IMPORTANT UPDATES TO THE DEW PROCESS

I recently went looking through the RAMS collection of alchemy texts, and I found another version of the Actum Leyden letter. This seems to be a translation by a man who actually did the process himself, and it has some incredible details added.

The title says "A dying Cappucine monk left this tract to his beloved brother and signed it with his blood. Prague 3-29-1672"

And since the letter doesn't include the introduction by the monk and the whole letter is written in a summarized straight forward way, without the elegant wording used in the monks original letter from an earlier date, I think it's obvious this is re-write and also includes things not in the original letter which must have come from experience from actually doing the process himself and using the elixir.

Here are some key differences:

1. He says to fill the phial only half-way with dew salt water at the start of the process.

2. A glass stopper is used and then sealed with lutem (plaster mixed with egg whites)

3. He says the water itself will turn black, then deposit a gray salt on the sides on the phial when you put it over a low flame in Balneum Siccum instead of using a sand bath. (Balneo Siccum = sand bath). Then when you put it back in Balneum Mary, the gray salt is supposed to dissolve back into the water. Eventually by the 5th coagulation and dissolution, the salt will be white and the water will be clear. The salt is to be tested by putting it on a hot silver plate and seeing if it flows like wax. If it does, then it's to be placed back in the phial and the process continued.

4. Instead of the dosage of only 5 drops, he says to administer 25 drops to completely cure a person of even the worst illness.

5. Now he says to add a little gold oxide powder or fine gold leaf to the water little by little until it can't absorb anymore. Then carefully decant the solution from the undissolved gold into another phial which you fill only 1/4 full instead of 2/3.

6. He says during the first 40 days of digestion you will see a lot of black matter. Then you put it over the low flame of the Balneum Siccum and you will see a beautiful display of colors, and you will hear a noise like water and ice, and you will observe the creation of the whole world. Then after 13 or 14 days it will change into a brownish red powder like red cinnabar. But if silver was used it will become like a clear crystalline matter.

7. He says to take one part of this cinnabar powder and encase it in wax, and place it with 5 parts of gold in a closed container which you then heat over fire for one hour. After that hour, the gold will be brittle and will become the projection powder. You encase one part of this in wax, then mix it with 10 parts inferior metal like lead, and heat it to molten state but not in a closed vessel, and after one hour it will be changed to gold.

8. He says you can take this red powder of the 1st order, put it in a phial and heat it gently in Balneum Mary waterbath for 35 days, and it will change into a beautiful red oil. The silver stone will become a blue oil (which makes sense because silver dissolved in acid becomes blue so maybe there is a chemical explanation for this Alkahest). He says 3 drop of this oil will heal all wounds, and cure all illness, and will keep a human healthy by making them loose all their hair and nails and they will grow back agian, new and youthful. (Just like the description of the Premum Ens of Melissa) He says it will also cure everything by raising your temperature and lost strength will be renewed shortly.

9. Now the multiplication is different than the original letter -- he says to put the oil back into the Balneum Siccum digestion over the flame, and in 10 days it will transform itself back into a powder with the most beautiful colors, only much redder and prettier than before, glowing like a ruby or carbuncle. The blue oil from silver will become like snow. (At this point when he says glowing, I think he only means reflecting light brilliantly the way a ruby does, because this is not yet multiplied far enough to literally glow)

10. Now he affirms that at this stage it's only at the 2nd multiplication because he says you use one part on 50 parts gold, and then 1 part of the projection powder on 100 parts inferior metal to transmute it to gold.

11. To bring it to the 3rd order, you heat it again in the phial in the water bath Balneum Mary for 30 days this time instead of 35 and it becomes an oil. This time the oil from gold is dark red, and the one from silver is white instead of blue. Now what is remarkable is he actually say you can ingest this oil of the 3rd order as only 1 drop in wine, and it will cure all disease and make your nails and hair fall out then regrow and regenerate your whole body, but you must only take it twice in one year, or only once every 6 months, because it is so fiery it can kill you. He says you must be careful because both body and soul are affected.

