Now follows the Process, Operation, or Manner of extracting Sol and Luna out of all the Metals with Profit.
That you may gainfully extract ☽ out of the Metal (or Mineral) of Silver, Litharge, stones, and the like fossiles, which have ☽ in them, First of all you must commit them to the fire, that they may be made red hot (but yet this needs not be done with sand) then powder them, and put them in a Glass Cucurbite, pour thereupon as much Aqua-fortis as is sufficient, put this Cucurbite in a pan full of sand, and then heat the sand by little and little by putting Fire thereunder; that so the Aqua-fortis may by the help thereof attract the ☽ out of the powder; then pour off the Aqua-fortis from this powder, and pour it upon the other like conditioned powder, that it may also extract the ☽ out of that too, and this decanting and pouring on, must be repeated so often until there be no more dissolved.
The Aqua-fortis is always diminished or wasted because some of it adheres to the Metal, and therefore must there always be other Aqua-fortis put in the room of that which is wasted; The Aqua-fortis which adheres to the Metal is to be thence separated by the benefit of boiling, on this wise; Pour common Rain-water upon the Metal contained in the Cucurbite, and mix it well by strong shaking of the Glass, then heat the sand so as to make it boil, and so that hot water will draw to it self the Aqua-fortis out of the Metal, which said water contains ☽ in it. Then when this water is abstracted by inclination or pouring off, put on some Rain-water a second time upon the powdered Metal remaining in the Cucurbite, and this will extract that which the former water left of the Aqua-fortis partaking of ☽ (unwash’d off:) and so let nothing of the ☽ remain in that metallick powder; when it’s thus done the matter is to be thrown away as altogether unprofitable, unless there lies hid therein any Gold; which if it be so, we must pour some Aqua-Regia thereupon, and order the operation according to the foregoing method; then mix both the strong waters together, both that which extracted the ☽ and that which extracted the ☉, mix them diligently, and there will thence arise a certain white Water, and the solution will be like Milk; For the ☽ cannot abide the Aqua-Regia, but there will precipitate a white powder which snatcheth (or precipitateth) down with it self out of the Waters the Gold too. We may make use of the decanted Water to extract ☉ out of the other Metals; for the pouring on of the Aqua-fortis with the ☽ in it, to the Aqua-Regia, doth not at all take away ought of the virtues.
Upon the precipitated powder of ☉ and ☽ hot Rain-water is to be several times poured, that so all the sharpness of the Aqua-fortis may be extracted. The powder of the ☽ is to be put upon some Cap-paper and dried. And as for the way of separating the ☽ from the ☉ we will presently teach in what follows.
The edulcorating waters as well of ☉ as of ☽, are to be all of them mixt together, and then the ☽ will settle to the bottom, and attracts the ☉ which was in the other water (or washings): so that there remains not any either ☉ or ☽ in the edulcorating Water (or washings): nor are these waters of any farther profit as to the work of separating as afore, yet notwithstanding there may be made excellent Salt-petre of them, as we shall mention in what follows.
When you have rightly edulcorated and dried the precipitates of ☉ and ☽, they are to be put into a strong Crucible, this Crucible is to be placed in a Gentle fire, until the matter therein contained doth flow, which is easily done, for it is very fluxile; as soon as ever you perceive it flow, turn it out, for fear least any of it should penetrate the Crucible, and so bring damage or loss to the Operator. When the ☽ is poured forth, you will find the ☉ sticking to the sides and bottom of the Crucible like pale Gold, altogether Crude and not at all fluxile. The ☽ turn’d out is brittle, fusile, and volatile, and is by the Chymists call’d Horny-Luna, but I call it the ☿ of ☽, it being of excellent use in Alchimy, as shall be shown in what follows.
The Crucible in which that ☉ remained may be kept to melt such like precipitates of ☉ & ☽ in again; when this hath been done pretty often (in the same pot) melt down this ☉ by adding a little borax, and you shall receive a palish Gold, because in this first melting, some of the ☽ doth adhere thereunto.
This now is the common way of separating these precipitates of ☉ and ☽ from each other, there shall follow a better way in what ensues.
NB. That if so be, both the Metals are boiled in a strong Lixivium after their edulcoration; or if some fixt Salt made of a Lixivium, be powdered and permixt with it afore melting, then the ☉ and ☽ are reduced together, and may be afterwards separated by the help of Aqua-fortis: There is yet a more accurate way; (and it is this) when we mix the edulcorated Calxes of Luna and Sol with ( A. ) and being mixt put them in a coated Retort, and put fire thereunder by degrees (as is wont to be done in destilling) and keep it for 6 or 8 hours in a continual Cementation; and so the volatile ☿ of ☽ is made fixt by the help of ( A. ) and corporeal: Yea and tingeth some part of the added ( A. ) so that by the benefit of this Cementation, the ☽ is made more Golden. This Cement is to be most finely powdered and to be reduced by the following melting: and you will find your ☉ and ☽ augmented. The melting is thus; Take of the best Salt-petre, and ( A. ) each alike: mix them, and separate the Spirit of Nitre by a Retort, which (Spirit) is much fitter for separation than simple Aqua-fortis: The Caput Mortuum remaining behind in the Retort, is to be powdered, the fixt Nitre is to be extracted with Rain-water out of the powder. This Lixivium or extracting Liquor will be of a green colour which is to be coagulated into a Salt by a due boiling; which Salt is able to reduce the ☿ of ☽; and to make aureous or Golden, yea, and to reduce the Cemented ☿ (of ☽) too.
NB. It is better to mix the fixt Salt-petre, or the Green Lyon simply with the horny ☽, to cement it in a Retort, than (to take it) out of the Retort, (and) reduce it with a stronger fire; and so we shall have an excellent augmentation of ☉.