The Fire Stone

of Basil Valentine
 
The  following  are  various  notes  and  items  that  I  have  collected  on  the  Fire  Stone.  I  
myself   have   not   completed   the   work,   as   there   are   various   pitfalls   that   have  
confounded  me,  but  I  am  working  on  it.  This  has  been  a  pet  project  of  mine  for  a  few  
years.  I  have  decided  to  share  what  I  have  so  far,  meager  as  it  is,  in  the  hopes  that  
perhaps   someone   will   help   me   in   return   with   this   project.   I   feel   that   if   one   cannot  
make  the  Philosopher's  Stone  (if  it  can  truly  be  made  at  all),  then  one    should  make  
the  Stone  of  Fire,  as  the  properties  are  (supposedly)  similar,  even  though  not  to  the  
same  degree  or  strength.  
  There  are  a  few  ways  of  making  the  Fire  Stone  (also,  supposedly),  though  I'm  
not   sure   any   of   them   work,   at   least   in   my   experience.   I   have   had   especially   bad   luck  
with  the  acetate  method,  though  Robert  Bartlett  would  be  the  one  to  turn  to  for  that  
one   since   he   was   successful   with   it.   I   have   found   that   making   antimony   acetate   is  
extremely  difficult,  and  even  when  made  it  tends  to  easily  revert  back  into  antimony  
oxide  very  quickly.  But  I'm  still  playing  around  with  that  method.  I'm  also  working  
on  Basil  Valentine's  original  method,  but  the  Vinegar  of  Antimony  has  proven  itself  
to  be  quite  a  challenge.  The  method  given  in  Valentine's  "Last  Will  and  Testament"  
will  also  be  given.    
   
 The Fire Stone

Of Basil Valentine – Practical Interpretation of Instructions

Basil Valentine's instructions for making the Fire Stone have below been broken down
into individual steps and interpreted practically for laboratory processes. Flow chart to
follow.

1) “Take, in the name of God, equal parts of the ore of Antimony, obtained
after sunrise, and of saltpetre; pulverize finely, mix well, place over a gentle
fire, bake dextrously (and the method of this baking is the key of the whole
work). There will remain a blackish substance.”
This may require some experimentation. I have used this formula before to make
detonated antimony (also described by BV), and this yields a mixture of a red and
substance with spots of white and black. This is not what we are going for, here,
apparently. I suspect that a very low heat, such as that for roasting stibnite, is required.
Potassium nitrate decomposes at 325C.
My interpretation: 1 part ground stibnite mixed with 1 part potassium nitrate. Spread in a
thin, 1-2mm layer and roast (as usual) at 80C, then progressively raise to 300C.
Hopefully this will yield a black powder.

2) “Out of this prepare glass.”

Not sure what colour this needs to be: perhaps dark red? At any rate, this could be made
as normal:
Heat crucible to 900C, then pour in, spoonful by spoonful, the black powder. Test for
“glassyness” using iron nails immediately after flux, then continue until glass is obtained.
3) “Which pound, extract its red Tincture with strong distilled vinegar (made of the
same ore), and remove the vinegar by distillation in the bath.”
Grind the glass to a fine powder.

Make Vinegar of Antimony

In a flask, mix 6 parts (by weight) ground stibnite with 14 parts (by weight) of distilled
rainwater, such that the flask is half full. The flask should have a very long neck. Seal the
flask and incubate at 40C in a waterbath for 4 months or until a foam appears.
Distillation: Distill the water off in a sandbath at low heat. Switch receivers and use a
little bit of the distilled water, so that the end of the condenser leads into the water.
Slowly increase the heat to 400C and maintain this for 3 days. Let cool; scrape the
sublimate out of the condenser and head, repeat the distillation right away; after the
second distillation, mix this with fresh stibnite (along with the sublimate from previous
distillation), pour the distillate over this mixture (which should turn red; BV says to
incubate 12 days but it is stronger if distilled right away), and repeat the distillation. The
circulate it with its own salt (of antimony) and distill off the vinegar.
[The picture shows what it looks like right after distillation – it eventually turns clear.]
Use this Vinegar to extract a tincture from the ground glass: Incubate at 40C for 1 month,
filter, then slowly distill off the Vinegar until a powder is left.

