firemaiden
I have learned from various sites, a tiny bit, just enough to get the feeling this "stone which is not a stone" is of greatest importance to deciphering the tarot...
I summarize a bit what I've found on the web so far, for fellow non-alchemists who wish to follow...
Alchemy with a bit of overview and history of Alchemy explains of the Philosopher's stone thusly:
Another site: Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone says
I might add the philosopher's stone seems also to have been associated with the Holy Grail.
The same website quotes several different historical translations of the famous Emerald Tablet, and shows how the first seven lines of the tablet, were made to correspond with the various stages of the preparation of the tincture.
Most interesting to me, was to see in the various translations of the emerald tablet, point one is not always understood "as above so below" but also, quite differently, "what is above comes from below" and vice versa. In this list of seven steps, it is pointed out, that "the first four steps take place Below, in the realm of matter. The last three steps take place Above, in the realm of mind and creative imagination"
Different websites list different steps.
In my MP thread : Father of Feathers : transforming the Green Lion's Rage, I quote the break-down of the preparation of the tincture into various colour stages each with their corresponding animal found on these interesting websites: Verdigris, Green Lion and Vitriol: The Basis of the Philosopher's Stone and Animal Symbolism in Alchemy
So what is the philosopher's stone? Is it about the transmutation of matter into spirit? What does it have to do with the tarot? Is the mystico-scientific quest encoded into the tarot encoded in the various colours and animals in the tarot de Marseilles as references to the various colours and animals of the preparation of the philosopher's stone? Are we missing something, we, non-alchemists who know nothing of all this symbolism?
Oh great sages, speak!
I summarize a bit what I've found on the web so far, for fellow non-alchemists who wish to follow...
Alchemy with a bit of overview and history of Alchemy explains of the Philosopher's stone thusly:
... alchemical theory came to focus on the idea that there exists a substance that can bring about the desired transformation instantly, magically, or, as a modern chemist might say, catalytically. He called it "the tincture," and had several. It was also sometimes called "the powder" (xerion), which was to pass through Arabic into Latin as elixir and finally (signifying its inorganic nature) as the "philosopher's stone," "a stone which is not a stone," as the alchemists were wont to say. It was sometimes called a medicine for the rectification of "base" or "sick" metals, and from this it was a short step to view it as a drug for the rectification of human maladies. ...
Another site: Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone says
The goal of the Great Work of alchemy, called also the Art, is the "Philosopher's Stone". The Stone was viewed as a magical touchstone that could immediately perfect any substance or situation. The Philosopher's Stone has been associated with the Salt of the World, the Astral Body, the Elixir, and even Jesus Christ. The Elixir of the alchemists has essentially the same ability to perfect any substance. When applied to the human body, the Elixir cures diseases and restores youth.
I might add the philosopher's stone seems also to have been associated with the Holy Grail.
The same website quotes several different historical translations of the famous Emerald Tablet, and shows how the first seven lines of the tablet, were made to correspond with the various stages of the preparation of the tincture.
Although the alchemists went to great pains to conceal the true order of the steps of the formula for making the Stone, the correct order according to the Emerald Tablet is:
-Calcination
-Dissolution
-Separation
-Conjunction
-Fermentation
-Distillation
-Coagulation.
Most interesting to me, was to see in the various translations of the emerald tablet, point one is not always understood "as above so below" but also, quite differently, "what is above comes from below" and vice versa. In this list of seven steps, it is pointed out, that "the first four steps take place Below, in the realm of matter. The last three steps take place Above, in the realm of mind and creative imagination"
Different websites list different steps.
In my MP thread : Father of Feathers : transforming the Green Lion's Rage, I quote the break-down of the preparation of the tincture into various colour stages each with their corresponding animal found on these interesting websites: Verdigris, Green Lion and Vitriol: The Basis of the Philosopher's Stone and Animal Symbolism in Alchemy
So what is the philosopher's stone? Is it about the transmutation of matter into spirit? What does it have to do with the tarot? Is the mystico-scientific quest encoded into the tarot encoded in the various colours and animals in the tarot de Marseilles as references to the various colours and animals of the preparation of the philosopher's stone? Are we missing something, we, non-alchemists who know nothing of all this symbolism?
Oh great sages, speak!