Arcanorum Alchymiae – The Secrets of Alchemy And a primer on the histories of Man, their ways, and customs As recorded by Hermaeus Trismegistus I Είναι αλήθεια, χωρίς σφάλματα, ορισμένα πιο, II Αυτό που είναι κάτω είναι όπως αυτό που είναι πάνω, και τι είναι πάνω είναι σαν αυτό που είναι κάτω, για να ολοκληρώσει τα θαύματα του ένα μόνο πράγμα. III Και ξέρουν ότι όλα τα πράγματα έχουν προκύψει από μία από τη μεσολάβηση ενός: έτσι όλα τα πράγματα έχουν τη γέννησή τους από αυτό το ένα πράγμα με προσαρμογή. IV Ο πατέρας είναι το ήλιο. Η μητέρα είναι η Σελήνη, ο άνεμος μετέφερε στην κοιλιά της, η νοσοκόμα είναι η γη. V Ο πατέρας όλης της τελειότητας, ή ολοκλήρωση όλου του κόσμου είναι εδώ. VI δύναμη ή η ισχύς είναι ολόκληρο το αν πρέπει να μετατραπούν σε γη. VII θελεις διαχωρίσει τη γη από τη φωτιά, το λεπτό από το ακαθάριστο, suavely, και με μεγάλη εφευρετικότητα. VIII θα διώξετε όλα τα σκιές. IXΑυτή είναι όλη η δύναμη της ισχυρής δύναμης, για να συντρίβει κάθε λεπτό πράγμα και να διεισδύσουν σε κάθε στερεό πράγμα. X Έτσι, ο κόσμος δημιουργήθηκε. XI προχωρήσει εκ τούτου θαύματα, η οποία είναι εδώ. Ως εκ τούτου είμαι εγώ που ονομάζεται Τρεις φορές Μεγάλη, με τα τρία μέρη της φιλοσοφίας του όλου του κόσμου. XII Ό, τι έχω πει για τη λειτουργία του ήλιου. I Tis true without lying, certain & most true. II That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing III And as all things have been & arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation. IV The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse. V The father of all perfection in the whole world is here. VI Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth. VII Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry. VIII It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior. IX By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world X And thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. XI Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing. XII So was the world created. XIII From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this. Hence I am called Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world XIV That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended. On Creation In the beginning, there was Aether eternal. Though infinite, it was fractured into four regions. Hot, dry, cold, and wet. Where these regions met were born the Elder Elements. Where it was hot and dry, Fire ^ - where it was hot and wet, Air ^ - where it was cold and dry, Earth V - where it was cold and wet, Water V. These elements, though united by Aether, were separate, so the three Younger Elements were born so that the Elder Elements may be bound together as new forms. The three Younger Elements took the forms of Mercury, the quality of metal – Salt, the quality of solidity – and Sulphur, the quality of combustibility. When the Elder and Younger Elements met, they formed the Twelve Agents. When met with Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury, fire made Wood, Ash, and Steel – Water made Steam, Ice, and Oil – Earth made Magma, Minerals, and Metal – and Air made Lightning, Smoke, and Wind. These Twelve Agents, along with the Elder and Younger Elements, met in the centre of existence, and at this conflux formed Apsu. Apsu saw that the elements were married to create life, so he too decided he must be married. From the same primordial waters that birthed him in the centre of the universe, he created Tiamat to be his wife. For a time existence was calm; Apsu and Tiamat spent countless epochs studying the Elder and Younger Elements, as well as the Twelve Agents, thus creating Alchemy. They grew wise in their knowledge and realized it was time to pass on these secrets, so they had seven children: Ninurta, Marduk, Nergal, Utu, Ishtar, Nabu, and Sin. Apsu and Tiamat taught their children everything they knew about alchemy until it was time for them also to create. Each child made a planet which was ruled over by one of the Elder Elements; Ninurta made Saturn, of Earth, Marduk made Jupiter, of Air, Nergal made Mars, of Fire, Utu made Sol, of Fire, Ishtar made Venus, of Air, Nabu made Mercury, of Earth, and Sin made Luna, of Water. These planets were in a state of chaos so Apsu and Tiamat made a planet that would hold power over the others. Eberron was created from the Elements and Agents, and all other planets revolved around it. Eberron was the most beautiful of all the planets, but even in their infinite wisdom, Apsu and Tiamat left it empty. Their children saw it a fitting tribute to each gift a metal