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Alchemy Academy archive March 2003 Back to alchemy academy archives. Subject: ACADEMY : Sophia figure in alchemy From: Arlene Kahn Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 Dear David, In the Aurora Consurgens : A Document Attributed to Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Opposites in Alchemy, there is a commentary by Marie-Louise Von Franz that speaks to the fall of Sophia and in chapter II What Wisdom Is, where she speaks re: Sapientia Dei. Best, Arlene Subject: ACADEMY : Sophia figure in alchemy From: Michael Martin Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 David, I imagine you've already followed this trail, but I'm sending it just in case. Vladimir Solovieff is probably a good place to look, especially concerning his time in Egypt and in London, where he spent a lot of time at the British Museum researching Sophia in relationship to all of the esoteric sciences. I only know of one bio in English, Paul Allen's Vladimir Solovieff: Russian Mystic, which is too puffed with Anthroposophical marginalia, but gives a decent sketch of Solovieff's life. Since I don't read Russian, I'm stuck with this one. Good luck, Michael Martin Subject: ACADEMY : Question on Postel From: Claude Gagnon Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 Here are the latest works on Postel by Secret and his continuators: 1. François Secret, Postel revisité. Nouvelle recherche sur Guillaume Postel et son milieu, Paris, Chrysopoeia, 1998, 260 p. Diffusion: Edidit 76 rue Quincampoix, 75003 Paris France 2. S. Matton éd., Documents oubliés sur l'alchimie, la kabbale et Guillaume Postel offertsà François Secret, Genève, Droz, 2001, 468 pages. Claude Gagnon Subject: ACADEMY : The Green Lion in Arabic Alchemy From: Ahmad Y Hassan Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 I give below part of the text of a message that I have received from Brian Cotnoir about the green lion in Arabic alchemy, and my answer to it. This is not a thorough research into this question but it can be helpful. Brian raises other questions but these are left out. -------------------------------------------- The question about the green lion Dear Ahmad Y. Hassan, I read with great interest your article on potassium nitrate posted on your web site as well as your book "Islamic Technology." I am currently doing some research investigating the origins of the term and the substance of the "green lion." The first mention in the west is the dialogue between Morienus and Khalid, "Leo viridis est vitrum" that is, "the green lion is glass." I am wanting to trace this back to the original Arabic. In Adam McLean's introduction to his edition of "The Book of the Composition of Alchemy," he mentions on page three that an Arabic original was found by Fuat Sezgin and mentioned by Ullman. When I went to the sources Adam cited, it seems to say (my German is not all that great) that an Arabic version was listed amongst the titles given in a will from the 9th century but not the actual text itself. So I am stuck at 1144 with "the green lion is glass." With glass seeming to be vitriol. With the green indicating perhaps an iron copper sulphate, I would like to try to confirm this or show otherwise through any Arabic or Islamic sources. In your research into the nitrates did you come across any references to the green lion? When vitriol was mentioned by the Arabic or Islamic alchemists what were they, in your opinion, generally referring to? Brian Cotnoir -------------------------------------------- The answer Dear Mr. Brian Cotnoir Thank you for your message. I can give here the information that is possible for me to give in a short time. There are two translations of the dialogue between Morienus and Khalid that are known to me: 1. The one that was published by Adam McLean, in modern English, which is handy to use, and the one published by Holmyard in 1925 in a series of articles that appeared in "Chemistry and Industry". Holmyard's series give the text in seventeenth century English. Both McLean's and Holmyard's are based on a 17th century English translation. 2. A translation undertaken by Lee Stavenhagen and published in 1974 under the title "A Testament of Alchemy" (The University Press of New England) In this second translation, a footnote (No.58 p. 43) explains the green lion as: "any dilute acid that would devour metals, typically forming green copper salts". In explaining the text that says "the green lion is glass" , footnote 62 on page 45 explains glass as ("green vitriol, crystalline sulphate formed by treating alloys with acid, the devouring "green lion"). As to the Arabic origin of the Latin text of the dialogue between Morienus and Khalid, Sezgin says on page 111 of vol. IV of his " Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums" that the "Letter of Maryanus the Hermit the Philosopher to Prince Khalid ibn Yazid" (Risalat Mariyanus ar-Rahib al-hakim li-l-amir Khalid b. Yazid) occurs in MS Fatih No 3227 (8b-18b). Sezgin mentions also another possible MS