12. He says to bring it to the 4th multiplication, put it into the Balneum Siccum sand bath like before, and you will observe all sorts of color and living things moving up and down, and you will have a deep red powder at the end. Now 1 part is used on 500 parts gold to make the projection powder. And 1 part of the powder is used on 1000 parts inferior metal to transmute it to gold, still waiting an entire hour before letting it cool.

13. He keeps going describing the multiplications, and eventually says he brought it all the way to the 5th and one part of the projection powder transmutes 100,000 parts lead to gold. He says he didn't go any further because it will penetrate the glass causing a "delicious" smell. He doesn't mention it glowing. Maybe it has to be brought to the 6th order to glow, and the only alchemists to achieve that are the ones who knew you needed quartz.

14. He warns that during your work, many Fratres Rosea Crucis (Rosicrucians) will come to you because "you have caused them to see it". Apparently by psychic visions?

Then he ends the letter as if the Actum Leyden was signing it with his own blood. So maybe this was the original version, and the other more vague letter with less details was the re-written version?

I think this answers a lot of questions that we may have had because it tells us how to use the elixir and lets us know we can indeed ingest it in the 3rd order if we are careful to wait for 6 months first. And the multiplication are to be done without the alkahest water, which is a very important detail. That explains why my multiplications of gold weren't working! ha! I'm so glad I read this, because when I saw it, I just assumed it was the same letter and would be a waste of time to get out the CD and look it up, but boy am I glad I did! I would have been waiting forever for my gold to become a stone, and it never would have by sitting in the salt water like he original letter said!

There's also a book about dew in rams doc DIVERSETRACTS haven't read all of it yet looks interesting but .

Thank you again Nick, you are sincere and kind.
I had the insight that the first explanation of the dew-method was incomplete.

About the heating - reading Nicolas Le Fevre - we should consider that the heating was graduated in ten grades (the first 'I'' 'was the strongest), in wich the V was the oven with sand and the 'VII' was the balneo-Mary-bath: as already said with the 'V' it's easy to mantain a certain grade, but we can use the balneo for different heating grades (I write grades meaning intensity of the heat and not C° or F°). Le Fevre explain that the balneo heating can be of six different grades (of course replacing water) but it's not the weakest.
There are 3 more: the one with the steam, steam + wood-dust, and lamp.
Anyway: the solar-heat and the horse-dung-heat are considered in NLF text but not in the scale, and the last one, the putrefactive heating, it's said that can be realized [this the info] with a sweet balneo.

I tell this just to consider that, may be, Mary, siccum or sand cannot be interpreted as precise sign of a certain grade. This come from Le Fevre.
But may be you have other infos...

Zosimo

There are 5 main degrees of fire.
They range from water bath to coal fire.


Click here to see that yes indeed, Balneum Siccum means sand bath.

This is very easy to understand in the way it's been written, but I have a few questions, just to make sure that I am reading this all right.

Is he saying that we shouldn't use sea salt in any part of this process?

Can I safely assume that if I replace the words Balneum Siccum with sand bath that it's correct all the way through?
(I only ask this because I am not terribly familiar with vocabulary like this)

Is 200 degrees still correct?

Is the first digestion still an alchemical month in the balneo-mary, at the same temperature?

That's all, the rest seems crystal-clear. I am very very much looking forward to undertaking this process, it sounds absolutely beautiful, probably will end up taping my eyelids open so I don't miss a moment of it lol. Many thanks for the patience, blessed be!

Thank you Nick for this insight. I had noticed that others here had found in Potpourri Alchemia the same/similar process to the Leyden letter . I was wagering on whether I should get RAMS, but now I definitely will. I do have a question, though. Smooth ambiguity has shown pictures of his water. The water isn't black and after over 50 days there still remains no precipitate. It seems the process here has become much more complex or difficult. Based on this new information, I can now much better understand this in light of other descriptions of making the stone. It seems similar now (in appearance only of course) to Vollpierre's process. The peacock's tail is certainly there. But is there something extra going on here we are not told in the Leyden letter? You've obviously begun this process already and certainly have more experience. What are your thoughts on how we should all proceed?

This is a little complicated. I really believe that the process is very easy it just takes patience. But someone please tell me, is the method still the same? Because if it isn't then I need some insight so as to perfect the process with patience and virtue.

