Working with the Metals

by Dennis William Hauck

The Base Metal Lead

While we have already discussed the planetary archetypes, it is worth reminding ourselves at this point exactly how the alchemists looked on the relationship between the planet and its metal. They believed that the metals had the same “virtue” as the corresponding planet, that a single spirit infuses both the planet and the metal. In other words, the planet was a celestial manifestation and the metal a terrestrial manifestation of the same universal force. 

Therefore, the metals are the purest expression of the planetary energies in the mineral kingdom, which is the basis for material reality on earth. The next stage of evolution on our planet is the plant kingdom, and the alchemists assigned a metal and its corresponding planet to describe the characteristics of every known herb, flower, and plant. Similarly, on the next level in the evolution of matter in the animal kingdom, all creatures carry their own metallic or planetary signatures, which are expressed in their behavior. In human beings, the alchemists referred to the sum total of the cosmic signatures of the metals as a person’s “temperament.” Originally, that word referred to the metallurgical process of “tempering” or mixing different metals to produce certain characteristics in an alloy.

Lead and Its Secret Fire

   Although the alchemists considered lead the lowest of the base metals, they treated it with a great deal of respect, as they did its corresponding planet Saturn. Lead was said to carry all the energy of its own transformation, and it was that hidden energy that the alchemists sought to free. To the alchemists, the ancient metal was a powerful “sleeping giant” with a dark and secret nature that encompassed both the beginning and end of the Great Work.

Lead is the heaviest of the seven metals; it is very tied to gravity, form, and manifested reality. It is also a very stubborn metal known for its durability and resistance to change. Lead products dating from 7000 BC are still intact, and lead water pipes installed by the Romans 1,500 years ago are still in use today. Alchemists depicted lead in their drawings as the god Saturn (a crippled old man with a sickle), Father Time, or a skeleton representing death itself. Any of these symbols in their manuscripts meant the alchemist was working with the metal lead in the laboratory or a leaden attitude in his accompanying meditation.

Lead is a boundary of heaviness for matter. Metals of greater atomic weight are too heavy and disintegrate over time (by radioactive decay) to turn back into lead. So radioactive decay is really a Saturnic process that introduces a new characteristic in the metals – that of time. All the hyper-energetic metals beyond lead are trapped in time to inexorably return to lead. There is no natural process more unalterably exact than radioactive decay. Atomic clocks, the most precise timekeeping devices we have, are based on this leaden process. Geologists measure the age of radioactive rocks by how much lead they contain, and the age of the earth is estimated by taking lead isotope measurements. In many ways, lead carries the signature of Father Time.     

Native lead, which is lead metal found in a chemically uncombined state, is actually extremely rare. It is found in the earth's crust in a concentration of only about 13 parts per billion. Lead does not form crystals easily, and thus the pure mineral form is very rare and extremely valuable as rock specimens. Such elemental lead can also be found in very unusual “metamorphosed” limestone and marble formations that are equally rare.

Surprisingly, lead is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and when it occurs in nature, it is always found with gold and silver. In fact, the chemical symbol for lead (Pb) is from the Latin word plumbum, which means “liquid silver.” We derive our words “plumbing” and “plumb bob” from the use of lead in those applications. In the smelting of silver, lead plays an important role by forming a layer over the emerging molten silver and protecting it from combining with the air and splattering out. The volatile molten lead covering is gradually burnt away, until only the pure silver metal “peeks out” (in the smelter’s terminology) in a stabilized form. Thus, lead protects and even sacrifices itself for the nobler metals.

The planet Saturn and its metal and the planet have the same symbol (L) in alchemy. The Hermetic interpretation is that the symbol is basically the cross of the elements that depicts the division between the Above and Below or spirit and matter. The lunar crescent of the soul is below the cross, representing the manifestation (or entrapment) of soul below in matter.  

Despite these associations with the noble metals, lead itself never makes it to such heights among the metals. The silvery luster of fresh cut lead quickly fades, as if it were “dying” before your eyes. Furthermore, alchemists considered lead to be “hydrophobic” or against the life nourishing archetype of water. Lead ores lack the slightest water content and tend to form machine-like structures.

The most common ore of lead is galena, which also contains the noble metals silver and gold. Galena is lead sulfide, a favorite of rock collectors because of its distinctive cubic shapes, characteristic cleavage, and high density. In fact, the structure of galena is identical to that of natural table salt. The two minerals have exactly the same crystal shapes, symmetry and cleavage, although galena crystals are thousands of times larger. Some galena may contain up to 1% silver and often contains trace amounts of gold. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by product to make galena the leading ore of silver as well.

            Galena definitely has the signature of lead. Its color is silver gray with a bluish tint. The luster ranges from metallic to dull in the weathered faces, and the isometric crystals are opaque to light. The massive crystals of galena almost always take the form of a cube or octahedron, and the cleavage is perfect in four direction always forming cubes. Because of the perfect cleavage, fractures are rarely seen and the dark crystalline structure is nearly perfect.

Lead is also found in other sulfuric minerals like calcite and dolomite, as well as lead oxidation minerals such as and anglesite and cerussite, which is found in the oxidation zone of lead deposits usually associated with galena. Some formations show cerussite crusts around a galena core as if the act of oxidation was frozen in time. Cerrussite is lead carbonate and also a favorite of rock hounds. Its very high luster is due mostly to the metallic lead content, and just as leaded crystal glass sparkles more brilliantly because of its lead content, so too does cerussite. Cerussite has one of the highest densities for a transparent mineral. It is over six and a half times as dense as water. Most rocks and minerals average only around three times the density of water. Cerussite is famous for its great sparkle and density, and its amazing twinned (or double) crystals. The mineral forms geometrically intricate structures and star shapes that simply amazing to behold – sometimes the twinned crystals form star shapes with six "rays" extending out from the star.

When freed from its ores, lead metal has a bluish-white color and is very soft – capable of being scratched by a fingernail. With its dull metallic luster and high density, lead cannot easily be confused with any other metal. It is also malleable, ductile, and sectile – meaning it can be pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, and cut into slices. However, lead is a dark, sluggish, base metal. Of the seven metals, it is the slowest conductor of electricity and heat, the least lustrous or resonant. Its Saturnic signature of heaviness is expressed not only in its being the heaviest metal but also in its tendency to form inert and insoluble compounds. No other metal forms as many. Although it tarnishes upon exposure to air like silver, lead is extremely resistant to corrosion over time and seems to last forever. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. The surface of lead is protected by a thin layer of lead oxide, and it does not react with water. The same process protects lead from the traditional “liquid fire” of the alchemists – sulfuric acid. In fact, lead bottles are still used to store the highly corrosive acid. Lead is so inalterable, that half of all the lead in the world today is simply recovered from scrap and formed directly into bullion for reuse.

Lead is truly a destroyer of light. It is added to high-quality glassware (lead crystal) to absorb light reflections and make the glass clearer. Lead salts in glass are not changed by light but change light itself by absorbing it. Incoming light in lead crystal meets with high resistance, but once it is within the glass, light is immediately absorbed or dispersed without any reflected light escaping. Sheets of lead are also impermeable to all forms of light, even high energy X-rays and gamma rays, which makes lead the perfect shield against any form of radiation and is why it is used to transport and store radioactive materials.

Lead is an extremely poor conductor of electricity and blocks all kinds of energy transmission. Indeed, one of the signatures of lead is its ability to “dampen” or absorb energy. Unlike other metals, when lead is struck, the vibrations are immediately absorbed and any tone is smothered in dullness. Lead is an effective sound proofing medium and tetraethyl lead is still used in some grades of gasoline as an antiknock compound to “quiet” the combustion of gasoline.

Thin lead sheets are used extensively in the walls of high-rise buildings to block the transmission of sound, and thick pads of lead are used in the foundations to absorb the vibrations of street traffic and even minor earthquakes. Lead sheets are widely used in roofing to block solar rays, and lead foil is used to form lightproof enclosures in laboratory work. Ultimately, lead corresponds to the galactic Black Hole that absorbs all forms of radiation and light.

Lead reacts with more chemicals than any other metal, however, instead of producing something new and useful, lead “kills” the combining substance by making it inert, insoluble and unable to enter into further chemical reactions. Its salts precipitate out of solutions heavily and copiously. Lead has the same effect in the plant kingdom. It accumulates in the roots and slows down the “breathing” process in plants. Young plants are adversely affected by even the smallest amount of lead in the soil.

Lead is poisonous and accumulates over time in the bones of the human body, where it cannot be flushed out. It has also been found in high concentrations in gallstones and kidney stones. The old alchemical graphic for lead – a skeleton – was grotesquely appropriate. The symptoms of lead poisoning (known as “Saturnism”) are lack of energy, depression, blindness, dizziness, severe headaches at the back of the head, brain damage, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and mental retardation, antisocial behavior and anger, atrophy of muscular tissue and cramping, excess growth of connective tissue resulting in a rigid appearance, rapid aging, coma, and early death. Rats fed only 5 parts per million of lead had a lifespan 25% shorter than normal rats. Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, and it is believed to be an important factor in stillborn fetuses. Children with more than just 0.3 parts per million of lead in their blood suffer a significant slowing of brain function and corresponding drop in IQ. Lead in paint has caused mental retardation and premature aging in hundreds of children who ingested old flaking paint from the walls of their homes. Lead paint was used extensively until the poisonous effects were documented in the 1960s. Because of its lasting durability, lead paint is still used outdoors in advertising and the yellow lines on highways and curbs. The subtly controlling aspect of those applications is another signature of lead and of “leaden” persons in general.

Not surprisingly, lead has found use as an insecticide and was even once considered for use as a military weapon. Lead metal reacts violently with fluorine and chlorine to form the highly poisonous gases, lead fluoride and lead chloride. Lead is also used in all kinds of ammunition – another appropriate application of lead’s esoteric signature as Father Time and the Grim Reaper. There are many research studies linking lead exposure to anger and violence, especially in adolescents. One recent study of all counties in the United States conducted by Colorado State University revealed that the murder rate in counties with the highest lead levels were four times higher than in counties with the lowest levels of lead.

More benevolent uses of lead are in storage batteries, covering for underground and transoceanic cables, waste plumbing, shielding around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, solder, pewter, fine lead crystal glass, and flint glass with a high refractive index for achromatic lenses.

Even the elemental metal carries the seed of its own redemption. The alchemists knew that Fire is lord over lead, for the metal has a low melting point and is easily separated from its ore by roasting in an open flame, and the metal itself melts in a candle flame. Lead expands on heating and contracts on cooling more than any other solid heavy metal. (Silver is the opposite and is considered an antidote to lead.)

