Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS

[bi3mw]

Hermaphroditos is a young man whom Aphrodite had given birth. The father was Hermes. Through the action of the gods his body is fused with that of the nymph Salmacis, making him a hermaphrodite. The only completely preserved mythological work of this is found in Ovid`s Metamorphoses (Book IV) .
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Hermaphroditus and the nymph Salmacis bathing

Left: BL, Harley MS 4431, Christine de Pizan, Collected works ('The Book of the Queen'), c 1410-c 1414, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Right: BNF, Français 137, Petrus Berchorius, Ovidius Moralizatus, 1470-1480, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Rebis (from Latin res bina "two things") in alchemy generally refers to the union of two principles to a higher existence, e.g. Sulphur and Mercurius, but especially the union of the male and female principle to form the hermaphrodite in the preparation of the Philosopher's Stone.


Left: Zürich, Zentralbibliothek, Ms. Rh. 172, Aurora consurgens, 15th century, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Right: Codex Vossianus 29, Leiden, Rijksuniversiteit Bibliotheek, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

It can be assumed that there is a connection between Hermaphroditos and Rebis or, more generally, Ovid and alchemy. I have found an interesting work on this:

Willard, Thomas, The Metamorphoses of Metals: Ovid and the Alchemist
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