Inceration

## Inceration Inceration

**Inceration** is the operation of softening or liquefying a hard substance by combining it with a liquid or soft material, producing a wax-like consistency. The term derives from Latin *cera* (wax), and the operation was used to prepare materials for further processing, to make hard substances workable, and to combine solid and liquid components. Inceration involved grinding or mixing a solid substance with a liquid, oil, or soft material until it achieved a soft, wax-like texture. The operation was used in preparing the Philosopher's Stone, in making medicinal preparations, and in various practical operations.

Inceration could be performed by grinding a solid substance (such as a calcined metal or mineral) with a liquid (such as oil, vinegar, or the philosophical water) in a mortar, continuing until the mixture achieved a soft, homogeneous consistency. The operation could also involve heating the mixture to promote the combination of solid and liquid. The resulting incerated mass would be soft and workable, suitable for further operations such as shaping into pellets, combining with other materials, or subjecting to heat. Inceration was particularly important in preparing materials for projection: the Stone might be incerated with wax to make it easier to handle and to protect it from the heat of the molten metal.

In alchemical symbolism, inceration represented the softening of hard matter, the making workable of the fixed, and the combination of solid and liquid principles. The operation was associated with the transition from the hard, fixed state to the soft, workable state, and with the theme of making matter receptive to further transformation. Inceration represented the principle that hard, resistant matter must be softened before it can be transformed, that the fixed must be made pliable to be worked upon. The wax-like consistency represented an intermediate state between solid and liquid, between fixed and volatile. Inceration thus represents both the practical operation of softening hard substances and the symbolic operation of making matter receptive and workable.

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