Perhaps owing to its dual nature, lead carries deeply hidden within its structure the fire of its own transformation. Many lead salts reveal a whole rainbow of brilliant colors, with the solar colors of yellow, orange, and red predominating. This is why lead has been used in paints for so many centuries. Finely divided lead powder is pyrophoric (“fire containing”) and easily catches fire or erupts spontaneously in flames. When made into a fine powder, lead metal must be kept in a vacuum to keep from catching fire. Otherwise, it ignites and burns down to a bright yellow ash, revealing its deeply hidden solar signature. So, the wonder of lead is that hidden deep inside the gray, dead metal is a tiny, eternal spark that is the seed of its own resurrection. In the eyes of alchemists, this makes lead the most important metal despite its unattractive darkness. For dull lead and gleaming gold are really the same things, only at different stages of growth or maturity.

The Secret Fire inside lead is really the alchemical basis for transforming lead into gold, and correspondingly, gives mankind hope for its own spiritual transformation. That tiny spark of light in the darkest part of matter makes resurrection part of the structure of the universe. So, deep down inside, the metal lead also yearns to be transformed. It wants to rise in the air and fly, leave matter and form behind, and be free as Fire. Lead unites two contrasting forces: rigid heaviness and revivifying inner fire. Archetypically, the lead process is concerned with death and resurrection. Greek myth says that after death our soul is put on a scale, and the weights of the scale are made from lead, the metal that carries Saturn's signature.

Lead is used in magical rituals, spells, and amulets to promote contact with deep unconscious levels (the underworld), deep meditation, controlling negativity, breaking bad habits and addictions, protection, stability, grounding, solidity, perseverance, decisiveness, concentration, conservation, and material constructions (buildings).

The Call of Lead

           Pick up a hunk of lead and the first thing you notice is its weight – its connection to gravity. It is that connection to something beyond matter and light, the very form of the universe that is the physical basis for this experiment. During the winter months, preferably on some clear night in late January or early February, go outside and find the planet Saturn in the northern sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Saturn and place a piece of lead metal in your hand. You should be able to feel a strange resonance building. That eerie, cold vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of lead.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.

The strange connection between lead and Saturn has been documented by modern scientists, who have shown that lead compounds react differently depending on Saturn’s position in the sky. For instance, solutions of lead nitrate produce the greatest weight of crystallization (or manifestation) during February, when Saturn rules the sky, and the least during June, when Saturn is barely visible. Lead compounds also exhibit different properties when Saturn aligns with other planets. For example, lead sulfate solution rises 60% higher on strips of filter paper during conjunctions of Saturn with Mars than at other times. It is also known that the ease of making lead solutions (the “solubility coefficient” of lead) varies with the position of Saturn relative to the other planets. NASA is even considering a series of astrochemical experiments to see if the Saturn-lead effects become more pronounced in outer space.

The Lead Temperament

 Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives.  

Because the lusterless metal is so “dead” and resists interaction with other substances, it is used as containers for acids, like automobile batteries, and is used as a lining in pipes that carry corrosive substances. Similarly, the lead tempered person is like an acid-proof container that stores up caustic feelings and anger. Phrases like “acid tongued” and “vitriolic” have their origins in this alchemical process of storing negative emotional energy.

On the psychological level, lead is symbolic of a person’s inertness and unwillingness to change. There is a denial of all higher or spiritual energies, and the alchemists often portrayed the leaden person as lying in an open grave or hopelessly chained to matter in some way. A feeling of being trapped in material reality is symptomatic of a leaden attitude. Leaden people are stubborn, unyielding, and often control other people by making them wait. They must always be right, rarely accept blame or admit to being in error, and have no real regard for the truth of a situation. They may be religious but not spiritual. They tend to be suspicious of genius and inspiration, which they will often attribute to fantasy, They feel threatened by freedom of thought and expression, and sometimes use ridicule or try to “push people’s buttons” to control it. They tend to be very uncreative, judgmental, and smug.

On the other hand, leaden people are grounded, earthy, and practical. They are good friends during times of bereavement – a rock of support at funerals and deathbeds. Such people secretly crave stimulation, excitement, and new ideas. They gravitate to people who supply energy and entertainment in their lives. This craving for stimulation often makes them focus on nervous energy instead of higher inspiration. Therefore, Saturn’s children can be very reactive and excitable instead of lethargic, as they try to escape from their prison of matter.

As soon as bright, fresh lead metal is exposed to air, it forms a dull-gray oxide layer called the “litharge” that resists any further chemical interaction. In alchemy, air is associated with spiritual energy, and lead reacts to it by instantly forming a barrier or blocking it. Likewise, one of the distinguishing characteristics of someone with a lead temperament is their lack of interest in spiritual ideas. There is also a general lack of interest in life in general, and leaden people often seem lazy, lethargic, or unresponsive.

In the individual, lead absorbs the inner light or insight necessary for personal growth and blocks all outside “radiations,” such as attempts at spiritual instruction by others. Because psychological lead absorbs both the deeper vibrations of intuition and higher spiritual energies and aspirations, the person with a lead temperament is uninspired, unimaginative, and lacks that creative spark so necessary for positive change. Before long the lead person starts to feel trapped in his or her dull environment and seeks out excitement, death-defying feats, lively people, and challenging conversation. Their favorite color is often red, and unconsciously, they are seeking the alchemical element of Fire. Fire is one of the Four Elements that represents activity, energy, creative thinking, and transformation. Fire is the tool alchemists use to begin the transmutation of lead into gold as well as transform leaden consciousness into a golden awareness of higher reality. In the laboratory, the changes in the metal and in the alchemist take place simultaneously. Otherwise, there can be no real transformation. The alchemists transmuted the Lead temperament using the Fire operation of Calcination.

Healing with Lead

           Physically, lead and Saturn rule the bones, teeth, spleen, and slow chronic processes such as aging. The therapeutic effects are contracting, coagulating, drying, and mineralizing. Saturn-ruled plants enhance the structures of life. They give a sobriety of disposition, en­abling one to see limitations. These plants give steadiness, solidity of pur­pose, subtlety, diplomacy, patience, and an ability to work on the physical plane better.

Saturnic or leaden energies are needed for those who have a hard time finishing pro­jects or for those with plenty of ideas but never realize them. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Generally speaking, any other elixir mixed with a Saturn elixir will be earthed, which makes them of great value when working on physical plane phenomenon. Their physical therapeutic properties become refrigerant, anti-pyretic, sedative, styptic, and astringent.

For instance, if one mixes a saturnine elixir with a mercurial one, the alchemists believed it would release knowledge contained in secret magical manuscripts or in ancient hermetic traditions, because the Saturn-Mercury vibration contains all hidden knowledge of an esoteric nature within it. Alchemical oils were mixed in the same way. For example, to treat leukemia, alchemists would prescribe an equal mixture of lead oil and gold oil. 

The alchemists made an Oil of Lead that was good for “growth of bones after breaking, strengthening the skeleton, osteoporosis and atrophy of the bones, stimulation of the spleen, drying tissue, reducing secretions and discharges, stopping bleeding, reducing fever, increasing patience, and stopping visions and an overactive imagination.” They also suggested it for hallucinations due to neurological disorders that have delirious after-effects such as encephalitis and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the “like cures like” philosophy of homeopathy, lead is used to treat sclerosis, the hardening of bones and arteries, which is the hallmark of old age and signature of lead. The homeopathic name of lead is Plumbum metallicum. 

The Courtly Metal Tin

 Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.

Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.

The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”

Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.

Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.

The Call of Tin

Jupiter is usually an easy planet to find in the night sky. Look up in your newspaper or online, the rising and setting times and position for Jupiter for your location. Then go outside one night and gaze on the planet while holding a piece of tin metal or something containing pure tin on its outer surface, such as Babbitt metal or an uncoated tin can. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. You should be able to feel a resonance building between you and the distant orb. You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin and confirmation of the Hermetic axiom of “As Above, So Below.” Record your impressions and feelings during this meditation.

The Tin Temperament

          Psychologically, the focus of the tin temperament is on sensuality and there is a greater interaction with others than seen in the leaden person. Still, most of the control at this level comes from unconscious impulses. As tin is transformed, a person is dominated by dreams and powerful undercurrents of emotion. Only by fully integrating the contents of the personal unconscious, can tin be successfully transmuted into a higher metal. Repressed feelings form knots or blockages in our bodies that cause symptoms of armoring reminiscent of the “tin man.” These blockages have both a psychic and a physiological reality, and often it is necessary to seek outside assistance or achieve great inner objectivity in removing them.

Jupiterian or "jovial" energies are expansive and cheerful  but tend to be lacking in depth. That is true of the tin temperament too.  Jovial people are often inflated, expansive, and can be seen as overly spiritual. They tend to talk endlessly about obvious or mundane things and can be perceived as thoughtless, shallow, and even licentious. They are judgmental and often blame others for their mistakes. They have access to spiritual forces but are unable to control them because of lack of depth and presence. Finding their soul mate, working relentlessly with alchemical techniques, learning to relax deeply, and meditating to find their genuine identity, are methods of transforming the tin temperament.

Tin is used in magical rituals and spells to promote abundance, prosperity, success in business and in legal matters, stimulation, attracting what you desire, energy, healing, regeneration and rejuvenation. Standard amulets and talismans for tin are usually made of pewter and charged with Jupiterian energy. Such energy is said to be transmitted by lightning and the thunderbolt, and in Tibetan ceremonies, the dorje (meaning “thunderbolt”) is the stylized magical instrument of these powers. The alchemists transmuted the Tin temperament using the Water operation of Dissolution.

Healing with Tin 

Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, the tongue, saliva, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af­fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian elixirs. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi­ally as well as spiritually. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it is said to give the alchemist access to the highest plane.

Tin carries the preserving qualities of Jupiter. Flowers last longer in tin vases, and food has been preserved in the tin cans (actually a thin layer of tin on iron) for over a century. Beer (ruled by the jovial Jupiter) is said to taste best from a tin mug. Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af­fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian herb remedies. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi­ally as well as spiritually.

Jupiter controls the circulation of blood in the human body. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it will give the alchemist access to the highest plane. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic.

The alchemists made an Oil of Tin that was used to treat the liver (jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis), certain types of eczema, liquid ovarian cysts, inflammatory effusions, pleurisies, acne, water retention, and certain types of obesity. This oil was said to be excellent for someone "loosing shape." The oil was also used as a sweat inducer, wormer, antispasmodic, cathartic, and laxative.

The polar (opposite) metal to tin is mercury, and Oil of Tin was said to be an excellent antidote for mercury poisoning, and likewise mercury was said to balance the bad effects of tin. Tin and mercury oil combined are said to provide deep insight and cure lightheadedness and certain phases of manic-depressive syndrome.

The homeopathic form of tin is called Stannum, a remedy which is said to strengthen and regenerate muscle and brain tissue. It is also a remedy for the joints and connective tissue of ligaments and cartilage. Stannum is allegedly beneficial in liver disease and is used for congestion, hardening, encephalitis, and other illnesses where the fluid balance is upset.

