Almanac – The Two Contraries
January 31st, 2014This week’s Almanac entry is The Two Contraries — Sophic Sulphur and Sophic Mercury. They are the male and female aspects of alchemy. The alchemical version of the yin and the yang. The balance of these two opposing forces drive reality.
In the Almanac:
“Sophic Sulfur is linked to the sun, air, and fire”
then later:
“Sophic Mercury is linked to the moon, water, and _air_.”
So both of them are linked to the air? Isn’t Sophic Mercury supposed to be linked at _earth_? Sounds more logical.
Yes, both of them are linked to Air. Air is the bridge between the two. I’ll discuss how Earth fits into this on Friday when I discuss Sophic Salt.
So what’s the relationship between the “two contraries” and the metals that share their names? Is there any, or is it just a coincidence?
Common Sulfur and Common Mercury have the purest amounts of the two sophic contraries so early alchemists used those the names of those substances to label the opposing forces. Often times, alchemists wouldn’t differentiate between common sulfur and Sophic Sulfur in their notes. I opted for using the adjective Sophic to help differentiate the two for the reader.