The Only True Way is an alchemical text that was penned between 1577 and 1625, an exact date is not known but we know that it was after the death of Adam of Bodenstein and before its first known publication in the Musaeum Hermeticum. The author has remained anonymous and the work is scant in detail which the author explains as being due to his oath of silence, stating:
“I myself may not speak out as plainly as I would, for I am silenced by the vow which binds all the masters of the Art, the curse that lights on those who violate the sacred seal of Nature’s secrets, and the malediction of all the philosophers.”
Despite this oath, the author rages against the work of false teachings and complex alchemical theories and suggests that the reader dismiss all preconceptions in the art of alchemy and instead consider these three major points.
First, the prima materia is the original material from which all earthly things are synthesized. He emphasizes that the product of the synthesis is only dependent on the amount of heat that is applied to the prima materia, and speaks to the process as though it is like cooking food. For example, if the prima materia is heated to a certain degree for a certain amount of time, lead will be produced, under other conditions, the product will be gold, and under yet other conditions, the Philosopher’s Stone can be made. This concept is explained by the author in this way:
“Thus the special quality of every individual thing is to be referred to the degree of its coction.”
Second, the author does not define the prima materia but we are told that it is not composed of physical sulphur and mercury, as stated in other alchemical treatises. Instead, the prima materia is made up of the elementary states of sulphur and mercury, that being elementary fire (sulphur) and elementary water (mercury).
Third, the secrets of alchemy can only be revealed through the study of nature and the grace of God. He says:
“Now you must beseech Almighty God to give you the real philosophical temper, and to open your eyes to the facts of nature. Thus alone you will be able to reach the coveted goal.”
The author uses these theories to explain the origins of the material world around us, but, we can also extrapolate the esoteric wisdom of the text by considering it in terms of inner alchemy. We know from interpreting previous texts in The Hermetic Museum that sulphur is analogous to the conscious mind and mercury to the unconscious mind. So the prima materia from which the inner, personal Philosopher’s Stone is to be synthesized is the union of the active conscious and the passive subconscious, and the gentle heat that is to be applied is one’s own will and later, the will of God. The Philosopher’s Stone can be coagulated through the conjunction of soul and spirit, the will being the heat that drives the process.
Kindle eBook and Audiobook available here: https://amzn.to/3F2Q0k9
Socials and other links: https://linktr.ee/robertdjones