quintessence, which is a combination of gold and light. In the superior or spiritual world, it is the First Matter of the Great Work, the source of the enthusiasm and activity of the alchemist. In the intermediate or mental world, it is intelligence and industry. In the inferior or material world, it is physical labor. Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt, which, volatilized and fixed alternately, compose the Azoth of the sages. Sulfur corresponds to the elementary form of Fire, Mercury to Air and Water, Salt to Earth. Life and the universe Believed to be the Universal Solvent, Universal Cure, and Elixir of Life (elixir vitae), the Azoth is said to embody all medicines, as well as the first principles of all other substances. In late-16th-century Paracelsianism, Paracelsus (d. 1541) was said to have achieved the Azoth, and in the "Rosicrucian" portrait of 1567 the pommel of his sword bears the inscription Azoth. The first part of the pseudo-Paracelsian Archidoxis magica (first printed in 1591) bears the title Liber Azoth, containing various magic sigils and recipes intended to protect against illnesses and injuries. The Azoth is believed to be the animating energy (spiritus animatus) of the body, and the inspiration and enthusiasm that moves the mind. The Azoth is believed to be the mysterious evolutionary force responsible for the drive towards physical and spiritual perfection. Thus, the concept of the Azoth is analogous to the light of nature or mind of God. Because the Azoth is believed to contain the complete information of the whole universe, it is also used as another word for the Philosopher's Stone. One of the hints for the theoretical preparation of the Stone is Ignis et Azoth tibi sufficiunt ("Fire and Azoth are sufficient"). There are scores of esoteric drawings depicting the Azoth and how it is used in the Great Work of alchemy. Examples include the Azoth of the Philosophers by Basil Valentine and the Hieroglyphic Monad of Dr. John Dee. The term was considered by occultist Aleister Crowley to represent a unity of beginning and ending by tying together the first and last letters of the alphabets of antiquity; A/𐤀 (Aleph, the first character in the Phoenician alphabet), Z (Zeta, the final character in Latin), O/Ω (Omega, the final character in Greek) and Th/ת (Tav, pronounced "Tau", the final character in Hebrew). In this way permeation and totality of beginning and end symbolized the supreme