The Angry Metal Iron  

Iron is the second oldest metal known to man (after lead) and was known in prehistoric times. Genesis says that Tubal-Cain, seven generations from Adam, was "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." Iron was smelted by the Egyptians at least as far back as 1500 BC and iron artifacts from Asia have been identified from around 3000 BC. A remarkable wrought iron pillar nearly 25 feet high, dating to about 400 AD, remains standing today in Delhi, India. Corrosion to the pillar has been minimal despite its exposure to the wet weather since its erection.

Our word “iron” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "iren,” although that word is derived from earlier words meaning "holy metal," because it was used to make the swords used in the Crusades. The symbol for iron is Fe, which comes from the Latin word for iron (ferrum). The root of the Latin word means “to create, to form, to bear forth." The alchemical cipher for iron is F, which is also the symbol for the male generative force.  In iron we recognize the male and active character of the war-god Mars, building and conquering in a new and sometimes hostile world. As we have only recently learned, it is the massive amounts of iron oxide on its surface that gives the planet Mars its red color, though that correspondence would hardly have surprised the ancients.

Iron is a relatively abundant element in the universe. It is found in the sun and many types of stars in considerable quantity since iron nuclei are very stable. Iron is a vital constituent of plant and animal life on, and is the key component of hemoglobin in the blood. The pure metal is not often encountered in modern commercial applications but is usually alloyed with carbon or other metals. The pure metal is very reactive chemically, and rapidly corrodes, especially in moist air or at elevated temperatures. However, as an oxide and in other ores, iron is the most abundant metal on earth, forming up to 5% of the planet’s crust.

Native iron is quite often a misnomer as natural pure iron is not necessarily "native" to earth, since it rarely occurs on the earth's surface by terrestrial processes. It is mostly found in the form of meteorites that have impacted the earth's surface. All natural iron, whether it is native or meteoritic, is actually an alloy of iron and nickel. The two elements are combined in varying percentages from less than 6% nickel to as much as 75% nickel, although iron is by far more common than nickel. Iron is steel gray or black with a metallic luster, is somewhat malleable and strongly attracted to magnets. Iron filings cause spectacular sparks in flames and react explosively in a burning mixture of potassium chlorate and sucrose.

Iron has an unusual relationship with carbon and readily combines with it to form a nobler and stronger metal known as steel. European alchemists noticed this effect when they accidentally dropped bits of charcoal into molten iron. The iron hungrily “devoured” the charcoal to produce what we now call cast iron. While pure iron is soft and malleable, the new metal was hard and brittle. By controlling the amount of charcoal introduced, it is possible to produce steel, whose characteristics lie between the extremes of pure iron and cast iron. Nearly all iron produced today is used in the steel industry, which transforms iron into steel in carbon-based, forced-air blast furnaces. This process is one of the most significant industrial processes in history and originated in England around the year 1773. In the process, iron oxide is reduced with carbon as coke. Because of this process, iron (and steel) is the most common metal in human civilization, even though native iron is extremely rare.

Iron also has an affinity for other metals, each of which adds different qualities to pure iron to produce unique forms of steel. The alchemists viewed these secondary metals as earthly spirits or “brothers of iron” and named them accordingly. Cobalt was associated with the “kobolds” or mischievous gnomes who live deep in the earth and help or hinder miners according to their whims. The alchemists considered cobalt an earthier and earlier form of iron. Nickel was associated with the “nixies” or underwater spirits. The alchemists viewed it as the “watery brother” of iron who expressed itself in the shiny liquid surface of the pure metal and in the sea-green compounds it produced, such as Green Vitriol. Manganese is the “fiery brother” of iron and produces red to flaming violet salts. Added to iron, it produces extremely hard and “dry” steel. Steel almost as hard as diamonds is produced by adding tungsten and vanadium to iron. Shiny chromium is iron’s “sister” and restores the shiny liquid look of pure iron to steel.   

In terrestrial deposits, iron it is found with gold, platinum, and sulfide ores. In meteorites, iron is associated with silicon minerals and some other minerals that are only found in meteorites. The meteorites that contain iron-nickel crystals are fascinating in their possible origins and diversity. It is postulated that another planet similar to earth (a rocky planet) broke apart early in the formation of the solar system and is responsible for the iron-nickel debris that rains down upon the earth on a daily basis. Since it is known that the earth has a substantial amount of elemental iron and nickel in its core, this leads credence to this theory and gives us much to think about. Many, however, believe the meteor debris to be left over primordial material that the earth and the other planets were built from. Meteorites are very diverse and even novice collectors can distinguish samples from different known meteorites by their unique character. Often these meteorites have inclusions of large crystals of other minerals or the iron has a unique crystal pattern that is characteristic.

Heavy dark iron oxides such as hematite, marcasite, magnetite, and siderite are the primary iron ores. Along with iron meteorites, they tend to exhibit distinctive radial and spherical crystalline spiraling, which very significant in an esoteric sense. These signatures show the fundamental role that the iron archetype plays in formation of matter in general. Several noted astrologers believe that iron is the mechanism that by which the ether penetrates the planet and human body and brings life force to dead matter. In The Nature of Substance, Rudolf Hauschka writes: “The spiral tendency always arises when time enters space and develops towards a center. The fact that this dynamic shows up so clearly in iron ores points to the fundamental role played by the iron process, for it transforms spherical forces quite unrelated to the laws of earth into radial forces working towards a center. One can say that the function of iron is to help cosmic, weightless elements to enter the sphere of gravity. Iron is the only substance which makes visible in an archetypal picture the incarnating force during its spiral descent, for a path followed by meteors is indeed a spiral, the result of interacting radial and spherical forces.”   

The most valued iron mineral is olivine, which is actually a general term for several silicon minerals in which iron and magnesium are always present in varying degrees. Olivine is also known as known as "chrysolite" and "evening emerald" (or peridot). Chrysolite is light yellowish green olivine; evening emerald is a name given to olivine's darker gemstone variety, peridot, which is the birthstone of August. The most attractive peridots have an iron percentage less than 15%. When iron is present predominately, the mineral is not as attractive (heavier and darker than the higher magnesium varieties) and rarely qualifies as a gemstone.

Olivine minerals have a high melting point and are the first minerals to form crystals in magma or lava containing high iron and magnesium content. In fact, olivine minerals make up most of the molten magma in the earth's mantle and are the most common rocks by volume on the planet, although on the surface and in the crust it is not nearly as common. Olivine is also found in many iron meteorites – not just as small grains but as significantly sized crystals sometimes occupying over 50% of the meteorite’s volume. Thinly cut slices of these meteorites are extremely attractive with the polished steel gray of the iron and the embedded grains of gemmy green olivine. The effect produces the closest mineral equivalent to stained glass artwork.

            Marcasite, also known as Fool’s Gold or pyrite (iron sulfide FeS₂), is an ore of sulfur that has bonded with iron. It is so common in the earth's crust that it is found in almost everywhere. Its beautiful golden luster has often been mistaken for gold nuggets, and it is frequently found in gold deposits. Like gold, pyrite carries the esoteric signature of the sun – a flattened round variety called a "Pyrite Sun" is popular with collectors. Strangely, pyrite's structure is exactly the same as the lead sulfide ore galena. The only difference is that the single sulfur atom of galena is replaced by a pair of sulfur atoms in pyrite. This pair of atoms disrupts the intense four-fold symmetry of the more “ancient” galena. In other words, in the evolution of the metals, the existence of iron has freed the lead archetype of its stubborn materiality and form.

Iron and steel are used in rituals, magical spells, talismans, and amulets to promote energy, strength, determination, will-power, assertivity, and aggressiveness. They are also used in fertility rites, new beginnings and undertakings, and for speed, power and courage. The wearing of iron ornaments (such as the Nazi iron cross) are thought to bring these same characteristics.

The social implications of the use of iron are a little disturbing to think about. Throughout its history, iron has always served man’s will in his weaponry or in the industrial conquest of nature. In classical mythology, the Age of Iron is the final and worst age of the world, marked by selfishness and degeneracy. The negative expression of iron is in the coldhearted struggle for material possessions in a world in which only the fittest (or the richest) survive. From any objective assessment of modern civilization, that does seem to be the direction we are heading. If the predominance of the iron archetype in our culture continues, we can only expect a further rationalization of nature and mechanization of life. Some spiritual groups, such as the Druids, were aware of the dangers of the iron archetype and actually forbid its use in their culture.

Alchemists too were aware of the hidden signatures of iron and the social implications of the Iron Age. In Alchemy, Titus Burkhardt quotes several alchemists describing the Iron Age as “an active descent of the Spirit into the lowest levels of human consciousness, so at this stage of the Work, the Spirit appears submerged in the body and as if extinguished in it. This is the outermost Coagulation, and the threshold of the final completion – the transformation of the body into the Spirit-become-form.” The incarnating and “fixing” function of iron is predominant on two planets in our solar system (earth and mars), and in some ways we could share a common origin and a common fate. “We came to know the Mars process as the force that makes incarnating possible,” writes Rudolf Hauschka. “Thus there must always have been a stronger than usual bond between earth and mars, even before the earth became a solid body.”

The Call of Iron 

During the early Spring, preferably sometime in March, go outside and find the red planet Mars in the night sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the tiny red sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Mars and place a piece of iron in your hand or a small cast iron pot or other object but not something of made of steel or chromed. You should be able to feel a resonance building. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of iron.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.  See how your feelings compare to how the alchemists felt about this powerful metal.

The Iron Temperament 

Mars and iron rule the aggressive impulses within us, both individually and collectively. Within us, our iron temperament governs the characteristics of anger, uncontrolled and aggressive self-assertion, lust for power, ego identity, will power, passion, creativity, and courage. It is our challenge to transform the Mars within into the expression of divine qualities, rather than the selfish fulfillment of the senses. Mars reinforces the ego and individuality, strengthens will, and helps surpass previous limitations. The red planet governs the animal soul, passions, and the survival instinct.

In psychological terms, the iron temperament is the seat of our will to power, to control other, and our concerns about providing for material needs in the world. By transmuting iron, we learn to assert ourselves without dominating or submitting to others. We gain insight into our behavior and become aware of the forces of soul within. The iron temperament makes us determined and hard, but like the metal, the iron temperament is inflexible and brittle and cracks or breaks if bent. Iron also loves air and the iron temperament seeks higher inspiration or fresh spirit.

The paradox of iron is that it is only through iron can we marshal the energies necessary to transmute iron. That is born out in the signature of the most revered Arcanum, the ancient chemical of transformation Green Vitriol, which is a combination of natural iron and sulfuric acid. It is the Vitriol within us that will transform us. Without it, all is lost to illusion and complacency. The alchemists transmuted the Iron temperament using the Air operation of Separation.

Healing with Iron 

Physically, Mars rules the blood, adrenal glands, genitals, and the immune system. Mars effects are stimulating and toning to the blood and immune system, and they make one more aware of the functions of the organs and body. Their physical therapeutic properties are simulative, caustic, and tonic. Martian elixirs release the action poten­tial of the soul of something.

