In the middle ages, great alchemists wanted more than just turning lead into gold, they also wanted to create living beings that would be their faithful servants and accomplish tasks in the astral sphere. With the help of these beings, the alchemists could get protection, send messages to others and manipulate people.
Although a genuine magician would never use elementals for egoistic and evil purposes, when alchemical knowledge fell in wrong hands, the beings could take any form or objective, from attracting money to kill people. But before going into the details, it's necessary to understand the principles that underlie the idea of elementals as an alchemical creation.
The Principles of Alchemy According to the Hermeticism
Hermetic tradition states that everything which is above is like that which is below. As Plato's philosophy puts it, the physical world is an imperfect copy of the real world. That is, everything that exists in the physical world, existed first in the world of ideas.
The only difference between things that exist in the real world and the things that exist in the physical world, is that the latter are manifested in a denser state. When a person builds or creates anything, like a chair or a musical instrument, for instance, the builder only made a bridge between the two worlds. For many traditions, every single form that ever existed, exists and will exist in the future, were created at the very same time and can be manifested in the physical world when one builds a tool to bring an idea to life.
Alchemy and the Fairy Tales
Many fairy tales are based on Hermetic knowledge such as Snow White and the seven dwarfs. When Snow White's mother hurts her finger and a drop of blood falls on the snow, she makes a wish – "I wish I have a daughter whose skin will be as white as this snow and the lips as red as this blood" and this is when Snow White is born.
In this story, the spirit of Snow White was brought to life through the union of mother's wish and the material that gave her shape – snow and blood.
The Origin of Gnomes, Dwarfs and Fairies
In order to make an elemental, alchemists needed to establish the shape, the purpose, the name and the material. The old alchemist guides describe various ways to make an elemental, but the most common was to use one of the four elements as a material to compose the body of the creature.
By using humid clay, the alchemist would shape the form of an elemental and fill its body with a fluid known as condenser which was impregnated with vital power, as explained here. When the clay doll was ready, the alchemist would start to tell aloud the commands, the task that the elemental was supposed to perform, the name and most important of all, the date of his death.
An elemental should be ordered to perform a specific task and after that, dissolve in the universe. If an elemental was kept alive after he had done what he had to do, his survival instincts would make him turn against his master, as he would start to develop independent intelligence and would soon realize that it was better to continue to live than returning to the universe. The Hermetic literature often refers to elementals that developed free will, but all the guides strongly advice to avoid such thing. The best way to do it is by establishing a date for his death previously.
It was also possible to make elementals from fire, water and air. In mythology they received the name of salamanders, undines and sylphs. The earth elementals are the gnomes and dwarfs.
A true magician made elementals for noble purposes, to protect nature, animals, to protect their house and their disciples, sometimes to send messages to scholars that were far away or to heal people, but an elemental could be ordered to do just about anything. The shape of an elemental depended on the task that he or she needed to accomplish, fairies were often associated to protection and influence.
Traders who wanted to drive sales to their shops could make an elemental in order to influence people to buy and spend money, this is the origin of the dwarfs that attract money.
Readers may also want to read Alchemy in the Middle Ages: Plato and the Philosopher's Stone, along with Hermetic Practices - Mental Training, and Hermetic Practices - The Four Elements.
Source:
Bardon, Franz. Initiation into Hermetics. Dieter Ruggerberg, Wuppertal, Germany 1987.
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