Jamar

This is all very interesting to me. I believe that starting this process has brought the Rosicrucians to watching us as well. I believe that we are creating so much positive energy within this circle that it's hard to misss with their powers. To all I say continue on no matter how hard it gets. Lets help each other, but the biggest conquest of all is transmuting the internal self along the way. That is the real truth.

Jamar

I have a photocopy of the original Leyden manuscript on order from the British museum. It should get to me in about about a month or so. If there is any significant difference between it and the transcription in the secret teachings of all ages I will be sure to post it here. As far as the original letter from the Cappucine monk, it is in RAMS digital library in the book Potpourri Alchemia. You can order the full DVD online here for about $35.

http://www.ramsdigital.com/

I really do recommend the small investment. I have not yet seen the monk's process, as I have yet to receive my copy of RAMS, but I'm pretty sure the only major difference in process comes after you get the Elixir and are working with it in the "gold" stage. At that point you have to work with the red oil without the alkahest. Other than that all the preliminary steps for the Elixir seem to be pretty much the same as the Leyden letter except for the tidbits of great advice based on Nick's description. By the way, I noticed that in the original Leyden manuscript, he says that to preserve the spirit of the dew, not only should it be kept in a cool place, but one should fill the phial full and seal it with beeswax. Seems like a good idea. I always like to read every detail. It tends to help when you know the process by heart and can actually envision it before you even begin.

ok, it seems like my post has been entirely overlooked; all i want to know at this point is whether or not salt is used at all in this process. the red oil was mentioned being made "without the alkahest", which doesn't make any sense to me, the alkahest being the universal solvent. little help?

Patience is true and if we are patient the truth will come to us. I say this, give Nick some time and he will continue his journey with us, right now he is deciphering everything to better assist us in our journeys. I have continued my work and it seems to be going just fine even using the same process that we were all taught in the beginning.

Jamar

Dont let the wrong reasons inspire your drive for completing this journey or it will never be successful.
Jamar

Wow. I never dreamed people would get so easily confused and waste so much space on this thread just mixing up and confusing everything.

There is no real difference in the 2 letters except once you have the Alkahest made, you use it to dissolve the gold and digest it 40days in balneo mary, then you put it in the sand bath for 2 weeks to make it into a stone. But once you have the stone, you seperate it from the water, and to multiply it you simply put it in a close flask and heat it up in the balneo mary bath for 2 weeks until it becomes an oil, then put it in the sand bath for 2 weeks until it becomes the stone again. Each time you do a multiplication, it takes a little less time to form into a stone again.

In the 3rd edition of the book I will of course have the steps updated. The monk and Actum Leyden are the same person. Leyden is the Cappucine monk. But whoever rewrote the letter obviously had done the process themselves and was able to describe details not in the original book. The date of the first letter signed by Actum Leyden is 1667, and the date of the 2nd letter that isn't signed is 1672.

I would go ahead and post the whole letter here, but RAMS doesn't like when people post even a paragraph extract from their books because they want people to pay the $50 for the whole library.

There is really no reason to post the whole letter anyway because I already pointed out all the differences in my first post.

I did some research to find out just what in the world a Cappucine monk is. Turns out their name is actually Capuchin and is also the source of the name for cappuccino coffee.



Here is the Wikipedia entry that explains everything about their Order.

thank you so much nick, sorry to have contributed to the confusion.

so really, this also could have been posted in the thread concerning what can be done with the unused salts. thank you so much!

I also wanted to know about your book Alchemy Illuminated. Is this book only available to those whom you have allowed to read it, or have you made it available for reading anywhere? I've read the Universal Medicine, I am eternally grateful for your making such a book available to anyone willing to look, but it seems Alchemy Illuminated is much much more detailed and informative. Are you waiting for a final edition before you release it?

Alchemy illuminated is Nick's web site. The book is actually going to be a number of different books detailing the multiple ways of making the philosopher's stone. Yes there are multiple ways of doing it. You can find links to his site on the homepage for this forum. I check it regularly as new data is always available. The study and arcanum sections are ubelievably helpful, even without the full books being available. I would even go there just to hear the music!!! lol

This is just a little interesting info I've picked up. I've been doing a little research and i also noticed the difference in dates between the original manuscript reference (the one in the Britich museum) and the date mentioned in "secret teachings". I think the guy who wrote "secret teachings" mixed a few things up. Second, "Actum Leyden" does not actually seem to be the author's name. Leyden is in fact a major medieval University city in Holland which seems to have reached its intellectual peak around the mid to late sixteen hundreds (the very time at which our author is on his deathbed). You can find basic info on the city here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiden

Granted, I know Wikipedia is not a reliable academic source, but it's at least a start for the time being...

