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Alchemy Academy archive
September 2001

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Subject: ACADEMY : Hebrew on Sixth Key of Valentine
From: Adam McLean
Date: 12 Sep 2001

Can anyone translate the Hebrew text on the sixth Key of
Basil Valentine ?

This text on the 1618 engraving seems to be undecipherable.
This could be because the engraver was not at all sure of
the Hebrew characters. He was most probably working from
the original woodcut illustrations which were included in the 1602
edition.

I attach this 1602 woodcut in the hope that someone might be
able to make out the Hebrew.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Hebrew on Tenth Key of Valentine
From: Jean Debord
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001

J. Van Lennep in his book "Alchimie" translates the central
hebrew word as "rigidité" (rigidity). He gives no translation
for the other words, but since they are associated with the
symbols of Sol, Luna and Mercurius they have probably a
similar meaning (?) He also translates the peripheral text
as:

"Je suis né d'Hermogène. Hypérion m'a choisi. Sans Iamsuph,
je suis contraint de périr."

i.e. "I am born from Hermogene. Hyperion choosed me.
Without Iamsuph I amobliged to perish"

There is an interesting discussion (in French) in Herve Delboy's
alchemy site (http://perso.club-internet.fr/hdelboy/emblemes.htm)
which relates "Iamsuph" to "spuma" i.e. the foam which appears
in a solution from which a compound begins to crystallize...

Best regards,

Jean Debord

Subject: ACADEMY : Hebrew on Tenth Key of Valentine
From: Mike Dickman
Date: 15 Sep 2001

Canseliet in his version of the text, 'Les Douz Clefs de la Philosophie'
[Editions de Minuit, 1956], says in his commentary of the 10th. Figure that:

'... This symbol, by the thick outlines in short strokes of an inverse triangle
completed within by a double circle touching each on the three sides,
proclaims its connection with a most particular water, oily in consistency
and sharpened (or intensified) by a sulphur of gold. Around its outsides is the
legend:

'Born of Hermogene am I. Hyperion has chosen me. Without Iamsuph I am
doomed to die.'

"Our Master, Fulcanelli, presented the practical explication of this riddle
(Demeures Philosophales, pp. 77 and 97), but left Iamsuph unexplained. It
is, however, this word which fully expresses the need that is never lacking to
these waters *upon which was the Spirit of God*:

SPIRITUS DEI FEREBATUR SUPER AQUAS (Gen. I, 2)

In his scholarly Dictionary (Grand Dictionnaire de la Langue latine, Paris,
1883), Guillaume Freund links the expression Heropoliticus Sinus to the
term Iam-Suph which means the western bay of Sinus Arabicus, the Arabian
Gulf, today called Bahr el Kolsum, Bahr Assuez (the Gulf of Suez)." (op. cit.,
pp.195-6)

That on the Iamsuph.
I'm afraid I can't offer much on the Hebrew except to say that the word in the
bottom angle accompanying the glyph for Mercury and seems to read KRD
(or R) B is probably a misprint for KVKB - Kokav - the Hebrew word for the
planet Mercury, and that it's not inconceivable that the rest of them are equal
gobbledygook as well. The one next to the moon could be LBNH - Levanah -
the Moon, but currently reads RRHR (or is it DDHD or any other combination
of these, and is the H a Th?) I think we will never know.

With respect,
m

Subject: ACADEMY : A new Italian web site AIRESIS
From: Massimo Marra
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001

Dear friends,

Airesis (www.airesis.net ) is now on-line.

Airesis is a new no-profit scholarly project devoted to exploring and
investigating the connection between the holy and the modern culture. We
decided to pursue our project using various points of view and
disciplines (philosophy, epistemology, history of sciences, esoterism,
alternative sciences and others). At the moment, only papers in Italian
are available online. The project's directors are Paolo Aldo Rossi
(History of Sciences - University of Genoa - Italy) and Andrea De
Pascalis (essayist and journalist).

They are coadiuvated by Ida Li Vigni and Massimo Marra.

The editorial staff is composed by Yael Razzoli, Davide Arecco
and Luca Norfo.

In tune with the topic of this ML, Airesis has put on line two sections:
"Il Giardino dei Magi" (The Magicians' Garden), devoted to the
exploration of the history of Western magic and esoterism, and "Ars
Regia", specifically devoted to alchemy.

In "Ars Regia", you will find some articles by Paolo Lucarelli (Italian
pupil of Eugéne Canseliet and contributor to the French journal "La
tourbe des Philosophes"), a contribution by Andrea De Pascalis focusing
on the language in alchemy and a paper, by Stefania Quattrone, on Michael
Maier and the Atalanta Fugiens.

In "Il Giardino dei Magi", at the moment, you will find articles about J.
Bohme, the relationship between Ars Memoriae and the Tarots, Ficin, the
history of Merlin, the history of early astrology, esotericism and
gnosticism in C. G. Jung, and cosmism and esotericism in Bolshevik
Russia.

Obviously, we will greatly appreciate all comments and suggestions
coming from our Italian readers.

Best wishes.

Massimo Marra
www.airesis.net