By Lyndy Abraham
This dictionary files alchemical symbolism from the early centuries advert to the late-twentieth century, to be used through historians of literary tradition, philosophy, technological know-how and the visible arts, and readers attracted to alchemy and hermeticism. each one access incorporates a definition of the emblem, giving the literal (physical) and figurative (spiritual) meanings, an instance of the logo utilized in alchemical writing, and a citation from a literary resource. There are fifty visible photographs of picture woodcuts, copperplate engravings and painted by hand trademarks, a few reproduced right here for the 1st time.
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Example text
Mary Astell refers to spiritual, alchemical conversion in ‘Awake my Lute’: ‘Who has the true Elixir, may impart / Pleasure to all he touches, and convert /The most unlikely greif to Happiness. /Vertue this true Elixir is’ (lines 100-3, Greer, Kissing theRod, 340). see boil. see Geber’s cooks. see Venus. see chemical wedding. a synonym for the *red stone and *red tincture attained at the ‘ rubedo, the final stage of the opus. Synesius referred to ‘the bloody Stone, the purple, red Coral, the pretious Ruby, red Mercury, and the red Tincture’ (The TrueBook, 175).
With the phrase ‘operation of your sun’ Lepidus also alludes to the final law of the alchemical Emerald Table: ‘That which I had to say about the operation of the Sun is completed’. an ancient symbol which is used in alchemy to represent the fixation of the volatile spirit. One of Nicolas Flamel’s hieroglyphs displays the serpent nailed to a wooden cross, symbolizing the completion of the crosslet crow, crow’s head, crow’s bill ‘ crucible. Peter, in John Lyly’s Gallathea, complains bitterly of his lot with his master, the alchemist: ‘What a life do I lead with my master!
The pure and perfect elixir of Diana was thought to be able to transmute all imperfect metals into silver (Luna). The physician and poet John Collop was referring to this phenomenon when he wrote, ‘But oh from th’ silver forge Diana comes’ {Poesis Rediviva, 13). Isaac Newton said concerning the preparation of philo sophical mercury: ‘Another secret is that you need the mediation of the Virgin Diana (a quintessence, most pure silver): otherwise the mercury and the regulus are not united’ (Keynes ms 18, in Dobbs, Foundations, 182).