unto Eberron. Ninurta gave Lead♄ from Saturn, Marduk gave Tin ♃ from Jupiter, Nergal gave Iron ♂ from Mars, Utu gave Gold ☉ from Sol, Ishtar gave Copper ♀ from Venus, Nabu gave Mercury, called Quicksilver by the common man ☿ from its namesake planet, and Sin gave Silver ☽ from Luna. Life on Eberron at this time was turbulent. The Twelve Agents fought, claiming land, sea, and air for their own. Soon, the Elements saw that order was needed and claimed their dominion on Eberron. First, Air claimed one quarter of Eberron. There, in its infancy, Eberron grew bright flowers and grass. Second, Fire claimed a quarter. There, in its youth, crops grew and thrived, and the world rippled with heat. Third, Earth claimed a quarter. There, in adulthood, the crops grew ready to harvest and the leaves changed. Last, Water claimed a quarter. There, in seniority, snow fell and plants withered and slept. Once order came, the Elements saw Eberron ready for Life. Each spilled their ichorous life force together to form the Four Humours. Air created Blood – the quality of sanguine. Fire created Yellow Bile – the quality of choleric. Earth created Black Bile – the quality of melancholic. Water created Phlegm – the quality of phlegmatic. Blood, Yellow and Black Bile, and Phlegm all mixed together to create all living things on Eberron. After seeing that life flourished, Apsu and Tiamat grew weary. They wished to rest, so they created a home in the stars. As the stars spun around Eberron, they realized that they would soon grew weary of this home as well. With this in mind, they created Twelve Holy Houses, so that every 28 days, they could visit a different house and never grow bored. Each House was made of one of the Elder Elements. Air made ♊,♎ ,♒ , Fire made ♈, ♌, ♐ , Earth made ♉, ♍, ♑ , and Water made ♋, ♏, ♓. As Apsu and Tiamat traveled the stars, they left life on Eberron to fend for itself without guidance, their own children busy with tending to their own planets. The creatures that Apsu and Tiamat left behind were known as the Gibborim, or Nephilim to the common man, and they were as man but towering and powerful. A single year to us, was a but a day to them. These giants spread across the land and learned the secrets of alchemy. The Nephilim were proud and lazy however, they did not want to work for themselves, so they created the races of man in their own image, to act as slaves. After creating man, the Nephilim saw that they were perfect and that they were to use the powers of alchemy to create their own gods. But their control of power was weak, from their experiments came not only deific beings, but also awesome demons, intent on unraveling the creations of the universe. The gods they had made were Ashur, Dagon, Arishkagal, Lamashtu, Pazuzu, Moloch, and Bes. The demons they created were born from ten angels, Kether, Chokmah, Binah, Chesed, Geburah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malkuth. The Nephilim’s power over alchemy was weak, so the angels grew into evil spirits, split into two halves of order and chaos. Those evil and ordered were Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Astaroth, Asmodeus, Belphegor, Baal, Adrammelech, Lilith, and Naamah, those evil and chaotic were Thamiel, Chaigidel, Sathariel, Gamchicoth, Golachab, Thagirion, Harab Serapel, Samael, Gamaliel, and Nehemoth. Ashur was the lord of animals, nature, and hunting. Dagon the lord of water, magic, and secrets. Arishkagal the lord of evil, demons, and suffering. Lamashtu, the lady of monsters, theft, and pregnancy. Pazuzu, the lord of the wind, winged creatures, and children. Moloch the lord of sacrifice, kingship, and shepherds. Bes the lord of Dwarves, the hearth, and craftsmanship. Of angels, Kether symbolized unity; Thamiel and Satan, duality. Chokmah symbolized wisdom; Chaigidel and Beelzebub, confusion. Binah symbolized understanding; Sathariel and Lucifer, concealment. Chesed symbolized kindness; Gamchicoth and Astaroth, devourment. Geburah symbolized severity; Golachab and Asmodeus, conflagration. Tiphereth symbolized beauty; Thagirion and Belphegor, grief. Netzach symbolized eternity; Harab Serapel and Baal, rot. Hod symbolized splendour; Samael and Adrammelech, desolation. Yesod symbolized foundation; Gamaliel and Lilith, pollution. Malkuth symbolized kingship; Nehemoth and Naamah, whispers. Apsu and Tiamat saw that the Nephilim had made their own gods as well as man and they were greatly angered by this. As punishment for their hubris, the living races of Eberron had their knowledge stricken from them.