Lunar Alchemy

In Construction…

1 Is it true that alchemists used the Sun-Moon pair to indicate in a cryptic way many of the dynamic – and apparently dichotomous – aspects of alchemical works?

Alchemists used the sun-moon pair to indicate in a veiled way the many “agent-patient”, “active-passive”, and “moisten-drying” aspects in alchemical works. In this sense, the sun indicated the active or drying role attributed to the male gender by the ancients. For example, Sun/Moon also expresses the Solve et Coagula phase (see Second-Main Work).

2 The events of the Sun-Moon pair defined as “polarity” also include their astronomical aspect…

Even in an astronomical sense, the Sun-Moon pair takes on active-passive connotations. the alchemic zodiac places the Sun high up or at the summer solstice, and so the signs of the zodiac, or on the elliptical, rotate in a heliocentric or solar direction, that is, in the same direction as the earth which rotates around the sun. the entry-exit axis, centered on the Cancer-Capricorn dichotomy, transversally separates the zodiac/elliptical into two polar halves, in which one half – the right one – is solar and rotates heliocentrically, while the other – the left one – is lunar and rotates geocentrically in a clockwise direction.

3 It is said that the Moon reflects the “cold” light of the Sun, not the warm one.

Actually, the ancients said that the moon borrows light from the sun. When we observe the moon we see the light with which the sun has illuminated it.

4 Like the spring of a clock, the Sun actively winds and the Moon passively discharges…

IN CONSTRUCTION…

5 The “fertilization” of the solar spark and the female ray in the earthly womb, for the alchemists, will become the origin of the “agent-patient” couple, active substance and passive substance…

Active/passive, agent/patient, are concepts ubiquitous throughout alchemical literature. Sometimes they are simply understood in a chemical sense (substance that moves and substance that is moved, see Concordances and Differences between Alchemy and Ancient Ordinary Chemistry), sometimes in an alchemical-esoteric sense of solar sparks and lunar rays (see also Palingenesis, Seeds in the Wind).

6 The sunlight sinks into the Moon.

It is said that sunlight is not simply reflected, but sinks into the lunar substance which modifies it before reaching the earth.

7 Yet the existence of a female seed was also admitted…

The agent that moistened and transformed the male spark into a ray was called, in fact, female seed. The uterus became a “sowing ground”.

8 It seems that the Moon almost becomes an object next to the Sun.

To sunlight rather than to the Sun. In any case, the Moon is not the only “object” next to sunlight; there are also earth and air. So, to be precise, a triad composed of Moon-Earth-Air.

9 Is it true that the Greek goddess closest to the concept of female seed is Athena?

True. Plutarch, in On the Face Appearing in the Moon Disk 24, says that Athena is the lunar aspect of “nourishment” and that every day the goddess causes Ambrosia to arise to nourish the gods and the world.

10 Can we understand Athena’s lunar Ambrosia as dew?

No. Athena’s lunar Ambrosia is not the common dew. We can define Ambrosia as the ray swollen by the solar spark. This symbolic language can explain little, but the alchemists have left no more scientific explanations about it.

11 The Moon as the hearth of Vesta/Hestia.

Hestia/Vesta, the goddess of inextinguishable and immovable fire, is Zeus’s messenger on earth, or rather, Hera’s. Hestia’s fire is said to be lunar.

12 By Lunar Alchemy we also mean the search for the right time for work…

If you are interested in the lunar phases suitable for the alchemical works you will find them in the various operating sections. See Before Preparatory Work, Magnetization, First-Preparatory Works, Eagle Wings or Volatilization, and Second-Main Work.

13 Even the Moon phases are a Sun-Moon relationship.

The moon phases we see are actually the amount of sunlight that is reflected at different angles.

14 The events of the Sun-Moon pair defined as “polarity” also include their astronomical aspect…

15 The ancients did not consider the Moon an Earth satellite but rather an anteearth and an antecosmos…

For the ancients, the Moon was sometimes an offshoot of the Earth into the cosmos and other times an offshoot of the cosmos onto the Earth. Without the Moon, the Earth could not communicate with the cosmos and the cosmos with the earth. The Moon was the first step to climb towards the cosmos and the last step to descend towards the Earth.

16 For some ancient cultures the nature of the Moon was entirely terrestrial…

We moderns make the Moon a star in the sky, but for the ancients the nature of the Moon was entirely terrestrial. Indeed, the Moon played roles for the Earth. For example, the Moon “gave voice” to the silent earth.

17 Yet the Moon was also considered the extension of the Sky towards the Earth…

For the ancients, another of the moon’s task was to “swell” the sky, which would otherwise be too weak to reach the earth.

