The Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians.
(Continuation.)
[Die geheimen Figuren der Rosenkreuzer. (Fortsetzung.)]
Franz Hartmann, M.D.[1]
For part I, click here.
Translation from the German by Robert Hütwohl
This document incorporates live notes. Click on a superscripted endnote number in the text to jump to its corresponding endnote; click on the superscripted endnote numeral in the endnotes to return to the original text reference.
Translator’s note (Robert Hütwohl);
The text explores the reasons behind the alchemists’ and Rosicrucians’ use of veiled language in describing the preparation of the “philosopher’s stone.” It suggests that these teachings, while containing profound truths, were intentionally obscured to protect the uninitiated, as the knowledge was considered too powerful and potentially misused. The text emphasizes the importance of spiritual purity, divine inspiration, and a sincere heart in comprehending and utilizing this sacred art.
The text delves into the complexities of alchemy, emphasizing the importance of understanding the “first matter” and the “stone” in achieving mastery. It highlights the divine nature of the art, requiring patience, perseverance, and adherence to natural principles. The text also underscores the secrecy surrounding the art, warning against revealing its secrets to the unworthy.
End.
The “Philosopher’s Stone.”
Selected sayings of the ancient alchemists and Rosicrucians relating to the preparation of the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of life and universal medicine.
Preliminary Remark.
It is often asked why the ancient alchemists and Rosicrucians, if their description of the preparation of the “philosopher’s stone” is only about initiation and spiritual rebirth, did not divulge their secrets to the public, but cloaked their teachings in language quite incomprehensible to the uninitiated; since the doctrine of being born again in the Bible is often written clearly and distinctly, if one only knows how to read it properly?
In answer to this question it might be said that the teachings of the alchemists and Rosicrucians are also contained in their writings plainly and distinctly for all who properly comprehend and understand them; but that the holy truths to which these teachings refer were brought to view only in a veiled form, there were evidently good reasons for this:
First of all, things of which he has no experience, because they lie beyond his intellectual horizon, cannot be made visible to a person, other than through pictures, symbols and comparisons with things he knows. Secondly, the proclamation of the truth, when inconsistent with ecclesiastical interests, has always been, and in a certain sense still is today, a dangerous thing. Examples of martyrs of truth are Socrates, Giordano Bruno, Savonarola, Michael de Molinos and many others who taught that man did not need the mediation of the clergy to find his God (his higher Self) and that the power of salvation is contained in the heart of man himself. Furthermore, the enlightened well knew that only he who gains knowledge of the truth through his own divine inspiration and strength can actually come into possession of it, while all externally learned scholarly stuff flies away like chaff in the wind, and they therefore sought to stimulate the serious researcher with symbols, to draw his attention to the path to self-knowledge and to serve as a guide. Finally, they heeded the warning given in the Bible, Matthew VI. 6, and they well knew the dangers of profaning the name of God through the abuse of spiritual powers. For the wicked and foolish, their own ignorance is their best protection from perdition.
Sayings of Wisdom,
which are not invented by men, but are taught by wisdom itself to anyone who listens to its voice (“The Voice of [the] Silence”).
“It will be asked: What is the condition of a man who follows the true light as far as he can? — I answer: He who is not such a man can neither know nor understand it, and he who understands it cannot express it; for it is inexpressible.” (Theologia germanica.)
“It is a word that speaks forever. It speaks itself inwardly, but not in itself, and yet it can never be spoken. This word is I, everything and nothing, heaven and hell, light and darkness, good and evil, will and desire, joy and sadness, essence and appearance, time and eternity, angel and devil, life and death, something and nothing, Man and God, All in All; it creates everything, remains eternally uncreated and is everything itself that it creates. It is called Christ.” (“The Secret Figures of the Rosicrucians.”)[2]
“This work is greater than that we should experience with reason alone, where it would not be revealed to us by special inspiration or intuition.” (“Turba philosophorum.”)
“Know that this art is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and is given to none save he that pleases God.” (“Rosar. Maj.”)
“Our art is in the power of God, who out of his mercy either gives it or takes it away from whomever he wants.” (Geber.)
