The Analytical Technique Applied to the Water Work

A Modern Approach

Joseph C. Lisiewski Jr.

In addition to the artful gleanings which the Alchemical experimentalist has learned to appreciate, the analytical nature of this Science must also be carefully kept in view in order to fully understand the processes and various manipulative operations which underlie this pursuit. It is essential then, that the modern student pose to every operation the questions:

1. What is to be accomplished in terms of a practical end result? 2. What common factors involved in the experiment can be more efficiently reproduced by modern means?

Of course, the understanding of the theory behind any given operation is a prelude to the above.

As an example of this approach, assume the student is engaged in the production of a functional, permanent Herbal Stone. If he chose to proceed according to the process laid down in Circulatum Urbigerus,1 he would find the first requirement is that of obtaining a sulphureous medium with which to imbibe the salts. Further, it would be apparent that a large quantity of menstruum, greatly reduced in concentration, would result. This in turn would require extended periods of imbibition of the salts in order to bring about the desired effect. Conversely, through the application of the analytical technique, he would find that through Soxhlet extraction, a highly concentrated sulphureous medium would be obtained, not only in a relatively short period of time, but due to its increased concentration would decrease the time neces. sary for imbibition of the salts in order to bring about their saturation.

Hence, the knowledge of the theory of each operation, coupled with the application of analysis, can go far toward the effective utilization of hme, while increasing the probability of successful completion.

The analytical technique applied to the water work theory

In the Golden Chain of Homer it states: Take a quantity of dew, rain, snow or hail which you like; but the most expeditious way is if you can take rain water from a thunder shower, receive it into clean glazed vessels, and filter it, in order to separate the dirt from it which intermixes from the roofs of houses, and you will, after filtration, have a Clear, Crystalline water, of no particular taste, in fact a fine clear water, fit to be used like any other fine water. Place this collected water in a warm garret, where neither the sun nor moon can shine upon it, cover the vessels with a linen cloth, to prevent the dust from getting into it.

Let it stand a Month unmoved, and if the place is warm enough, you will by this time perceive an alteration in the water, because this water begins by the power of the implanted spirit to grow warm although imperceptibly and to break. It begins to ferment and Putrefy and acquires a bad smell, and you will observe that it becomes turbid, although it was perfectly clear at first, and a brown spongy earth ascends swimming at the Top, which increases daily and from its weight falls to the bottom.

Here you see a separation, occasioned by the ingrafted spirit of the gross from the subtle. The separated earth is brown, spongy or like wool, slimy and slippery and this slimy earth is the Universal Gur of Nature.2

This Gur, or pre-adamic earth the base material from which the Kingdoms of Nature (i.e., the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal) are created.3

Now, the enterprising student who has attended the classes of Alchemical Instruction at the former Paracelsus Research Society (now, the Paracelsus College, Utah Institute of Parachemistry) and desires to reproduce this experiment encounters difficulty when comparing the technique as given in the Golden Chain Homer with the oral instructions delivered at the former Paracelsus Research Society. Specifically, students have been orally instructed to collect rain water during a violent electrical thunderstorm, but to do so in such a manner that the water so collected does not come into contact with a building, or the ground, in order to preserve the water's electrical charge. Yet, the Golden Chain of Homer instructs that the water be filtered to remove the dirt which intermixed with it from the roofs of houses. However, by applying the analytical technique, we shall see that the modern oral instructions have their basis in modern day considerations, and as such, are correct. Hence, using our analytical

technique we approach the problem in following manner: We know from the title page of the present edition that the Golden Chain of Homer was first published in Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1723. If we consider the structure of the dwellings of that period, we find they were composed of wood, brick, clay and straw, all of which are excellent insulating materials. In addition, we know that electricity was not yet harnessed, and therefore no electrical wiring existed in the dwellings. Hence, water collected from such structures retained its electrical charge, and was suitable for this experiment; in that time period.

Today, however, modern construction techniques not only employ electrical wiring for buildings, but grounded electrical connections which earth electrical charges. Rainpipes also are found possessing the same grounding principle, thus directing even minute electrical charges to ground. As a consequence, rainwater collected from buildings in this present day would lack the critical electrical charge component. It is therefore of fundamental importance that rainwater collected for the experiment of the generation of the 3 Kingdoms through Gur production be collected in vessels completely insulated from any ground connection so as to enable the water to retain its electrical charge.

Our second point of consideration is the purity of the atmosphere at the time when the water is collected, since the air should be as clean and clear as possible.4 Once again we must analyze the prevailing circumstances of the time in order to comply with the principles involved. If we consider the date of 1723, the date of the first publication of the Golden Chain of Homer, we find a world largely free of atmospheric contamination. In contrast, our own age is just the opposite: high levels of pollution in our environment have given rise to corresponding protection agencies aimed at rectifying these conditions. In relation to this, we have to consider the phenomena of acid rain. This is a form of atmospheric pollution resulting from high sulphur burning coal. Specifically, it contaminates rainwater during precipitation, such that the rainwater subsequently received is impure. Therefore, a sample of the collected rainwater should first be filtered and then distilled. If a murky, reddish brown substance remains in the distillation flask, the presence of acid rain can be suspected, requiring all the rainwater to be distilled prior to putrefaction. In this way, a contaminant free Gur can be assured.