18 The moon has a specific role as an intermediary vehicle between the immaterial and the material…

We have already encountered the “middle world”, pneumatikon ochêma, as an intermediary vehicle between the immaterial and the material. In Palingenesis, Seeds in the Wind we have read of a “spark” contained within each individual that must be “swelled” to become a true ray. It is precisely the passage next to the Moon that increases the spark.

19 Can we then say that the “ray” is gradually responsible for incorporation?

Alchemists say that incorporation is gradual and begins by passing by the Moon. The incorporporation follows the density it encounters. See also Air Alchemy, the Fabric and Air Alchemy, the Dust.

20 I would not like to quote, but an image from Chymischer Monden-Schein 1744 shows the Sun sending its influence to the Moon, which in turn also picks up the influence of the breathing of a cloud. Then the moon takes charge of sending a unified influence to the earth…

This is a graphical example of what was stated above regarding… IN CONSTRUCTION… (page 200 D.S.)

21 But the alchemists tell us that, before binding itself to a body, the pneumatikon ochêma is naturally hovering…

This intermediate vehicle, the pneumatikon ochêma, before binding itself to a body is naturally bound to the air it encounters.

22 And the Moon does not rule the this middle world…

In fact, the middle world rises and falls following the stellar influences.

23 If the Sun is defined as an amplifier of the Sky for the Earth, how is the Moon otherwise?

We have seen in Solar Alchemy how the Sun has the power, and the task, of amplifying the rays of the cosmos towards the earth, and with the rays also the “movements of the cosmic voices”. As for the moon, an alchemist would say that the moon is more terrestrial and humid, and has powers over the earth’s air.

24 Can the terrestrial and humid amplification of the Moon find a scientific explanation in the oxygen wind that hits her from the Earth?

The moon itself could hardly “humidify” cosmic influences if it were not bathed in oxygen from the Earth. Less known is that the earth has always been sent to the moon a kind of ‘breath of life, ie, a wind of charged particles of oxygen. The earth’s oxygen particles reach the moon when our planet, for five days every twenty-seven days, comes between the Sun and the Moon, shielding the latter from the wind of particles emitted by our star (the solar wind). During this period, the solar wind is deflected, and the particles trapped in most of Earth’s outer regions can reach the moon.

25 In short, what might one suppose the Moon does with Earth’s oxygen?

One might suppose that the Moon somehow “coated” with larger particles the “sparks” arriving from the cosmos. And, thus enlarged, these fell at night on the Earth’s crust. But, please note that these are just my conjectures on finding a scientific explanation, given the current state of physics.

26 For alchemists the Moon acts on the air…

If we give the middle world between the immaterial and the material, the vehicle between heaven and earth, the consistency of air (in fact it is called pneumatic) then we can actually say that the Moon acts on the air. See Air Alchemy, the Dust.

27 I imagine that, in the sense of “air thickener”, the Moon acts on the dusty air. What about the fabric of the air, instead?

If by “fabric” of the air we mean a sort of movement that “weaves” the air molecules, then we will see how the Moon is also in this case an amplifier of an almost “mute and deaf” Earth. See Air Alchemy, the Fabric.

28 Similar to the operation with solar dust, alchemists believed that parallel methods could be employed with moonlight, but to embody the stellar light instead…

In fact, methods similar to those used to obtain solar dust were performed using the moon to incorporate stellar light, or rather influences, instead.

29 Even in the case of moonlight – or, through our satellite, the stellar influences – concave mirrors were used…

Alchemists believed that lunar-stellar influences could be collected in the form of water by means of concave mirrors.

30 You mentioned moonlight, so that leads us to think that the best time to collect moonlight was during the full moon phases…

You will be surprised to know that the moonlight of the full moon was considered by alchemists as “full of sunshine”, instead. So as to be useless for collecting the mysterious and dark influences of the stars.

31 But with the full moon it was possible to collect the complementary principle to the sun…

In fact, with the full moon it was possible to collect the complementary principle to the sun, that is, the feminine one: the lunar humidity that gave “body” to the solar spark, so evanescent in himself.

32 Are we to infer that the moon provides two, and different, principles?

That’s right, the moon is alchemically indispensable in all its phases: full to collect the “swollen and humidified sun” and dark to collect the stars, usually so disturbed by the sun.