When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti­vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica­tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen­dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.          

Spagyrically, iron is associated with the life force in blood and the energy obtained from meat, as well as beets, dark green vegetables, whole grains, dried fruits, nuts, apple-syrup, and sea-weed. Herbs containing much iron like the urtica, equisetum, kelp, and spirulina are thought to provide energy. The Mars archetype as iron rules the blood, adrenal glands, genitals, and the immune system. Mars effects are stimulating and toning to the blood and immune system, and they make one more aware of the functions of the organs and body.

In the human body iron is found in the blood (providing energy and clear thinking) and the liver (associated with positivity and will-power). In medical astrology, Mars is connected with the red blood-cells, the adrenal glands, the muscles, the male reproductive organs, fever and inflammation (and other complaints of too much Fire). The iron in blood makes it red and fuels metabolism. When we inhale, the iron molecule hemoglobin binds with oxygen and distributes it throughout our body; when we exhale, it unites with carbon dioxide and carries the by-products of our combustion back to our lungs where they are expelled. Thus, iron is intimately responsible for the process of breathing, which is how bodily energies are controlled in both Taoist and Tantric alchemy. Manganese, the “fiery brother” of iron, performs the same function in the chlorophyll of plants in combining with carbon dioxide that iron performs in the blood with hemoglobin in combining with oxygen. These two “breathing” metals are very similarly constructed.

In most applications in the plant and animal kingdoms, iron acts as a carrier of life force and rejuvenator, but when iron becomes too predominate (as in the modern world), it becomes destructive to life and tends to rigidify and mechanize living systems. “The Mars impulses at work in iron,” note Rudolf Hauschka, “are the carriers of the forces of embodiment, but these forces lead to mummification if they become too active and overwhelm the system.” 

The alchemists made an Oil of Iron that they believed was regenerative, “purifying the blood, healing wounds and cuts, soothes the gall bladder, stimulating the pancreas, stopping bleeding ulcers, strengthening bone marrow, increasing the organism’s sensitivity, enhancing instincts, and enhancing passion.” The therapeutic properties of iron are simulative, caustic, and tonic. The known biological effects of iron are that it is antiakathisic, antianemic, anticheilitic, and antimenorrhagic. Exemplary homeopathic iron remedies are Ferrum phosphoricum and Ferrum metalicum..

When mixed with solar herbs, iron herbs increase energy and activate the energetic potentials of other herbs. Martian elixirs release the action poten­tial of the soul of something. When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti­vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica­tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen­dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.

The Loving Metal Copper  

Copper is a reddish-brown metal with a bright metallic luster. It is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and like gold, it is remarkably ductile. It is also very malleable and sectile (it can be pounded into other shapes and cut into slices) and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Molten copper is a sea green color, and copper tarnishes with a green color and burns with a blue-green flame with flashes of red, and the alchemists sometimes described Venus, the metal’s archetypal planetary source, as dressed in a blue cloak over a red gown.

Venus and copper have been associated for eons, and both are associated with love and intercourse. For example, the Venus Moon sometimes appears during a lunar eclipse when the earth’s shadow causes the Moon to take on a distinctive copper color. During this period, which can last over two hours, planting actions like sowing and lovemaking are said to be especially fertile.

The discovery of copper dates from prehistoric times, and copper beads dating back to 9000 BC have been found in Iraq. Copper pottery dating from 4900 BC has been unearthed in Egypt. In fact, native copper has been mined for so long that it is now is all but depleted. The name for the metal comes from the Latin word cuprum, meaning the island of Cyprus, which was one of the main copper mining areas in the ancient world. Actually, the island took its name from the Assyrian word for copper (kipar).

Part of the reason for copper being used so early is that it is so easy to shape the native metal. Methods for refining copper from its ores were discovered around 5000 BC, and Phoenicians and Sumerians made all their tools and weapons from copper. Then, around 3100 BC, Egyptian alchemists discovered that when copper is mixed with other metals the resulting alloys are harder than copper itself. For example, both brass (a mixture of copper and zinc) and bronze (a mixture of copper and tin) are harder than copper. The discovery of bronze changed the evolution of mankind, and the Bronze Age began around 2100 BC.

The origin of the glyph for copper and Venus (C) is the symbol for the life force used by the Egyptians. Known as the Ankh, it depicts a circle over a cross, denoting the emergence of the solar archetype from the cross of the elements or the triumph of spirit (life force) over matter. Copper is a necessary chemical in venous blood that carries toxic substances to the excretory system. In sea creatures (such as snails, mollusks, crabs, and squid), copper (as hemocyanin) takes the place of hemoglobin as the chemical of the blood and respiration. Copper is abundant in the female sex organs, and some studies suggest copper in the body is used up during sexual intercourse. Copper is also present in gallstones, which medieval physicians blamed on lack of sexual activity.

Unlike lead ore, copper ore has a great affinity for water, and soluble copper salts (such as copper sulfate and copper chloride) contain as much as 35% water. In fact, its ability to absorb water and change its form and color is one of the attributes of copper and makes it an important chemical of life. Copper veins run extensively throughout the planet, and it combines readily with other elements to form alloys or transform substances into complex salts. In fact, copper is so ready to combine and enter into deep transformation with other substances that the alchemists called the metal meretrix metallorum (“harlot of the metals”).

Copper shows a special love for sulfur, and geologists agree that copper and sulfur have been locked in the bowls of the earth since primordial times. Copper sulfate is one of the most beautiful and useful compounds formed by copper. It was known as “Blue Vitriol” to the alchemists. It dries into a white powder when exposed to air but rapidly returns to its beautiful blue crystals when exposed to water. This is an exception to the normal behavior of copper, since the metal rarely shows crystal faces or forms whole crystals in its salts.

Copper has many applications in the modern world, including wiring, electrical components, pennies and other coins, tubing, etc. Most modern copper production is from sulfide ores containing little copper but quite a bit of iron, and copper smelters present major environmental challenges. Complex procedures are used to create a form of copper sulfide appropriate for final reduction with a copper oxide. The resulting crude copper is purified using an electrolytic procedure involving plating onto pure copper cathodes. This purification step leaves an "anode slime" that contains useful amounts of silver and gold.

Copper is used in rituals, spells, and amulets to promote love, sensuality, friendship, positive relationships of any kind, fruitful negotiations, and peace, and the metal has always been associated with beauty and harmony in the world. Egyptian women used the powdered copper ore malachite to beautify their eyes, and copper pigments make wonderfully colorful paints and ink. Other colorful copper ores include azurite, dioptase, and bornite, whose colors range from green and blue to purple and red. Much of the wonderful colors in birds are made possible by the presence of copper in feathers, and some birds (such as the alchemically symbolic peacock) exhibit up to 6% copper in their pigmentation.

Combining copper with zinc produces brass, which is an important and sacred metal in many parts of the world that brings the signatures of gold within reach of the common person. In modern alchemy, zinc is associated with the planet Uranus, and both were discovered at about the same time. In astrology, Uranus is associated with the sign of Aquarius and connected with renewal, moderation, revolution, originality, progressivity. The god Uranus granted man the divine flame (electricity, intuition, sudden insights, cosmic consciousness) and the feeling for cosmic rhythms. Medical astrology places the potential and the rhythmical processes of the nervous system under zinc and Uranus. Brass and zinc used in rituals, spells, and talismans, to promote originality, flashes of insight, renewal, inventions, advanced technology, cooperation within a like-minded group, humanism, and freedom of thought.

The Call of Copper 

Pick up a piece of copper and the first thing you notice is its surprising feeling of warmth and moisture. It is that connection to something archetypal and nourishing that makes up the signature of this metal. It is easy to connect with copper, just as its planet (Venus) is easy to see in the sky. It is so brilliant it is often mistaken for a bright star or even a UFO. The best time to see it is in the early evening or morning when it is close to the horizon. In fact, Venus has been called both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star” and is associated with magical energies. It is the “first star I see tonight” upon you make you wish that will come true with the sympathetic venusian energies. On some clear night or morning, go outside and find the planet Venus. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the brilliant white sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon the planet and grab a piece of copper, a fistful of pennies, or even a copper cooking utensil. You should be able to feel a warm resonance building. That deep and soothing vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of copper.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.

The Copper Temperament 

The veiled planet Venus represents refinement of the senses, the arts, mystical love, desire, and earthly relationships. She was considered to be the feminine goddess of love and beauty just as her counterpart, Mars, was thought of as the masculine god of war and strife. These two archetypes complement each other perfectly and work as a polarity, manifesting a tension of the masculine and feminine, which offers a complete picture of human existence on the material and emotional levels. In depth psychology these archetypes are often thought of as the Anima (feminine soul) and Animus (masculine spirit). It is believed that until a person can bring both of these forces into conscious awareness and learn to balance and accept them fully, he or she cannot be a complete individual. If we repress or deny one of these forces within ourselves we can contribute to a submerged, destructive energy (the shadow) that will manifest in self-defeating behaviors such as strong aggression or extreme passivity.
            Venus represents the psychological function of judging and evaluating experience through the inner, subjective, feminine impulse in both sexes. Without the Venusian archetype, we would have to rely totally on our objective senses and the concrete mind to evaluate others. Even our intuition would not be able to function correctly without the channel of Venus to bring our insights to conscious awareness.
            The Copper temperament is associated with the powers of touch and speech, balanced feelings and ascending mind. The idea expressed here is the creation of the feeling intellect, the union of the female and male aspects of consciousness in a new state of truth-based intuition. In developing his or her copper temperament, the true heart of the initiate is actualized. In alchemical terms, this is the marriage of the Sun and Moon, the solar and lunar ways of knowing, the coming together of the forces of spirit and soul. While there is less self-serving attachment to other people, there is also greater caring and responsiveness exhibited at this level. There arises a giving, optimistic person in place of the previous manipulative one. As the transmutation of Copper continues, the alchemist begins to exercise free will, unencumbered by buried emotions, addictions, impulses, and instincts.

Copper needs to work with the element of Earth, but wrong Earth or too much Earth here produces someone who is materialistic and overly practical, and could produce a “user” mentality or mimic “take everything I can” attitude of Iron.

In alchemical astrology, Neptune is considered the “higher octave” of Venus. Neptune represents unconditional love – a love that embraces all creation, is totally accepting and without discrimination or judgment. While many of us strive to attain unconditional love of others and ourselves, we must first travel with Venus and copper in order to learn personal love. Until we have had the experiences that Venus brings us through relationships, either with people or things, we cannot reach the expanded consciousness that the transpersonal planet Neptune promises.

The alchemists transmuted the Copper temperament using the Earth element operation of Conjunction, which we will examine and apply to personal transformation in Chapter 15.