reported by Stapleton. As for Ullmann, he says in "Die Natur und Geheimwissenscatften im Islam" on pages 192-193, that the dialogue between Khalid and Maryanus is found in MS Fatih 3227 and also in MS Ali Pasha 1749 (fol. 61-74). He says also that parts of the dialogue (some large and some small) are quoted in several other Arabic manuscripts. The green lion is mentioned in several other Arabic manuscripts. Ruska and Wiedemann mention that the green lion (al-asad al-akhdar) is one of the "decknamen" for copper as is mentioned in Arabic Manuscript No.210 at Dresden. (See Sitzungberichte der Physikalisch-medizinischen Sozietät zu Erlangen, 56 und 57 Band, 1926, p. 25). Alfred Siggel in his "Decknamen in der Arabischen Alchemistischen Literatur" mentions that the green lion means copper in Gotha MS No.1261 (Siggel p.17). and in MS Berlin 4191 the green lion has two meanings: a-vitriol, and b- nafs (spirit or soul) which means zibaq sharqi (eastern mercury), (Siggel. p. 24). In Dresden MS. 210 green lion denotes copper (Siggil table1, and p. 34) . ( Siggel's monogram was published by Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1951) Manfred Ullmann in his "Katalog der arabischen alchemistischen Handschriften der Chester Beatty Library" (Harrassowitz, 1974) mentiones that MS Chester Beatty No. 5579 lists the green lion as one of the decknamen for copper, (Ullmann, p. 218). I did not see in the Arabic manuscripts available to me that the green lion denoted glass. I have been for some time suspecting that medieval copyists corrupted with time some words. One example is nitrum which, I suspect, was corrupted into vitrum (i.e. glass) in some texts. Another scholar, in his edition of an alchemical treatise of the 13th century, noticed this also. Could it be that the word vitrum was a corrupted word in this case also? Similarly, Arabic copyists corrupted words when they did not understand or could not read them them. Vitriol is zaj in Arabic. Glass is zjaj (the short vowel is not written in Arabic). A copyist can easily convert zaj (vitriol) into zjaj (glass). Ahmad Y Hassan Subject: ACADEMY : Question on Postel Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 From: Rafal T. Prinke Dear Claude, Thank you for your reply. > Here are the latest works on Postel by Secret and his continuators: > > 1. François Secret, Postel revisité. Nouvelle recherche sur > Guillaume Postel et son milieu, Paris, Chrysopoeia, 1998, 260 p. > 2. S. Matton éd., Documents oubliés sur l'alchimie, la kabbale et Guillaume > Postel offertsà François Secret, Genève, Droz, 2001, 468 pages. Yes, I know these titles - but not the books themselves. The reason I asked is that I have access problems to those books (both physical and intellectual - my French hardly exists) and am not paticularly interested in Postel as such. What interests me is his use of the name "Cosmopolita" - and I wonder if Francois Secret or others have ever suggested there was something more behind it than just the obvious allusion to his extensive travels and interest in other nations and languages. Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Goethe's Magic Flute fragment From: Adam McLean Date: 4 Mar 2003 Goethe wrote a fragmentary libretto, extending the ideas presented in Mozart's opera. Die Zauberflöte, Zweiter Teil -- The Magic Flute, Part II. Does anyone know if Goethe's ideas on the Magic Flute story had any alchemical resonances ? Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Ashmole's shorthand Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 From: Adam McLean I received this request recently from a colleague. Has anyone any information on Ashmole's shorthand. Adam McLean ---------- Last week I was down in Oxford at the Bodleian and came across a manuscript written by Elias Ashmole. The part of the MS containing 'my' text is very interesting, since it includes marginal notes, probably also in Ashmole's hand, referring to the text but written in some kind of shorthand I cannot identify; neither I nor the Bodleian staff had ever come across it before. The individual signs seem to originate from different sources, but do not seem to make up one whole conventional system of shorthand. Subject: ACADEMY : Ashmole's shorthand Date: 7 Mar 2003 From: Adam McLean I attach two images of Ashmole's shorthand in the hope that someone has already worked on this.   Has anyone seen this before or know some writer who has commented on this shorthand ? Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Shiva Iconography From: Debra L. Page Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 Greetings, I am researching the iconography of Shiva in relation to Indian Alchemy. There is an oral tradition in India regarding the symbolism of Shiva iconography and the principles of Alchemy. I have read the papers posted on Adam site regarding Indian Alchemy. Can anyone direct me to other sources of info? I would be very grateful. Debra L. Page Subject: ACADEMY : Shiva Iconography From: Mike Dickman Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 Have a look at Mike McGee's Hindu Tantra pages if they still exist, Deborah. The URL is: http://www.shivashakti.com/ All the best, md Subject: ACADEMY : Shivas Iconography Date: Sat, 8 Mar From: Steven Feite Different elements in Shiva's traditional iconography contain veiled reference to the practice of Alchemy (Skt.: "Rasashastra", lit. "essence lore"). The most obvious might be the scenery that Shiva is seated within--a moon on one side and the sun on the other side. This is reference to the dimension Shiva resides in: a twilight, transcendental realm, above and beyond waking, dreaming and sleeping. He has attained this state by the "swooning" of the two side channels which are attributed to Sun and the Moon, these "swoon" into a central unified state. Consequently he attains total stillness of mind (Skt.: "Samadhi"). The "fixation" of mercury is very similar to fixation of mind. This bio-physical process has a direct parallel to the preparation of mercury for ingestion: the physical element of mercury is combined with sulphur (in excess) and they merge into one. This mercury is "swooned" or incinerated to make the final product. Thus a poison is transmuted into something digestable. One of the spontaneous qualities that arise due to samadhi is the transmutation of negative emotions into virtuous qualities. Shiva is often shown with a blue throat, showing that he has swallowed poison, but he has also transmuted it into Amrita, the elixir of life (lit.: "the undying"). This also explains the stream of liquid emerging from the crown of this head (sometimes shown beside an eclipsing moon). Some believe that this amrita (or "ojas") is the light counterpart to "dark" melatonin. Again this has benefits on different levels. On one level he goes beyond time by achieving a meditative state beyond where subject and object (and time) exist. On another level there is a benefit to the body as the breathing becomes very refined. Thus yogis can live much longer. One of my grand-teachers who practiced these methods, she lived to 118. Another element in Shiva's symbolism is he often is shown in a cold, freezing mountainous terrain (Mt. Kailas). Heat, according to traditional Indian medicine dilates the sensory channels, cold restricts the senses outwardness. The senses are naturally withdrawn for someone in meditation. And of course if someone can simply lower their internal body temperature, they can live considerably longer. There are other symbols as well, the eclipsing moon and the presence of snakes is interesting. The points in the sky where eclipses occurs (the north and south nodes of the moon) are called Rahu and Ketu--both the head and tail of a serpent caught stealing Amrita from the gods. This serpent was cut in half and placed at opposite ends of the sky (the nodes are always 180 degrees apart). This same serpent who tried to steal Amrita thus guards the non-dual meditative state of Union. This is the kundalini serpent. Mercury containing medications thus are used to arouse kundalini. The Sanskrit word for snake, naga, also has another meaning. It is that which blocks light (or radiation) very effectively. Naga is also the word for lead. Sincerely, Steven Feite Subject: ACADEMY : Dickinson "Epistola Aimonis" Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 From: Frank Burton I'm looking for a digital format work (scan and/or pdf) of Dickinson: "Epistola Aimonis". Anyone can share with me? Regards, Frank Burton Subject: ACADEMY : Dickinson "Epistola Aimonis" Date: 11 Mar 2003 From: Adam McLean Is this the Epistola Haimonis de quatuor Lapidibus philosophicis, materiam suam ex minore mundo desumentibus. This is in the Theatrum Chemicum and in the 1624 Erfurt edition of Sendivogius 'Lumen chymicum novum'. Edmund Dickinson (Deckingston, Dickenston) [1624-1707], the author of a number of alchemical books, also made some translations of alchemical texts. Some of these manuscripts are now in the British Library and the Bodleian among others. I am not sure if these include the "Epistola Aimonis". Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Dickinson "Epistola Aimonis" Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 From: Rafal T. Prinke Adam McLean wrote: > Epistola Haimonis de quatuor Lapidibus philosophicis, materiam > suam ex minore mundo desumentibus. > > This is in the Theatrum Chemicum and in the 1624 Erfurt > edition of Sendivogius 'Lumen chymicum novum'. > > Edmund Dickinson (Deckingston, Dickenston) [1624-1707], Thus this Dickinson cannot be the author (born in the year of publication) - maybe a translator? The author is probably (as the title states) Haimo, according to Ferguson a 9th c. Anglo-Saxon, related to Bede and Alcuin. Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Dickinson "Epistola Aimonis" From: Adam McLean Date: 13 March 2003 There is a late 17th/early 18th century English translation in the British Library department of manuscripts British Library MS. Sloane 3637. 3. 'The Epistle of Haimo, concerning the four Philosophicall stones taking their matter out of the lesser world'. ff.57-64. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Shiva Iconography From: Brian Cotnoir Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 Hi Debra, You might find these two books useful. The Alchemical Body - David Gordon White In Search of the Medicine Buddha - David Crow Good luck, Brian Cotnoir Subject: ACADEMY : Illustrations from Figuier From: Adam McLean Date: 21 Mar 2003 I am interested in the engravings included with some editions of Louis Figuier L'alchimie et les alchimistes: essai historique et critique sur la philosophie hermétique. I only have access to the 2nd edition, Paris, 1856. Does anyone have access to an edition of Figuier with these engravings ? I attach one example which I understand comes from Figuier. Adam McLean 
Subject: ACADEMY : Hermes Trismegistus Liber artis alkymie From: Adam McLean Date: 21 Mar 2003 I have been contacted by someone who wishes to work on the 'liber artis alkymie' attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. He has found mss. in Great Britain, Leiden and in the Royal Library in Copenhagen. Has anyone studied this work or have any bibliographical information on this? There is a copy in Leiden MS. Vossianus Chym. F. 1. (16th Century) 10. f104v-108 [Hermes Trismegistus], Liber artis alkymie. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Illustrations from Figuier From: Adam McLean Date: 21 Mar 2003 Dear Adam, I have checked our Figuier editions, 1854, 1856, 1860, but none seem to have the engravings. Greetings, Theodor Harmsen, Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Subject: ACADEMY : Illustrations from Figuier Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 From: Joël Tetard Dear Adam, You can download this book from the virtual library Gallica found in this edition This is the complete information concerning this book : Auteur Figuier, Louis Titre [L']alchimie et les alchimistes : essai historique et critique sur la philosophie hermétique / par Louis Figuier Publication Num. BNF de l'éd. de Paris : L. Hachette, 1860 Description 420 p. Sujet(s) Alchimie Alchimistes Domaine Philosophie Cote Identifiant N096146 The direct link to the page is http://gallica.bnf.fr/scripts/ConsultationTout.exe?E=0&O=N096146 Then click on "téléchargement de l'ouvrage" and be patient ! Best regards Joël Tetard S Subject: ACADEMY : Hermes Trismegistus Liber artis alkymie From: José Rodríguez Guerrero Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 The treatise "Liber artis alkimie" is a succinct defense of alchemy. It contains a sort definition enclosed to various arguments for and against alchemy. The earliest copy that I know appears as an anonymous work: - Cambridge, Trinity College MS. O.8.25. (13th Century), ff. 131r-132v. Incipit: "Quid sit Alkimia. Alkimia est ars ministralis essentiam septem metallorum continens qualiter forme eorum a diminucione ad complementum naturale reducantur". Explicit: "...et apparebit aurum purissimum". It seems to be an original latin work based on arabic sources. Then, it had been cited or transcribed under the name of Hermes or Morenius. For example: - Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Bodley 679, (14th Century), ff. 20r-21r. - Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale MS. 6514, (14th Century), ff. 135r-135v. - British Library, MS. Sloane 1754, (14th Century), ff. 60r-62r. Incipit: "Incipit liber Hermetis artis alkymie et primo quid sit alkymia. Alkymia est ars ministralis (ministrans) essentiam septem metallorum continens qualiter forme eorum a diminucione ad complementum naturale reducantur". Explicit: "Quod si duo commiscentur illius erit color quod subtilibus est. Explicit liber Hermetis". You can find some references in: - WILLIAM R. NEWMAN, (1986), "The Summa perfectionis and Late Medieval Alchemy. A Study of Chemical Traditions, Tecniques, and Theories in the Thirteenth-Century Italy", 4 vols., Ph. D. Thesis, Harvard University, Department of the History of Science, cf. t. I, pp. 9-18 [historical analysis and commentary] and pp. 63-67 [partial transcription]. Concerning manuscripts: - WILLIAM R. NEWMAN, (1986), "The Summa perfectionis and Late Medieval Alchemy", (op. cit.), p. 51 n. 19. - D. W. SINGER, (1928-31),"Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Manuscripts in Great Britain and Ireland, dating from before the XVIth Century", Union Academique Internationale, Bruxelles, pp. 44-45. - L. THORNDIKE & P. KIBRE, (1963), "A Catalogue of Incipits of Mediaeval Scientific Writings in Latin", Cambridge (Mass.), 76 § 12. José Rodríguez Guerrero Subject: ACADEMY : Sophia figure in alchemy Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 From: M. E. Warlick Dear David, In response to your question about Sophia and alchemy, you may have seen already Barbara Newman, "God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages." Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003, pp. 234-244. She recognizes the importance of allegorical female figures in several of the earliest illustrated alchemical manuscripts, including the "Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit" and the "Aurora consurgens." She compares these figures to standard representations of Sophia and the Virgin Mary, although she doesn't comment at length on their alchemical meanings. For more of an alchemical interpretation of these figures you should look at Barbara Obrist, "Debuts de l'imagerie alchimique" or Jacques van Lennep's "Alchimie." Newman discusses another figure from Zurich (Cod. Rh 172 f29v) as a "Black Bride" and compares her tentatively to the tradition of the Black Madonna, as well as to the Woman of Revelations (Apoc. 12.1). This figure's "blackness" is due to the patination of silver paint, a reference to Luna, the moon, and the alchemical feminine. Newman also discusses the Crowning of Mary images from the "Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit" (Newman, pp. 256 ff) and points out how they differ from typical representations of Sapietia or Ecclesia, and in fact, are unusual and early in picturing Mary with the entire Trinity. Hope this helps! M.E. Warlick Subject: ACADEMY : Alchemists in Dictionary of Scientific Biography Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 From: Rafal T. Prinke On Adam's site there is a list of links to the biographies of alchemists compiled by the late Richard S. Westfall: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/biograph.html It covers those born between 1470 and 1680 (ie. the Scientific Revolution period as defined by Westfall) and included in 'Dictionary of Scientific Biography' (which was the exclusive basis for Westfall's catalogue). In his own comments at: http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/Development/Docs/thoughts.html he indicates that he eliminated from his list all non-Western scientists (mostly Arabs) and some individuals which he did not consider to be scientists, even though meeting his other criteria. That list of 19 eliminated Europeans includes also the following, who might be of interest in alchemical context (and in a wide sense of the term): Johann Heinrich Alsted Jacob Boehme John Amos Comenius Georg Englehardt von Lohneyss Michael Nostradamus Francois Rabelais Girolamo Ruscelli Thomas Sprat Valentin Weigel As by 1470 Islamic alchemy declined, I don't think there would be any representatives of it in that period included in DSB. So I would like to ask if anyone has compiled a list of alchemists or individuals related to alchemy in one way or another (including attribution of later tracts to them, perhaps) before 1470 who have their entries in DSB (I doubt there is any 18th alchemist there - but I may be wrong). I have not got easy access to it (300 km) but have copied the index "List of scientists by field" which is in the Supplement volume. It seems, however, that it does not include all people/entries, as I cannot find for example Boehme or Comenius there. I can compile such list from that index - if nobody has done that yet - but it may not be exhaustive. Best regards, Rafal S Subject: ACADEMY : Hermes Trismegistus Liber artis alkymie From: B. Krummenacher Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 I don't know this book but would be interested in getting a copy of the manuscript. Does it possibly exist in a digitized version (pdf or so)? Regards, B. Krummenacher Subject: ACADEMY : Alchemists in Dictionary of Scientific Biography Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 From: Rafal T. Prinke I wrote: > It seems, however, that it does not include all people/entries, as > I cannot find for example Boehme or Comenius there. I have overlooked them - they are in fact listed, so it seems everyone is included in the index. One problem is that the surnames are without initials unless there are more people of that name in DSB. I have now compiled a list I had in mind from two areas of the index: "Chemistry" and "History, Philosophy, Dissemination of Knowledge". It can be seen at: http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~rafalp/HERM/dsb-alch.html Pointing out any obvious omissions or incorrect inclusions would be appreciated. It is certainly very difficult to decide what names should be selected - and I am not sure about Adam's or my own criteria. I have excluded Nostradamus and Swedenborg, for example, but included Rabelais and Comenius... Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Illustrations from Figuier From: Giuseppe de Nicolellis Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 I have an Italian translation, "L'Alchimia e gli Alchimisti", by Regina Editore - Napoli. There are 12 engravings at the end of the book, but they are famous plates from Mutus Liber, Kunrauth, B. Valentinus, the play of Art and Nature, etc. No engravings like yours. Giuseppe de Nicolellis Subject: ACADEMY : Illustrations from Figuier From: Adam McLean Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 It seems that I must have been following an incorrect reference in the Andrea Aromatico book 'Alchemy the Great Secret'. Adam McLean |
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