33 Are the agricultural and maritime traditions on the Moon also valid in Alchemy?

It would be too easy if the agricultural and maritime traditions on the Moon were also valid in Alchemy. Well, no, it is not that simple. The moon, in Alchemy, has a mysterious role that could even contradict the agricultural uses of sowing and harvesting and the maritime uses of the tides. Especially when talking about the Moon in Alchemy, one should choose which of its aspects to observe: gravity, reflection of sunlight, reflection of rays from the cosmos, etc. The problem is that even today we know little about the moon, except that if it were not there, there would be no life on earth. But this is precisely the main enigma: what is the trigger for life?

34 But is it also true that for the ancients the moon was the wedge of the sky in the earth?

True. As we will see later, the moon was often a link between heaven and earth. The moon has been commonly considered since time immemorial as a powerful solar, stellar and planetarian refraction/diffusion system to the earth and this was also from the alchemical point of view, as we will see in this section.

35 Is the moon “lord” of the water element on which the earth is based?

Ancient legends say that the earth rests on a fish that sail through a primordial ocean. We know that alchemists define “water” as everything that flows. So the moon is the lord of the “flow” on which the earth floats. See Water Alchemy and The Four Alchemical Elements. If this aspect seems only poetic to us, perhaps it is a little less so if we interpret it with a “sonic” meaning. The ancients said that if the earth shakes it is because of the mobility of the water. The ancient Greeks were not surprised by this if they gave Poseidon, the deity of the sea par excellence, also attributes of earthquake.

36 Is it true that the Spiritus Mundi descends to Earth through the Moon?

As we have already seen, but we repeat, the Spiritus Mundi during the day hovers in the upper parts of the atmosphere due to the power of the sun. Only at night, and by means of the moon, can it descend to the surface of the earth to penetrate the most secret recesses of the earth’s crust.

37 Is it true that the moon acts “in the name and on behalf” of the stars?

True. Here we are talking about the movements of the “philosophical sea”. As we have already seen in Flow and Reflux, the cycles and phases of the movement of the “philosophical sea” have many analogies with the cycles and phases of the ordinary movement of the ordinary tides. But, unlike the ordinary tides, in which the moon has a primary role, the movement of the “philosophical sea” is attributed by alchemists to the moon only in its role as intermediary of stars and planets.

38 Is it true that the moon also acts “in the name and on behalf” of the Sun?

Truey. As we will see below, the Sun is the lord of individual sparks and uses the moon to make a true ray towards the earth.

39 Is it true that the moon is considered by alchemists to be a kind of “clock” of the flows of the philosophical sea?

Today we tend to think of it as a clock because a timepiece, in our imagination, can be divided into quadrants. In reality, the moon has four “quarters” or lunar phases that make up its monthly cycle, precisely, circular. At the “strike” of each phase, or quadrant, the moon functions as an intermediary of the philosophical sea.

40 What do alchemists say about the lunar cycles of the “philosophical sea”?

The cycle of a large oscillating mass of philosophical sea corresponds to a lunar cycle and is equivalent to two cycles of oscillating masses which are about half as many, and which correspond to the maximum and minimum levels of the sea. The maximum of the philosophical sea is on the north-south axis and coincides with the full moon in the south and the absence of moon in the north. The minimum of the sea instead corresponds to the first quarter in the east and the last quarter in the west. Two cycles of the philosophical sea correspond to one cycle of the moon, but not exactly. The Moon, at each quarter phase change, receives influences from the Stars. Thus the Moon contributes to the flow and reflux of the philosophical sea in conjunction with the other Planets, and not individually, as one might imagine. This happens in the so called third movement. See Flow and Reflux.

41 Could the increased gamma-ray radiation from the Moon be an explanation for its role in acting on “behalf” of the stars?

It’s a recent discovery that the Moon is brighter than the Sun in the gamma spectrum, radiation generated by cosmic rays hitting the lunar surface. Gammas are also emitted during nuclear reactions, so much so that – together with neutrons – they are practically their “signature”. That could be an explanation, of course.

42 Is it true that sinkholes in the Earth’s crust appear to be swallowing up descending long-wave radiation?

Günther Zängl’s model for the downward longwave radiation in sinkholes has indeed demonstrated how massive their presence was in the vicinity of sinkholes.

43 The ancients said that the quality of the rays hollows out the moon.

Indeed, Plutarch writes an entire work on the face of the moon and says that the quality of the refraction of the rays that would reach the moon engraves and shapes it like a sculptor.

44 What is this quality of rays?

The moon is the star par excellence of the rhythms of life. Indeed, there is a realm of the dead and a realm of births, since the moon is said to dissolve and regenerate bodies. The moon is therefore a rhythmic meeting place between the sun and the earth.

