The Alchemical Work

By Armand Barbault
It is astonishing, writes Jacques Sadoul in his book, Alchemists and Gold, to find a
contemporary alchemist - Armand Barbault - working in the second half of the second
half of the twentieth century, who strictly applies mediaeval instructions to his Hermetic
work. But this is not the least astonishing of the facts to be learned about this devoted
alchemist whose memory is celebrated by Frater Albertus in this issue of Parachemy.
Armand Barbault not only followed the mediaeval alchemists in his work, but unlike
them, described in plain language both his PRIMA MATERIA, or prime substance, and
hs methods of operation. His early work was devoted to the discovery of a tincture
comparable to the potable gold of Paracelsus, rather than to the confection of the
Philosopher's Stone, which occupied his later years. For this reason, he did not use any of
the minerals often referred to by traditional Hermetic writers, but as he says, "quite
simply ... a clod of earth." His choice of menstruum was inspired by an illustration in the
MUTUS LIBER depicting two alchemists wringing out cloths that had been stretched
between poles overnight to gather the dew. Similarly, Barbault arose early each morning
to drag sheets across the grass in order to collect the precious dew. He also made use of
the sap of plants as well as dew in maturing his prime substance. The substance itself,
described in the following article, was no more than 1800 grams of earth (less than four
pounds). His work in this experiment alone spanned more than two decades, and the
substance he eventually obtained was tested in modern German pharmaceutical
laboratories. There it was found to be efficacious in treating certain maladies and the
laboratories began to search for a quicker method of producing a synthetic substance with
similar properties, but in vain. As Raymond Abellio writes in his preface to Barbault's
book, THE GOLD Of THE THOUSANDTH "Not only did the liquid prove impossible to
analyse, but nothing even vaguely resembling it could be discovered. Yet Armand
Barbault concealed nothing."
We are indebted to Professor Joscelyn Godwin for the translation from the German of the
article that follows.
The Preparation of the Alkahest and the Tinctures of the First Matter
For nearly twenty-five years, my wife and I have been on the path of investigating the
alchemical elixirs or tinctures. The trials passed and the results obtained make it possible
to give a review and a judgment of the work, partially explained in my book, which
appeared in 1969 (The Gold of the Thousandth Morning). After the successful
preparation of the first Tincture of Potable Gold, and after the practical experience of ten
years, I can now approach closer to the heart of the matter, with regard to the knowledge
acquired and in the sense of the ancient philosophic tradition.
The Revelation and the First Endeavors
If we pass over in silence that which led us to this search, we can say that everything
began quite simply with a clod of earth, taken in winter from beneath a lawn. It was
carefully freed from all foreign bodies and impurities, and placed in a retort. From
springtime onwards, it was enriched with plants and dew, so as to make a turf. This turf
was dried, moistened again, and enriched with further additions of plants and dew-this
done repeatedly, and in a very simple way which is described in my book. But not
everything was so easy as that, for this first operation was the fruit of long reflection and
meditation. After long preparation. it was begun only when a revelation was granted to
my wife. This revelation or inspiration assured her that we were entrusted with a kind of
mission. You know that all the old authors state that one must be "chosen" in order to
have real success, with the Alchemical Work, and that even that is not always sufficient
to guarantee attainment of the goal. Is it not also said that many are called, but few are
chosen? This call, reaching us from the highest spiritual powers, showed us the way we
had to follow. As the first trial. we were compelled to renounce the life to which we were
accustomed, and move to the place where we could find the Materia Cruda and all the
necessary materials for the first preparation. All this took place, needless to say, in the
greatest secrecy with regard to the outside world.
Then came the day when we took possession of this Materia Cruda, our raw material; and
this was a terrible trial, above all for my wife, for she had to join battle with the Dragon
who guards the etheric forces of the Earth, in order that the earth we had obtained should
not be simply "dead" earth. It had to be living earth, containing the seeds or the sparks of
life, so that the so-called "Turf of the Philosophers" could be produced out of it.
