PON Seminars -- Theory - Rules for the Work in the Alchemical LaboratoryP.O.N. 
Seminars 1992
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Theory - Rules for the Work in the Alchemical Laboratory 
Lecturer: Jean Dubuis 
Translator: Patrice Malézé
Commentary by Russ House is indicated as [RH: ...]
(Yves Arbez) We have the Mendeleiev table of elements according to alchemy - and 
then we will end with the Nicolas Flamel work. It's important to see the table 
of Mendeleiev because it's important to understand the Flamel (work), because 
it's important to understand alchemy by logic. Magic and mathematics are the 
work of the divine. What's not understandable by logic and common sense in 
alchemy is not a real path.
(Jean) I will try to explain a certain number of conditions necessary to 
respecting the laboratory in the work to succeed. If you like, in the alchemical 
work it's a spiritual path that needs much more caution than in a chemistry lab. 
So I'll try to make a short range of what can be seen there. First of all 
alchemical energies are spiritual energies and you must be cautious that the 
laboratory is not hostile to these energies. And I think that it is a good thing 
to make a washing once a moon of the laboratory. This laboratory can be on the 
physical path but you must concentrate on the fact that you also clean the 
psychic part (aspect) of the laboratory.
In the laboratory, and that's where the key of alchemy stays, is created a link 
between the operation and the alchemist. When this link is properly done the 
alchemist has direct knowledge of nature, found in no book. When you work in the 
alchemical lab it's better to have an oratory and to clean yourself psychically 
before you begin any physical work. So first put the lab in a good vibration 
state, and second put the operator in a good vibration state. 
And next to this are two kinds of work in the laboratory - say the delicate ones 
and the others. For the delicate ones which are those where the alchemical life 
can be endangered, the operator is alone in the laboratory - nobody can work 
with him in that case. 
The maximum would be the couple Nicola and Pernelle, no more. When you work on 
sensitive products, when these products are prepared that's when they are in the 
phase of preparation. Because then they are more sensitive or in intermediate 
phases we must - according to cases - must see our products do not necessitate 
incubation, they are put in the oratory (away) from everybody, nobody can see 
them. If the products need incubation they are put in the incubator and only the 
alchemist opens it. Particularly the mercuries are very, very delicate products 
whatever kingdom they belong to. When you prepare alcohol to make a vegetable 
mercury above 70 alcoholic degrees [RH: that is, 70 percent pure, or 140 proof] 
only the operator can touch the alcohol - because you must understand - for 
instance the alcohol that will be used for a mercury - if you put a parasitic 
load in it you will never be able to extract it. The alcohol (in this case) is 
only good to wash the dishes. (glassware).
When the products are done - for instance when the stone has been incubated and 
it's entirely done - it can be exposed to the public, but it's much less 
delicate. As long as the surroundings are O.K. you can show it to familiars.
Q. Did you say the alcohol should be 70 degrees ---- ? [RH: the confusion is in 
the terminology of 'degree', which means percentage.]
A. (Patrice) Yes, about 70 degrees to 100 or 99.9 - I think?
When you manipulate the mercuries you can have different types of vegetable 
mercuries. But some rules are to be respected. When you want to extract the 
vegetable mercury the extraction liquid must contain carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen - otherwise the extraction will be dead. For instance you can extract the 
vegetables with alcohol, acetone, acetic acid, hexane, but you cannot extract 
with (carbon tetrachloride or ethylene?) You cannot extract with these because 
in these are not the elements that can keep the vegetable life. We spoke about 
the mineral kingdom. In the mineral kingdom only the animated mercury allows 
extractions. 
We have research on extractions of sulfur by mercuries of the metallic kingdoms 
that are all very dangerous products. When we will have finished our study on 
the security on these products we will publish those.
You must also be very careful that in the vegetable kingdom the liquid products 
must not touch metal and particularly aluminum. And next to this -- we spoke of 
it earlier, but I will speak of it again because it's a very delicate problem -- 
of the loss of the alchemical life. If we consider a living body from an 
alchemical point of view, the alchemical life is kept by the crystalline 
network. If you crush the product, you do not free life - because the 
crystalline network is in the atomic state and it's impossible to crush down to 
the atomic state. When the crystal is in powder it's just as living as when it 
was in crystals, it's just an indication. If you melt the crystal, the life is 
gone, except in certain cases. We will explain now.
If you dissolve the crystal in a liquid - the life is gone unless the liquid is 
a mercury of the (same) kingdom. If the liquid is a mercury of the (same) 
kingdom it takes life and eventually it will be possible to transfer it 
somewhere else. To illustrate this the ancients say that the transmutation stone 
must be wrapped in wax before it's used and it must be rapidly dipped in a 
fusing metal. Then it doesn't melt before it's in the metal and its fusion 
(occurs) in the middle of the metal - it frees its energies there in the metal. 
When you take a vegetable stone the interest is to take it with a slightly 
alcoholic liquid (wine) in order to have it come really fast in your stomach. 
The stomach liquids destroy the alcoholic structures of the vegetable stone, and 
if everything is fine the energy is freed next to the solar plexus. And that 
explains its effects.
Considering special liquids you must take care of - particularly in the 
vegetable or acetic acid ways - acetic acid. I don't know where you will go to 
in alchemy, but I must tell you two things on this acid and on another. When you 
have a commercial acid usually they are obtained by distilling wood and we don't 
really know well the nature of life that's in it. [RH: Much commercial acetic 
acid is from wood: pyroligneous acid.]
If you want to be certain of the alchemical quality of this acetic acid you can 
only extract it (acetic acid) from vinegar, extracted from red wine. There's no 
need for distilling, the only concentration possible is done through freezing. 
It was probably described in the P.O.N. paper (The Stone newsletter) and in the 
Lessons. A freezing to 25 (degrees) C allows a very rapid separation of the 
acetic acid - of the vinegar. Since I explained some things from the past, in 
the ancient texts we don't know uric acid but there is a difference in the 
ancient books. The ancients would say the uric acid is a dead acid. That can be 
done by yourself very easily - when they (ancients) say sea salt acid it's the 
living acid - we'll show you a sample there and have work with the acid used in 
the butter of antimony. 
Questions?
Q. (Question not understood)
A. O.K. And we will explain why. Anyway when you're considering the vegetable 
salt you wish it to be dead. The vegetable salt must be dead, there must be no 
life in it, so (that) when you put pure life in it - it won't be contaminated by 
the ancient life in the salt. You're certain that there is no more life in the 
vegetable salt when there is no more carbon in it.
Q. Jean mentioned certain acids that you couldn't use on vegetables and I didn't 
get them?
A. It wasn't mentioned but it's written down here (handouts) so you can read it 
from there. O.K. We are a bit late in the program. We hadn't (anticipated) 
different technical problems. 110 volts a bit slower for the furnace and the 
stibnite is too rich and we didn't have the proper proportions for the salts. So 
we are a bit late.
So what you have in the general rules of the laboratory (handouts) is more than 
what he said here.



Copyright 1992, 1998, The Philosophers of Nature. All rights reserved.
Contact The Philosophers of Nature for further information on the work of Mr. 
Dubuis. 
Email: alchemy@mcs.com. Web Page: http://www.mcs.net/~alchemy