45 Perhaps this is why it is also said that the Moon determines the bodies?

Neoplatonic philosophers said that it was the Nous that determined bodies. Now the question is: is the moon closer to the intellect or to the Nous? For an alchemist, it’s more daring to speak of the Nous than of lunar influences.

46 Hecate, the goddess who gets between, especially at night, is said to be lunar.

Plutarch says that Hecate is the night, rather than the moon.

47 So maybe Persephone is the Moon.

Not entirely, it is the earth that gives Persephone her lunar appearance: The side of the moon that faces the earth was called the anti-earth. This was Persephone.

47 Does the Moon go the way of the demons or do the demons go the way of the Moon?

If one believes in a swarming of entities, i.e., in a continuum without void, the moon has the property of forming and dividing entities in the air through all its sections. This action is known as the “lunar chain”.

48 In the description of Achilles’ shield, what role does Homer give to the moon?

Describing Achilles’ shield ( XVII, 482-486), Homer places the sun in a point where it “does not set”, between the Hyades and the Plèiades, and the Chariot of the Bear and the Pole (among the stars the only one that does not immerse itself in the ocean). The planets remain absent, so all the subsequent calendrical notation systems are centered on the moon and its phases.

49 Is it true that in some cases dew is mistakenly attributed to the Moon?

True. Although the moon is commonly imagined as the producer and regulator of the movement of liquids on the earth, alchemists think differently and attribute to the moon properties mainly of amplification and reflection of the stars, planets and the sun. In the specific case of dew, alchemists attribute the main cause to the sun through the moon. See Flow and Reflux.

50 The Moon can act as a polarizer of sunlight. Is it also in Alchemy?

When the moon is in the first and last quarter phases, the sunlight spreads at 90 degrees, in fact, we know that in the blue sky, at 90 degrees, we have an almost completely polarized light. Thus, even the moon in its quarters presents a polarization of its radiation, which depends on the time and the weather conditions.

51 Can we extract and/or condense the Spiritus Mundi from the Moon?

As we cannot extract and/or condense Spiritus Mundi directly from the Sun, we also cannot extract it directly from the Moon. Nevertheless, in the same way, the lunar beams can strike and affect the surrounding airborne and watery particles and produce chemical reactions, which may improve these matters’ magnetization, allowing the Spiritus Mundi to come out. When medieval alchemists claimed to gather the lunar beams as a liquid, they instead gathered the airborne, aerosol, and water particles with improved magnetization.

52 Is it true that the Moon is a supreme “destroyer,” much more so than the Sun?

As we will see in First-Preparatory Works, magnetization is a phase of exposure mostly at night during which the raw material should absorb and release as much Spiritus Mundi as possible. Alchemists know that the moon “does its job” much more than the sun, in fact magnetizing exposures are mostly performed at night.

53 Is it true that also the moon was a bridge between the Sky and Earth for the alchemists?

The moon is commonly known as a powerful solar refraction/diffusion system and a regulator of the earth’s tides and saps. But the alchemists knew that the moon acted in the “name and on behalf” of the stars and planets.

Less known is that the earth has always been sent to the moon a kind of ‘breath of life, ie, a wind of charged particles of oxygen. The earth’s oxygen particles reach the moon when our planet, for five days every twenty-seven days, comes between the Sun and the Moon, shielding the latter from the wind of particles emitted by our star (the solar wind). During this period, the solar wind is deflected, and the particles trapped in most of Earth’s outer regions can reach the moon.

Secondly, it’s a recent discovery that the moon is brighter than the sun in the gamma spectrum, radiation generated by cosmic rays hitting the lunar surface. Gammas are also emitted during nuclear reactions, so much so that – together with neutrons – they are practically their “signature”.

Secondly, the moon may dismember more effectively than the sun. Third, the moon acts on the part of Spiritus Mundi, which is known to behave like a fluid. So the composition of the air is decisive when working the Mercurius.

The laboratory alchemist must admit that they behave similarly without necessarily wanting to compare Spiritus Mundi and the etheric or subtle body surrounding and interpenetrating all bodies. The moon symbolically represents Hekate, the mysterious three-headed goddess ubiquitous in heaven, earth, and the underworld.

In alchemical symbolism, the moon is principally the Mercurius of the wet path due to its whitish and translucent aspect. But all polar aspects of sulfur are also called lunar.

Lastly, the ancients considered the moon a repeater in every sense.

54 Is it true that in Alchemy, the Moon is not only an astronomical cosmic repeater but also a repeater of “repetitions”?

This is due to the short cycles of its phases. The Druids were known to place the utmost importance on natural “repetition” repeaters.

