Philosophical Fire in Alchemy

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In Sanskrit, Fire is referred to as Agni. It connotes the essence of nature, the primordial power that consumes, transforms and conveys. It is one of the five constitutive substance 'Mahabhuta'. There are more than a thousand different types of fire mentioned in the Vedas. From the fire in our stomach to the fire in the energetic saps concealed within plants. That is the secret of fire in Alchemy. Every alchemical process uses different fire. But there is one particular type of fire which is revered as the highest form of fire. And it is called 'the Philosophical Fire'.

The Philosophical Fire is the most uniform, a continous form of fire. It is not derived from matter. But it participates in the nature of Sulphur. The spirit is mentioned as Sulphur (sulfer) in Alchemy. It dissolves, congeals and calcines all. It has a certain personality when invoked. It is humid vapourous, altering, digesting, penetrating, subtle and aerial. It is not violent, it doesn't burn, surround, and contain. The philosophical fire is the fountain of Quick Water or Living Water. It is present in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. All form of Art consists of the philosophical fire. It doesn't hinder the union of the miscibles. It doesn't consume or evaporate the bond of the constituent of the parts of bodies. 

The philosophical fire is present in a greater amount in Animals than in the Plants. The blind and the fool tries to sacrifice animals to invoke the philosophical fire, in doing so he creates disbalances that consumes his past, present and future. Great civilizations, kings and alchemists fall because they want to create the philosophical fire by animal sacrifice. 

Great stories are told to explain the importance and beauty of the Philosophical fire. Many names, many metaphors and allegories. One of the famous stories is of Prometheus stealing the Fire from Zeus in the Greek mythology. Prometheus did so to bestow the man with the powers of the gods. Which in itself is enough to explain the importance of the fire. It is said, that the fire that Prometheus stole still runs in the veins of man. And man hence is equal to all the gods. Another famous story is the Sacred Fire of Vesta, which was a sacred eternal flame in Ancient Rome. Vesta is the goddess of fire. She personifies the divine fire. 

The Sanskrit word Agni, perfectly defines the Philosophical Fire. A 5th Century BCE Sanskrit text Nirukta-Nighantu, explains that it comes from three verbs..from 'going', from 'shining' and from 'leading'.  the letter "a" (अ) is from root "i" which he claims implies 'to go', the letter "g" (ग्) is from the root "añj" meaning 'to shine' or "dah" meaning 'to burn', and the last letter is by itself the root "nī" (नी) which means 'to lead'. Another Sanskrit text,  Shatapatha Brahmana, defines Agni as "first", referring to "that first in the universe to arise". 

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