can be achieved any way at all, for once one has found the mystical philosophers' stone, is anything left to know? Several scam artists of the alchemical past use this process and sleight of hand to convince patrons they could turn more material into gold if only they had the money.
This is yet another reason for the decline of alchemy. Among those who claim to have achieved this stage are Edward Kelley, a known con artist, and his friend Michael Sendivogius, a Polish alchemist with fingers in diverse pies.
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