Chapter 6 of the commentary on Sendivogius Ortelius tells us what to do with the spiritual water collected with the marble sponge. Magnetization in the open air.
But not only, in fact, if you remember, the salt out of chapters two, three, and four also has not undergone magnetization yet. My translation from Latin in quotation marks, my comments in regular: Theatrum Chemicum Zetzneri Argentorati, Orthelius Commentator in Novum Lumen Chymicum Michaelis Sendivogii. Chapter VI, Tome 6, page 415:
“Title: On the superior part of the matter of Philosophers Stone h.e. On the influence of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, with which the previously mentioned corporeal liquor is made like a star through the combination with aerial water, and the manifest exposition under the open sky, which thing is because of the affinity and correspondence with both the superior and inferior sphere (my note: even if the term utrius could also involve a choice between the two).
In the following text, this is affirmed. Even if the above-mentioned spiritual water is poured into a vessel and placed outdoors under a clear and starry sky, the celestial beams accumulate into it.
Sendivogius in his epilogue. Do reflect on what way the four elements dripping towards the center of the earth, the radical humid, and in a certain way the terrestrial central sun, and this by its own motion brings and sublimes to the surface of the earth. As though their rays the celestial sun and moon have a peculiar dripping to earth strength and quality.”
The great difficulty in translating Ortelius is due to his lexical uncertainties, or maybe wanted ambiguities, or dramatic misprints: for instance, humidum is in accusative form while radical is in the nominative, in fact, the correct nominative form would be humidus radicale, while the correct accusative would be humidum radicalem. To better explain, in Latin the nominative is the subject of the action, and the accusative is the object of the action. In simple words, we are prevented from knowing whether the radical humid is being dropped by the 4 elements to the center of the earth, or the radical humid is co-subject, together with the terrestrial sun, of the ascensional motion towards the earth’s surface, but even in the latter case the two verbs are singular, so only the terrestrial sun can be the protagonist of the movement towards the earth surface. The author puts “radical humid” between commas, and in so doing isolates it from any verb. To cut a long story short, as the verb perpendo is in the imperative form, one is ordered to pour the 4 elements drop by drop in any direction but up towards the sky. That corresponds to recommend condensing the four elements, do not distill them, even if the verb stillo could have many assonances with the Italian distillare ( to distill), it actually means to drop-drip.
“In fact, the heat to the heat, the salt to the salt easily join. And certainly, the central Sun has its own sea and a perceptible fat raw water: in the same way, the celestial sun has got its own sea as well as subtle and imperceptible water. On the earth’s surface, the rays do merge, they produce flowers and all. And for this reason, when it will rain, it takes from the air this strength of life and joins to the salt niter of the earth ( As the salt niter of the earth is a simile to calcined tartar, with its dryness it attracts towards itself the air, which air in the salt is liquefied in water. Such attracting strength has in within the salt of the niter of the earth (1), which was still air and is joined to the grease of the earth). And where more solar beams do hit the target, there more profusion of wheat does grow and this is from day to day. You will see more in the next chapter.”
When, in the last paragraph, Ortelius says ” the salt niter of the earth is a simile to calcined tartar, with its dryness it attracts towards itself the air, which air in the salt is liquefied in the water….” he probably refers to the watery air caught by the marble sponge-lime, object of the chapter V. And when saying “…is joined to the grease of the earth…” he probably intends the result of the processes mentioned in chapters two, three and four, as the note one of the following Addition seems to suggest. We will see that the author defines the first as the celestial part and the second as terrestrial. Be aware that it is not compulsory to join a so-called celestial part to a so-called inferior part, alchemically speaking, but it was kind of a semantic must for seventeenth-century alchemists. Actually, we must get the more we possibly can of Spiritus Mundi/Secret Fire/Radical Humid, being this from sky or earth. To this extent, a skillful alchemist tends more than often to think in terms of salts and how to merge salts, so a little bit of chemical opportunity makes its way into his mind. Of course, nobody would work with chemically incompatible salts.
And once achieved his salts Ortelius puts them to magnetize under sky conditions.
“Addition
1. The weight of liquor brine (salty water) and air-water must be equal.
2. A wide and shallow glass vessel.
3. Concerning the water drying caused by the sun heat, the glass has provided a mark which makes figuring out the lack and then you can adjust restoring water.
4. If the sun’s heat is too much intense, the vessel may be covered by twigs.
5. One can expose even during the full moon.
6. The longer the exposition, the better will be.
7. After three days, there starts evidence of the water getting thicker and more solid.”
Previous chapter at Ortelius Commentary on Sendivogius. Chapter 5.