Healing with Copper 

For many centuries, European apothecaries carried the Powder of Sympathy, which was a form of copper vitriol. Whole books were written about its amazing power to heal wounds, including titles by physicians and noblemen (such as the Discourse Touching the Cure of Wounds by the Powder of Sympathy written in 1658 in the court of Charles I). The powder was not applied directly to the wound, but blood or bandages from the wound were placed in a bowl of water containing a handful of copper vitriol powder. The copper solution never touched the wound but healed by “sympathy” or through “etheric conductivity.” In any case, patients immediately reported a cooling effect that diminished pain and resulted in rapid healing of the wound.

Copper metal was also applied directly to afflicted areas. For instance, to alleviate the symptoms of influenza, a medieval physician would prescribe rubbing the forehead with copper metal twice daily. It was also said to strengthen the blood and clean the arteries. Copper metal or powdered copper was also rubbed on sore joints to ease the pain of arthritis, neuralgia, and rheumatism – a tradition carried on today in the therapeutic wearing of copper bracelets.

Copper metal kills germs, fungi, and algae, and a copper coin dropped into a vase of flowers or aquarium will keep the water fresh longer. Florists provide copper salts in small plastic bags for this purpose. Even brass doorknobs have been shown to kill the germs of infected guests. Biologically, copper has been shown to be antiarthritic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antinociceptive, contraceptive, hypocholesterolemic, and schizophrenigenic. It stimulates the veinous stasi in the human organism, and it removes the affections of its key-organ the kidneys, and also the thyroid. It is excellent in post traumatic problems such as accident, surgery, and in convalescence. Copper is also useful in controlling the bad effect of an excess of its metal in polarity: iron.

Using copper pans and utensils in the kitchen reduces the risk of passing germs onto food, and copper pans distribute heat evenly and cook foods faster and more thoroughly. However, as we have noted, copper is a notorious “harlot” when it comes to combining with substances, so be careful what you cook in copper pans. In some cases, poisonous substances could be formed. The alchemists used copper pans and cauldrons to infuse their extracts and tinctures with Venus energy and were aware of the possible combinations and salts that could be formed.   

The alchemists believed that deficiencies of copper in the body caused thyroid problems, sexual dysfunction, poor circulation, cramps, aneurysms, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and even mental illnesses. There is some modern evidence that copper deficiencies can result in gray hair, skin wrinkles, crow's feet, varicose veins, and saggy skin. Since the liver is rich in copper, liver extracts were often used to treat such maladies.

Experimenters have discovered that copper wire or tubing twisted into an open circle (ends overlapping but not touching) and placed around a tree or plant enhances growth and prevents disease. Similar copper “relaxation circuits” are used to balance the body’s natural energy. Copper plough tips do not dry out soil as iron ploughs do, and some farmers use fine copper filings to “charge” the soil or produce more powerful compost. Other researchers use copper chromatographic techniques to test the quality of compost material. In some Wiccan ceremonies, copper objects are used in ritual copulation ceremonies to ensure the fertility of the land.

Physically, Venus rules the face, skin, and the kidneys, and their therapeutic properties are de­mulcent, anti-nephritic, and emetic. Venus-ruled plants affect celestial form and magnetic qualities and give an ability to attract. Medical astrology calls the skin, kidneys, veins, and pancreas the Venusian body-parts. The female body needs more copper during pregnancy to support the placenta and nourish the fetus. To support the Venusian body-parts, such practitioners recommend consuming food which contains much copper, such as lettuce, apricots, apples, tomatoes, nuts, shell-fish, peas, beans, wheat, and corn.

Standard medical tests using copper chloride solution are used to detect a variety of diseases in the blood, while alternative healers have discovered that herbs containing copper metal (see list below) seem to react to human blood samples by mimicking the shapes and arrangements of corpuscles. Homeopathic copper is used to treat leg cramps and children’s growing pains in general, as well as for convulsions, diabetes, and to stimulate the kidneys. Homeopathy uses copper under the name Cuprum metallicum.

Copper’s “ally and alloy” – zinc – also exhibits healing properties. A zinc pendant or mineral supplement can calm down a surplus of nervous energy, and zinc is used to treat nervous stress, restless legs, nervous asthma, hyperventilation, stammering, nervous heart complaints, epilepsy, cramps, agitation, and Alzheimer’s disease. Homeopathy works with the remedy Zincum metallicum.

The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others. Venusian elixirs are said to give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con­tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.

Physically, Venus and copper rule the face, skin, and the kidneys, and their therapeutic properties are de­mulcent, anti-nephritic, and emetic. Venus-ruled plants affect celestial form and magnetic qualities and give an ability to attract. The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others.

Venusian elixirs give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con­tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.

     The Oil of Copper of the alchemists was said to contain the soul of copper metal. They recommended it for blood pressure abnormalities, glandular problems, low energy, impure blood, kidney problems, infectious diseases, liver problems, skin infections, myocardial infarction, leukemia, Wilson's disease, cancer, thyroid gland abnormalities, reproductive organ problems, and chronic problems with dry or irritated mucous membranes. On the mental level, copper was said to increase one’s personal magnetism and attraction to opposite sex, increase psychic abilities, and give insight into the plant kingdom and nature in general.

The Living Metal Quicksilver  

Mercury is truly unique. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and the heaviest natural liquid on the planet. According to alchemical theory, all the metals began in the liquid state on deep in the earth, but only mercury was able to retain it original innocence and life force and resist taking on a final form, and for that reason, the ancients called it Mercurius vivens (the “living mercury”). This silvery liquid metal (also known as “Quicksilver”) was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 BC and has been found in sacred tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals around 500 BC. The Greeks applied germ-killing ability of mercury in healing ointments (to the benefit of those afflicted with wounds and skin infections), and in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus used it successfully to treat syphilis. However, the ancient Romans applied mercury compounds for long-term use in cosmetics, and many beautiful women eventually died of its cumulative poisonous effects. Today, many popular brands of eye makeup still contain low levels of mercury.

Mercury the metal is named after Mercury the planet. The chemical abbreviation is “Hg” from the Latin word hydrargyrum (meaning “watery silver”). The alchemical symbol for mercury is B, which represents the androgynous state on all levels created by the union of the symbols for copper (or Venus) and iron (or Mars) in the Below and the union of the symbols for silver (or the Moon) and gold (or the Sun) in the Above. In 1807, English chemist John Dalton proposed using an eight-spoked wheel as mercury’s symbol, which is similar to ancient Oriental ciphers for mercury (and the Wheel of Life). 

Many of the typical mineralogical characteristics of the metals simply do not apply to mercury because it is a liquid: there is no hardness (since it cannot be scratched), no malleability, and no ductility. There is no crystal structure, no fracture, and no cleavage. Paradoxically, mercury is a comparatively poor conductor of heat yet is extremely sensitive to it and expands and contracts in a linear relationship to temperature (which is why it is used in thermometers). It is a fair conductor of electricity in its natural state, but becomes one of the best conductors (between copper and gold) when frozen. In ancient times, mercury was transported in tightly hewn sheepskin bags and later in iron or glass bottles. The alloys of mercury are called “amalgams,” and the ease with which mercury amalgamates with gold makes it of primary importance in the recovery of gold from its ores.

Amalgamation is one of the primary signatures of mercury, and it moistens and dissolves metals the way water dissolves salts. For this reason, the alchemists believed it was the key to the transformation of the metals. Mercury dissolves gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, zinc, cadmium, and all the alkaline metals, but does not affect iron or any members of the iron family (such as nickel and aluminum). The alchemists thought this was because iron and mercury have diametrically opposed signatures – iron representing the mechanical processes of consolidation and structuring and mercury representing the living processes of growth and mobility. The struggle for preeminence between the forces of iron and mercury are played out on all levels of planetary, social, and individual behavior. This archetypal process is most obvious in the Two Cultures of our civilization: science and the humanities. Science (and its partners in the military-industrial complex) seeks to aggressively and mechanically control nature and human behavior, while the humanities (expressed in art, literature, and religion) seek more reflective and passive methods of living in harmony with nature and giving freer expression to human behavior. Alchemy makes a point of combining both cultures into one holistic approach to the human condition.

            Like iron, aluminum is considered antipathetic to mercury and more in line with mechanical systems than the “living” approach of mercury. Methods of producing aluminum are very technological and use massive amounts of electricity, and ubiquitous aluminum products (such as aluminum cans and other throw-away products) leave their anti-nature signature throughout the world. Lightweight and cheap aluminum carries the signature of the common man seduced by the modern technological world. Esoterically, aluminum dulls the senses and cuts off Hermetic inspiration. Cooking in aluminum pans has been linked with Alzheimer’s disease, and aluminum utensils and containers quickly combine with lab chemicals to form poisonous compounds. Alchemists truly despise this metal, and no alchemist would even consider using aluminum in serious laboratory work.   

Because of its signatures of life and growth, Mercury has long been associated with twisted serpents (such as in the Staff of Hermes, the medical Caduceus, Oriental fighting dragons, shamanic serpents, and even the structure of DNA). All these symbols allude to the fact that the metal mercury somehow carries the life force. An interesting chemical synchronicity in this regard is the burning of pellets of mercury and ammonia compounds. The mercury pellets expand into very long dancing “snakes,” which entwine and gyrate like living serpents on fire. This effect is the basis of the "Snakes in the Grass" novelty popular at fireworks stands.

Mercury is extremely dense, yet has a high surface tension that causes it to form tiny little perfect spheres in the pores of rocks. Most ores of mercury release their precious metal simply by roasting them in an open fire. The hot mercury oozes out between the crevices of the rocks and drops into ashes of the fire, from which it is later separated. The ancient Chinese also crushed mercury ore and mixed it with vinegar to extract the mercury. 

Cinnabar (mercury sulfide) is the primary ore of mercury. It is a beautiful scarlet-red, semi-precious mineral that is used as a high-grade paint pigment known as vermillion. The word “cinnabar” is from the Persian word for “dragon’s blood.” The affinity between mercury and sulfur in cinnabar was considered a fundamental and magical principle in nature by early metal workers and alchemists. Cinnabar was mined by the Romans for its mercury content, and it has been the main ore of mercury throughout the centuries. Some mines used by the Romans are still being mined today. Cinnabar shares the same trigonal symmetry class with quartz but the two have different crystal habits. The mineral does not often show well-formed, single large crystals, and crusts and small crystal complexes are more common. The crystals tend to be unusual six-sided trigonal scalahedrons that appear to be composed of two opposing three-sided pyramids. The cleavage of cinnabar crystals is perfect in three directions. Cinnabar is often found with deposits of quartz, stibnite, mercury, pyrite, dolomite, and realgar.

Calomel (mercurous chloride) is a minor ore of mercury. It is somewhat rare and is never found in large quantities. Most often it is a secondary mineral that forms from the alteration of cinnabar or other mercury minerals. Calomel is deposited from hot underground solutions, and it is usually found as coatings on other minerals. The yellow or white luster is very high and attractive and some specimens show a nice fluorescent red under ultraviolet light. The crystal habits are small pyramidal or horn-like crystals usually seen as coatings or crusts on other minerals. Calomel has significant healing properties and is used in mercurochrome, but its cousin mercuric chloride is a violent poison and corrosive sublimate.