This first trial, which can also be regarded as one of the first aspects of the Labors of
Hercules, was successfully passed, for the Dragon at bay turned into a Lion. I leave the
interpretation of this metaphysical event to initiates: one finds it traditionally in all works
of Alchemy. And so it happened that in the depths of winter, on a moonless day and at
midnight, my wife and I took possession of our Materia Cruda. This occurred in the year
1948, on the 15th of February, somewhat after midnight.
The Labors of Hercules and Nature
Nothing is given in the old authors on the Labors of Hercules. These represent a part of
the mystery, and it is left to the neophyte to fathom their meaning on the basis of his own
initiation.
Must one be silent about these secrets?
Certainly one must, if they have been imparted to me by a Master who enjoins one to
silence. But in the case of those who believe that they have discovered them themselves,
the responsibility is their own.
For my part, I believe that this deep knowledge is not transferable; and although I have
mentioned the battle with the Dragon, which is part of the secret, it is certain that if the
neophyte does not prove worthy he will relinquish this battle and thus not attain victory
over the Dragon. Something similar occurs from the moment when the Materia Cruda is
in our possession; a material which, as you know, contains as a result of that battle the
Spark of Life, the influence of the etheric and spiritual powers, or the Philosophic Seed
necessary to the realization of the work. The Adept is then in a position where he must,
under the same conditions, gather plants out of doors, early in the morning, place them in
a round glass vessel containing dew, and then mix them with the "new earth" (Materia
Cruda). It is imperative to capture the life-forces of the chosen plants, so that this does
not simply fall back into the earth, as is the normal case when unprepared people gather
the plants. This is the continuity that exists between Nature and Man as a perfect union
and which allows Nature to render all that she possesses for the realization of the Work-
which cannot be performed without the permission of the spiritual powers.
Knowledge of the Laws of Nature is then necessary. One must know that at night the
young plants take up through their roots the sources of life which contribute to their
growth. Growth occurs principally as soon as the Sun rises, and while it draws its circle
in the sky, activating the marvelous "green retort" in the plants (photosynthesis). We have
to collect plants that have the maximum of vitality, or rising forces, with which we
nourish the turf drop by drop so that it may achieve its fullest power. A further part of the
Work is to nourish the turf with these plants and bathe it all in dew. We use the sap and
the dew which appears in pearls on the tips of leaves and grasses, and which rises to
Heaven; for neither plants, nor dew, nor sap obeys the laws of gravity. This is a long
accumulation of rising forces, which in time makes possible what Hercules did, when he
bore the Earth on his shoulders without feeling its weight.
I think I can say no more to show you the importance of those first labors outside, with
Nature, at the moment of sunrise. You will understand, too, why Saint-Germain says in
one of his books that it takes a good dozen years to collect the necessary forces, so that
the turf becomes the yeast or spore of which I have spoken in my book. This is also the
reason my book has the title, The Gold of the Thousandth Morning.
From the Materia Cruda to the Materia Prima
And the Work of Art and Nature
When secrecies are present. we may think that they refer to the work of the Adept, to the
way in which he proceeds, his art and his observations, and that they bring him into
dangers which concern only himself, In earlier days one observed silence, and that is
understandable; today experimenters patent their findings . . . but in our work one cannot
speak thus.
Certainly the most ungrateful and difficult time for the pair who are treading the path is
the period of preparation, enrichment, enlivening and development of the turf, until it
becomes the true yeast or spore. Each year, after the repeated wettings, additions of new
plants (maceration), tending, and drying, one observes an alteration in the composition of
the turf: it becomes blacker and blacker, and also heavier and heavier. But nothing can
give you an idea of the length of time before the first work is finally completed.
Who can describe the joy when one day, after pouring over the material another measure
of fresh, clear dew, the worker sees this dew become altogether black?-A blackening
which becomes more intense until the point where it turns to a viscous, cream-like liquid.
He pours this off and keeps it in another vessel. Then the material, remaining in its
container, is dried, and another fresh measure of dew is added; and this is repeated
sufficiently to complete successfully the first stage of the work.
In fact, it does not take long for the dew. now black and viscous, to precipitate a "new
earth" on the bottom of its vessel, resembling more a tartaric substance than an earthy
one. In this way. the "old earth" (the Materia Cruda)is changed bit by bit into a tartaric
substance, which becomes our Materia Prima, now to be calcined.
