Threefold Secrets,

The Third.

To make a Red Salt from Gold.

When I take Gold represented by the symbol ☉ for this purpose, I make it very thin and twist it into rolls. I put these into a glass flask original: "Kolben-Glas" and pour over them a good, strong spirit of saltpeter nitric acid The transcription uses a cipher "Sklhs nhtrh" for the Latin "Salis nitri." In alchemical practice, this spirit was used to dissolve metals.. I let it stand to dissolve original: "solviren.", and thus the spirit draws out a deep redness. Then I gently draw off the spirit by means of a water bath original: "B. M." or "Balneum Mariae," a method of heating a vessel by placing it in boiling water to ensure a steady, moderate temperature.. Thus, there remains at the bottom original Latin: "in fundo" a red salt represented by the symbol )(., which often denotes a tincture or a salt in this context. This I shall wash several times with cordial waters original Latin: "aquis cordialibus." These were medicinal, spirit-based waters used to strengthen the heart and "vital spirits."; I shall always