“Son, put your heart more in God than in art; for it is a gift from God, and he imparts it to whomever he wills. Therefore have rest and joy in God, and you will have art.” (Alanus.)
“Know, son, that you cannot have this art until you have purified your mind and God sees that you have a sincerely faithful heart. Wherever God finds a faithful heart, he certainly manifests this art.” (Alphidius. “In Lilio.”)
“This art is a secret which God preserves and keeps for those who fear, rightly love and honor him.” (Hermes.)
“There is no doubt, if you keep God before your eyes, love him and trust him, ask for such wisdom from him and work alongside it, that you may obtain such a noble treasure without any means.” (Bernh. Comes Tervis.)
“We cannot know anything thoroughly in this art unless God directs us to do so. Neither can we accomplish anything unless it is first decreed in His divine counsel that we should have it.” (Morienus.)
“God trusts and shows this art only to his chosen and faithful servants.” (Morienus.)
“If you practice the fear of God, you will see clearly the hidden nature of this art and the same power and recognize the spirit of the highest, that all wisdom was from God and was with God forever.” (Senior.)[3]
“Oh, Lord! Only show this art to those who prove in their work and in deed that they love you and their neighbors from the heart, and also have good intentions to use it properly.” (H. Khunrath.)
“Whoever reveals or discovers this mystery to an unworthy person is a criminal of the heavenly victory and an offender of the divine majesty; he shall be subject to God’s punishment, with much calamity.” (Author in Apoc.)
“I beg you children of philosophy, through the one who shows us everything good, and who has also shown you the grace of his goodness, that you do not disclose this art to anyone who is immature, ignorant, despises or otherwise suspects. If you do this, you will not go unpunished by God.” (Hermes.)
“Let everyone know that if he whom God has revealed to this art will maliciously and with defiant seriousness despise it, or treat them badly and contemptuously in this way out of frivolity, or do not keep their teacher in good faith, God will not let him escape heart, body and soul from temporal curse and punishment.” (H. Khunrath.)
“Whoever reveals this art to a wicked man shall be cursed, and the wrath of God shall come upon him that he shall die a wicked, sudden death.” (Author Rosar.)
“Whoever does not recognize nature, it is impossible for him to get into this art, unless it is done through special inspiration and instruction from a master.” (H. Khunrath.)
“God’s word has made a synthetic work out of the lowest elements and has put it together and has been united with the master worker God; for it was of one substance, nature, and essence with him. — Whoever knows himself as he is from God, knows God, the good that is above nature; yes, whoever goes into himself and recognizes himself, enters into God and also recognizes God.” (Hermes.)
“Son, I beseech you first of all, that you fear God; for in this is the effort of all your work, and the union of every separated thing.” (Hermes.)
“The Creator ordered all this out of nothing so that man not only has to see and respect the earthly, but also has to recognize the heavenly as the supernatural at the same time.” (Basilius Valentinus.)[4]
“This art is a special gift of God and might well compel a wicked boy, who would like to see it properly, to love God and to desist from evil; for no one can tell enough how fervently man becomes against God when he has rightly obtained it and been righted.” (Com. Tervis.)
“Know, that in this work body, soul, and spirit[5] are together, and is a thing to which nothing is added, nor anything foreign introduced from without.” (In Lilio.)
“Know, that nature delights in nature, and that nature overcomes nature, and one nature sustains another nature, and yet they are not different natures, nor many, but one alone.” (Turba.)
“People work well, but God gives them the good fortune to make it well.” (Haly.)[6]
“If God the Most High does not will, you will fail in art.” (Philos.)
“You who want to investigate and experience the perfection of this art must recognize the first matter of metals well and correctly, otherwise you will work in vain.” (Arnoldus de Villa Nova.)
“The name of our stone (i.e., matter) must not be revealed to everyone indiscriminately in general, with damnation of his soul; because one could not answer to God for it. That is why one should rather die than reveal this art to an unworthy person.” (Rosinus.)
“Our stone is difficult for some, but impossible for the wise to explore (without God’s will), and known only to the children of wisdom.” (Plato.)
