VITRIOLIC derived from the Latin vitreolus, diminutive of vitrum, 'glass'. Vitriol is a sulfate of lead or andesite. It has its origins in the alchemists, who were looking for a compound capable of producing gold. Solvent of the Alchemists, according to Basil Valentine. According to Fulcanelli it is sulfur: Vit means life; R is air, one of the alchemical catalysts; OL kabbalistically approximates Or, gold, so it is considered the Living Gold. The modern concept derives from VITRIOLIC acid, a corrosive, and has the significance of biting, graceful, corrosive, acidic, ironic, hurtful.