4) “There remains a powder from which you should make a second extract with
highly rectified spirit of wine.”
Make a tincture of the powder using absolute alcohol; incubate for 1 month at 40C. Filter.

5) “Let the feces settle. You have then a beautiful, sweet, red extract of great
medicinal value. This is the pure Sulfur of Antimony.”
Normally, the Sulfur is an oily substance. In this case it seems to be diluted with alcohol
– here, this is needed because the alcohol will be distilled off later.

6) “If you have 2 pounds of this extract, take four ounces of Salt of Antimony (of
which I have given the receipt.”

Regulus of Antimony
Take two parts stibnite, two parts potassium carbonate, and 1 part potassium nitrate.
Grind well and flux them together. Pour into a steel cone and let cool; knock off scoria.
Repeat this with fresh potassium carbonate and potassium nitrate 3 or more times and it
will be purified.

Salt of Antimony
Place Regulus of Antimony, well pulverized, in a great round glass vessel, over a gentle
fire in the sand. Brush off all that is sublimed, so that it falls down again to the bottom,
and continue to do this until no further sublimation takes place, but the whole substance
remains at the bottom. Then the Regulus of Antimony has been fixed without any
addition. But, in order to bring about this result, you need patience. Pulverize the red
precipitate, place on a smooth, clean stone in a humid cave; leave it there six months, till
the precipitate resolves itself into a pure red liquid, and a sediment is separated from it,
i.e. the salt of Antimony only is dissolved. Filter the liquid, place in a cucurbit, extract
phlegm, place again in the cave, and it will crystallize beautifully; separate from the
phlegm; the crystals are pellucid, mixed with red colour. When they are again purified,
they become white.

• Will need to use a 3-litre flask for this so that there is sufficient space for cooling.
• Not sure what he means when he talks about a “precipitate” - is this a clue for a
missing process? Perhaps the Regulus turns reddish, like Kermes, once it is
sufficiently treated – i.e. precipitate = fixed Regulus.

7) “Pour over these the extract, circulate for at least a month in a well-closed vessel,
when the salt will unite with the extract of sulfur.”
This is straightforward.

8) “Remove sediment, if any, extract spirit of wine in S. Mary's Bath, sublime the
powder which remains, and it will be distilled in the form of a many-coloured,
sweet, pellucid, reddish oil.”
Siphon off the liquid from any sediment. Distill off the alcohol in a waterbath until dry.
Then transfer the flask to a sandbath and do a dry distillation for a red oil.
Another possibility is doing a “dextrous distillation” at a very low heat (40C) over several
weeks, eventually turning the liquid into an oil.

9) “Rectify this oil in S. Mary's Bath, so that the fourth part remains, and it is then
prepared.”
The distillate from (8) is concentrated by distillation in a waterbath so that only ¼ of the
original volume remains.

10) “Then take living Mercury of Antimony, which I have taught you how to
compose.”

Mercury of Antimony
Take 8 parts Regulus of Antimony, 1 part ammonium carbonate, 1 part ammonium
chloride, and 1 of cream of tartar; mix well, add strong acetic acid (70% or more),
incubate for a month at 40C. Distill off the acid and dry the salts (use an oil bath). Mix
these salts with 3 parts (3x the amount of salts) borax. Distill at a strong heat (sandbath)
and you will gain a marvellous Spirit (distillate), which you should then add to some
fresh antimony Regulus. Let this digest for 2 months at 40C, then distill the Vinegar
gently (oil bath). With what remains in the boiling flask, mix in a four-fold weight of iron
filings.
Distill this at a strong heat (sandbath). The Spirit of salt then carries the Mercury with it
in the form of a vapour. Let this be drawn into a receiver containing water (outlet tube of
condenser should lead into distilled rainwater); the Spirit of Salt will dissolve into the
water while the True Mercury precipitates to the bottom.

• Not sure where the “Spirit of salt” enters into the picture here; usually this term
refers to hydrochloric acid, but I don't think this is actually used here. I think this
may be a mis-translation, and should read “spirit of the salts,” as in the spirit from
the salts used at the beginning of the process. These would then all dissolve in the
water in the receiver, leaving the Mercury at the bottom.
• The second mention of Vinegar, after the 2-month incubation period, is odd
because he does not say to add Vinegar of any kind to the mixture. I think here the
term “Vinegar” refers to the distillate obtained in the previous operation.

