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.

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 basically 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.

It seems the Chinese use a mercury sulfide know as red cinnabar for their alchemy, it is relatively cheap and benefits from not requiring a hazmat box for shipping.

Interesting, I have heard that Mercury has an androgynous nature, is that why mixed substances are used to represent Mercury? That could get confusing if you're putting together a fluid accumulator for a mirror where two are more metals are used. Especially, sense Brass is alloy of Tin and Copper - both planetary metals. Awhile back I used the last of my Mercury metal in a divination mirror that required all the planetary metals, if I had used brass instead of Mercury metal would that mean Mercury is over represented or does anything that uses Tin and Copper automatically involve Mercury in its effect?

This post has been edited by fatherjhon: Jun 13 2011, 01:05 PM

It seems the Chinese use a mercury sulfide know as red cinnabar

Interesting, I have heard that Mercury has an androgynous nature, is that why mixed substances are used to represent Mercury?

if I had used brass instead of Mercury metal would that man Mercury is over represented or does anything that uses Tin and Copper automatically involve Mercury in its effect?

I use cinnabar in Mercury seals for spirits, using ore from Arizona. The process is hazardous and haphazard. The result is red-orange.

Most cinnabar on the market is actually a resin lacquer with no mercury content.

Metallurgy has always been an obscure and esoteric art, shrouded in secrecy. In ancient times the formulae were guarded with severe measures, since weapons and technologies depended on proper alloy production. Specialized knowledge, training, and tools are needed to work metals, and I believe it is for this reason that mixed metals are the province of Mercury.

That is a subjective analysis, though, and is just my suggestion toward an answer at why mixed metals are considered Mercurial. Maybe you could also say that alloys represent relationships ("communication") between metals. It is clear that "brass" is a general term for mixed metals, with a very hazy line dividing what is mercurial and what is not. Is pewter mercurial? Is Corinthian Bronze? How about nickel silver? I don't know.

In some instances of older practices, I think mercury metal is indeed what is demanded. The toxicity of the substance was well-known - the death penalty was sometimes carried out by sending a person to the mines - but for whatever reason the dangers were ignored for esoteric research purposes.

I use cinnabar in Mercury seals for spirits, using ore from Arizona. The process is hazardous and haphazard. The result is red-orange.

Most cinnabar on the market is actually a resin lacquer with no mercury content.

Maybe you could also say that alloys represent relationships ("communication") between metals.

The toxicity of the substance was well-known - the death penalty was sometimes carried out by sending a person to the mines - but for whatever reason the dangers were ignored for esoteric research purposes.

Ha! Anyone who tries to summon a demon or something that might well eat your soul, is probability thinking its a good thing if minor poisoning is the worse they get.

Where do you get your cinnabar if I can ask? And more impotently how do you work with it to get a seal, presumably you compress it some how, but if its hazardous and haphazard then it must be more than it seems.

This post has been edited by fatherjhon: Jun 13 2011, 02:25 PM

Ha! Anyone who tries to summon a demon or something that might well eat your soul, is probability thinking its a good thing if minor poisoning is the worse they get.

Where do you get your cinnabar if I can ask? And more impotently how do you work with it to get a seal, presumably you compress it some how, but if its hazardous and haphazard then it must be more than it seems.

All of my mercury seals come from a single deposit of mercury ore from the Kingman area of Arizona.

The idea of turning the raw ore into seals arose from discussions of Gehenna with some JW's who were interested to see exactly what a pit of boiling sulphur would look like. I arranged a demonstration on a wide copper plate in the backyard. This led to some interesting discussions and ultimately to the idea of producing mercury mixtures from the molten sulphur. I had access to some shop equipment as a goldsmith at the time, one of which was a high-powered vaccuum specifically for working with lead, cadmium, and chemicals that gave off toxic fumes as are sometimes employed in the gold trade.

My specimens could have been of better purity. They are brittle, irregular in texture, and lacking the kind of expertise that the ancient emperors could produce when they could simply force people to work on the stuff until they died and were relieved by some other unfortunate prisoner.

All of my mercury seals come from a single deposit of mercury ore from the Kingman area of Arizona.

The idea of turning the raw ore into seals arose from discussions of Gehenna with some JW's who were interested to see exactly what a pit of boiling sulphur would look like. I arranged a demonstration on a wide copper plate in the backyard. This led to some interesting discussions and ultimately to the idea of producing mercury mixtures from the molten sulphur. I had access to some shop equipment as a goldsmith at the time, one of which was a high-powered vaccuum specifically for working with lead, cadmium, and chemicals that gave off toxic fumes as are sometimes employed in the gold trade.

My specimens could have been of better purity. They are brittle, irregular in texture, and lacking the kind of expertise that the ancient emperors could produce when they could simply force people to work on the stuff until they died and were relieved by some other unfortunate prisoner.

Sounds like you dug it up yourself, I was rather hoping that it came from a mine that would allow me to buy just a few lb of the stuff. I commend the effort you put in to your work, but lacking all that equipmnet I think I sould use brass. Still, if I can find real cinnabar I might beable to make something out of it.


Thanks.

If you want a symbolic stand in, Imperial is a much better reference then i am, but, if you just want a metal that has similar properties without the toxicity, Gallium might be worth looking into.

It's a metal that is chemically related to aluminum. but actually has few toxcity issues then aluminum. High concentrations it could still be dangerous, but as they're looking at injecting it into people, it's probably relatively well tolerated by humans.

You'd also want to be mindful of the purity of the Gallium since even very pure samples can have high-ish concentrations of mercury (depending on how the galium is processed), but you can buy scientifically graded, pure gallium online and have it shipped to you very easily (easy relative to mercury.... it can still eat aluminum, so ground shipping is the most likely route)

Gallium amalgumates with other metals about as easily as mercury. It might not dissolve/amalgumate with iron. you'd need to check on that if you're using it, and it matters. It wets nearly all types of metals.

Interesting side note, Gallium is produced as a by-product of mercury produced through electrolysis, so if there's any references in y'all's occult literature to empowered or purified mercury, it might be a reference to Gallium.

You might need to warm the gallium slightly though to make it liquid, as it's melting point is technically above room temperature (70 degress farenheit). it's not a big deal as a warmed finger could work for that.