The word 'actum' seems to be from the latin meaning an act, a deed, a transaction, or an official record. You can see it here:

http://www.babylon.com/define/112/Latin-Dictionary.html

So when the letter was signed "Actum Leyden", I think it meant that this was an official transcript of Leyden. So whoever it was that wrote this letter, at this time, remains anonymous. Of course, I could be totally off base.

So I did a little more research, and found a major scientific professor and researcher in Leyden who died in 1672. His name is Franciscus Sylvius. Here are some things that add up with him being the author. He is certainly a "celebrated philosopher of Leyden" as his salary for professorship was TWICE the standard amount. Among his discoveries and propositions are that the deseases of the human body are related to salts in the blood and how those salts produce either and alkaline or acidic state in body chemistry. He also proposed the idea of curing sickness with the administration of chemicals (something very in line with alchemy), and practically founded the modern chemistry department at Leyden. Now here are some things that don't add up. He is certainly not a Cappuchin monk (unless the original author and the monk were not the same person. Also, Sylvius didn't die in or around March of that year. He died in November! That's a long time to be on his deathbed. I haven't been able to confirm whether he had any close relatives (cousin, nephew, etc.) to whome he could have written this letter. His ideas, furthermore, seem to be more in accord with the dominant vein of early modern medicine and chemistry not alchemy. His chemical studies were performed under Immanuel Stupanus at Basel. Stupanus' inagural lecture could have been a slam against Paracelsus (I only say this based on the fact that it was entitled De Fraudibus Paracesistratum). Now a student does not necessarily follow the inclinations of his teacher, but based on Sylvius' record it seems he did, at least publicly. Finally, the style of the letter appears to me more like a medieval or rennaisance tract than an early-modern on r, particularly considering Sylvius' academic stature. Of course, people do write differently to relatives than they do when writing dissertations. All of this just to say, some things fit, others don't. He seems to be a possible candidate for authorship. Or he could have been just a regular guy. Oh, by the way, he did invent gin!!!! LOL! Just some food for thought. Oh and travelingman777, the phrase "so mote it be" comes from Wicca and European magic systems as an end to spells and prayers. It's a sort of way by which to close sacred space in these traditions. Kinda like 'En nomine P et F et S S, Amen" in the Catholic tradition.

SmoothAmbiguity, I just want to say you are a good man. If you ever need anything at all contact me via email. it is available for all to see. The same goes to all my true friends here at The Lost Academy. Oh, Nick you should be commended for a job well done on your research, it is absolutely astounding. I have read The Secret Teachings of All Ages and it has the same process but not many will understand its meanings as a literal text of alchemical work. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Bro. Haynes 3rd.
P.H.A.

I'd like to reiterate that I made the Alkahest and I dissolved gold with it, but I could not multiply the stone by leaving it in the salt water, and this was very frustrating. I thought for sure I would fail to produce the stone and not have photos for the book.

But then I picked up the laptop one day, and I decided to search for more documents on dew from the RAMS collection, and low and behold, the 2nd letter clearly explains the proper way to do the multiplications.

Also the reason I finished so fast is because when I was making the Alkahest, after the first 40 days, I did the 1st multiplication for 2 weeks in Balneo then 2 weeks in sand bath as normal, but then I cut the time in half for the next 4 multiplications. I only did one week in balneo mary and one week in the sand bath. But I think it weakened my Alkahest becuase it to a few hours for it to dissolve the gold all the way. And I had to take 10 drops to feel the effects described in the letter.

I decided to go ahead and post the entire 2nd letter in it's entirety because this is simply too important to leave out. I think the people of the RAMS collection will understand the importance of this and not get upset.

Oh, and yes I also thought Actum Leyden was a strange name for a man and must have meant something different. If it was his name, then the title of the article would have included his name instead of just saying "a cappucine monk". Also because of the fact his letter reveals something he was sworn to secrecy to never reveal, I don't see why he would sign it with his real name.

