Vitriol from Daniel Stolcius' Viridarium Chymicum (1624)
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Our modern word "vitriol," meaning "caustic speech", is derived from an acronym used by medieval alchemists to describe the essential processes used to transmute minds and metals. The acronym V.I.T.R.I.O.L. was composed using the first letter of each word in the following recipe: visita interiora terrae rectificando occultum lapidem. (Visit the Interior of the Earth, rectify what you find there and you will discover the hidden stone.) In the accompanying picture we find this recipe written in the outer ring; the symbols contained within represent various elements that give meaning to the recipe. Beginning at the very top there is a chalice into which are poured the vital energies of Sol and Luna. This vessel is further influenced by a constellation of male powers (Mars and Saturn) on the left and female powers (Venus and Jupiter) on the right. The chalice is seated on the symbol of Mercury, the ambi-sexual agent of transformation. Below Mercury is a ring that acts in the same way yoga, meaning yoke, works to connect the three remaining elements; the chalice itself representing water, the shield of the double headed eagle symbolizes air, the Lion, fire, and the middle shield is the Pentacle of Earth. Between the shields are the Sphere of the Earth Globe and the Sphere of the Heaven, meaning that these two worlds are to be integrated (as above so below for the making of the one thing). Directly atop the Pentacle of Earth is a smaller globe with a cross. This is the symbol for vitriol. In chemical terms it is the acid (hydrochloric acid) that penetrates into the lead - the Interior of the earth that is psychologically the unconscious- where we begin the work of rectification. (Note how the modern meaning of the word vitriol stems from a physical substance; acid evolves into caustic words!). It is a common expression in alchemy that gold is found deep inside the lead, and that by bringing consciousness to it, the lead ascends out of its nigredo state and arises to become a pure white stone. Ultimately the hidden stone, that is the red stone or the philosopher's stone, is contained in nascent form within the shadows of the unconscious. |
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