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Magnum Opus (Alchemy)
Magnum Opus (Alchemy)
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Colors of the magnum opus seen on the breastplate of a figure from Splendor Solis
The Squared Circle: an Alchemical Symbol illustrating the interplay of the four elements of matter
symbolizing the philosopher's stone; the result of the "Great Work"
The Great Work (Latin: Magnum opus) is an alchemical term for the process of working with the
prima materia to create the philosopher's stone. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual
transmutation in the Hermetic tradition, attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes,
used as a model for the individuation process, and as a device in art and literature. The magnum opus
has been carried forward in New Age and neo-Hermetic movements which sometimes attached new
symbolism and significance to the processes. The original process philosophy has four stages:[1][2]
The origin of these four phases can be traced at least as far back as the first century. Zosimus of
Panopolis wrote that it was known to Mary the Jewess.[3] After the 15th century, many writers tended
to compress citrinitas into rubedo and consider only three stages.[4] Other color stages are sometimes
mentioned, most notably the cauda pavonis (peacock's tail) in which an array of colors appear.
The magnum opus had a variety of alchemical symbols attached to it. Birds like the raven, swan, and
phoenix could be used to represent the progression through the colors. Similar color changes could be
seen in the laboratory, where for example, the blackness of rotting, burnt, or fermenting matter would
be associated with nigredo.
Various alchemical documents were directly or indirectly used to justify these stages. The Tabula
Smaragdina is the oldest document[6] said to provide a "recipe". Others include the Mutus Liber, the
twelve keys of Basil Valentine, the emblems of Steffan Michelspacher, and the twelve gates of George
Ripley.[7] Ripley's steps are given as:[8]
1. Calcination 7. Cibation
2. Solution (or Dissolution) 8. Sublimation
3. Separation 9. Fermentation
4. Conjunction 10. Exaltation
5. Putrefaction 11. Multiplication
6. Congelation 12. Projection
In another example from the sixteenth century, Samuel Norton gives the following fourteen stages:[9]
1. Purgation 8. Conjunction
2. Sublimation 9. Putrefaction in sulphur
3. Calcination 10. Solution of bodily sulphur
4. Exuberation 11. Solution of sulphur of white light
5. Fixation 12. Fermentation in elixir
6. Solution 13. Multiplication in virtue
7. Separation 14. Multiplication in quantity
Some alchemists also circulated steps for the creation of practical medicines and substances, that
have little to do with the magnum opus. The cryptic and often symbolic language used to describe both
adds to the confusion, but it's clear that there is no single standard step-by-step recipe given for the
creation of the philosopher's stone.[10]
References[edit]
1. ^ The-Four-Stages-of-Alchemical-Work
2. ^ Joseph Needham. Science & Civilisation in China: Chemistry and chemical technology.
Spagyrical discovery and invention: magisteries of gold and immortality. Cambridge. 1974. p. 23
3. ^ Henrik Bogdan. Western esotericism and rituals of initiation. Albany, New York: State University
of New York Press. p. 197
4. ^ "Meyrink und das theomorphische Menschenbild". Archived from the original on 2007-09-12.
Retrieved 2010-10-25.
5. ^ Stanton J. Linden. The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. p. 17
6. ^ it is unclear if the text originates in the Middle Ages or in Late Antiquity, but it is generally
assumed to predate 1150, when Gerard of Cremona translated it from the Arabic (Mircea Eliade,
History of Religious Ideas, vol. 3/1)
7. ^ From George Ripley's Compound of Alchymy. (1471)
8. ^ Stanton J. Linden. The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. p.17
9. ^ Mark Haeffner. Dictionary of Alchemy: From Maria Prophetessa to Isaac Newton. p.238
10. ^ Mark Haeffner. Dictionary of Alchemy: From Maria Prophetessa to Isaac Newton. p.237
11. ^ Barbara DiBernard. Alchemy and Finnegans Wake. SUNY Press, 1980.
12. ^ For details from English literature, see Stanton J. Linden. Darke Hieroglyphicks: Alchemy in
English Literature from Chaucer to the Restoration; University of Kentucky Press. 1998.
13. ^ John Granger. The Alchemist's Tale Harry Potter & the Alchemical Tradition in English Literature