Mercury is used for making thermometers, barometers, diffusion pumps, and many other laboratory instruments. It is also used for mercury switches and other electrical apparatus, as an  electrode in some types of electrolysis, for making batteries (mercury cells), in pesticides and antifouling paint, and in dentistry (for silver amalgam fillings). In mercury-vapor tanning lamps and streetlights, mercury atoms are electrically excited to emit and blue-green light that is at the highest energy and frequency in the visible light spectrum. The violet and ultraviolet light mimics sunlight and produces vitamin D and tanning in the skin just like the sun.   

Strangely, mercury exhibits a “breathing” pattern when heated almost to its boiling point, at which point it starts sucking in oxygen and produces a yellow-red oxide (HgO). Upon further heating, the process is reversed and the mercury expels the oxygen like a “metallic lung.” It was this odd characteristic of mercury that led chemist James Priestley to discover the element of oxygen. In other chemical reactions, mercury acts as a catalyst that speeds up reactions and unites and harmonizes chemical polarities. The power of mercury to contain and balance diverse substances makes it useful in working with explosive substances.  Mercury fulminate is a combination of mercury and nitric acid that makes a detonator used in explosives. Mercury is also used in the making of nuclear bombs. In fact, in nuclear experiments carried out in the 1990s, scientists allegedly discovered an isotope of mercury called “red mercury” that is the densest matter ever found (21 grams/cc). Details have been lost in a wave of secrecy, however, the properties of red mercury make it ideal for a suitcase-sized, non-radioactive neutron bomb, as well as a possible source of nearly endless energy. To add to the intrigue, rumors have circulated that natural deposits of red mercury have been discovered in Grenada and Iraq – certainly fodder for conspiracy theorists. One thing is sure, the mysterious and paradoxical allure of mercury continues into modern times.   

Mercury has always had a dual nature and was often referred to as a two-headed figure known as the “Rebis” (see Figure 14). While mercury is a symbol of the life force, it is also intimately connected with the forces of death and decay. Mercury metal is very poisonous and volatile and should only be handled under well-ventilated laboratory conditions. Dangerous levels are readily attained at room-temperature, and the threat increases under warmer conditions. Containers of mercury should be tightly sealed and spillage should be avoided. Small amounts of mercury spillage can be cleaned up by addition of sulfur powder, but the resulting mixture must be disposed of carefully. For these reasons, experimenting with mercury in the Alchemy Home Study Program is not recommended.

Organic mercury compounds are especially dangerous. Methyl mercury is a lethal pollutant from industrial waste found in rivers and lakes. Mining and the utilization of mercury in commercial products have increased the organic mercury content of oceans and rivers by at least four times. High concentrations have been detected in shellfish, tuna, and swordfish, as well as other aquatic species. It has been estimated that industrial waste has increased the levels of mercury in the overall environment to ten times its natural level. Increase in soil concentrations are making mercury detectible in nearly every kind of food. In addition, pesticides, paint, some batteries, fungicides, fabric softeners, air conditioning filters, furniture polish, barometers, antiseptics, thermometers, floor wax and anti-mildew agents, all contain mercury as an active ingredient. 

            Symptoms of mercury poisoning begin with problems with concentration and attention and progress to anxiety, agitation, excessive emotions, impaired motor function, impaired memory, depression, hallucinations, tremors, slurred speech, and mental retardation. This syndrome is known as erythism and was first diagnosed among hat makers in the nineteenth century who used a mercury compound to kill bacteria in felt and fur hats to keep them from rotting. It became known popularly as “Mad Hatter’s Disease.”

Because of the dangers of mercury, silver replaces it in mercurial rituals and talismans. Magical spells invoking mercury archetypes deal with improving communication, trade, commerce, transport, progress, change, travel, mental clarity, learning, thinking, memorizing, test results, writing and speaking, and powers of persuasion.  

  The Call of Mercury 

Mercury is difficult to see in the night sky because it is a small, extremely fast silvery sphere that likes to stay close to the sun. Mercury even appears to go backwards (retrograde) in the sky, a fact which terrified medieval observers and was thought to mark the beginning of a period of bad luck. Try to find mercury in the night sky (you may have to consult your newspaper or an astronomy book). Relax and try to focus all your attention on the fleeting sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the planet of quicksilver. Continue gazing upon mercury and find something containing mercury in a glass container, such as a thermometer or a glass mercury switch (which you can purchase at an electronics supply store for less than a dollar). Put the object into the palm of your hand. See if you can feel a resonance building between the liquid metal and the planet. The “call of mercury” you are experiencing will probably not emanate from your hand, but you will feel something in the long nerves in your arm, in your throat ganglia, or behind your forehead. Try to find words to describe the signatures of mercury you are feeling. Warning: Do not attempt to hold or touch liquid mercury. Mercury contains the signatures of both life and death, so do not take a chance on how it will react to you.

 The Mercury Temperament 

As Mercury is transmuted, a sense of trust and sublimity arise in the individual, and he or she senses a Presence of unlimited sustenance and potential within them. In changing from Mercury into Silver, the impression of this Presence becomes even more solidified, and gradually, a powerful vibration or resonance with the divine begins here. It is at this level that Fermentation begins.

            Personal mercury is said to be transmuted in the Throat Chakra, which is the boundary between Above and Below in the body as well as the boundary between the personal and the transpersonal. It marks the beginning of the worlds of spirit, a new world of divine communication, movement of spiritual energy, and inspiration. Mercury (as Hermes) at this stage unites mind, spirit, and matter, but gives primacy to intellect and understanding.

Psychologically, the forces of Mercury in a person’s temperament yearn for Sulfur, just as metallic mercury seeks union with sulfur. Sulfur here is divine passion and not worldly emotions.  The wrong Sulfur at this stage produces someone who is spiritually unyielding and suffers from a superiority complex. It produces someone who uses spirituality for personal or practical control of others.  The alchemists worked the Mercury temperament using the operation of Fermentation.

Healing with Mercury 

Mercury rules the vocal organs, throat, lungs and lymph glands, and the therapeutic effects are mental clarity, greater adaptability, nervine, and regulation of bodily rhythms. Mercury-ruled plants affect the thinking and reasoning processes and give mental resourcefulness. Those who feel debilitated because of a sluggish mind will find mercurian elixirs quicken all perceptions to a great degree. Mercury herbs also give one the ability to associate one set of phenomena with another with greater ease and make one aware of synchronicities.

When mixed with solar and lunar herbs, mercurian herbs harmonize the total being, allowing the individual to express essences. They represent the mythological figures of Hermes and Thoth. They affect the throat chakra, which is related to the power of the Word. When mixed with moon herbs, mercurian herbs give psychic receptivity. When mixed with sun herbs, they increase telepathic sending abilities.

By taking the mercurian herbal elixirs as a regular regimen, the alchemist opens up to the sphere of magic on the mental plane. This will enable him or her to progress in the Art at a much faster pace. In contacting whatever sphere you are working with, this type of elixir will create a link from your personal microcosm to the greater macrocosmic principle you wish to experience.

Mercury also governs the intellect, reasoning, writing, and speech, and rules the vocal organs, throat, lungs and lymph glands, and the therapeutic effects are mental clarity, greater adaptability, nervine, and regulation of bodily rhythms. Mercury-ruled plants affect the thinking and reasoning processes and give mental resourcefulness. Those who feel debilitated because of a sluggish mind will find mercurian elixirs quicken all perceptions to a great degree. Mercury herbs also give one the ability to associate one set of phenomena with another with greater ease and make one aware of synchronicities.

When mixed with solar and lunar herbs, mercurian herbs harmonize the total being, allowing the individual to express essences. They represent the mythological figures of Hermes and Thoth. They affect the throat chakra, which is related to the power of the Word. When mixed with moon herbs, mercurian herbs give psychic receptivity. When mixed with sun herbs, they increase telepathic sending abilities. For instance, for loss of memory and Alzheimer’s Disease, mercury herbs are mixed with silver herbs.

By taking mercurian herbal tinctures and extracts, the alchemist hopes to open up to the sphere of magic on the mental plane, thus enabling him or her to progress in the Art at a much faster pace. In contacting whatever sphere you are working with, the mercurian tincture is said to create a link from your personal microcosm to the greater macrocosmic principle you wish to experience.

Another safe way to use the signature of Mercury in healing, is to use Mercury is in one of the “potentized” homeopathic forms that are used to treat AIDS, syphilis, bone marrow problems, problems of the central nervous system, and snake bites. 

Taking spagyric herbs with the signature of mercury is a lot different from taking preparations that actually contain metallic mercury. At the beginning of this century (before the discovery of alternative drugs), there were over two dozen mercury pills and ointments prescribed by physicians as antiseptics, antibacterials, and fungicides. Pure mercury metal was even prescribed for bowel obstructions, in the hope that the sheer weight of up to a pound of the liquid metal would relieve the problem.

In the East, metallic mercury was the main ingredient in most Tantric medicinal preparations. In his travels through India, Marco Polo observed that many people drank a concoction of mercury and sulfur twice monthly from early childhood with no observable ill effects. They believed the drink gave them longevity. Tantric alchemists in India still take metallic mercury in place of food as an elixir of life, although they caution that the body must be perfectly attuned and strengthened to tolerate the intense cosmic infusion of life force. In Indian alchemy, mercury is called rasa, which refers to the subtle essence that is the origin of all forms of matter. The cosmic chaos from which the universe sprang is called the Rasasara or “Sea of Mercury.” The craft of alchemy is referred to as Rasayana or “Knowledge of Mercury.”      

However, metallic mercury is a poisonous heavy metal and is considered so toxic that a spill from a thermometer can contaminate an entire room. In California, if a blood pressure gauge breaks in a doctor’s office and spills a teaspoon of mercury on the floor, “Hazmat” teams evacuate the whole building and work for hours to clean up the spill with special equipment.

Nonetheless, a variety of mercury oils and elixirs have been created and used over the centuries and into modern times. The most famous of the compounds containing metallic mercury is the rasayana (Indian alchemy) Oil of Mercury known as Makaradwaja Oil. It is used as a rejuvenative and tonic for the nervous system, lungs, liver, lymph system, and the brain. Makaradwaja is used to treat paralysis, hemiplegia, nervous disorders, tuberculosis, cancer, immune deficiency. When combined with animal essences (such as musk, ambergris, or gorochand), the oil is considered a powerful sexual tonic. The oil is also used to treat mental dullness, increase awareness and psychic powers, aid in developing verbal abilities, and enhance the powers of solar and lunar herbs. It is believed to t remove obsessions, fixed ideas, mental viscosity, and deep (“putrefying”) depression.
            Makaradhwaja Oil is made from purified medicinal mercury which has been processed to absorb in itself the healing essence of copper. In Indian alchemy it is said that this mercury has received 5 impressions or memories. This mercury is alchemically joined to purified medicinal sulfur by the agency of a salt, thus becoming a bright red “exalted” alchemical cinnabar. On being exposed several nights to the full moon, it resolves itself into a blood-like oil by “attracting the universal spirit of the world in the form of corporified light.”  Theoretically, Makaradhwaja is said to work by allowing subtle energy (prana, tejas and ojas) to flow into parts of the subtle physiology where it would not normally be able to flow, clearing many of the blockages which may be present. If taken prior to meditation or even sleep, it is said that the effects can be seen to permeate the subtle energy-channels (nadis).