11) “Pour to it red oil of vitriol, made over iron, and highly rectified.”
Take the Mercury and pour over it red oil of vitriol – the only confusing part is the term
“red oil of vitriol.” This may well be another stumbling block intentionally made by BV,
a place to make the reader stop and think. Why would vitriol be used here? My good
friend Patrice believes that red oil of vitriol doesn't exist, and that he speaks of something
else entirely. If this is true, then it could be almost anything, but the mention of iron is a
clue. Therefore, I am forced to go by either what is described in the Compendium of
Alchemical Processes (i.e. the Oil of Vitriol), or Oil of Iron as Frater Albertus says (but
in this case, using what process?).

Oil of Vitriol: from the Compendium of Alchemical Processes

Take marcasite and grind finely, and let it be exposed to air for a few months. It will turn
black as it attracts moisture from the air. Continue this until it turns white. Then put it
into a boiling flask and cover it with distilled water to a depth of one inch. Seal. Stir it
several times a day, until the water turns green. Pour this off and keep it. Pour on fresh
water and repeat the process until no more water is coloured. Filter all the water, then
evaporate until a skin forms. Let crystallize. Solve et coagula until it turns red (no fire
used).
I think one could also use lab-grade ferrous sulfate (FeSO4 . 7H2O), as these will turn red after
enough Solve et Coagula's have been performed on it. (I will try both methods.)

Oil of Iron: suggested by Frater Albertus

The only method I know of to make oil of iron uses spagyric methods, i.e. the acetate
method, which isn't alchemical per se. In the case of the Fire Stone I think only
“alchemically”-produced oil of iron should be used, if in fact this is what is used.

12) “Remove by distillation in sand the viscidity [glueyness] of the Mercury, and you
will have a precious precipitate of a glorious colour, which is of the greatest
medicinal value in chronic diseases and open wounds. For it quickly dries up their
symptomatic humours, which represent the radical moisture of the disease.”
This I take to mean a dry distillation due to the mention of the sandbath. However, I'm
not so certain where the “precipitate” comes from: perhaps he means that we should
neutralize the distillate? Or perhaps once it is distilled enough, it separates into two
layers, the bottom being that which is used. I won't know for sure until I do the work.

13) Take equal parts of this precipitate and our sweet oil of Antimony; put into a
well-closed phial; if exposed to gentle heat, the precipitate will gradually be
dissolved and fixed in the oil; for the fire consumes its viscidity, and it becomes a
red, dry, fixed, and fluid powder, which does not give out the slightest smoke.”
Take equal parts and incubate, in a closed vessel, at 42C. Kerkring says it will take many
months for the two to combine and dry to a red powder. At this point the Fire Stone is
complete.
  
   
 Development of the Stone of Fire Basil
Valentine
The   following   pictures   are   fromhttp://60gp.ovh.net/~alchymie   a   group   led   by  
Patrick  Riviere.  He  does  workshops  on  making  the  Fire  Stone  and  a  few  other  things,  
so  if  you  can  afford  it  then  I  suggest  going  there  and  learning  this  from  him.  At  the  
moment  I  cannot  afford  the  ticket,  so  I  am  forced  to  wait.    

 
Oily red dye extracted by the spirit of wine, red glass dissolved in distilled vinegar
(Part 1 of the Stone of Fire by Basil Valentine)

 
Salt of Antimony gives his red oil
(Part 2 of the Stone of Fire)
  
The oil extracted from the red salt of Antimony
(Part 2 of the Stone of Fire)

 
"Colcotar obtained during dry distillation of vitriol martial"

 
"Dry distillation of oil of vitriol martial, however finely conducted with materials of
glass"
  
"Dry distillation of vitriol martial ... after many efforts," red oil "as sought eventually be
distilled and differentiate white oil of vitriol usual"

 
The oil of red vitriol of March.
  
Balloons deformed: Following the distillation of oil red vitriol

 
"Dry distillation of vitriol martial ball reception."

