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Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences pp 1–10Cite as

Alchemical Images

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Synonyms

Alchemy; Chemistry; Chrysopoeia; Chymia; Chymiatria; Emblems; Glyphs; Gold-making; Iatrochemistry; Images; Notae; Spagyria

Introduction

The focus of this entry is on the visual imagery found first in Western alchemical manuscripts and later in print publications from the introduction of alchemy into Europe in the twelfth century until the heyday of emblematic alchemy in the seventeenth century.

Types of Alchemical Imagery

Alchemical imagery can be divided into various categories, the most prominent being (1) illustrations of laboratory apparatus (furnaces, vessels); (2) bestiary (dragons, lions, toads, birds); (3) religious analogies (Passion and Resurrection of Christ; Crowning of the Virgin Mary; Adam and Eve); (4) mythological analogies (e.g., Apollo and Diana; Venus and Mars; Vulcan); (5) geometric diagrams; and (6) glyphs or notae representing cosmic principles (e.g., four elements), alchemical substances, and processes. A great part of this imagery is concerned with Chrysopoeia...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Peter J. Forshaw

Authors
  1. Peter J. Forshaw
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter J. Forshaw .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Dept. of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University Dept. Philosophy & Moral Sci, Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

Section Editor information

  1. Center for the History of Philosophy and Science, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Hiro Hirai

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Forshaw, P.J. (2020). Alchemical Images. In: Jalobeanu, D., Wolfe, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_472-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_472-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

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