Finally, we have to consider the phenomenon of lightning in order to understand more fully its role in the process. We know that lightning is an electrostatic phenomenon consisting of electrical discharge between adjacent clouds or between clouds and ground.5 And while the physics of lightning and its effects on rainwater are complex, the general consensus of alchemical theory on the subject requires its effects in order to produce a Gur which can be used to generate the 3 Kingdoms. Thus, if acid rain is detected requiring distillation prior to putrefaction, then high speed water distillers are called for which, due to their metallic construction and grounded electrical features, will negate the electrical charge. When such is found to be the case, or if it is desired to increase the electrical component of the water, then the phenomenon of lightning must be simulated. Such simulation can be achieved through the use

of a Van de Graaff generator. This is an electrostatic device which produces high voltage electrical power through the interaction of electric fields, and is easily adaptable to electrifying water.

Experimental procedure

I. Component preparation

Using our analysis thus far we have seen that it is necessary that the rainwater used for the generation of the 3 Kingdoms be collected directly from the sky. Further, due to atmospheric pollution, acid which can exist in the collected rainwater must be removed through distillation in order to achieve a contaminant-free Gur. Finally, when modern high speed water distillation techniques are used, negation of the water's electrical charge component can result. However, through electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graaff, the charge can be replaced. In order to comply with this criteria, the following methods and procedures were used:

A. Water Collection - Polyethylene sheeting available from most department and hardware stores can be used to construct a receiving vessel. The author used a section 12'x 100'(feet) suspended between wooden slats to construct a 1200-square-foot receptacle. During a violent electrical thunderstorm lasting only 45 minutes, 125 gallons of rainwater was collected.

B. Purification - The rainwater was checked for acid contamination by distilling a 500 ml. sample in a conventional distillation train. While the distillate was clear, the residue remaining in the distillation flask was murky, and reddish in color. Subsequent analysis by chromatographic techniques showed the presence of nitrates, sulphates, and a mixture of generally acidic components, thus establishing the presence of acid rain. Quantitative analysis showed concentrations as high as 0.05 grams per liter, a relatively high concentration which would adversely affect the purity of the Gur. Hence, the entire 125 gallons of rainwater were distilled using a high-speed steam distiller, which produced 11 gallons of distilled water per 24 hour period. In less than 12 days, the entire quantity of water was distilled, thereby eliminating the prohibitively long and tedious process encountered with conventional distillation trains.

C. Electrification - As previously mentioned, the use of typical highspeed steam distillers can result in the negation of the electrical charge component of the water. The charge can be reintroduced through electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graaff (in the absence of acid rain where prior

distillation is not required, this technique can be used to strengthen the water's existing charge). The author used a 500,000 volt at 50 microampere unit to electrify the water over a 12-hour period. This was accomplished by connecting a platinum electrode from the charged sphere of the Van de Graaff generator directly to the water. In this way, a concentrated simulation of lightning phenomena results in a highly charged water medium. Such Van de Graaff generators can be purchased in kit form from scientific supply houses for $100 to $200.

D. Gur production 123 gallons of the distilled, and electrified rainwater was placed in 10 plastic food grade containers, each with a capacity of 15 gallons. Two controls were also established, as follows:

Control 1 - 10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof of a house. This was filtered, but not electrified.

Control 2 - 10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof. It was filtered and electrified as previously described.

All containers were covered with a finely porous percale material and set aside in a dark place at 7580oF. for 90 days in order to putrefy.

At the end of 90 days, the containers were opened and the results analyzed. The 10 containers which had been distilled and electrified showed a 28% per container higher yield of Gur when compared to Control 2, and a 41% higher yield per container when compared to Control 1. In addition the Gur obtained through distilla ion and electrification had a much deeper reddish color to it, as well as a highly repetitive matrix structure. The Gur from Controls 1 & 2 lacked these properties.

Finally the Gur obtained from Controls 1 & 2 showed the presence of acidic components when analyzed by chromatographic techniques, thus establishing the carry through of the acids to the Gur formation.

Conclusion It has been shown that through distillation, acidic components present in rainwater should be eliminated prior to putrefaction in order to obtain a pure Gur. Further, electrostatic electrification of this

distilled rainwater prior to putrefaction not only results in a higher yield of Gur, but in a highly ordered structural arrangement of the substance.

It is up to the enterprising expermentalist to establish the relevancy of these techniques in his own generation of the 3 Kingdoms.

References

1. B. Urbigerus, Circulatum Urbigerus, 1690, Para Publishing Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973, pp. 36-37. 2. H. Nintzel, Compiler, The Golden Chain of Homer: Restoration of Alchemical Manuscripts Society, Richardson, Texas, 1978, pp.35-36. 3. Paracelsus Research Society, Parachemy, Vol V, No. 2 p.429; 1977. 4. Ibid. 5. "Lightning" Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th. ed., Vol. X, pp. 966-968.

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