According to certain Indian sects, the mercury in the oil allows the body to digest otherwise only partly digestible element of gold and gold and silver are often added to the mixture for this purpose. This is said to allow concentrated "solidified sunlight" to gild the body’s immune system and aura. The most fantastic legends have grown up around members of the Bhairavi cult, worshippers of a particularly wrathful form of Lord Shiva. They are said to live hundreds of years through the alchemical use of Makaradhwaja and other mercury-based compounds. Some are said to have obtained immortality by freeing their minds and overcoming their innate addiction to time. Statues used in rituals in the Bhairavi cult display some of the characteristics of this incredible extension of life force. They are statues of mutated, other-dimensional beings who are supposed to be what successful candidates taking the mercury elixirs really look like.

The Lunar Metal Silver  

Pure silver has a brilliant white metallic luster that tarnishes black when but tarnishes when exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air containing sulfur. It does not tarnish when exposed to pure air or water. It is a little harder than gold and is very ductile and malleable. It has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals, and possesses the lowest contact resistance. More than any other metal, silver yields freely to the passage of heat and electricity, passing it on and leaving little for itself. In other words, heat and electricity expand fastest into space through silver.

Silver has been known since ancient times and is mentioned in Genesis. Slag dumps in Asia Minor and on islands in the Aegean Sea indicate that man learned to separate silver from lead as early as 3000 B.C. Silver has always been popular in jewelry and for coinage but only in the past hundred years has the demand for silver been so great. The reason is the use of silver in the photographic film industry, which is based on silver's reactivity to light.

The word silver is from the Anglo-Saxon word siolfur meaning "silver." The origin of the chemical symbol for silver (Ag) comes from the Latin word argentum meaning "silver." The alchemical symbol for silver is the Moon (y). Silver was viewed as being the metal nearest to perfection, and gold. Since the medieval world thought the Moon was second important in the cosmos, next to the Sun, they assigned Silver to the Moon. Luna was the Queen of alchemy, and her symbolic color was white. Luna Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of silver, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and water.

The Moon was associated with the soul and the unconscious self, of which the conscious self is a reflection. Or as Titus Burckhardt put it: “The Moon [and the metal silver] was considered to be analogous to the soul in its state of pure receptivity; whereas the soul transmuted and illumined by the spirit was analogous to the Sun and the metal gold.” Appropriately, silver has a great affinity with light. Silver is used in the making of mirrors, and the lunar metal is the best reflector of visible light known. Many of silver’s compounds are extremely sensitive to light, such as silver nitrate in photographic film, in which the crystals of the silver nitrate actually are rearranged through the action of light. A mixture of magnesium metal with silver nitrate solution reacts explosively and gives off a blinding white light.

Silver has other lunar signatures. When melted and hardened again, trapped oxygen is expelled in gas eruptions that leave behind a lunar surface pocked with craters. The moon controls tides of the ocean, the menstrual cycle, and even the ebbing and flowing of human emotions. Likewise, silver metal has a great affinity for the oceans, and most of the silver metal on this planet is dissolved in sea water. Silver nitrate also exhibits beautiful, wavelike patterns (called Liesegang Rings) when dropped onto a glass coated with chrome gelatin. The newly formed silver chromate spreads out in concentric circles like mini ocean waves. Chemist Lilly Kolisko demonstrated that 1% silver nitrate solution produces a different liquid “picture” (as it rises up filter paper) corresponding to the phases of the moon each night. Such liquid pictures reveal that the new moon and full moon show distinctive patterns that repeat in the silver salt. The pictures also reflect disturbances caused by lunar eclipses. (See Appendix for the original work by Kolisko.)

Native silver is rare and most silver is produced from silver-bearing minerals. It is often associated with deposits of lead and copper. Specimens of native silver usually consist of wire-shaped structures that are curved and intertwined together, making an inspiring mineralogical curiosity. Silver’s crystal habits include massive and disseminated grains and plates on the metal’s surfaces. "Jack Frost" type crystal growth as shown on some specimens produces beautiful intricate structures. Whole individual crystals are extremely rare but when present do not exhibit cleavage. Overall, silver metal is the most “organic” of the metals, and its structures tend to resemble living plant structures rather than more mechanical mineral forms.

Silver is used in photography as silver nitrate, silver bromide, and other silver salts. It is also used in dental amalgams with mercury, in coinage, in solder and brazing alloys, in electrical contacts and high capacity batteries. Silver iodide is used to seed clouds to produce rain. Silver dye is used to make brain and nerve structures visible to anatomists. Silver is deposited on glass (by chemical deposition, electrodepositioning, or by evaporation processes) to make mirrors. Silver bells are known for their crisp and pure vibrations. Untarnishable sterling silver is used for jewelry, silverware, labware, etc. where appearance and cleanliness is paramount. This alloy contains 92.5% silver, and the remainder is usually copper. 

Silver is used in rituals, magical spells, and talismans to invoke Moon-goddesses and in “drawing down the moon” ceremonies. The lunar forces are thought to control the female force, cycles, emotional and hormonal imbalances, reflecting or neutralizing negativity, dreams and intuition, psychic work and psychic abilities. It is said wearing silver jewelry will improve fertility, emotional balance, and hormonal stability. Silver is also believed to improve the assimilation of food, which is why young children (in their Moon-years) are traditionally given a silver fork and spoon to eat with. Water charged in silver chalices or cups for 6 to 24 hours is thought to contain the lunar archetype and is used in spells accordingly.  

The Call of Silver 

Go outside on the night of the full moon and gaze up at the silver orb.  Relax and try to focus all your attention on the surface of the moon. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let our closest planetary body influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection. Now, pick up piece of silver jewelry or dinnerware, and hold it in your left hand until it gets warm. You should be able to feel a liquid-like sensation of cool metallic energy. This is what alchemists refer to as the “call of silver.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with the moon itself. Try to remember how this feels in your body. Has the taste in your mouth changed? Has your eyesight altered? How does your skin feel?

The Silver Temperament 

Psychologically, the transmutation of the Silver Chakra produces a lasting mystical state absolutely purified of habitual or egotistic forces. Intuition reaches its highest state of perfection, and one begins to move beyond the limitations of space and time. The feeling is one of intense connection to the cosmos. In the last stages of transmutation, a Sublimation of spiritual forces occurs which lays the groundwork for the formation of a Second Body, a true body of light, in the next and final position on the Caduceus. The alchemists worked with the Silver temperament using the operation of Distillation.

Healing with Silver 

Silver has been used in healing since 4000 BC. Many ancient cultures have incorporated the use of silver in their healing practices. The Persians kept their "healing waters" in silver vessels to leach silver atoms into solution. Egyptians used a form of a silver wrap for wounds. Druids lined their drinking bottles with silver metal for a disinfectant. Medieval royalty held a substantially higher immunity to bacteria than a commoner due to the fact that they dined with silver ware, ate off silver plates and drank from silver chalices. Even soldiers were known to swallow a whole silver dollar to ward off infection from wounds. Before refrigerators were invented a silver coin was kept in milk to keep it from going sour. As you can see, the uses for silver is not a recent discovery. The biological actions of silver include astringent, bactericide, and pesticide.

The therapeutic effects of the lunar metal are sedative, cooling, emetic, and moisturizing. Moon-ruled plants affect the subconscious mind and are useful for hypnosis, breaking bad habits, and working with desires. Lunar herbs are also said to provoke memories of past life experiences and provide a channel through the space-time matrix of consciousness, enabling the alchemist to see clearly through the veil of his or her own thoughts and feelings. If lunar elixirs are impregnated alchemically, karma from the past in the form of bad habits can be reduced. Surprisingly, lunar elixirs also produce an interest in family matters and relationships. They provide give sensitivity and imagination, and a fondness for domestic pur­suits in general. Lunar herbs can also be a tremendous aid in astral projection. The Moon has rulership of the astral plane, and lunar elixirs help us become aware of astral form and function.

Medical astrology places these subjects under rulership of the Moon: female reproductive organs, menstruation, the breasts, hormonal imbalances, the stomach and the watery body-fluids like slime, tears and digestive secretions. Two popular homeopathic medicines derived from silver are Argentum nitricum and Argentum metallicum.

The alchemists prepared an Oil of Silver they used to treat disorders of the brain and cerebellum, reduce stress, balance emotions, improve memory, treat nervous disorders and epilepsy, improve both melancholia and mania. It was also used as a physical purgative and mental purifier. It was said to affect the subconscious mind, see into the past clearly, remove fears and blockages, allow one to unwind, produce “homey” feelings, give a feeling of grace and sensitivity, and enhanced imagination.

The Solar Metal Gold 

Gold is a stubbornly pure metal when it comes to reacting or even associating with “lesser” elements. That signature explains a lot of the chemical characteristics of gold. Unlike nearly every other metal, there are no plants that contain even trace amounts of metallic gold. There are very few gold ores, because the noblest metal never alloys with the baser metals, but does alloy with the noble metal silver and makes an amalgam with mercury.

Gold is extremely ductile, malleable, and sectile, and so soft it can be cut with a knife, which makes gold impractical to use for tools. It is also very heavy. A gold bar is twice as heavy as an equal-sized bar of lead. Furthermore, gold embodies an inner equilibrium of forces that make it pretty much indestructible. Gold never tarnishes like copper or silver or rust like iron and, whether found buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, in an ancient tomb, or in the ring on your finger, it always looks the same. It cannot be damaged by heat and was considered completely inalterable until around 1100 AD, when alchemists concocted a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids known as Agua Regia (“Royal Water”) that could dissolve gold. The immortal metal is endlessly recycled, and all the gold known today is very nearly equal to all the gold that has ever been mined. One ounce of gold can be stretched into a single wire 35 miles long, or it can be beaten to just a few atoms thick. It is the most flexible, enduring, and beautiful of all metals.

Gold shows a distinct affinity for sulfur and forms an ore with a rare element called tellurium. It is one of the few elements gold easily bonds with. In fact, telluride is rarely found without gold. Gold also appears in minerals that are part of a group of tellurium sulfides called the tellurides. However, the amount of gold in these minerals is really miniscule next to the amount of gold found in its native metallic state. Native gold seems to like the company of the purest white quartz and is also found mixed with deposits of pyrite and a few other sulfide minerals. Gold is six times rarer than silver, and it takes about three tons of gold ore to extract an ounce of gold metal.

