The trines are expressed in alchemy through the concepts of Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury. This is kinda like your Sunday morning trinity but expressed in a lower more chemical way, as if you could pour these into a beaker and form personal amalgams. The triangle moves us past the elemental plane and the things we can witness with our 5 senses.
The four elements correlate to the physical universe. In using these principles we don’t limit ourselves so much. The Sulphur and Mercurial aspects of the triangle include the non-physical aspects of the macrocosm and microcosm. It is the preferred system for approaching any alchemy that extends beyond practical scientific experiments on the material world.
Maier tells us that the triangle represents the tria prima of salt, sulphur, and mercury. He then goes on to correlate this to the three first colour stages of the magnum opus.
- Nigredo (blackening)
- Albedo (whitening)
- Citrinitas (yellowing)
“In the same way the Philosophers want the square to be changed into a triangle, that is to say in body, spirit, and soul, the three of which appear in three colours preceding the red colour, namely the body or the earth appears in the black colour of Saturn, the spirit as if it were the water, appears in the whiteness of the moon, and the soul, or the air, appears in the yellow colour of the sun. With that the triangle is completed.”
– Atalanta Fugiens Emblem 21.
| Tria Prima | Sulphur | Mercury | Salt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microcosm | Spirit | Soul | Body |
| Elemental | Fire & Air | Air and Water | Water and Earth |
| Colour | Yellow | Silver/Grey | Silver/White/Black |
| Planet | Sun | Mercury | Moon |
| Metal | Gold | Mercury | Silver |
The three Principles of things are produced out of the four elements in the following manner: Nature, whose power is in her obedience to the Will of God, ordained from the very beginning, that the four elements should incessantly act on one another, so, in obedience to her behest, fire began to act on air, and produle, that ced Sulphur; air acted on water and produced Mercury; water, by its action on earth, produced Salt. Earth, alone, having nothing to act upon, did not produce anything, but became the nurse, or womb, of these three Principles. We designedly speak of three Principles; for though the Ancients mention only two, it is clear that they omitted the third (Salt), not from ignorance…
-Sendivogius
When we do a little mix and match of these three substances we can express them in terms of the 7 classical planets. The seven heavens take the concept of our alchemical trinity and start to form it into a master plan. The threes describe the mountaineers. The sevens describe the ascent. Take a look at the caduceus and the symbols we use for the planets.
Salt
Salts happen when an acid and a base get together. Some alchemists think of our salts like the ashes left after the fire. Writers tell us the insertion of salt in our alchemical triune came later through the invention of Paracelsus, but as early as Maria the “three” are mentioned: “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.”
Salt and “Passive” are symbols we see used interchangeably in our literature. Opinions on the preparation of the salt and the imagery used to describe it are diverse. In any case, these represent the ready body. This is true whether you’re working with the bodies of plants, animals, minerals or men. It’s us, reduced to a physical animal. This blend of body and instinct is what differentiates the salt of the triangle, from the earth element of the square.
Sulphur
Sulphur has a connection to all the other yellow stuff we see in alchemical texts – the citrinitas; the gold; the king; the sun. Something happened somewhere along the way though. Alchemists gave up on citrinitas in the late middle ages. This stage became suppressed, and as a result, much of the symbolism such as the king and Sol fell under rubedo, and the imagery turned red. Seems counter intuitive.
Why did this happen? Since the timelines match, I’ve guessed Paracelsus’ popularization of the tria prima, led to a desire to correspond to three stages. But then why not exclude rubedo? Dr. Cheak has tackled the problem of pre-Paracelsus salt.
“In the fourth, the putrefaction of the philosophers is had, which hath never been seen in our days, and it is called Sulphur.”
– The Table of Greater science from the Rosarium Philosophorum
Spirit
Our spirit is our everything-ness. It reminds you that although you are a special and unique chunk of the universe… you are just that…. a chunk. You are an iteration just like all the other chunks. You are one.
Where your soul reminds you of your uniqueness, your spirit reminds you of your cohesiveness. This is your vertical relationship with all others through a common connection to something larger. You can relate to all other aspects of the universe not in terms of your similarities or differences but in terms of how you are whole together. Your spirit is that part of you which rejoins the heavens.
Mercury
Mercury or Hermes figures prominently in alchemical works. Aside from being a third of our triangle, Mercury is one of the seven planets.
Caduceus – We’re most familiar with the herald staff of Hermes through its modern associations with medicine, but its symbolism extends to anything hermetic. Hermes is associated with commerce, discourse, the printed word, messengers, and guides. Look back to the information presented on the ouroboros and duality. The caduceus is an extension of this, and embodies the hermetic process.
“Nature [says]: Know that I have only one such son, he is one of seven, and the first among them; and though he is now all things, he was at first only one. In him are the four elements, yet he is not an element. He is a spirit, yet he has a body; a man, yet he performs a woman’s part: a boy, yet he bears a man’s weapons; a beast, and yet he has the wings of a bird. He is poison, yet he cures leprosy; life, yet he kills all things, a King, but another occupies his throne; he flees from the fire, yet fire is taken from him; he is water, but does not wet the hands; he is earth, and yet he is sown; he is air, and lives by water.” -Attrib. Sendivogius, The New Chemical Light
Cross Check
A comparison of the caduceus to the kundalini is especially helpful if you’re more familiar with Eastern schools of thought. The same can be said for the tree of life if you have a background in Cabala. The snakes of the caduceus form two opposing sides around a central pillar. The upward momentum and balance of duality is portrayed in all these models.
Soul
Your soul is your you-ness. Your ego. You are a special and unique chunk of the universe. As a special and wonderful chunk of the universe, the soul is that part of you that relates to other chunks of the universe based on your similarities or differences. This is your horizontal relationship with others. Your soul is that part of you that is guided by Hermes towards the afterlife. Symbolism? Yes.
I once got drunk around a campfire and explained it like this: “Some girl breaks your heart. You’re a musician so you write a song about it. In that song you pour your heart out to this girl laying all your feelings on the line. Every time you sing it you sing it for her. Other people may also hear it and be moved. This is a soulful song.”
“Some girl breaks your heart. You’re a musician so you write a song about it. In the song you speak to the universal experience of heartbreak striking a chord with all your listeners unifying the heartbroken and the heartbreakers and everyone in between. This is a spiritual song.”
Manly P. Hall’s “The Secret Teachings of all Ages” takes an interesting look at the triangle problem. He mentions how Paracelsus corresponds the Sulphur/Mercury /Salt triune in a way that differs from his other table of analogies.
Exercises
1. Mercury is a little light in the loafers. The loafers are light, but I’m not making light of the loafers. Have a look back to the circle section and try to merge these concepts with the stories of Mercury, his lovers, and his descendants.
2. Since Mercury is seen in our 2s, 3s, and 7s, maybe it’s Mercury that links our foundational concepts together. Try drawing your circle, square, and triangle any way you want. Incorporate mercury into your drawing or diagram. Look back to alchemical woodcuts and see how other artists have done the same.
Naked Alchemy Projections 