What Separation is.
But that you may understand what Separation is, note, that it is nothing else then the severing of one thing from another, whether of two, three, four, or more things mixed together: I say a separation of the three Principles, as of Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt, and the extraction of pure out of the impure, or the pure, excellent spirit, and quintessence, from a grosse, and elementary body; and the preparation of two, three, four, or more out of one: or the dissolution, and setting at liberty things that are bound, and compact, which are of a contrary nature, acting one against the other, untill they destroy one the other.
How many kinds of Separation.
Now there are many kinds of separation, many of which are unknown to us; those, which wee have experienced out of elementary, dissoluble naturall things, shall in this place, according to their kinds, be described.
The separation of the Microcosme.
The first separation of which wee speake, must begin from man, because hee is the Microcosme, or little world, for whose sake the Macrocosme or greater world was made, viz. that hee might be the separator of it.
The body of man after death is twofold.
Now the separation of the Microcosme begins at his death. For in death the two bodies of Man are separated the one from the other, viz. his Celestial and Terrestial body; i.e. Sacramental, and Elementary: one of which ascends on high like an Eagle; the other falls downward to the earth like lead.
What the Elementary Body is.
The Elementary is putrefied, consumed, and becomes a putrid stinking carkase, which being buryed in the earth, never comes forth, or appeares more.