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Libra Esoterica

Of Natural and Supernatural Things

Also of the first Tincture, Root, and Spirit of Metals and Minerals, how the same are Conceived, Generated, Brought forth, Changed, and Augmented.

by Basilius Valentinus & Daniel Cable (Translator)

  • First published: Date unknown
  • Language: English

"Of Natural and Supernatural Things" by Basilius Valentinus is a philosophical treatise that delves into alchemy, particularly the nature of metals and minerals, written in the late 17th century. The work juxtaposes the natural and supernatural realms, exploring the spiritual essence of metals and how they can be transformed through various alchemical processes. Valentinus, a Benedictine monk, seeks to reveal the hidden mysteries behind these transformations, intertwining scientific inquiry with theological reflections. The opening portion introduces the themes of duality between the natural and supernatural, explaining that everything consists of a visible, tangible element as well as an intangible, spiritual essence. Valentinus articulates various biblical instances of supernatural acts to establish a foundational understanding of his subject matter. The text sets the stage for a deep dive into the alchemical processes surrounding the "first Tincture," or essence, of metals, signifying how this transformative power can lead to both physical and spiritual enlightenment. Overall, the beginning establishes a mystical perspective on the significance of chemical transformations and their relationship with divine creation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Alchemy and Hermeticism and Occultism and esotericism.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Controlled discovery queries from project-gutenberg matched “supernatural”. Retained metadata contains “supernatural” in the title, “supernatural” in the description, and “supernatural” in the edition title.

    • supernatural· via Project Gutenberg
    • supernatural· in title
    • supernatural· in description
    • supernatural· in edition title
  • Alchemy and Hermeticism

    Controlled discovery queries from project-gutenberg matched “alchemy”. Retained metadata contains “Alchemy” in the description and “Alchemy” in the subject metadata.

    • alchemy· via Project Gutenberg
    • Alchemy· in description
    • Alchemy· in subject

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Editions

One edition cataloged here.

Also of the first Tincture, Root, and Spirit of Metals and Minerals, how the same are Conceived, Generated, Brought forth, Changed, and Augmented.

Project Gutenberg electronic edition

Project Gutenberg metadata does not identify the source print edition.

2008-08-17Project GutenbergEnglishPublic domain (USA)

Subjects

4 subject headings

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Identifiers

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Cataloging notes

  • Original print publication date and source edition are absent from Project Gutenberg metadata.
Catalog id
project-gutenberg:26340
Edition coverage
Project gutenberg electronic edition
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