________________________________

extracted from "Potpourri Alchemia"
RAMSdigital.com library
CD #3
filename: POTPOURRI1_original.PDF


THE UNIVERSAL PROCESS
(BEING A TREATISE ON DEW)

A dying Cappucine monk left this tract to his beloved
brother and signed it with his blood. Prague 3-29-1672


In the Name of God, take some of the whitest sea salt which the ships
bring from the Island of St. Huber in Spain. First it should be calcined
by the rays of the sun. Let this salt dry in a warm room, then
grind it in a glass mortar to a fine powder and dissolve it in dew.
During the month of Mayor June, when there is a full moon, observe
when dew is gathering while the wind is blowing from the east or south
during the day or the night before. Go to a field and drive some
stakes of wood into the ground about 1 1/2 feet deep and in the shape
of a triangle. This way, you can put a sheet of glass on top of the
stakes. The dew can gather on this in the morning. Under it, have a
few glass containers handy into which the dew can flow. You have to
repeat this with many containers in order to collect enough dew. The
full moon quarter is best for this, afterwards it does not have enough
strength. Put the gathered dew into glass containers, lute them and
store them in the cellar until you need them.

When you want to start this holy process, put as much as you want
of the retained dew into a flask. Little by little, add some of the
sea-salt powder. Continue with this until the water becomes saturated
and you see undissolved sea-salt at the bottom of the flask. This is
the way it should be because the dew will have the right weight.

Take a 1/2 pound of this solution and pour it into a shortnecked
phial, filling it half way. Close the opening with a glass stopper and
lute it, so that the Universal Spirit can not escape. Put the phial
into a water bath so that the dew can putrify. The dew has to digest
for 42 days and nights (a "Philosophical Month") over a low flame.

You will see the matter blacken which is the sign of Putrefaction.
(Crow's Head) Put the phial into a Balneum Siccum and coagulate the
water over a gentle flame. This will take place within 14 days and nights.
You will see a gray salt coating the sides and bottom of the vessel.
Before this becomes too dry, remove it from the flame and let the phial
cool a little. Then replace the phial back into the water bath over a
gentle flame for 40 days and nights after which the salt will dissolve
again into the water. When it blackens again, put it back into the Balneum
Siccum so the water can coagulate again. As soon as you see the
grey salt appearing, let it cool and put back in the water bath. Repeat
this process for a total of five times. The water should be light
and clear as crystal and, after coagulation, the salt will be as white
as snow.

Put some of it onto a glowing metal plate. When. it flows like wax
it is tested (proven). Do not take the salt out of the phial; put it
back into the waterbath. It will dissolve again into water but will
be reduced by one third. Instead of salt water, you will have a sweet
and drinkable water, the greatest medicine on earth. Give 25 drops of
this to a person and he will be cured of the most serious of illnesses.
There are much greater secrets in this water, but I am sworn to silence.
You will be able, yourself, to recognize enough of this power
of Heaven and earth. Sapiente Sat is.

If you want to make a tincture of metals, proceed as follows:

Pour as much water into the phial as you need, put it well-luted in an
ashcupel over such a gentle flame so that the glass gets only warm. Open
it and add little by little, some gold oxide or some finely laminated
gold leaf, until the water cannot absorb any more. This you will be
able to observe the following day, (you can proceed the same way with
silver, getting a white tincture - the work is the same). The water
now has the right weight with the gold added. Pour this solution, without
the undissolved gold (decant) into a clean phial, about 1/4 full.
Seal it hermetically, put it into a water bath and let it stand over a
gentle flame 40 days and nights. You will observe a lot of black matter.
As soon as this is observed, put it into the Balneum Siccum, once
again placing it over a gentle flame until you hear a noise like water
and ice and see some beautiful colours and, most remarkably also, the
creation of the world! After the 12th. or 13th. day, it will change
into a reddish-brown powder like red Cinnabar. The White Tincture, however,
will transmute into a crystalline matter.

This red powder you can project onto metals in the following manner:
Take five (5) parts of gold or silver, encase one part of the powder
in wax and put it over the metal in a sealed container. This you stand
over high heat for one hour. When you take the container off the fire,
the gold will be brittle.

