Sublimatio, sublimation, is the alchemical operation of raising a substance from a lower, denser state to a higher, more refined one through the application of heat. In practical terms, sublimation involves heating a solid until it passes directly into vapor, which then condenses on a cooler surface above — bypassing the liquid phase entirely. In the symbolic language of the alchemists, however, sublimation carries a much broader meaning: it denotes any process of elevation, refinement, or exaltation by which the gross becomes subtle, the earthly becomes celestial, and the base becomes noble.

De Jong identifies sublimatio as the most important operation in the alchemical vocabulary, citing the comprehensive catalogue of operations in the discourse of Emblem XXXIX, where Maier himself assigns it this distinction. After listing solutio, coagulatio, sublimatio, ascensio, descensio, distillatio, calcinatio, and fixatio, Maier singles out sublimatio: what was low must become higher. Some parts ascend (ascensio) and other parts descend (descensio), but the governing principle is that the humble must be improved and the base must be elevated. De Jong reads this as Maier's expression of his hierarchical cosmology, in which the Work proceeds by raising base matter toward its celestial archetype.

In Atalanta Fugiens, Maier figures sublimation through ascending and winged imagery. Emblem VII depicts a young bird that flies from its nest but falls back — the text advises the reader to sublimate Mercury so often that it becomes solid and cannot evaporate through the power of fire. De Jong identifies this as the progressive sublimation of the volatile mercury, each cycle of ascent and descent rendering it slightly more stable until it is fully fixed. Emblem XVI presents the winged and wingless lions: the winged lion, which Senior identifies as the female mercurial principle, represents the volatile substance that ascends and sublimates, while the wingless lion represents the fixed, sulphurous principle that remains below.

The imagery of capture and sublimation also appears in De Jong's discussion of the frontispiece, where Atalanta's capture is described as the first sublimation, washing, or improvement applied by the pursuing Hippomenes. The sublimation of mercury is thus figured as a pursuit and capture — the volatile principle is chased, caught, and elevated through repeated operations until it achieves stability. Maier's coat of arms, which features a toad chained to an eagle, embodies this same principle: the eagle (volatile, ascending spirit) carries the toad (fixed, earthly matter) upward from the cold earth toward the celestial heights.

De Jong connects sublimation to the washing imagery of the later emblems, noting that washing and sublimating function as parallel operations — both purify by separating the pure from the impure. Emblem XXXIX describes the process of depositing with tepid sea-water and repeating seven times by washing and sublimating. The sevenfold repetition underscores the iterative nature of sublimation: the substance must be raised and returned, raised and returned, until the desired degree of purity and elevation is achieved.

For the lay reader, sublimation is the alchemical act of elevation — taking what is low, dense, and base and raising it to a state of lightness, purity, and refinement. The most familiar everyday analogy is the way frost forms on a cold window: water passes directly from ice to vapor and back to ice, without ever becoming liquid. In alchemy, this transformation carries a moral and spiritual charge: the alchemist elevates not only matter but, through the disciplined practice of the art, the alchemist's own soul.

Meanings Across Registers

De Jong shows that alchemical terms operate simultaneously across material, medical, spiritual, and cosmological dimensions.

Alchemical

Raising volatile spirits from gross matter through heat; the purified essence ascends and condenses on the upper walls of the vessel.

Medical

The refinement of crude bodily spirits into subtle vital pneuma; the upward movement of healing vapors in steam baths and fumigations.

Spiritual

The elevation of consciousness from base material concerns to refined spiritual perception; the ascent of the soul toward the divine.

Cosmological

The ascent of earthly vapors to become celestial dew and rain; the vertical axis connecting earth to heaven in the cosmic circulatory system.