Throughout
the millennia of human history, perhaps the most sought after treasure has been
the key to Eternal life: the continuance of life without passing through death.
History
of the Elixir
 |
| The Elixir of life |
Most ancient cultures spoke about a draught that would
prolong life indefinitely, or even bring a dead being back to life, even more
glorious than before. In fact, alchemy was already flourishing during the 3rd
or 4th Centuries B.C. in Asia and the Middle East. In fact, the word
elixir originates from the Arab term Al eksir اکسیر,
meaning panacea, or Al iksir, meaning
composite or mixture.
The Chinese were probably the first to have a written
record of the elixir of life, written around 650A.D. by the Chinese alchemist Tan
Chen Yae Ch’eh and entitled “The Great Secrets of Alchemy”. The elixir was so
revered that there is a list of Chinese emperors who died from its use,
beginning with the Ming Dynasty emperor Jiajing, whose demise was caused by an
overdose of mercury—one of the major ingredients in most recipes.
Indian legend has it that just a drop of Amrita (the elixir of life) was
sufficient for the imbiber to gain immortality. Earliest mention of the elixir
in India took place at around the same time as its use in China. It is unknown
as to whether the Chinese passed the idea down to the Indians or vice versa. As
with the Chinese, the elixir was also known to be an active ingredient, working
with the philosopher’s stone, in the process of creating gold from common, but
both cultures were more interested in the healing and continuation of life
aspects of the elixir.
The elixir came to life in Europe during the later years
of the medieval era. The Comte de St. Germaine (who was reputed to be several
hundred years old) and Nicholas Flamel were both accredited with being
alchemists who had created the elixir. It was also called the Universal
Tincture.
The elixir continues to fascinate mankind even today, and
several recipes have survived the ravages of time. I would like to present one
that originally comes from Germany and was translated from German to Italian to
English. IF you decide to try it, be very careful to follow the instructions
exactly, and to then try it out on something other than yourself—like a dead plant,
perhaps.
The
Recipe
Take 50 pounds of pure zinc argentite also called
Bismuth’s mineral, completely without quartz; the whiter and more silvery the
latter is, the more universal spirit it has. Break it up into little pieces;
put them into a wooden barrel at night, when the moon is almost full, out in
the open air, so that the stars can work on it. In this way, the mineral will
be heavily saturated with the universal spirit, taken from the air and the
moon. Near the end of the lunar cycle, place the mineral in well-closed wooden
or clay pots, so that it can’t be touched by sunlight or air, which would
contaminate it and completely eliminate its curative powers.
Take several pounds of the saturated mineral and place it
in a number stills that have been surrounded by glass or soil that will render
them fire-resistant; close these containers with four layers of canvas and
bladder that have been coated with: beaten albumen, rye flour, red lead that
has been mixed with a little bit of minced slaked lime; mix and when the lutum
has dried, distil over well-regulated heat for 12 hours, slowly for the first 3
hours, then a little higher for the next 3, and then very high for the last 3
hours, after which a deliciously sweet white water will emerge.
This water, aka Aqua Alba Suavis Dulcis Spiritus vini
philosophicus, will need to be filtered 3 times, very gently, into a gourd,
which will make it even sweeter and completely pure, transparent, and clean.
Marvelous and nearly miraculous things can be made with this heavenly, magnetic
water, which has the pleasant, strong aroma of violets.
Take a pound of this universal mineral water, placing it
in an ampoule with a glass stopper, the opening upwards. One third of the
ampoule must be left empty. Place the ampoule in front of a window, leave
without disturbing for four weeks. You will see it increase, become heavier and
fill the entire ampoule.
Universal
Tincture or Elixir of Life
The discoverer of this particular recipe has said
regarding its usefulness: “It is a bath in which the king and queen wash and cleanse
themselves, appearing a thousand times more splendid and lovely than they were
naturally… If you take a dried weed, or flowers or a small lemon tree,
completely dried and withered and place it in the [tincture], with the roots
still attached, in a large bowl for 8 days, this little tree will return to
life, verdant and growing flowers, as though it had been planted.
“If you put the [thus resuscitated] plant, flowers or
tree into the soil outside, they will no longer wither for many years,
flowering continuously and bearing fruit twice a year.”
He also said of its spiritual quality, “It is truly a
great wonder of nature to recognize the magnetic forces in this manner and see
how the astral spirits have such a great harmony and relationship with the mineral
spirits. During the period in which the ampoule rests in the air in front of
the window you will be highly amazed to see a marvelous reflection of
fluctuating solar rays; it’s as though the rays were strongly and violently
attracted by the ampoule.”
This recipe is also one of the main ingredients required
for preparing the Philosopher’s stone, the base for transforming common metals
into gold.
