This Figure clearly shows
The orbiting of the four Elements:
Turn Air, Fire, Water, and Earth
into Water through our Fire.
Then make that Water into Earth.
That completes the Work.
In other words, separate
the Air, Fire, Water, and Earth,
and unify them once more.
Do it gently or all is wasted,
And all the work and all the reward are lost.
The Crown sits in the point of the Earth.
This triangle depicts the philosophical alembic or oven. Inside the triangle are the hexagon, representing the Mystical Substance as a conjunction of four equal and intertwined elements, and the sun and the moon, representing the wedding of Passion (CAPRICUM) and conscience (BE-JAH). Outside the triangle are salt, sulphur, and mercury, the three principles of the Stone, orbiting in perfect balance. These principles appear to the adept as an ephemeral spirit or a diaphanous dragon, transmuted from the murky bodies of the mundane world into the clarified bodies of the the paradisiacal world. Afterwards, White Mercury will appear above, Red Sulphur in the middle, and Black Salt at the bottom.
Gently (without damage) unify these pure Principles by science and art, and you hit the target dead center. ( Translated by Mike Brenner. Copyright Mike Brenner 1997.)
