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Cauda Pavonis

Cauda Pavonis – the peacock tail

 

In the ancient arcane art of alchemy, the Magnum Opus (Great Work) was a process by which the Lapis Philosphicus, the fabled Philosopher’s Stone was made. The long and involved process was hidden in symbols, riddles and other methods of obscuration.

If the alchemist got the process right, the cauda pavonis, the peacock tail appeared in the flask. This was the name given to the part of the alchemical process where the material becomes iridescent just before the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone.

The possessor of the stone was able to, among other things, transmute base metal into silver and gold

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Uploaded on May 4, 2012
Taken on May 4, 2012