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
"Glass of antimony red (and pure, without borax) as it should be obtained, following
Basil Valentine"

 
"Glass Nitrous" produced according to the precepts of Basil Valentine

 
The "real salt of Antimony"
  
Calcination of the "real salt of Antimony"

 
First crystallization of "real salt of Antimony" on the sides of the ball of glass.

 
The red oil distilled from Vitriol
  
Oil red vitriol is poured on the "Mercury bright antimony"

 
Distillation of "Mercury bright antimony" in a bath of red oil of vitriol

 
The stain glass of antimony and the "fine precipitate, the same color
  
Ultimate distillation before coagulation of the "Stone of Fire"

 
During distillation, the red oil floating on the surface of the bath in the retort
  
The "Stone of Fire" coagulated (she does not smoke any more)

 
The "Stone of Fire" ended

 
The "Stone of Fire" colored water and white wine
 White wine colored (stable color) by the "Stone of Fire"
- Only a few grains –

 
Crystals "mixed with red and white" of the true salt of Antimony
  
Ultimate distillation "per descensum" before the final conjunction

 
 

 
Fire  Stone  
 
   
 The Fire Stone via the Regulus Method

This method is fully described in Basil Valentine's "Triumphal Chariot of

Antimony." John Dee also pilfered it word for word in his Rosicrucian Secrets. It
is quite similar to Basil's original method in the Triumphal Chariot, so it is
presented next.

Salt
Roast powdered antimony ore until it looks light gray-white (in the normal way as
described in an ealier section of this website). Make yellow glass from this (again
in the normal way described earlier). Grind this. Pour on strong acetic acid (60 -
80%), incubate for one month until golden or orange-brown. Siphon off the
Tincture (which may be used further), the faeces should be dried and will then
look black. Grind this and combine in equal parts with yellow sulfur, then calcine
off the sulfur. Grind the remaining matter, pour on it again strng acetic acid and
distill, then cohobate (pouring distillate back and redistill) several times (to draw
off the "eagerness" of the Vinegar), then clarify the Salt with spirit of wine until it
is clear and white. [Can also use this as a medicine: Dose = 4 grains.]

Regulus of Antimony
Take equal parts of antimony and crude tartar, and half the quantity of saltpeter;
mix together, melt in crucible at high heat, pour onto heated copper plate and
allow to cool, and there you will find the Regulus.

Vinegar of Antimony
[Note: You could also use Jean Dubuis' method as described in his mineral
alchemy lessons.

Grind stibnite. In a flask, pour on distilled rainwater to half-full. Incubate at 40C

until the ore begins to effervesce or foam. This is a sign that the Body has
opened.

Distill off the water, then increase the heat, and the substance will sublimate.
Cohobate (pour back on) and redistill, and the water will be more acidic. Repeat
this until it is as acidic as acetic acid (Vinegar).

Use this vinegar on some fresh ore and digest for 12 days and the Vinegar will
become red, and more acidic than before. Decant and distill; the Vinegar will
distill over while the red powder will stay behind.

If an extract is made with spirit of wine (on this red powder), it forms an excellent
medicine.

Rectify the Vinegar again in a water bath to remove any oiliness. Dissolve it in its
own Salt (Salt of antimony), sublime in an ash bath, and the Vinegar will be even
more acidic.

Mercury of Antimony
Take 8 parts Regulus of antimony, 1 part ammonium nitrate, 1 part ammonium
chloride, and 1 part of cream of tartar; mix well, add strong acetic acid, incubate
for a month (40C). Distill off the acid and dry the salts. Mix these salts with three
parts Venetian earth (probably borax). Distill at a strong heat, and you will gain a
marvellous Spirit (distillate), which you should then add to some fresh antimony
Regulus. Let this digest for two months (40C), then distill the Vinegar gently
(water bath). With what remains in the boiling flask, mix in a four-fold weight of
iron filings.

Distill this at a strong heat. The Spirit of salt then carries the Mercury with it in the
form of a vapour. Let this be drawn into a receiver containing water (inlet tube
should be in the distilled water); the Spirit of Salt will dissolve into the water while
the True Mercury precipitates to the bottom.

