In symbolic alchemy, Eagle or Eagles it is sublimation synonym. Eirenaeus Philalethes in an Open Entrance to the Closed Palace of the King not used this term to mean sublimation but a distillation.

Take care and seek an original text because, of opposite, you can be induced in mistake if you don't know the modus operandi.

Therefore for times confrontation of opinions appears because the people have not read the same books.

«V- Each preparation of Mercury with your arsenic is an eagle; as soon as the feathers of the eagle be purged of the blackness of the crow, do so that the eagle flies up to seven times, it wants to say, that the sublimation is made so many times; then the eagle or the sublimation, is well prepared and disposed to rise naturally to the tenth time.» (Portuguese edition).

«V- Chaque preparation du Mercure avec son Arsenic est une aigle, pour purger les plumes de l'aigle de la noiceur du corbeau, fais que le volatile s'envole sep a dix fois, et tout sera préparé.» (French edition).

«V-The secret of the just preparation of the Sophic Mercury: every single preparation of the Mercury with its arsenic is one Eagle; the feathers of the Eagle purged of its Crow like blackness, make it to fly the seven flight, and it is prepared even until the ten flight.»

(English edition)

As you can see, just the Portuguese text in makes reference to the sublimation and English to fly that is sublimation or distillation synonym. For us, the more credible will be it English text.

«VI-I takes the requested Mercury and I mixed it with your true arsenic. The amount of Mercury was of four ounces more or less and I lighten the consistence of the mixture; I purged it in a convenient way then, I distilled it, which gave me the body of the Moon; the one that did know me that I had made my preparation according to the Art, and very well.»

The same French text doesn't mention the distillation but English refers it.

We know well for the reading of the Flamel's Testament that the lunar or solar regulus amalgam with the mercury is distilled in a stainless steel dismountable retort.

What is the purpose of this distillation? Flamel in the Breviary in English, Testament, tells us which is the purpose of this distillation:

«You can believe that this mercury ate a little of the King's body and that this will have force much more of dissolving the other, that it will be, further on, much more open for the Saturnia body.

You will have, like this, gone up a step in the stairway of the Art. Takes the faeces of the retort, melting it in a crucible with strong fire, for makes to leave of them all the saturnine smog and when the Sun in fusion be purified, it infuses inside, as of the first time, two parts of Saturnia.»

He who is not acquainted with this symbolic terminology certainly that he won't understand anything than here it was described, for that we will give some lights so that the less understood they could understand it.

Philalethes refers to Arsenic. That is to mislead because the one that he wants to mean is the lunar or solar regulus. Flamel also misleads us with the term Saturnia that, here,

mean martial regulus.

Why this distillation? To prepare the philosophical mercury or lively that reiterating the distillations of the amalgam transports in each distillation a little of the soul of the Sun that in this work it represents the alchemic Sulphur.

Some modern Iberian authors transposed for your work this terminology in the sublimation sense taking to the letter that says the Portuguese edition and probably the Spanish edition.

We have two Spanish editions but none of them contains the Experiences for us to confront them.

Let us to say that the term Eagles adapt better to sublimation than to one distillation. But Philalethes uses it as distillation synonym.

Like this to do the Eagle to fly it means one distillation of the amalgam of the philosophical mercury.

Some they want or not want, this interpretation it accepts for the majority of the alchemists. We can say it with self-knowledge because we are almost daily in contact with them.

This doesn't a possible comparison with the first operation or sublimation of a Way referred by an Iberian alchemist. While in the Philalethes' work a solar or lunar amalgam of regulus with the quicksilver is distilled, in the another way it is made a sublimation of the red Dragon to the acquisition of such Azoth or Philosophical mercury.

And for speak in this sublimation, we wanted here to underline some small operative details that some of the artists that did or they are to do this work they probably ignore.

As we know, there are two antagonistic salts that are used as secret fire in this operation.

The author just designates secret fire one of the salts, but in our opinion, as it is obvious, the group of the two salts is the secret fire because it is the agent that will provoke the sublimation, one of them is effloresced and the other decrepited.

The agent effloresced that it can also be calcinated, it is just partially dehydrated. Then that in the sublimation done in a vase that, in my opinion it is not or was it (?) do the most appropriate, distil before the sublimation a liquid called Spirit (?) that is lightly acid, at least not arriving to 1º Baumé.

Evidently that the author can call it that wants well understand but that designation is not conform the spagyrical terminology that designates a spirit.

If the composed didn't have inside the red Dragon, then yes, it would distil a spirit of salt of great graduation that could be rectified, according to the distilled amount, up to 30º Baumé.

But this distilled spirit is different from your essence and, for incredible that it seems, it doesn't have action on the mineral subject. The solvent spirit of this Dragon is the royal water that it gives, as product of that dissolution, the same Azoth but under a different aspect.

This will serve you as proof for us to verify the amount of silica that your mineral subject contains.

Unhappily in a mineral of reasonable quality, we verify that almost had 50% of silica.

That is just a curiosity because in the philosophical way to prepare such Azoth is by sublimation way.

But as the essence of the secret fire (group of the two salts) actuate in the red Dragon for transforming in such Azoth, the remaining water leave to be, under the spagyrical point of view a spirit to be a lightly mixture of acidify water with some Azoth to the mixture. Easily you can confirm that we say.

To see pictures: Matters and Azoth

http://www.levity.com/alchemy/images/materias.jpg

http://www.levity.com/alchemy/images/azoth.jpg