“This is the whole mastery, that the highest becomes the lowest, and on the other hand the lowest becomes the highest, and is boiled until the lead ore flows with the ferment or yeast in the beginning or middle, and added to the end. Then it alloys, while in the projection or interjection it will flow and melt like wax.” (Turba.)
“The artist should be of a constant will; Don’t do this or that soon, because our art does not exist in the multiplicity of materials. It is only a thing, a medicine, a stone, in which all mastery resides and is accomplished, to which we add no external or alien thing; Only in its preparation do we eliminate the superfluous, for everything that is necessary for mastery of this art is contained in and from it.” (Geber.)
“Be sure that there is only one thing, from which everything that you desire is made.” (Rosinus.)
“If you do not find our stone at the hour of its birth, you must not expect any other in its place.” (Haly.)[7]
“The sun is its father, the moon its mother, and the wind carried it in its belly.” (Hermes.)[8]
“When you turn one element into the other, that is, making water out of earth, air out of water, and fire out of air, then you conquer art.” (Alexander Phil.)
“If we say that our matter is a spirit, it is true. If we say it is one body, we do not lie. If we call them heavenly, it is of the same name; if we call them earthly, then it is also not uncomfortable to speak. The opinion is the same, though the words do not agree.” (Milvesonidus.)[9]
“Just as the soul is and moves in all members of the human body, so this spirit is and moves in all elemental creatures.” (Avicenna.)
“What is nature but (essentially) God; namely, the divine power implanted in all creatures. God is not without nature and so nature is not without God; but both are one thing and have an office.” (Seneca.)
“All materials which are bought for money are not suitable for our universal and great work; for it is the son of the great world, the stone which God alone gave in vain and gave for nothing.” (H. Khunrath.)
“Our matter comes from man and man is also their offspring.” (Morienes.)
“Our stone has two noble concealments, one is the true knowledge of matter, the other its preparation. See to it that you do not err in the knowledge of the matter when you first enter this art, otherwise you will not understand the philosophers properly, let alone their universal work and the particularia flowing from it.” (Turba.)
“This is the highest, most explicit, very deepest, most hidden and most deeply rooted art among all other arts in the world, but on the other hand it also conveys God’s instruction and blessing easily and surely.” (In Tabula paradis.)
“The whole composition is just child’s play for the sake of its value and the whole work can be done in one dish.” (Philosopher.)[10]
“If one has recognition in addition to ability, then one has the end of concealment and the true beginning of this high art.” (H. Khunrath.)
“The very first work in this art is that we dissolve the dry stone☉or ☽ to make ♀, or it enters into its very innermost being.” (Alanus.)
“The philosopher’s stone was created ready by nature, and I swear to you that it needs nothing more than that one separates from it that which is so impure and superfluous on and in it.” (Rosar. majus.)
“To purify the heart and seek good and desist from evil, this is the religion of the enlightened.” (Buddha.)
Unless the corpora of materials are properly resolved, all labor is for nothing and of no avail.” (Razes.)
“Light is the form, the living essence and real power, and the burning splendor of the soul, or the heavenly, incomprehensible fire.” (Apoc. alchem.)
“Whoever works in this art without salt is like one who wants to shoot from a bow without strings.” (Soliloquii.)[11]
“The salt gives the congelation that it runs together and becomes tangible; because without salt nothing is tangible. But there are various kinds of salt, as well as various kinds of sulfur and mercury.” (Theophrastus.)[12]
“Gold is microcosmos, a small world, and has three principia and four elements, and is a celestial substance, heaven and rays of the sun. Therefore it consists in fire and is the highest medicine, and has in it all the suns of heaven and all the herbs of the earth.” (Theophrastus.)
“Remember that the fire at the beginning of the work should be gentle, then moderate, and last strong; namely, to be multiplied slowly, until the stone becomes white, and at last red.” (Arnoldus.)
“Patience and not haste is necessary for this work; for haste is of the devil, especially in this work.” (Philos.)
“Not just art and science, patience is required in the work.” (Goethe, “Faust”).
“Notice and take heed that your door is well shut, lest he that is within flee out, and thou, by the grace of God, may attain the effect.” (Philos.)[13]
“The philosophers have written much of the vaporous fire, which they have called Ignem Sapientiae, and have reported that it is a supernatural fire, which may well also be called divine.” (Philos.)
“Our water is the fire which burns gold more than natural fire. In this uniformly pure, translucent water the bodies Sol and Luna dissolve and in no other on earth.” (Alanus.)
“Know that our fire is a common fire and our furnace is a common furnace. The work is promoted and made manifest by the government of fire alone.” (“Basilius Valentinus.”)[14]
“The putrefaction of the body is the beginning of the work, and it happens with gentle warmth so that nothing rises; for such a thing would rise, there would be a separation of Mercury and the body, which should not be, so long and much, until man and woman, Mercury and anima are completely connected with each other and come into a being of blackness.” (Alanus. )
“Cook diligently, and don’t let it bother you, and don’t hurry with it. Don’t think about the loss of other things in circulation, but diligently wait until the end.” (Rasis.)
“See that the vessel is always closed in the work and has constant warmth; for nothing in the world is perfected without constant practice and nobler if you are persistent in the work.” (Longanus.)
“A master should always keep to himself more art and science than he puts into the book he is writing.” (Hermes.)
“Anyone who works differently will certainly fail; But whoever will work according to our commandment will certainly see the true art and the right mastery.” (Speculum Alchem.)
“This art is no longer remembered in the high schools, and the peasants know more about it than our Magi, the natural masters, that they are not unjustly called the natural fools who only learn behind themselves with so much expense and effort and are the devil’s taunts.” (Dr. Martin Luther.)
“We should heed the way, which nature has prescribed and deviate in no way from the way.” (Seneca.)[15]
Notes:
[1] The Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians. (Continuation.) [Die geheimen Figuren der Rosenkreuzer. (Fortsetzung.) Franz Hartmann, M.D. Neue Lotusblüten 4, no. 3-4 (March-April 1911), 71-86] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}
[2] Cf. John I. 1. — “Wisdom” I. 7. — Psalm XXX. 6.
[3] See I Corinth. II. 6-16.
[4] “Supernatural” is what works and creates in nature; the form-generating principle, life, consciousness, the spirit.
[5] The lower apparent self merges into the higher true Self.
[6] Ātmā, buddhi, manas. 🜂
[7] The “birth of the stone” is the awakening of the higher consciousness in the human soul.
[8] The sun is the will (the “Father”), the moon is the thought (the “Son”), the wind is the ether (the Spirit).
[9] {R.H.— Hermetica Victoria, das ist: vollkommen erfochtener Sieg und Triumph, des welt-beruffenen und gleichwohl verachteten Herma-aphroditi, über die gantze Schaar der Götter und Patronen des metallischen und mineralischen Reichs; dass er, und nicht dieselben, die prima Materia Lapidis Philosophorum sey. Unter einem im Traum gesehenen Reichs-Tage und daselbst gehörten Bespräche vorgetragen, und zum Druck befördert durch Hermann Fictuld, pseud. Leipzig, Bey Michael Blochberger, 1750 [Hermetica Victoria, that is: fully achieved victory and triumph, of the world-renowned and at the same time despised Herma-aphroditi, over the entire host of gods and patrons of the metal and mineral realm; that he, and not the same, is the prima Materia Lapidis Philosophorum. Presented during a Reich Day seen in a dream and discussions heard there, and promoted to print by Hermann Fictuld, pseud. Leipzig, by Michael Blochberger, 1750]}
[10] In a human body, in a single incarnation.
[11] The ideal must be realized. Enthusiasm does not lead to the goal.
[12] The “salt” is substance, “sulphur” is life, “mercury” is intelligence.
[13] Matthew VI 6th —
[14] The “oven” is man, the fire is love. intelligence and soul combine; the realm of illusion disappears.
[15] This path is the path of growth and development from within through nourishment from without; it is consequently not a composite thing. Not from a mixture of plural opinions or plural desires (fire), but from the growth of the soul through the influence of the light of truth, knowledge is born and the tree of life brings forth flowers and fruit.