Final Stages of the Work

Take equal parts of antimony ore and potassium nitrate, pulverize and mix well.
Bake or calcine over a gentle fire. There will remain a blackish substance.
Prepare glass from this substance; grind; extract its red tinctre with strong
Vinegar of antimony. Separate the Vinegar by distillation (after filtering).

There will remain a powder from which you will make a second extraction using
highly rectified alcohol. We will then have a beautiful, sweet, red extract of great
medicinal value. This is the pure Sulfur of antimony.

If you have two pounds (in weight) of this extract, take four ounces (or about
1/16th in weight) of Salt of antimony; pour them together and incubate for at least
a month (42C). The Salt will unite with the Sulfur. Remove the sediment; extract
with absolute alcohol in a water bath; sublimate the powder that remains, and it
will be distilled in the shape of a multi-coloured, sweet and clear oil.

Rectify this oil in a water bath, and when it is perfect it will be of a deep red
colour.

Then take living Mercury of antimony and pour on it the red oil of vitriol (or
sulfuric acid?); distill this to separate the "stickiness" of the Mercury, and there
results a precious precipitate of a glorious colour, which is of the greatest
medicinal value.

Take equal parts of this precipitate and of our Oil of antimony; close the flask and
expose to a gentle heat (water bath?). The precipitate will dissolve gradually, and
fixed in the oil. The heat will consume its "stickiness" and it will become a red,
dry, fixed, and fluid powder, which does not give out the slightest fume (smell).

This is the greatest medicine.

   
 The Fire Stone via the Acetate Method

This method is described in Jean Dubuis' lessons, and should not be attempted
until you have a good grasp of the fundamentals of alchemy, have had some
good practice in the mineral realm, and have all possible safety precautions in
place. Robert Bartlett's method will come after.

Roast powdered antimony (stibnite) as if you were making glass of antimony.

Prepare a solution of regular caustic soda (NaOH - commercially available) in the

proportion of 200g per liter of distilled water. Use a weight of stibnite roughly
equivalent to the weight of the caustic soda. There is no fixed rule, for everything
depends on how rich the mineral is in antimony. The solution will self-heat, so
pour in the soda very slowly.

Heat for an hour at 90C and filter. You will obtain a golden yellow liquid. If the ore
is rich, do not throw away the residue which still contains some antimony.

In a well-ventilated room, outside or under a fume-hood, proceed with the

following operation: Pour commercial acetic acid (not glacial acetic acid for it is
too expensive for this, but the technical or industrial grade acid, often called
pyroligneous acid). An orange-red precipitate forms immediately and a gas (H2S)
is released with an unpleasant odour that you should not breathe as it is
poisonous. Generally, in the beginning, the precipitate redissolves; add more
acid and agitate with a glass rod.

The pH should be checked with a pH meter or paper. Definitely stop pouring acid
by pH 7, or neutral pH, otherwise some precipitate will be redissolved.

Then filter the liquid to collect the red precipitate that should be thoroughly
drained, but not completely dried by the heat. As a matter of fact, neutralizing the
soda with acetic acid produces sodium acetate which is water-soluble and
therefore it can be washed out with water.

In order to remove the remaining sodium acetate, you can leach the Kermes a
second time with cold distilled water and drain it again.

Next, obtain some acetic acid, preferably derived from the distillation of wood.
This acid, which is easy to obtain, is relatively inexpensive. Distill it at least once.

Fill a Soxhlet with the drained Kermes and the acetic acid. The circulation will
give the acid a golden yellow colour. Take the acid out and refill with some fresh
acetic acid for as long as the acid takes on a colou. Usually once is enough.
Pour the acid into a distillation train and distill off 1/4 of the volume. The acid you
distill over can be recycled for the same use. The acid at the bottom of the round-
bottom flask is cooled down. Here, several results are possible:

1. The acid remains liquid and black deposits remain at the botto of the round-
bottom flask. Decant or filter. Be careful, for the acetic acid can solidify in the
course of the work.
2. The acid remains liquid and there is no deposit. Pour it into a beaker and leave
it for a night or two. Then, either it "takes" as a white mass or crystals start
forming. In this case, collect them, dry them on paper and put them into an
airtight container.
3. The liquid doesn't crystallize and doesn't take as a white mass. Reduce its
volume again through distillation. Remove 1/3 to 1/4 of the volume and you'll find
yourself back to either one of the previous alternatives.

