As it is an art not to be practised for material advantages, it is not intended for materialists who can never expect any fruitful result in their attempts. Siddhars have written most profoundly and with utmost critical accuracy, Yet obscurely; but they all describe the thing sought for indirectly. Some say they are forbidden to reveal the process;
while others have declared it plainly and intelligibly leaving out some little points which they have kept for themselves. The different parts of the magunam opus have to be found our by a comparison of the works of several authors -- one of them describes the materials, another, their preparations, a third, their calcinations, a fourth, the rules etc., for regulating heat and so on. This arrangement is one of the most serious obstacles in the way of understanding alchemical processes in addition to the many other difficulties that have been thrown in the way with the set purpose of concealing the art, aim and processes and thwarting the attempts of the uninitiated.
In the first place, the alchemists have deliberately made use of an elaborated system of signs for materials, astrological signs. Sun and Moon, and so on, to indicate the seven metals. In addition to these, there are signs for every important substance known to them and also for various pieces of apparatus employed by them in common use. A vocabulary of words was also made use of, each representing an alchemist's ideas quite different from its meaning in our ordinary speech as for instance the three salts fetus three months old; an unctuous substance covering the skin of the tetus; liquor amni; alchemy etc. Unless a student is inspired with a genuine and dauntless enthusiasm, this technology is bound to deter him from advancing further in the study of this art. Siddhars have thus, enshrouded their operations with symbolism; and have given their materials fantastic names so as to conceal their identity from those outside the mystic cult. Even the symbols are unfortunately not employed with a uniform signification. It is to the credit of the Siddhars that they never sold their secrets; but were always ready to communicate them gratuitously to a chosen few whom they deemed to be worthy recipient. But here also, it has to be observed that they never communicated the whole of an operation to anybody at any one time and at any one place; and the same caution was invariably observed throughout in their works even as it was the case with alchemical writers. Even adepts in that science held its secrets inviolate and did not associate with any but their trusted collegues. It is not even definitely known what methods they employed in the science and what raw materials they chiefly used -- whether of mineral, animal or vegetable origin.
The Siddhars were also aware of the several alchemical operations divided onto several processes such as -- clacination, sublimation, distillation, dissolution, fusion, separation, conjunction or combination. coagalation, cibation, fermentation, exaltation, i.e., the action or process of refining gold, fixation, i.e., the action or process of refining gold, fixation, i.e., bringing to the condition of being non-volatile, i.e., to the state of resisting the action of fire purification, incineration of metals, animation or vivification, fabrication, liquification, extraction and so on. Some modern scientists and pharmaceutical chemists boast of having discovered some of the above processes under different circumstance.
That they were very much interested in the mineral side of Alchemy is evidenced from the fact that medicines prepared from minerals and salts were often freely used in this art and that Mercury occupied the central place in Alchemy. 'Muppu' was chief believed in as a Universal Salt for calcining metals and other metallic compounds and as such compounded in all medicines. Even the caustic alkali preparation from Fuller's earth played an important role; and whenever this alkali acted too strongly, it was generally moderated by the addition of sour-gruel(acetic acid).
The Siddhars were also aware of the mystic process of killing a metal which means depriving a metal of its characteristic physical properties such as its colour, lustre etc; and a list of such agents are already given under 'chemistry' (supra). Mercury is said to be Siva's generative principle and its efficacy extolled when it has been subjected six times to the process of killing. Many are the volumes written by Siddhars; some of them original and genuine while others of later day production, probably written by their followers. Some people are inclined to think or are led t believe that the later generations took up the visionary and fantastical side of the older alchemy, compiled mystical trash into books and fathered them on Agastya, Konganava, Sattaimuni and other great alchemical writers. Even the style employed in those books, is a farrago of mystical metaphors, full of technical terms and code words without any clue whatever to their interpretation.
Having dealt so elaborately with this subject, it is now our purpose to know what it is that turns or transmutes baser metals into gold. it is well known that al substances spring from some primordial matter called by so many terms--the Muppu of Siddhars, the Protyl(of Sir William Crooke), Travisa (of Bernad) and the Primum ens (of Paracelus); and all these indicate the same.