Daily Meditation: Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Mercury - its symbolism. The Philosopher’s Stone

10/04/2005

Let us study the different elements which make up the sign of Mercury. At the top is the crescent moon, symbol of the feminine principle, which appears as a cup, a receptacle. Below this is the sun, symbol of the masculine principle, and further down still is the sign, which is the symbol of the earth, but also that of addition in arithmetic. In this representation of Mercury we find the four elements: two masculine and two feminine. The two feminine elements are the moon (water) and the earth; and the two masculine elements are the sun (fire) and Mercury itself, which is associated with the element air. So the sun and the moon give birth to the child Mercury, which is the philosopher’s stone, the substance capable of transforming all base metals (symbolized by the earth) into gold. But more importantly, the philosopher’s stone is the symbol of the transformation of man himself, which is the true alchemy.