In the case that it takes as a white mass in the beaker, slant the beaker (a lot if
necessary) in order for the acid between the crystals to escape. Generally with
this acid we obtain beautiful transparent crystals.

In both cases, crystals or white mass, you should pour out the entire solution.
What doesn't take as a white mass and doesn't crystallize is kept to be used
later.

For our first experiments with dry distillation, it is better to use the white mass,
which is easier to obtain than the crystals. As a matter of fact, this mass is a
block of tiny crystals and their reduced size creates the opacity.

In all previous cases, it is better to end the distillation too soon rather than too
late, otherwise everything is lost including the round-bottom flask.

To fill the distillation flask with the white mass, melt it first using a water-bath and
then pour it into the flask. It doesn't matter whether the mass forms crystals or
not.

The distillation apparatus consists of the following: An electrical flask-heater and

the round-bottom flask (not with ground glass) of a half-liter or one-liter capacity,
topped with a silicone stopper which is pierced with two holes: one for a 300C
thermometer, the other for a 3 mm-diameter glass tube. The vapours will be led
first into a spiral condenser with a flask at the bottom, then they'll pass into a
second simple condenser, and finally into a bubbling apparatus filled with
absolute alcohol.
You should increase the heat in a very long and slow progression. If it takes as a
mass again, heat very slowly until everything has returned to the liquid state.
Then, increase the temperature to a light boil. The phlegm passes over and is
collected in the first flask. Sometimes, a new solid phase occurs of a short
duration and without any volume change, then a new solid phase follows. White
smoke starts to pass and suddenly everything passes to the solid state and the
volume of matter is increased three- to fourfold. Quickly change the first receiving
flask. The red oils pass and progressively a thick, heavy, white smoke, giving an
impression of viscousness, fills everything, flasks and condensers, and dissolves
into the alcohol.

The red oil is the Sulfur of antimony. The Mercury, or Spirit of antimony, is
dissolved by the alcohol, which can increase 10-20% by volume in a single
operation. Maintaining the bubbling tube in a very cold bath clearly improves the
outcome of the operation. With a condenser it is impossible to condense these
vapours. Put the oil aside in an air-tight flask, preferably away from light.

If the operation has been taken to completion, a crumbly black matter remains in
the flask; this is the Black Lion. Grind it finely and place it in an earthen crucible
(grog style). In turn, place the crucible on a kaolin surface. The layer of kaolin
itself is in a flat, stainless steel container. Place it in the oven and heat to 1000C.

Once it has cooled down, a hard white mixture is obtained, which generally has
partially penetrated the earthen crucible. Be careful of the salt, for even if it is
spilled in small quantities it can ruin the muffle of the furnace. Place the crucible,
without detaching what is attached to it, into a glass or porcelain container and
place the whole into a thermally- insulated box. The crucible is submerged in
boiling distilled water. The next day, withdraw the water and if all the salt is not
dissolved, do it again.

Slowly evapourate the water, without boiling, and continue until very small white
flakes appear in the solution. Let it cool down and you obtain magnificent cubic
crystals which can be up to 10mm on a side. Separate these crystals, dry them
and keep them away from the air. They are the Magnets of the Philosophers.
They have the property of fixing the Philosophical Mercury (described later).

The alcohol charged with the Mercury possesses part of the qualities of the
Circulatum Minor, but it has one drawback which makes it difficult to use. The
Mercury is not fixed by the alcohol and, at the first false maneuver, it escapes
and the alcohol regains its ordinary properties. However, by cooling down the
flask containing the alcohol in a freezer along with the flask containing the matter
to be extracted, you can successfully complete at least one extraction. This
alcohol draws the essence of any metal. Warning: Do not try it on mineral salts
because with some metals there can be an explosion.
To make the Fire Stone, do the following:

1. Imbibe the Salt with the red oil - 8 days in the incubator at 42C.
2. Pursue the imbibations until the oil is refused; about 6 weeks.
3. Place the whole thing in the Philosopher's Egg (thickness of glass = 4 - 5mm)
4. Imbibe with the Mercury
5. Close the Egg with the seal of Hermes (air-tight)
6. Place it in the incubator at 42C
7. If the product turns black, wait.
8. If the product turns red, open and add some Mercury and close with the seal of
Hermes again.