What has taken place?
Few adepts know, for it is again a great secret when one says, "Water will become
transformed into Earth . . ." - and this is another aspect of the Labors of Hercules. But it is
quite simple: The material has become enriched with time, with work, with the long
assimilation of anti-gravitational or rising forces, and it now obeys this rising law. Under
the influence of the dew, which swims upwards, it has felt itself gravitating from below
to above, and thus obeys the same laws. It has now reached the necessary saturation. The
enriched earth rises up, transmutes itself, and is from now onwards in a position to work
on materials which are applied to it; it has become an ennobled species of Higher Yeast,
or Spore, which is spoken of in the alchemical works without an explanation being given.
I do not mention a few singularities of the preparation, for there are some knacks which
the experimenter must find out for himself, if he has the patience to go so far. But I can
assure you that no substance will have the powers you expect- unless it has been through
this state.

Armand Barbault
 Armand Barbault with his son and PRS students at his home in France.
When we as a group of students of the former Paracelsus Research Society visited for the
first time with Armand Barbault at his home in France, it became apparent at once that
there was a man, or rather a family of man, wife and son, who were dedicated to their
work. Emphasizing the practical aspects of laboratory alchemy and taking them literally
from the Liber Mundus, it was the earth per se, or the soil as found on the ground that
was used to free from it what was to be of therapeutic importance. To have personally
seen him explaining diligently the entire procedures of his work beginning with
collecting the dew, mixing it with the soil (earth) and baking it on his specially built oven
for final extraction and adding some gold to it, to bring it into his Elixir, was most
interesting. When he and his wife and son took me upstairs in his home to show me
privately some of the glassware he had made up for him and already mounted on the grid,
to be used for a special procedure to obtain his alchemistical results that he had hoped to
come up with, it revealed his intentions to enter into the mineral world. His work up to
then was strictly of an organic nature, but realizing that greater potencies were to be
found in the mineral world per se, did let him visualize some other experiments that he
had not pursued up to this time.
Actually other attempts have been made by scientists to derive important substances from
the earth, literally known as rare earths, which indicates that not commonly found
substances only were to be used but those that proved to be the mineral contents of rare
elements. In Barbault's simple approach, as former alchemists had demonstrated, it was
shown by him that such rare elements could be freed from the soil, though very large
amounts of raw materials were needed to come up with comparatively small quantities of
the very constituents that made up his alchemistical preparations. One may also question
if his results were strictly alchemistical as the spagyric process was not always followed
as alchemists would indicate. However, the great merit belongs to Armand Barbault that
he advocated he alchemistical way in his laboratory to produce what he did.
How versatile Barbault was is indicated when he made the changes that became
necessary when the gold he had added to his Elixir became too expensive.
Neil Powell in his Alchemy, the Ancient Science describes Barbault's Vegetable Gold:"
"Armand Barbault regards this liquor as the alchemists' elixir, and calls it vegetable gold.
It seems, in fact, to be a typical homeopathic remedy effective in microscopic doses. Dr.
Ruth Jensen-Hillringhaus of Freiburg, Germany claimed to have used it to cure a woman
paralyzed by multiple sclerosis. Another doctor tried several drops of the elixir each
morning and reported a marked reduction in tiredness, increase in initiative, and
improved urination. Others reported miracle cures of uremia and syphilis. Barbault, who
found it too expensive to continue adding gold to his liquors, was last reported to be
employing the 'Blood of the Green Lion' - extracted vegetable sap.
The ever intriguing alchemistical secrecy and romance in the old volumes with their
picturesque illustrations gave rise to many ideas of those who dared to enter into
alchemy. Undoubtedly Barbault was one of those daring souls who made every effort
possible to him to get hold of the concept of alchemy and what better source could be
taken to begin with than the very virgin earth where both the organic and inorganic
substances are found that have curative effects upon the ailments of man and beast.
It takes people like Armand Barbault and his family that keep up a tradition as old as the
earth is itself, as our own earth is living evidence of the workings of alchemy or
evolution.