Encase one part of this brittle gold in wax & add it to 10 parts
of inferiour metal in a liquid state. After one hour, this will have
transformed into best gold.

I advise you to be carefull with this powder, do not waste it.
If you put this reddish-brown powder in a phial in the waterbath, you will
have a red oil within 35 days and nights. With silver you will have a
light blue oil. If you take 3 drops of this oil with champagne, it can
heal all wounds, it radically cures all illnesses, it will keep a human
healthy to the end of his days by making him lose all his hair and nails
and then making them grow back again, new and youthful. This also will
cure everything by creating a high temperature and lost strength will
be regained within a short time. "Quod per Deum testar possum."

If you put one end of a silver coin into the red oil, it will transform
this part into gold immediately without harming the print. If you want
to project the oil still further, put it again into the Balneum Siccum.
Within 10 days it will transform into a powder with the most beautiful
colours, only, much redder and prettier than before, glowing like a ruby
or carbuncle. With silver, the powder will look like snow.

If you put one part of this onto 50 parts of Molten Gold (if using
silver powder, use molten silver) and let this flow together vigorously
for one hour. The Gold or silver will transform into a tincture. Of
this, encase one part in wax and add it to 100 parts of molten metal
over a high flame. You will have fine gold after one hour.
If you want to further augment your tincture, put the powder in a
phial into a waterbath for a 3rd. time. Within 30 days you will have
a dark red oil from gold and a white oil from silver.

One single drop of this in wine will perform the already described
wonders. You only take the dose two times a year, as this medicine is
very fiery. You have to be careful because both body and soul are affected.

Continue with this oil a fourth time like before, putting the phial
into the Balneum Siccum. The oil will coagulate again. You will
observe all kinds of colours and living things moving up and down.
In the end it will become a dark red powder again.

Encase one part of this powder in wax and add it to 500 parts of
molten gold (or, if using the white tincture, to molten silver). The
gold or silver will transform into a tincture. Again, encase one part
of this tincture in wax and add it to 1000 parts of inferior molten
metal, after one hour you will have the finest of gold or silver.

You will have to continue five times with this dissolution and coagulation
of the first medicine. After the fourth coagulation you will have a tincture.
Of this take one part and add to it 5000 parts of molten gold (or silver)
transforming it into a tincture. Take one part of the tincture and encase
it in wax and add it to 10,000 parts inferiour metal in molten state.
After an hour, it will all be the finest gold.(or silver).

You take the first powder or tincture,if, without fermenting it
further and, after dissolving and coagulating it five times, you
strengthen and augment it, within 24 hours you will have an incredibly red
powder or, from the white, a white crystalline powder. Of this last
coagulated powder put one part with a molten fifty mark gold coin (or
white on silver). After one hour, the gold or silver will be a tincture.
Put one part of this with 100,000 parts of molten inferiour metal.
After one hour it will be exquisite gold.

I got so far with this and no further. Otherwise it will seep through
the glass and disappear into the air with the most delicious smell.

Take note, during your work, many Fratres Rosea Crucis will come
to you because you caused them to see it.

Observe, I wrote down this holy secret and swear by it on by belief
of the Holy Ghost and Jesus Christ. I sign this with my blood on
my death-bed, on my last day on earth.

I seriously doubt the entire Capuchin Order knew about this process. I don't think the monk shared it with everyone.

I contacted a cardinal of the modern Capuchin Order to try and share this letter with him. He hasn't yet responded, but I'm very interested to see what the member of the Order think about this, since it was written by one of their own members and they are oblivious to its existence.

.

God bless you, Nick. I am forever indebted.

Hi Nick !

Thank you for the release of the precious 2nd letter.

I noticed here that it is question of a short necked flask for the process. So I could try my 1 liter borosilicate flask.

I have done a Google Earth & internet research concerning the island of St. Huber to know if it was Atlantic or mediterranean sea salt but this place doesn't seem to exist.

Also, the water bath duration is longer here, about 40 days for each cycle. I guess that I will keep the shorter cycle of Actum Leyden's letter.


I am waiting some information from OPUR staff concerning dew collection "as soon as they come back from a travel", they said.