Proper Substitute For Mercury Metal, in alchemy and magick Options

Now I know Mercury is one of the seven planetary metals, I also know it is a miserable pain to find and nearly as expensive as gold when you have to ship it. I found a few old Mercury in glass thermometers some time ago but used them all now. Mercury nitrate salts work well I imagine but suffer from the same high price.

So assuming I don't want to use a plant with Mercury correspondence where do I look?

If I should use a plant can anyone suggest a good one?

This post has been edited by fatherjhon: Jun 12 2011, 10:30 AM

So assuming I don't want to use a plant with Mercury correspondence where do I look?

For talismans, Mercury is usually represented by brass, which is a general term for mixed metals.

I have seen people use aluminum for Mercury talismans, which makes some sense in view of its lightness and versatility, but in practice I have not found it to be effective. Aluminum for Uranus, yes... for Mercury, no.

The stones of Mercury are Opal and Agate, both of which are basiclly squashed and petrified remains of a variety of creatures or tissues, and which are both defined by their mixtures of colors.

For Alchemy? I dunno. You probably will need actual Mercury, which is one of the few ways metals can be separated and is still in use today in the gold refining industry.