Around the world, nearly every culture associated their supreme god or goddess with gold. For many centuries only the images of gods graced gold coins, until Alexander the Great began the trend of rulers’ images appearing on gold coins around 30 BC. Even the most primitive societies recognize the sacred properties of gold. For example, the Makuna tribes of modern Brazil believe that gold contains “the light of the sun and stars." 

The chemical symbol for gold (Au) comes from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold.” The alchemical cipher for gold is a rendition of the sun (A), and gold was considered a kind of congealed light. Sol is the King of alchemy, and his royal purple-red color is revealed in gold colloidal solutions, and red is his symbolic color. Sol Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of gold, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and fire.

            Gold was known and considered sacred from earliest times. Gold became popular because it reminded people of the sun with its warm, life-giving properties. Because of its imperishability, the ancient Chinese thought that gold conveyed immortality to its owners. Egyptian inscriptions dating back to 2600 BC describe these same associations with gold. 

Gold replaced bartering around 3500 BC when the people of Mesopotamia started using it as a kind of money because of it eternal value. By 2800 BC, gold was being fashioned into standardized weights in the form of rings. People started carried black stones called “touchstones” onto which they scraped a piece of gold to leave a streak. Depending on the brightness of the streak, one could estimate how much gold was in the sample. Around 1500 BC, Mesopotamian alchemists discovered a process for purifying gold known as "cuppellation," which involved heating impure gold in a porcelain cup called a “cuppel.” Impurities were absorbed by the porcelain, leaving a button of pure gold behind. Later alchemists used cuppels to test the quality of their transmutations.

Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by  attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.

According to the medieval alchemists, Nature sought continually to create the perfection achieved in gold, and they looked at every metal as gold in the making. Alchemists also thought that the objective of every metal was to become gold, and every metal was tested for corrosion and strength and ranked as to how far it was from gold. Many alchemists felt that mercury was the closest metal to gold and that it could be transmuted directly into gold. Their intuition was correct, for mercury can indeed be turned into gold. Gold and mercury are next to each other on the Periodic Table. Mercury is element 80 (has 80 protons) and gold is element 79 (has 79 protons). In the 1960s, physicists were able to knock out a proton in mercury atoms using neutron particle accelerators, and thereby create minute quantities of gold.

Gold is at the head of the metals, paired with what in the medieval mind was the strongest planet, the Sun. The alchemists were obsessed with gold’s signature of perfection. Medieval Italian alchemist Bernard Trevisan speculated, "Is not gold merely the Sun’s beams condensed into a solid yellow?" Seventeenth-century alchemist John French asked fervently: “Is there no sperm in gold? Is it not possible to exalt it for multiplication? Is there no universal spirit in the world? Is it not possible to find that collected in One Thing which is dispersed in all things? What is that which makes gold incorruptible? What induced the philosophers to examine gold for the matter of their medicine? Was not all gold once living? Is there none of this living gold, the matter of philosophers, to be had anymore?”

Gold is highly valued in the everyday world too. It is used as coinage and is a standard for monetary systems in many countries. It is used to make jewelry and artwork, and also in dentistry, electronics, and plating. Since it is an excellent reflector of infrared energy (such as emerges from the sun), the metal is used to coat space satellites and interstellar probes. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also used in medicine to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis and cancer.

Chemist Lilly Kolisko performed experiments with gold chloride and showed its chemical behavior coincided with events that altered the strength of the sun, such as the weakening in solar forces during solar eclipses or their increase during the summer solstice. Moreover, she found that both silver and gold salts seemed to be equally influenced by the sun. In the case of silver, it was the forms or patterns that changed, whereas in the gold, it was the colors that changed. Silver shapes moved from jagged spikes to smooth rolling forms but the colors remained hues of grey, while the basic shape of gold patterns remained the same but the colors changed from brilliant yellows through violet to reddish-purple hues. This work presents an amazing confirmation of how the King and Queen, Sol and Luna, work together in creation, with the female principle representing soul and form and the male principle representing spirit and energy. Kolisko’s innovative work with the metals is presented in the Appendix. Her work has been duplicated by dozens of other chemists and has been confirmed many times.

The signatures of gold are invoked in rituals, magical spells, and talismans concerning solar deities, the male force, authority, self-confidence, creativity, financial riches, investments, fortune, hope, health, and worldly and magical power. Gold talismans can be very expensive, but you can make one of gold colored cardboard or write the symbols on it with gold paint or plate an object with gold. Gold jewelry is said to improve self-confidence and inner strength. To charge water with the signature of gold, put a gold object in a glass of water and let sit in the sunlight for 6-10 hours.

The Call of Gold 

During sunrise or sunset, face the sun and try to feel it archetypal presence. If not too bright, gaze into the rising or setting sun and try to see the metallic solar disk of which the Egyptian alchemists spoke. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the presence at the center of our solar system influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant sun. Continue facing the sun as you pick up a piece of gold jewelry or a vial of pure gold flakes (such as sold in some novelty shops) into your right palm. You should be able to feel a electric warmth building. That eerie, warm vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of gold” – the resonation of the metal with its “planet.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence, and for gold, this is the most perfect expression of all materials. If you can connect with this archetype, you will realize that it a very personal as well as divine presence. As Above, so Below. This is perfection on all levels of your mind, body, and soul resonating with the perfection inherent in the Whole Universe.

The Gold Temperament 

For those with weaker wills or loss of contact with the divine presence, gold represents a psychological cure. The solar essences gives great ambition, courage, self-re­liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage oneself and others. The creative principle, no matter how small and insignificant it is within us can be enhanced to a great degree by tapping into the solar archetype. Just as the Sun represents the di­vine creative force in our immediate solar system, gold represents the same thing in our inner temperament.

            For lasting manifestation, the golden temperament needs to be firmly grounded in the world, and the danger at this phase of transformation is that the individual become too focused on the workings Above and forget his or her connection to the real world. Gold and the blazing Sun correspond to personal ambition, courage, and creative energy and vitality, but without a constant effort to remain pure and alive in the real world, the golden temperament can quickly transmute into the leaden qualities of despair, poor self esteem, lack of confidence, and impurity.

            Most important for the golden temperament, however, is to realize that once having reached this plateau, one has certain personal and karmic obligations. The golden attitude of this temperament is what brings the rewards of health, wealth, and happiness through synchonistic responses from the universe. Go against these archetypal powers at this level of achievement and even the slightest deviation from the golden path of righteousness and personal integrity can have disastrous and immediate consequences. The alchemists transmuted the Gold temperament using the operation of Coagulation.

Healing with Gold 

Chrysotherapy is the name given to healing with gold. The mystical metal has been used for both spiritual and medical purposes as far back as ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry and ingested it for mental, bodily, and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. In Alexandria, alchemists developed a powerful elixir known as “liquid gold,” which reportedly had the ability to restore youth and perfect health.  

In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers, and today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus, developed many highly successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and “gold waters” were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," and today, it is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1900s, surgeons implanted a $5.00 gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. In China, peasants still cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparations.

The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.

Physically the Sun rules the heart and circulation and the distribution of bodily heat, and its herbal therapeutic effects are tonic, heating, cardiac, and diaphoretic. While there are no plants or herbs that contain metallic gold, gold the metal is used to treat a variety of degenerative diseases including cancer. Aside from actual injections of gold, gold salts are administered intramuscularly as a treatment for arthritis. Gold has been used to inhibit or prevent the pathogenic progression in rheumatoid arthritis that damages cartilage bone and other connective tissues. Gold is thought to create a beneficial balancing and harmonizing effect on the natural rhythmic balancing and healing activity of the heart, improving blood circulation, rejuvenating sluggish organs (especially the brain), and assisting the digestive system,

Sun-ruled plants affect the soul in its positive phase of manifestation, which manifests on the personal level as our idea of ourselves as a progressive unified entity. Solar herbs help us realize our evolutionary epoch as an individual among many other individuals, helping to synthesize and synchronize our goals with those of the macrocosm. In this sense they are ego fortifiers, but with a divine purpose.

Solar herbs heal inferiority complexes, bolstering people and giving them a sense of purpose beyond the norm. The Sun represents the Christ and Osiris consciousness in man, as well as Hercules in his monumental strength. For those with weaker wills, Sun ruled herbs will provide the springboard for more posi­tive action; they also bestow the quality of generosity to our souls. Solar plants, when alchemically charged, will reveal the divine purpose of our solar system, and will let you be­come aware of the will of God in manifestation. Solar essences give great ambition, courage, self-re­liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage.

In medical astrology, the Sun rules the physical heart and the eyes as mirrors of the soul. The Sun controls the heart, the circulatory system and the central energy system of the spine.  Because they carry the signature of the vitality principle on the cosmic level, solar herbs can be of seemingly miraculous aid in cases of apathy, lethargy, and unproductivity. The creative principle within us can be enhanced to a great degree as the Sun represents the di­vine creative force in our immediate solar system.

     There are several alchemical oils of gold available, although with any gold product, one should be aware of the extravagant claims sometimes made for it. Simple Oil of Gold is said to be excellent for leukemia patients as the “highly fixed phosphoric principle will join by the law of affinity with its corresponding human phosphoric principle within the bones.” Thus it will establish itself there and do its work of regeneration from within. This gold oil is also meant for most heart diseases. It is also excellent for teenagers who have a “difficult physical incarnation,” several cancers, Rachidian deformation, venous stasis, vertigo, and general circulation. The Red Oil of Gold is used as a circulation aid, heart tonic, blood purifier, regenerative of brain cells, protector of bones and joints, to treat rheumatism and arthritis, to cure cancer and syphilis, for uremia and multiple sclerosis, increase vitality, and balance metabolism. Psychologically, it is thought to cure a weak will, give ambition, restore courage, and increase creativity.
            The formulae for making gold compounds tend to be very obscure and sometimes outlandish. For instance, the recipe for Dr. Anthony’s Famous Aurum Potabile contains the following ingredient: “Take the urine of a healthy man drinking wine moderately; put it into a gourd which you must stop close, and set in horse dung for the space of forty days.” Another recipe for Oil of Gold calls for “calcinated gold fused into a colorful glass with special alchemical salts elaborated from a phosphoric principle and combined naturally with the universal spirit which contains corporified light or astral fire. When exposed several nights to the full moon, this glass dissolves by attraction into an oily thick paste.”

If you want to ingest gold, you also actually eat the metal and edible gold flakes are used in Chinese cooking and available for sale in gourmet cooking stores. The German schnapps “Geldschlager” also contains gold flakes. Probably the most effective way of taking gold, however, is in the form of gold colloid.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS ON SPIRITUALITY

   

  

© Dennis William Hauck