If the stages of colour describe the Work as a succession of states, the operations describe it as a succession of gestures. One of the best-known ways of listing them is that of the English canon George Ripley, who in 1471 composed an alchemical poem entitled The Compound of Alchymy, dedicated to King Edward IV. Ripley imagines the Work as a castle with twelve gates, to be passed through one after another.
The poem and its image
Ripley wrote in English verse, a choice that made his text widely read in England in the following centuries. The image of the castle with twelve gates is effective: to enter the heart of the Work you must pass every threshold, in the right order, without skipping any. Each gate corresponds to an operation.
The twelve gates
1. Calcination
Fire reduces matter to ash, removing what is superfluous and combustible. Inwardly it is the trial that burns away illusions and leaves what endures.
2. Solution
The ash is dissolved in a liquid. What was rigid becomes fluid. It is the moment when resistances soften and one becomes able to change.
3. Separation
The subtle parts are distinguished from the coarse ones. In inner life it means learning to tell what is essential from what is incidental.
4. Conjunction
The separated and purified elements are reunited. It is the first form of the coniunctio, the union of opposites.
5. Putrefaction
The united matter decomposes and turns black. This is nigredo: the death of the old form, necessary for the birth of the new one.
6. Congelation
What was fluid sets and gains consistency. In inner language it is the stabilisation of what has been understood.
7. Cibation
The matter is «fed» with small additions of liquid, as one feeds a child. An image of gradual growth: one proceeds in small steps, without forcing.
8. Sublimation
The subtle parts rise and settle above, purified. It is elevation, the passage to a finer level.
9. Fermentation
A «ferment», usually associated with gold, is joined to the matter and passes on its nature, as yeast transforms dough. Inwardly it is the encounter with an example, a teaching or an experience that renews from within.
10. Exaltation
The matter is brought to its highest degree of purity and strength. It is the fulfilment of the quality achieved.
11. Multiplication
The stone is increased by repeating the operations, so that its power grows. It is the image of what, once reached, can grow further.
12. Projection
The stone is cast onto the base metal to transform it. It is the final act: what has been accomplished communicates itself outwards.
A summary table
| Group | Gates | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| Dissolve | calcination, solution, separation | breaking the form |
| Unite and die | conjunction, putrefaction | meeting and nigredo |
| Stabilise and nourish | congelation, cibation | giving body |
| Raise and renew | sublimation, fermentation | purifying and quickening |
| Complete and give | exaltation, multiplication, projection | bearing fruit |
Why twelve
The number twelve recalls the months of the year and the signs of the zodiac, that is, a complete cycle. Many authors linked Ripley's operations, or similar lists, to the twelve signs, making the Work a symbolic year. Not all alchemists used the same number of operations: some listed seven, others more. Ripley's scheme is one among many, but among the clearest and most complete.
How to work with the twelve gates
The twelve gates lend themselves to structured reflection, with no claim to any result.
- One gate a month: devote a month to each operation, observing how it shows itself in your life.
- A diary for each gate: note concrete situations corresponding to calcination, solution, separation and so on.
- Recognise where you are: you often discover that you are standing still before a gate, for example unable to separate the essential from the superfluous.
- Respect the order: the scheme teaches that skipping a step, such as wanting to multiply before having purified, leads to fragile results.
Maestro Cornelio often stresses that the gates are not passed through once and for all: one returns to each several times, each time with a different matter.
In short
- In 1471 George Ripley composed The Compound of Alchymy, which describes the Work as a castle with twelve gates.
- The gates are as many operations, from calcination to projection.
- They can be grouped into phases of dissolution, union, stabilisation, elevation and completion.
- The scheme invites us to respect the order and gradualness of inner work.