Caution:

• If there is not enough Mercury, a red vitrification occurs and everything is

lost.
• If there is too much Mercury, there is a risk of explosion and everything is
lost.

The cycle of this Fire Stone is about 9 months at 42 - 44C. During the filling of
the Egg, avoid bacterial contaminations or contamination through plant Sulfurs.
No odours or perfume are allowed in the lab during this operation.
 The Fire Stone
from Robert Bartlett's "The Way of the Crucible"

The Kermes is rinsed with rainwater until neutral. Be careful in this rinsing that
the water does not become acidic, as that is a sign that some of the vinegar of
antimony is beginning to come out and be lost with the rinse water.

Decant as much of the water from the Kermes as you an and then extract the still
moist Kermes with a strong vinegar solution, 30-60% concentration at least. Let
this digest about 60C, until the solution becomes golden yellow to orange in
colour.

Decant the solution and repeat the extraction with fresh vinegar. Combine all of
the extracts and filter until clear. Now gently concentrate the solution by
distillation or simple evaporation in a dish and allow crystals to form.

The collected crystals are then

dry distilled as in the acetate path
using a suitably sized apparatus.
The distillation train shown is
suitable for this part of the
process.

The distillation flask on the left

can be heated using a sandbath.
The central flask of the bubbler
train is partially filled with alcohol;
the other two flasks are left empty
and act as guards again sudden
pressure changes.

As the distillation proceeds, a clear watery “phlegm” will come over. Save this
aside and continue heating. Soon the white vapour and red oil, as seen in other
acetate distillations, will come over.

The red oil is the Sulfur of antimony. The alcohol in the bubbler will become
saturated with the Mercury of antimony.

This Mercury of antimony is not fixed as it is in the preparation of Vinegar of

antimony, so the alcohol solution must be kept cold or the Spirit will escape.
Since it does not stay around for very long, it is a good idea to use it as a
menstruum soon after preparation. It will extract the Sulfur from most prepared
minerals and metals.
Collect the red oil and save it aside in a tightly-sealed vial until we are ready to
use it later. It has great medicinal virtues on its own, but our aim here is to unite it
with a prepared body and form the Fire Stone.

The body we need for this is hidden within the solid residue remaining in the
distillation flask. This black residue is called the “Black Lion.”

Remove the black residue from the flask and grind it very fine, then place it into a
clean, unglazed crucible. The crucible is then heated in a furnace to about
1000C. The Black Lion will become lighter and possibly seep through the
crucible, so it is usually set on an unglazed tile or pottery shard with a layer of
Kaolin (from a pottery supplier).

Once cool, the crucible is placed into a strong glass container and covered with
water. If the crucible leaked out onto the tile and kaolin, these are added to the
container of water as well.

Heat the water to a boil so that the contents of the crucible will be leached out
and dissolved into the water. Filter the liquid and gently evaporate until crystals
form.

Collect these crystals and keep them dry and out of air contact, as they will
readily deliquesce. This is the Salt of Antimony. The crystals are called the
“Magnets of the Philosophers;” they have the property of fixing the Philosophical
Mercury.

Recharge the distillation apparatus with a fresh load of “Kermes Acetate” and
instead of placing alcohol into the bubbler train, place the dried crystals you
collected.

Now repeat the acetate distillation to collect more red oil. In addition, the crystals
in the bubbler train will become saturated with the Mercury of Antimony and it will
be fixed by the Salt.

Place the crystals into a vial; this is now the Salt united with the Mercury of
Antimony. Use the collected red oil to saturate the Salt and Mercury, then seal
the vial and digest at 40C initially. After about a week, increase the temperature
to 60C and continue the digestion. Similar to the plant stone, the matter will
congeal into a translucent red solid, the Fire Stone.

So there's all of it. If you have any progress from these notes please contact me.
Or email me if you just want to talk about them. Good luck!

James Collins
[email protected]