The Hermetic Museum, Vol. I — trans. A. E. Waite (1893)

'That he has merited the meed of praise before all others,
And that his wisdom transcends that of the worldly wise.

FIGURE IV.

HERE YOU BEHOLD A GREAT MARVEL—
TWO LIONS ARE JOINED INTO ONE.

The Spirit and Soul must be united im their Body.

Alexander writes from Persia

That a wolf and a dog are in this field,
Which, as the Sages say,

Are descended from the same stock,
But the wolf comes from the east,

And the dog from the west.

"They are full of jealousy,

Fury, rage, and madness :

One kills the other,

And from them comes a great poison.
But when they are restored to life,
"They are clearly shewn to be

'The Great and Precious Medicine,

'The most glorious Remedy upon earth,
Which refreshes and restores the Sages,
Who render thanks to God, and do praise Him.

FIGURE V.

A WOLF AND A.DOG ARE IN ONE HOUSE, AND ARE
AFTERWARDS CHANGED INTO ONE.

The Body is mortified and vendered | white, then Jomed to
Soul and Spirit by being saturated with them.

A savage Dragon lives in the forest,

Most venomous he is, yet lacking nothing :
When he sees the rays of the Sun and its bright fire,
He scatters abroad his poison,

And flies upward so fiercely

That no living creature can stand before him,
Nor is even the Basilisk equal to him.

He who hath skill to slay him, wisely

Hath escaped from all dangers.

Yet all venom, and colours, are multiplied

In the hour of his death.

His venom becomes the great Medicine.

He quickly consumes his venom,

For he devours his poisonous tail.

A]I this is performed on his own body,

From which flows forth glorious Balm,

With all its miraculous virtues.

Hereat all the Sages do loudly rejoice.

FIGURE VI.

AT MIRACLE AND WITHOUT ANY

THIS SURELY IS A GRE

DECEPTION- —
THAT IN A VENOMOUS DRAGON TH

GREAT MEDICINE.

ERE SHOULD BE THE

The Mercury is precipitated or sublimed, dissolved in its own proper water, aud then once more coagulated.

A nest is found in the forest,

In which Hermes has his brood ;

One fledgling always strives to fly upward,
'The other rejoices to sit quietly in the nest ;
Yet neither can get away from the other.

'The one that is below holds the one that is above,
And will not let it get away from the nest,

Xs a husband in a house with his wife,

Bound together in closest bonds of wedlock.
So also do we rejoice at all times,

That we hold the female eagle fast in this way,
And we render thanks to God the Father.

BIGURE. VLL

WE HEAR OF TWO BIRDS IN THE FOREST,
YET WE MUST UNDERSTAND THEM TO BE ONLY ONE.

The Mercury having been often sublimed, is at length fixed, and becomes capable of vesisting fire: the sublimation quust be repeated until at length fixation is attained.

ar

In India there is a most pleasant wood,

In which two birds are bound together.

One is of a snowy white ; the other is red.
They bite each other, and one is slain

And devoured by the other.

"Then both are changed into white doves,

And of the Dove is born a Phoenix,

Which has left behind blackness and foul death,
And has regained a more glorious life.

'This power was given it by God Himself,

That it might live eternally, and never die.

It gives us wealth, it preserves our life,

And with it we may work great miracles,

As also the true Philosophers do plainly inform us.

FEIGURE VILE

HERE ARE TWO BIRDS, GREAT AND STRONG—THE BODY AND
SPIRIT; ONE DEVOURS THE OTHER.

Let the Body be pe n P. or a warm bath, the Spirit having been extracted from it/— The Body has become «white by the process, the Spirit red by our Avt.. AW that exists tends towards perfection, and thus is Ue Plulosophers Stone prepared. T2 l3 l3

IHE HERMETIC MUSEUM.

. Now hear of a wonderful deed,

For I will teach you great things,

How the King rises high above all his race ;
And hear also what the noble lord of the forest says :
I have overcome and vanquished my foes,

I have trodden the venomous Dragon under foot,
I am a great and glorious King in the earth.
There is none greater than I,

Child either of the Artist or of Nature,

Among all living creatures.

I do all that man can desire,

I give power and lasting health,

Also gold, silver, gems, and precious stones,

And the panacea for great and small diseases.
Yet at first I was of ignoble birth,

Till I was set in a high place.

'To reach this lofty summit

Was given me by God and Nature.

'Thence from the meanest I became the highest,
And mounted to the most glorious throne,

And to the state of royal sovereignty :

Therefore Hermes has called me the Lord of the Forests.

TOR CE DRESS JOX-

THE LORD OF THE FORESTS HAS RECOVERED HIS KINGDOM,
AND MOUNTED FROM THE LOWEST TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE.
IF FORTUNE SMILE, YOU MAY FROM A RHETOR BECOME A
CONSUL ;

IF FORTUNE FROWN, THE CONSUL MAY BECOME A RHETOR.

Thus you may £now that the Tincture has truly attained the first degree.

THE HERMETIC MUSEUM.

In all fables we are told

That the Salamander is born in the fire ;

In the fire it has that food and life

Which Nature herself has assigned to it.

It dwells in a great mountain

Which is encompassed by many flames,

And one of these is ever smaller than another—
Herein the Salamander bathes.