55 Is it true that, for the alchemists, the Moon was also a sonic repeater?

In this aspect, the lunar symbol represents Mercurius and, as such, also the sonic force. Alchemists say that the lunar essence can preferably arrive undisturbed on Earth at night.

56 Is it true that the earth’s humidity influences the behavior of the moon towards the earth?

Earth’s humidity somehow affects the moon, and modifies its return influences.

57 What are atmospheric chemical compounds more likely to undergo reactions when affected by moonlight?

Nitrogen compounds, same as for the sunlight. And in addition, all aerosol and watery particles. But moonlight would affect compounds and cause reactions mildly and differently than sunlight.

58 What phase of the Moon is the most powerful when reflecting the solar beams?

The answer already given in Alchemical Timing & Astronomical Code: The Moon reflects the Solar beams, so its distance from the Sun determines the stream strength. The full Moon is when the Moon is weaker, as it is farthest from the Sun. In contrast, the Moon, beginning to appear as a crescent, is the strongest.

59 What phase of the Moon is the most powerful in influencing the terrestrial waters? As well as the ascent of the Mercurius?

The answer is already given in Alchemical Timing & Astronomical Code: When the Moon is closest to the Earth—the onset of the crescent moon.

60 When are the Phases of the Moon critical?

The answer already given in Alchemical Timing & Astronomical Code: The Phases of the Moon are essential for the operations that should be strictly performed at night. In any case, when it comes to handling and managing Mercurius.

61 Is it true that the aspects of the Moon with the solar revolution are also important?

True. For instance, the Greek deity Pluto/Hades represents the submerged sun during the winter solstice, and Persephone/another-aspect-of-Demeter is the phase of the moon during this period.

62 What about the positions of the so-called “three bodies” or interactions between the three astronomical sun-earth-moon bodies?

In Alchemy the lunar phases are actually a cover name to allude to the interactions between the three bodies sun-earth-moon.

63 In the case of the three astronomical bodies, which of these is the determinant of the interaction?

The astronomical body that at any given moment acts as an interaction between the two. Sometimes the earth, sometimes the moon, sometimes the sun.

64 Is it true that the moon’s phases can also influence the alchemical composition of the water?

Baroque alchemists said water was the bond, glue, of the volatile spirit. The role of water in Alchemy is to return the spirit to its land.

65 Is it true that the moon’s phases can also influence the composition of the air?

That is rather accurate. The composition of the air is decisive when working on Mercurius and Spiritus Mundi.

66 Is it true that the moon’s phases can also influence the composition of the aura?

The composition of the aura surrounding the bodies is uncertain, but, from the alchemical point of view, it is considered an air enriched with Spiritus Mundi and is a “place” of communion. Alchemists identify it with Hecate and consider it sensitive to a lunar phase. Like the Spiritus Mundi, the aura remains suspended in the high areas of the sky and night falls, by means of the moon.

67 Is it true that the moon has the property of moving in the “continuous” space between beings and objects?

The ancients believed that the space between one being and another was not empty, but rather a “continuum” that varied in intensity, and that the moon was the most appropriate “ ship” for moving through these densities.

68 If we want to define alchemical light as a medium of propagation, could the goddess Hecate of Greek mythology also play the role of a luminous/astral/medium?

The goddess Hecate of Greek mythology already personifies the “continuous” space between beings and objects, so she would seem to be the most suitable for the role of “medium”.

69 What about the role of the Moon as an intermediary between Macrocosm and Microcosm?

This is a role assigned by the archaic civilizations of the Mediterranean to the moon understood as divinity. Greek mythology identifies the moon with the nocturnal hunters, those who send souls to bodies, for example, Diana/Artemis.

Persephone is the lunar aspect of Pluto’s world. Pluto/Hades represents the submerged sun during the winter solstice, and Persephone/another-aspect-of-Demeter is the phase of the moon during this period.

Hecate, the goddess akin to the deities of the Aura, is said to be the glue between Apollo and Hermes/Mercury.
Catholic Christianity gives the moon an attribute similar to the mother of Christ, an intermediate role between God and humankind. In fact, in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea she was worshiped as a means to reach a Deity otherwise too distant.

67 What is the role of the Moon in the world of sound?

Greek mythology says that the moon gives sound to earth, which would be silent. In the planetary chain of sounds, the moon belongs to the low octaves.

68 Is it alchemically relevant that the mother of the twins Apollo and Diana is Leto?

Leto, or Latona, or Leiton represents the mercurial white that will start the Rota or rotation of colors in the humid way. Latona will be the one who will be divided at the beginning of the second-principal work and will be used for the “washings”.

Previous: Planets, Bells

Next: Stellar Alchemy, the Aerial Ropes