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+--- Thread: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS (/thread-1745.html)
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - Davidsch - 25-09-2017
On cinnabar google translate says: a bright red mineral consisting of mercury sulfide. It is the only important ore of mercury and is sometimes used as a pigment.
Apparently coming from: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Regarding to ""... das grien in den lenden und in der blasen.". Then "urinary gravel" is meant." That is seems plausible to me.
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - bi3mw - 03-12-2017
In my research, I'm currently looking for comparable, older alchemical treatises, which show a similar arrangement of symbols as the following:
![[Image: planetenkinder1.png]](http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/mwille2/VMS/planetenkinder1.png)
Johann Grasshoff, Dyas Chymica Tripartita, 1625, SLUB Dresden, Bibl.Sud. 725, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. .
The central part of the illustration ( earth cave ) shows either the 9 (3 + 6) muses or 3 female characters + 7 classic planets. There are different interpretations. In any case, Apollo sits in the middle of the sevens group. Any hints?
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - Searcher - 03-12-2017
(03-12-2017, 07:48 PM)bi3mw Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Johann Grasshoff, Dyas Chymica Tripartita, 1625, SLUB Dresden, Bibl.Sud. 725, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. .The text below contains usual Hermetic dictum: "As above, so below", and (approximately) "what is inscribed in the sky - takes place on the Earth. Fire, Water and they both flowing oppositely, that give fruits, when they unite, let you better know!"
The central part of the illustration ( earth cave ) shows either the 9 (3 + 6) muses or 3 female characters + 7 classic planets. There are different interpretations. In any case, Apollo sits in the middle of the sevens group. Any hints?
So I think, the upper part shows exactly fire, water and the "water of fire" (that produces "aurum potabile"), below part contains seven planets or rather their projections on the Earth.
Why Appollo, but not Mercury?
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - Paris - 03-12-2017
Hi bi3mw,
Your picture is the frontispiece of musaeum hermeticum :
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I can recommend you to visit this website :
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and click to Imagery to view a lot of images from alchemy books.
What kind of alchemical symbols are you interested in ?
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - Searcher - 03-12-2017
Oh, now I see that there is a lyre in the central person's hands. But it is interesting that exactly Hermes made a lyre for Apollo, Hermes = Mercury. Apollo gave Hermes a caduceus in return.
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - bi3mw - 04-12-2017
@Paris: Yes, the Illustrations in the "Musaeum Hermeticum" and "Dyas Chymica Tripartita" are identical and both published 1625. -The last one is easier for me to read.
- Your linked picture gallery is very ....... extensive, but I actually meant the entire composition in the example.@Searcher: This is indeed an interesting point.
For the "Apollo version", here are both sources:
Quote:Prof. Hartmut Böhme, from an exhibition catalog for the "MEDIALE HAMBURG", ( 1993, Alchemical imagery of the elements, pp. 84–97 ):
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The seven classical metals gathered in the earth cave to the choir - gathered around the lyre-playing Apollo - are correspondents of the planets.
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Quote:Rosicrucian Digest, Hermetism, Volume 89, Number 1, 2011, Page 55 ( no source in Article )
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The engraving also shows one Apollo who plays his lyre in the symbolic underworld. He plays to the six Muses themselves symbolic of the six alchemical metals and their celestial counterparts.
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RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - MarcoP - 04-12-2017
I guess that Apollo is at the center because the planet it represents (the Sun) corresponds to gold, which in turn is a symbol of the ultimate goal of alchemy.
Above the ground (on the basis of the text that Searcher translated) one sees the combination of opposite "fluid" elements (a kind of "conjunctio") to produce what could be the alchemical "elixir" - another symbol of the goal of alchemy.
The two central figures can so illustrate the concept 'as above so below':
* Above: light, female, fluid
* Below: dark, male, solid (metal)
The four elements are illustrated in the corners. The meaning of the well is unclear to me ("aqua vitae" again?).
I am not aware of anything comparable in earlier alchemical works.
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - Searcher - 04-12-2017
Quote:The four elements are illustrated in the corners. The meaning of the well is unclear to me ("aqua vitae" again?).Updated: Most likely, it relates to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. As I understand, the words: well, spring and fontain are interchangable, especially in translations, but, eventually, mean the same abstract thing - a source. Alchemical fontain is just more usual allegory.
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - Paris - 04-12-2017
bi3mw, I can suggest you the following book :
Hieroglyphica oder Denkbilder der alten Völker.
The author is Romeyn de Hooghe (1645 - 1708)
It's a german book. So it's easy for you, not for me.
There are several drawings in this book.
The most approaching to your drawing is on page 130.
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Some informations about this image :
On the very bottom, there is Chronos surrounded by a snake (Ouroboros).
On the left side, there is Pan. Next to him, Saturn (with a sickle in his left hand). Next to him an Egyptian. It's possibly Hermes-Thot. I don't know why he's got an egg in his mouth.
Between Pan and Saturn, you can see a cave with children who symbolize the four elements.
RE: Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS - bi3mw - 04-12-2017
(04-12-2017, 01:29 PM)MarcoP Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.....
The meaning of the well is unclear to me ("aqua vitae" again?).
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With reference to Prof. Böhme and the Rosicrucians, the "Well of Wisdom" can be seen here. The absence of the winch and a rope is meant to symbolize that there is no further wisdom / knowledge than one can see. So it is not it the Mercury Fountain ? There is for example a picture with the "Brun der Warheit" (engl. "Well of Truth"), which looks very similar to some well-known Mercury Fountains. Truth and wisdom are close together, right?
![[Image: brunnen.png]](http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/mwille2/VMS/brunnen.png)
World Digital Library, Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, Maximi, de Alchimia libri tres, 1531, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. .
- In an almost simultaneously published manuscript (Chymisches Lustgärtlein) I found a very similar illustration ( You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. ). So it seems like the planets in an earth cave could be shown in two different ways, in "full form" or "uniform" as six women and Apollo.
(04-12-2017, 09:39 PM)Paris Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.....
Between Pan and Saturn, you can see a cave with children who symbolize the four elements.
....
An interesting book, I'll take a look at it. Do you think it shows the elements or the "planet-children" in the cave ?