User:Neefer/Three Primes (alchemy)

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Three Primes or Tria Prima refers to sulfur, mercury, and salt (NaCl). These three substances were determined, by Paracelsus, to be "pure, naked, clean, and simple after proving by fire"Paracelsus, [http://books.google.com/books?id=FrpDz5tkkcMC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=three+primes+alchemy&source=bl&ots=sWPq9-yw2l&sig=pPfWLObW_0EHhjpV17auRZV-K1o&hl=en&ei=i3w_TOXcCYf0swOZlbmLBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=primes&f=false "The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus"], [BiblioBazaar], 2008, Retrieved on July 15, 2010. Paracelsus believed that fire separated pure from impure. Impure substances were destroyed, leaving only the pure substance.