Many alchemy symbols were invented in the 17th century, this one in particular is found in the Table of Chymicall & Philosophical Characters of Basil Valentine's The Last Will and Testament, 1670 edition.
The same symbol was used by different authors to represent different things:
The same symbol was used by different authors to represent different things:
Quote:An exactly similar triangular symbol with three balls strung on it occurs frequently among the star spells of Picatrix, and was used by alchemists to mean arsenic, orpiment, or potash (Gessman 1922, Tables IV, XXXXIII, XXXXV).
— Mary D'Imperio, The Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma