The Quaternity of the Homo Maximus

The symbols of the Tetramorph, the Lion, Bull, Eagle and Angel, the collective four symbols originating from Greek astrology which are associated with the New Testament gospel authors, sometimes with Christ at their centre, are an ancient, potent and complex, religious symbol. 

Depictions of the  tetramorph (from Greek tetra four, morph shape) can be found in Christian art such as illuminated manuscripts, engravings and stained glass in churches from the Middle Ages to the present-day. The significance of their being four in number occurs quite early in Christianity. The early church Father and bishop of Lyons, Saint Irenaeus  (end of 2nd century CE - c. 202 CE ) declaring -

'It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the… “pillar and ground” of the Church is the Gospel and the spirit of life; it is fitting that she should have four pillars, breathing out immortality on every side…. He who was manifested to men, has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound together by one Spirit.'

However, it was Saint Jerome (370 -420 CE) who's credited as the first to designate the  Greek zodiac symbols of the Bull, Eagle, Lion and Angel, as emblematic of the four Gospel authors. Jerome’s designated the three animals and one human form with their associated virtues as exemplary of specific attributes of Christ. 

In modern times, the Swiss psychologist C.G. Jung noted of the Tetramorph in which Christ is sometimes depicted at its centre, 

'He (Christ) holds an important position midway between the two extremes, man and God, which are so difficult to unite. ..He is lacking in neither humanity nor in divinity, and for this reason he was long ago characterized by totality symbols, because he was understood to be all-embracing and to unite all opposites. The quaternity of the Son of Man, indicating a more differentiated consciousness, was also ascribed to him (via Cross and tetramorph)'.  [1] 

C.G. Jung recognised that a four-fold pattern dating from prehistory was of near universal occurrence in world art and religion. In ancient Egyptian mythology the god Horus is accompanied by his four sons, while the three animals and human form of the tetramorph, first mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel's vision (Ez.1:10) is now recognised as alluding to the Sumerian zodiac. The universal occurrence of  a four-fold design representing a totality, is commented upon by C.G.Jung thus-

'The quaternity is an organizing schema par excellence, something like the crossed threads in a telescope. It is a system of coordinates that is used almost instinctively for dividing up the visible surface of the earth, the course of the year, or the collection of individuals into groups, the phases of the moon, the temperaments, elements, alchemical colours, and so on.' Elsewhere Jung states, 'the four quarters of heaven, the four elements are a quaternary system of orientation which always expresses a totality...the orientating system of consciousness has four aspects, which correspond to four empirical functions: thinking, feeling, sensation (sense-perception), intuition. This quaternity is an archetypal arrangement...' [2] 

Remarkably,  a quaternity comprising of four quite distinct entities, namely body and mind, spirit and soul, can be found in Christ’s commandment in the Gospels of Luke and Mark. [3]

'And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment'.

In Christ's commandment, adapted from the Jewish Shema, two of the four entities in the totality of human life, mind and soul are named. Of the heart it’s worth considering the crucial role which the anatomical organ has symbolically to kingship, the lion and the Spirit. One thinks of the Crusader King Richard the Lionheart for example, while in astrological symbolism the zodiac sign of Leo rules the heart and is associated with fire. In Judaic and Christian symbolism fire is frequently associated with encounters with the Divine and with the Holy Spirit.  In the non canonical gospel of Thomas (340 CE) has Christ declare, 'He who is near unto me is close to the Fire', while in the Gospel of Luke, Christ says, 'I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?' 

Religious symbolism involving fire in the final analysis originates from the fire-worshipping Zoroastrian religion of Persia. The qualities of Courage, kindness and love in its various guises, are also associated with the heart, all of which are also related to Spirit.

Strength can confidently be identified as comparative to the physical world. The exemplary animal associated with strength, the Bull or Ox, has a legendary enduring strength which serves it to even commit an act of self-sacrifice. Strength is predominantly associated with muscular activity and the physical realm, and above all in element has an earthy quality to it. 

The mental faculty of thought, along with the imagination is associated with the element of Air in various symbolic schemata. Ideas are sometimes described as being plucked out of air, while the phrase to have one's head in the clouds also suggests a relationship between the mind and Air.

The Soul is often described as passive, receptive,  feminine and as 'The Other', usually by male theological commentators. Dissolution and hidden depths are also related to both the soul and the element of Water. Thus a quaternity involving a totality of body and mind, spirit and soul occurs within Christ’s commandment. 

There's also the extraordinary idea that the 'clock number' of the four 'fixed' zodiac signs Taurus (2), Leo (5), Scorpio (8) and Aquarius (11) when added up total 26, the very same number in Hebrew Gematria for the Tetragrammaton  JHVH in which Yod (10), Hey (5), Vav (6) and Hey (5) also equal 26.

In a tetramorph dating from 1482 (picture below) Christ is depicted as the ruler of the four elements. 

 

Ultimately however, the symbolism of the tetramorph originates from the Babylonian zodiac, specifically the so-called 'Fixed Cross’ of astrological signs in opposition and right-angles to each other, Taurus representing Earth and its associations, Leo and the element of Fire, Scorpio for Water [4] and Aquarius as representative of Air. 

The Christian tetramorph is a superb example of syncretism, that is, how religions and beliefs sometimes overlap each other, and how old symbols are adopted for newer beliefs, sometimes quite different from their origins. 

One of the 20th century's greatest scholars of religious symbolism, C.G. Jung, held a great regard for his fellow compatriot, the Renaissance alchemist-physician Paracelsus. Besides being an early pioneering advocate for the use of chemical remedies in medicine and a theologian as radical and original as his contemporary, Martin Luther, Paracelsus (1493-1541) was also a proto-psychologist. In an essay entitled Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon (1942) C.G. Jung delved into the questing and confused world of Paracelsus’s four mysterious Scaiolae. Jung first consults the Dictionary of Alchemy (1612) by Martin Ruland (1569-1611), a Paracelsian scholar and lexicographer who was resident at the Prague court of the alchemy-loving Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolph II (1552 - 1612).

Ruland defines the Paracelsian Scaiolae as - 'Spiritual Powers of the Mind, its properties and virtues, which are fourfold, according to the number of the elements, and the four wheels of fire which were part of the Chariot in which Elias was taken up to Heaven. They emanate from the soul in man. Fancy, imagination, speculative faculty, etc., are included under the term. It also embraces, in a special sense, the Articles of our Christian Faith in Jesus Christ, Baptism, partaking of the Eucharist, Charity towards our neighbour, manifesting the perfect Fruits of Faith, whereby we attain not merely prolonged but eternal life.' [5]

Jung continues, 'Ruland interprets the four first psychologically, as phantasia, imaginato, speculatio, and agnata fides (inborn faith).. Since every archetype is psychologically a fascinosum, i.e., exerts an influence that excites and grips the imagination, it is liable to clothe itself in religious ideas.... it would not be overbold to conclude that the four Scaiolae correspond to the traditional quadripartite man and his all-encompassing wholeness. The quadripartite nature of the homo maximus is the basis and cause of all division into four: four elements, seasons, directions etc... [ibid]

Jung also consulted the writings of Gerard Dorn (1530-84), a Belgian philosophical alchemist, who like Ruland, was an advocate of Paracelsian ideas. Dorn emphasized the psychic nature of the Scaiolae (“mental powers and virtues, properties of the arts of the mind”)...these external principles, of the invisibilis homo maximus. The four Scaiolae appear to be interpreted by Dorn as mental powers and psychological functions. [6] 

Finally, connecting the function of the four Christian Gospels to the proto-psychology of Paracelsus, Jung declares - 'The Scaiolae, as the four parts, limbs or emanations of the Anthropos are the organs with which he actively intervenes in the world of appearances or by which he is connected with it, just as the invisible quinta essentia, or aether, appears in this world as the four elements or conversely, is composed out of them.  Since the Scaiolae, as we have seen, are also psychic functions, these must be understood as manifestations or effluences of the One, the invisible Anthropos. As functions of consciousness, and particularly as imaginato, speculatio, phantasia, and fides, they “intervene”. [7] 

C.G. Jung devoted the last thirty years of his life to the study of alchemy and its symbolism. His belief in man as essentially a religious animal who quests for meaning and purpose in their own unique, individual life, has lost no relevance today. Jung's profound study of comparative religion, in conjunction with his consultation and analysis of his many patients, along with the events of two World Wars, led him to the conclusion that all too few experience the living Christ within their own lives, a lack often hindered by fossilized Christian dogma. 

Revealingly, in regard to the four-fold design of the quaternity and the central figure of the Tetramorph, Jung concluded that - 'The Gnostic quadripartite original man as well as Christ Pantokrator is an imago lapidis. [8] Its also enlightening to visit the church of Saint John the Baptist's, Maddermarket, Norwich, with Jung's thoughts upon the quaternity as an image of the Philosopher's stone, held in mind. Sir Thomas Browne's exhortation at the apotheosis of his hermetic phantasmagoria, the discourse The Garden of Cyrus (1658) in which the physician-philosopher encourages his reader, 'to search out the Quaternio's and figured draughts of this order'  also seems apt. 

No less than three examples of the tetramorph can be viewed within the church; in its East window, accompanied by respective Evangelist, high up in the bell-tower of its West window, and also carved upon its Nave processional gates. The church houses a fourth example of a quaternity, a highly original and sophisticated variant upon the theme of the quaternity of the homo maximus. Encased within the two pilasters of the early seventeenth century marble funerary monument the Layer monument are four figurines exemplary of Paracelsian scaiolae. The upper pair represent the two eternal rewards for the Christian, Pax and Gloria (Peace and Glory). Its lower pair of figurines represent mortal psychic entities, one of which is positive and one of which is negative, Vanitas and Labor (Vanity and Labour). At the centre of the monument there is a large skull.

C.G. Jung identified Christ as none other than a symbol of the self. Another symbol which predates the Christian era, but which is equally potent as a symbol of the Self, is the skull. Besides being universally recognised as a momento mori symbol, the skull is also associated in alchemy with the Vas Philosophorum, the philosophical vessel and the place where the opposites reside, clash and are reconciled. The skull in alchemical symbolism is also where the incubation of the Philosopher’s Stone occurs and where the homo maximus or greater man within, more often than not either slumbering or invisible, dwells.

In the final analysis discussion upon the quaternity of the Tetramorph can never be or exhausted or its significance in religious and psychological terms explained; for like all living symbols, it will always transcend interpretative attempts. However, the original Greek definition of a symbolon as a tally-stick, coin or object broken into  two halves used for identification, recognition or completeness when united, greatly assists our understanding; for Man only ever holds one half of the broken coin, tally stick, or object, the other, 'invisible’ or missing half' of the symbolon, is firmly held by God.

                                                   
Notes

[1] Collected Works vol 10 paragraph 692
[2] CW 9 ii paragraph 381
[3] Luke 10 v. 27 and Mark 12 v. 30
[4] Just how and why the astrological sign of Scorpio, the 'King' of the Insects is replaced by the regal and heaven-inhabiting King of the birds, the Eagle, goes beyond the confines of this short essay !
[5] Martin Ruland Lexicon Alchemia (1612) is in Sir Thomas Browne's library p. 22 no. 119
as is Paracelsus Opera (1603) p. 22 no.118 as well as Gerard Dorn in Theatrum Chemicum 
(5 vols. 1613) page 25 no. 124
[6] 'Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon' (1942)
subsection C. The Quaternity of the Homo Maximus CW 13: paragraphs 206-208
[7] CW vol. 13 paragraph 215
[8] CW vol. 12 paragraph 173

Pictures
Top - Medieval illuminated manuscript example from Bode Museum Germany
Next -  Glanville - Le Proprietaire des choses (1482)
Next -  Leonhard Thurneysser (1531-96) the Hermaphrodite from Quinta Essentia 1574
Bottom - Realization of the Layer monument as a Quaternity and with skull as a Quincunx, Norwich, circa 1600.

Bibliography
Collected works of Carl Gustav Jung - volumes 9 i, 12 and 13. pub. RKP
Catalogue of the libraries of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward. pub. E.J. Brill 1986
Faulkner, Kevin - The Layer Monument- An Introduction and Interpretation as an Alchemical Mandala. Pride Press 2013

Wiki-link Tetramorph

Stairway to Sublimation

In the foreground of an illustration in Alchemia (1606) by Andreas Libavius (above) two lions clash, locked in fusion upon impact they share one conjoined head. Together they emit a powerful, vaporous blast. These two duelling lions are framed by a series of rampant lions ascending a stairway. At the top of the ziggurat pyramid sits King Sol and Queen Luna enthroned. Above, at the apex there is a verdant tree. Seven  planetary stars hover above it.

Andrea Libavius (1555-1616) was a German physician and university lecturer whose major work Alchemia (1597) became a European best-seller which went through several editions in his life-time. Although described as the first systematic chemistry-book, book two of its six books is entitled A dialogue on the Philosophical Mercurius, while book three discusses Azoth, an arcane name for the mercury of the philosophers and universal spirit of the world. In both chapters all such mysticism is roundly condemned as detrimental to the true advancement of the science of chemistry.

Like many transitional figures in the late Renaissance Andreas Libavius was a Janus-like intellect. He advanced practical knowledge of chemistry while retaining a belief in the transmutation of metals. He vigorously attacked the ideas of Paracelsus as harmful to the development of chemistry, yet was well-versed in mystical Paracelsian thought himself. Libavius also reproduces in Alchemia John Dee's highly influential glyph in Monas Hieroglyphica, a series of theorems upon  the mystical symbol dedicated to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1564.

The pages of Alchemia are a curious conglomerate on practical advice on how to prepare and use chemicals, in particular strong, corrosive acids, alongside illustrations on how to acquire the Stone of the Philosophers (above). Because acids were important for purifying, separating and cleansing metals, in alchemical literature they were often likened to lions for their dangerous and devouring properties. Sulphuric acid, also known as ‘oil of vitriol’ in the sixteenth century was popular amongst followers of the Swiss alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541) while precipitation of silver from nitric acid solutions baffled and fascinated alchemists of the era.

The startling image of two lions locked in fusion is characteristic of Northern Mannerist art which often employed bizarre imagery from esoteric sources. The image can also be found in the frontispiece of the cosmic mandala of Opus medico-chymicum (1618) by J. D. Mylius (1583-1642) and in his Philosophia Reformata (1622) below. Such explicitly shared symbolism suggests the artist of Philosophia Reformata is directly alluding to the original two-in-one lion imagery of Alchemia.

Symbolism involving the lion has a rich and complex history. Because it is essentially a symbol of the self, the lion has many, even contradictory meanings. At its highest level its symbolism is associated with Kingship, Nobility, Dignity, Bravery and the Hero. These archetypal qualities are reflected in the historical figure of  King Richard the Lion-heart and in modern times in the popularity of characters in films such as  The Wizard of Oz (1939) in which a cowardly lion quests for courage and Disney's animation, The Lion King (1994).  On a lower level the lion symbolically represents the animal passions, blood-lust, fierceness, violence and (an aural  pun here) raw nature.

The index to C.G. Jung's Mysterium Coniunctionis (1955-56) lists over 50 references to lions, including as a symbol for both Christ and the devil. Symbols can easily absorb such paradox for like the human psyche they are paradoxical in nature. The Lion features among the archetypes of the animal-circle known as the Zodiac and in Christianity's major re-synthesis of astrology for its own purpose in the Tetramorph of the four evangelists.  In the four-fold symbol of the tetramorph the Lion represents Saint Mark and the strength of Christ. Because of its association with Kingship and Royalty the Lion is also emblematic of kingdoms as well as cities including Venice, Heidelberg and Norwich.

Whenever two lions are encountered in alchemical symbolism, often in the form of the Green and the Red Lion, the clash of opposites within the human psyche as well as the reconciled and united antagonists are evoked. In the extraordinary illustration in Alchemia rampant lions are seen ascending a stairway, a common symbol of spiritual ascent throughout world religion iconography. The scaled ascent suggests that the initial conflict may need to be repeated several times before reaching a final sublimation and harmony, as represented by Sol et Luna. With its bestial, lower nature and higher noble nature, the two lions is a fitting symbol of the warring factions at conflict in the human psyche, and exemplary of the depth and understanding of the human condition by alchemists with their  arcane symbolism. Not unlike the  the Mermaid, the two lions in their dual role of healing and harmful are a lesser-known symbol of the elusive 'deity' of alchemy, Mercurius.

Returning to the alchemists and early chemists of the late 16^th and 17^th centuries who investigated nature’s properties, one shudders to think of the possible great minds whose lives may have ended prematurely through dabbling in unknown, hidden hazards while experimenting. Such speculative thinking lays at the heart of the stoical meditations of Browne’s Urn-Burial.

Who knows whether the best of men be remembered, or whether other remarkable persons may have been forgotten ?

Browne and early scientists such as Libavius occasionally and unwittingly one suspects, courted harm in their examination of the physical properties of nature, which includes poisons and toxic substances, fungi and corrosive acids for example. The novice and would-be alchemist are warned of the hidden dangers in  alchemical experimentation in the tract Aurelia Occulta.

I am the poison-dropping dragon, who is everywhere and can be cheaply had....My fire and water destroy and put together; from my body you may extract the green lion and the red. But if you do not have exact knowledge of me, you will destroy your five senses with my fire. From my snout there comes a spreading poison that has brought death to many.[1]

The peculiar properties of the liquid-metal mercury in particular acted as a kind of psychic play-dough upon the imagination of the enquiring alchemist, as can be seen in Browne’s remarkable admission-

I have often beheld as a miracle, that artificial resurrection and revivification of Mercury, how being mortified into thousand shapes it assumes again its own, and returns into its numerical self. [2]

Throughout the pages of Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica  numerous experiments are recorded. Book two of his encyclopaedia includes investigation of the properties of jet, glass, porcelain, coral, magnetism, amber and static electricity.The wide-ranging nature of Browne's many experiments can be gleaned from the entry - Candle, one discharged out of a Musket through an inch board, while the entry - Philosophers Stone, not improbable to be procured reveals like Libavius before him, Browne was a Janus-like figure in the history of science, simultaneously assisting and anticipating advancements in the development of modern science, while also critically assessing ideas associated with western esoteric traditions.

Although Andreas Libavius (above) and his influential chemistry book Alchemia isn't listed in the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Thomas Browne and his son Edward’s libraries, it’s worth remembering that the fate of Browne’s library was vulnerable to abstraction for almost 30 years before finally being auctioned. And in fact Libavius is fleetingly mentioned by name by Browne, referencing one of his books in Pseudodoxia. It's highly unlikely that such an informed reader and scholar as Browne would not have known of Libavius and of his influence upon the new science of chemistry.

It’s in book four of Alchemia that an illustration of the monument of the alchemical opus can be found. Its useful to juxtapose these two different versions of the diagram De Lapide Philosophorum to appreciate just how much symbolism can vary and alter within a short period of time in the alchemical imagination. Adam Maclean speculates upon their shared symbolism -

These are interesting and yet puzzling. On a superficial view they are very similar in structure, but when one examines the symbolic components in depth, they obviously are emblematizing entirely different ideas. The imagery in places is so very different between the two emblems. I wonder what the source was for these two emblems. Were they entirely devised afresh as illustrations for Libavius' text, or were they taken from some earlier manuscript source ? 

Both versions of Libavius' diagram on the Philosopher's Stone includes lions. A lion can be seen on the bottom sphere of the left version while in the version on the right the King is described as in the company of a golden Lion. The relationship between Libavius' two mysterious diagrams (below) which were first printed not in the first edition of 1597 but in the 1606 edition of Alchemia raises tantalizing chicken and egg questions surrounding the source of the Layer monument's rich and complex symbolism. 

 

Books by Libavius include –

* Neoparacelsia (1594) an attack on the use of aurum potabile as a panacea.

* Rerum chymicarum epistola forma (1594) A collection of correspondence to German philosophers and physicians warning of the evils of the new Paracelsian iatrochemistry.

* Alchemia (1597) His most famous work includes advice on the preparation of strong acids alongside a declaration in the belief of the transmutation of metals.

* Singularium (1599-1601)  lectures on natural philosophy.

* Defensio …alchymicae transmutatriae (1604)  an attack on the French physician Guibert for his denying of the truth of the transmutation of metals and a statement of belief of the Philosopher’s Stone being known to the alchemists.

*Alchymia triumphans (1607)  926pp. Libavius’s contribution to the confused battle and debate between supporters of Paraclsus, Hermeticism, Galen and Aristotle.

(Bibliographic source:  Haeffner- Dictionary of Alchemy  Harper Collins 1991)

Colossal Greek funerary marble lion 350-200 BC from Knidos, south-west Asia Minor,Turkey. British Museum.

Notes

[1]  Aurelia Occulta  from vol. 4 of Theatrum Chemicum. 
Listed in Sir Thomas Browne's library in 1711 Sales Catalogue page 25 no.125
[2] Religio Medici Part 1 paragraph 48 

Sun enters Aquarius

Celebrating the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Aquarius for the fifth billionth time. 

It was the Swiss psychologist C. G. Jung  who stated -  'As we all know, science began with the stars, and mankind discovered in them the dominants of the unconscious, the "gods," as well as the curious psychological qualities of the zodiac: a complete projected theory of human character'.  [1]

The archetype of  the zodiac sign of Aquarius the Water-Bearer is said to symbolize humanitarian idealism, self-sacrifice and service to others. However, C. G. Jung  chose to devote several years study on its adjacent sign Pisces and its relationship to Christianity,.

Aquarius is one of the four signs of the Fixed Cross of astrology; the other three being Leo the Lion, Taurus the Bull, and the Scorpion (substituted with an Eagle, perhaps because the insect was unknown outside of Europe). These zodiac signs were adopted by Christianity, perhaps as early as 400 CE by Saint Jerome as emblems of the four evangelists with Christ's sacrificial role represented by Taurus, Royalty by Leo, an all-encompassing view of humanity from a great height by Eagle/Scorpio and the combined human and angelic form of Aquarius. The Christian tetramorph is a superb example of how symbols can drastically change over long stretches of time.

In his essay on the Paracelsus, C.G. Jung sketched the psychological element of the Zodiac thus-

'He beholds the darksome psyche as a star-strewn night sky, whose planets and fixed constellations represent the archetypes in all their luminosity and numinosity. The starry vault of heaven is in truth the open book of cosmic projection, in which are reflected the mythologems i.e. the archetypes. In this vision alchemy and astrology the two classical functionaries of the psychology of the collective unconscious, join hands'. [3]

Jung was a learned and erudite scholar of comparative religion who, far from debunking astrology observed- 

The sought-for Mercurius is the spiritus vegetavius , a living planet, whose nature it is to run through all the houses of the planets i.e., the Zodiac. We could just as well say through the entire horoscope, or, since the horoscope is the chronometric equivalent of individual character, through all the characterological components of the personality. [4]

 Jung interpreted the human psyche's relationship to nature thus-

'All the mythologized processes of nature, such as summer and winter, the phases of the moon, the rainy season, and so forth, are in no sense allegories of these objective occurrences; rather they are symbolic expressions of the inner, unconscious drama of the psyche which becomes accessible to man's consciousness by way of projection - that is, mirrored in the events of nature'. [5]

In Nature, the water-bearing cloud and the magical transformation of water into frost, snow and ice can be considered as representing Aquarius. 

In the arts, numerous writers, often with a humanitarian and social reforming agenda, such as Charles Dickens for example, are represented by the sign, as well as the downright eccentric, such as Lewis Carroll, also exhibit Aquarian traits. The music of the composers Mozart, Schubert and Delius, along with Philip Glass and Frank Zappa all have strong Aquarian traits, as do the curious triumvirate, all of whom were born on January 27th, each possessing strong positive and negative Aquarian psychological traits, namely, Lewis Carroll, Mozart and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. 

Due to its ethereal nature, Aquarius is said to be as much prone to mental illness as experiencing flashes of inspirational genius. Aquarian interests may be said to include anything unusual or odd, such as electronic music, for example. Humanitarian and secret societies are also said to be under the domain of Aquarius, as is the central nervous system, along with the realm of psychic phenomena and the esoteric in general.

One dictionary of symbols defines Aquarius as follows-

All Eastern and Western traditions relate this archetype to the symbolic flood which stands not only for the end of a formal universe but also for the completion of any cycle by the destruction of the power which held the components together.....Consequently, Aquarius symbolizes the dissolution and decomposition of the forms existing within any process, cycle or period; the loosening of bonds; the imminence of liberation through the destruction of the world of phenomena. [6]

Another source defines Aquarius thus-

The inner substance of this zodiac type is fluid, light. ethereal, volatile, limpid, transparently spiritual and, so to say, angelic. It comprises the gift of indifference to self together with serenity and self-sacrifice, friendship and concern for others. [7]

In world political affairs it is also often when the sun is in the zodiac-sign of Aquarius that the Presidential Inauguration of the American President, as well as the delivery of the President's State of the Union Address occurs, along with World Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th.

The archetype of Aquarius is that of the herald who proclaims a new world order based upon the principle of a united humanity. The best and worst aspects of Soviet communism can be seen in introducing and implementing such an idealized society. In modern times the archetype of Aquarius continues to exert a living influence upon the human psyche in new forms of communication in mass society. Television and the computer-age are good examples of Aquarian developments of science and technology. Nuclear and Atomic energy may also be interpreted as resultant of the Aquarian archetype.

A fine example of religious symbolism and the study of comparative religion, in conjunction with a description of the glyph for Aquarius, occurs in Sir Thomas Browne's highly-compressed essay of hermetic phantasmagoria, The Garden of Cyrus.

he that considereth the plain cross upon the head of the Owl in the Lateran Obelisk, or the cross erected upon a pitcher diffusing streams of water into two basins, with sprinkling branches in them, and all described upon a two-footed Altar, as in the Hieroglyphics of the brazen Table of Bembus; will hardly decline all thought of Christian signality in them. [8]

It is of course impossible to definitively list all the psychological traits and characteristics associated with each of 12 quite distinct zodiac archetypes of the human personality. Perhaps in the future, the zodiac sign of Aquarius will revert to a mundane, rather than an esoteric meaning. If, or more likely when, the world's resources are even less secure than at present, maybe the simple act of freely sharing the life-giving element of water, without discrimination towards unknown others, viewing all life-forms as complete equals, may  hopefully be realized in this archetype.  

Notes

[1] C. G. Jung Collected Works vol 12. 246

[2] Aion : Researches into the phenomenology of the self - C.G.Jung  Vol. 9 i pub. 1959 RKP  

includes-

VI.    The Sign of the fishes p. 72 -95

VIII.  The Historical Significance of the Fish p.103

XI.    The Ambivalence of the Fish Symbol p.118

X.     The Fish in Alchemy p. 126

XI.    The Alchemical  Interpretation of the Fish  p.154

[3]    Essay on Paracelsus CW 15

[4]   CW 14: 298

[5]   CW 9  i  7 

[6]  A Dictionary of symbols   J.E. Cirlot

[7]  Dictionary of symbols Penguin  ed. Chevalier

[8] Athanasius Kircher's Oedipus Egypticus 3 vols. 1652-56 includes an engraving of the Bembine Tablet of Isis is alluded to twice in The Garden of Cyrus  pub. 1658 .

De Lapide Philosophorum

De Lapide Philosophorum from Alchymia by Andreas Libavius 

It was on a bright Spring morning in May 2011, when casually browsing through Adam Maclean's fascinating book, 'The Alchemical Mandala', that I noticed there were several striking similarities between Maclean's reproductions of  De Lapide Philosophorum  to the four statuettes of the Layer Monument. 

It's recorded that Christopher Layer's youngest son erected the Layer Monument in memory of his father (d. 1600) and mother, Barbara (d.1604). Because the first edition of Alchymia (1596) by the German chemist Andreas Libavius (c.1555 -1616) does not apparently include any illustrations whatsoever, in all probability it's from a later edition of Alchymia that the Layer Monument's symbolism is developed. Although there are considerable differences between the top quaternity of figures in  De Lapide Philosophorum to the quartet of statuettes of the Layer Monument nevertheless the two works share several corresponding motifs.  In addition to shared solar and lunar imagery there is an allusion to the 'sacred wedding' or hieros gamos, often depicted in alchemy as Sol et Luna, and represented by Pax and Gloria in the Layer Monument - an inferior or 'Ethiopian' pair, represented by Vanitas and Labor in the Layer Monument  -  a figure with blackened feet standing upon a Rotundum (the Rotundum being a frequent motif in alchemical depictions of Mercurius) and the holding of identical votive vegetation in both works. But what tips the balance against mere coincidence is the fact that the labels of Gloria and Labor occur in both works.

 There are  two variation illustrations in the chapter entitled  De Lapide Philosophorum. Through the juxtaposition of versions two and three new interpretative insights on the Layer monument can be acquired. Nor can one overlook the medium of both art-works. The intriguing development of an illustration entitled the Philosopher's Stone quite literally transformed into the medium of stone in the form of carved marble is worth consideration.

The observations of Carl Gustav Jung greatly assist towards interpretative insight upon the Layer monument's complex symbolism. The second of the three versions of Libavius' extraordinarily densely-laden symbolic image is reproduced in C. G. Jung's 'Psychology and Religion' (1944). Jung is content to add yet one more intriguing image to his lavishly illustrated volume, merely remarking of version 2 of  De Lapide Philosophorum (fig.142). 

In an explicato locorum signatorum, Libavius gives the following  "explanation" of the second of the three versions of this image.

RR: An Ethiopian man and woman,supporting two higher spheres. They sit on the big sphere and according represent the nigredo of the second operation in the second putrification.

All of this is reduced and transformed in the Layer Monument to the figures of Vanitas and Labor. The blackened feet of Vanitas standing upon a golden Rotundum may be an allusion to his original Ethiopian hue. But it also leaves little doubt that the Layer monument's lower pair of statuettes represents the inferior, Nigredo stage in the alchemical opus.

a - The king, clad in purple with a golden crown, has a golden lion beside him. He has a red lily in his hand, whereas the queen has a white lily. 

b - The queen, crowned with a silver crown, strokes a white or silver eagle standing beside her.

In the Layer Monument both Pax and Gloria have golden hair but no crowns. In version 3 of De Lapide Philosophorum  it's the Queen who holds a votive palm, which in the Layer Monument is held by the King. It's interesting to note in passing that Jung designates the palm as a symbol of the soul. 

The allotting to the King and Queen in version 2 of  De Lapide Philosophorum  to the 'Regal' creatures of Lion and Eagle can be identified as representing two aspects of the Tetramorph, the most developed of all quaternity symbols in western religious symbolism. They are also the two creatures which are  associated with the 'Fixed Cross' of astrology, namely Leo and Scorpio. Because the King and Queen in version 2 are associated with Leo and Scorpio who represent the elements of Fire and Water respectively, one can with confidence assert that Vanitas and Labor also represent  two of the ancient world  quaternity or four-fold division of the elements, that of Air and Earth. This is quite overt in their respective symbolism. (Vanitas is depicted making bubbles blowing air, Labor is seen digging earth).   

In the Layer Monument Pax is not only the Christian Prince of Peace, but also a much deeper-rooted archetype in the human psyche. Utterly Solar in his symbolism and associated with the element of Fire, as well as the zodiac sign of Leo, representing one quarter of the 'Fixed Cross' of astrology, Pax as an archetype symbolises the 'wise Ruler' whose historical counterparts include - Alexander the Great, King Cyrus and the better of the  Roman and Greek 'warrior' rulers' of antiquity. 

In fact each of the four statuettes of the Layer monument are collectively archetypal in their symbolism. Individually they are 'the Wise Ruler', 'the Great Mother', 'the Child/Trickster'  and 'the Old Man'. Together the four statuettes of the Layer Monument may  quite appropriately be defined as an alchemical mandala of the western tradition, this is because they not only represent Christian moral values but also archetypal components of the psyche and its unity. 

Since studying the symbolism associated with the Layer Monument and De Lapide Philosophorum one becomes aware one is not only commentating upon art, but in fact relating to complex symbols of  psychological and spiritual depth.

Books consulted

C.G.Jung -  Psychology and Religion 1944 CW 13 RKP

Adam Maclean -The Alchemical Mandala  1989 Phanes 2nd edition 2002  

See also - De Lapide Philosophorum

Wiki - links  Tetramorph  -  Andreas Libavius

The Man in the Moon

The man in the moon came tumbling down

And asked his way to Norwich;

He went by the south and burnt his mouth

With supping cold pease porridge.

It's quite surprising these days just how many Norvicensians are unfamiliar with this medieval 'Mother Goose' nursery rhyme. But what's far more interesting is the fact that the 15th century 'Norwich School' stained glass at the Norfolk church of St Mary at Burnham Deep, (above) is one of the oldest representations of  'the man in the moon' extant in the world. The glass [1] was in all probability painted by a skilled member of the 'Norwich school' who may well have known of the nursery rhyme. In any event its quite an androgynous, heavy-lidded and sleepy-looking moon face. It's also believed that originally this quite unique depiction of 'the man in the moon' would have been accompanied by a crucifixion scene together with a sun representing a face. 

The man in the moon is puzzled over by the poet John Lyly (1553-1606) in the prologue to his Endymion (1591) who stated-  There liveth none under the sunne, that knows what to make of the man in the moone.

From the invention and use of the telescope by Galileo (1562 -1642) among others, speculation in the 17th century upon whether the moon was inhabited and the mapping of its surface, rocketed astronomically. Sometime in the 1620's Bishop Francis Godwin (1566-1633) wrote a book entitled The Man in the Moon which argued how a voyage to the moon is no more fantastic than a voyage to America was once earlier. Godwin proposed  that the earth is magnetic and that only an initial push would be necessary to escape its magnetic attraction. When on the moon Godwin discovers it to be inhabited by tall Christians living in a pastoral paradise. Godwin's book influenced John Wilkins (1614-72) to pen his A Discovery of a new world in the Moon (1638). But its to the credit of the Dutch astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611-87) that the first scientific mapping of the moon's surface was made in his Selenographia (1647).  

Sir Thomas Browne in his encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646-72) queried -

The sun and moon are usually described with human faces: whether herein there be not a pagan imitation, and those visages at first implied Apollo and Diana, we may make some doubt. [2]

Browne's vivid imagination noted of an egg sent to him-

The egg you sent with this notable signature of the figure of a duck so fully detail'd as to the body, head, eye & bill somewhat open'd from the shell, all in a... colour, was a point greatly remarkable & one, not made out by phancy butt apprehended by every eye, is a present greatly remarkable. In stones we find trees & often in common flints: in agates sometimes arise figures beyond all help of imagination & in such pit stones we have found screws, snakes, darts, cockles &c.

The like I had not formerly seen though have very intentively looked upon the goose egg in Aldrvandus with man's head & hair sped fury-like & terminating in some shape of geese heads.Though not meeting with any discourse thereon, I suspected much made out by fancy in that description.[3]

Once defined by the psychologist C.G.Jung as the alchemist's 'active imagination', today all such seeing of faces in phenomena such as clouds, egg-shells, or the moon's surface are now defined as a product of pareidolia. According to Wikipedia, pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon which involves vague and random stimulus such as patterns and markings found in nature being perceived as significant to the viewer. What was until quite recently known simply as plain imagination is now defined as a psychological aberration !

Just as stained glass was a source of wonder to the medieval spectator, so too the viewing of motion pictures were an equal marvel for early 20th century spectators. In the pioneering cinematography of George Méliès' (1861-1938) the creator of  A trip to the Moon (1902), the man in the moon, far from being a remote or mysterious figure, is hit in the eye by a spaceship! Méliès' famous image is an innocent farewell to belief in 'the man in the moon'  and a handsome anticipation, not only of man's great achievement of 1969, but also of his cavalier exploitation of a new and pristine environment.

[1]  Saint Mary's south porch west window, Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk.
[2]  P.E. Book 5 chapter 22
[3] On Eggs in miscellaneous writings
Wikilink - Man in the Moon

Neptune

Today the planet Neptune completes one full revolution of the Sun since its discovery in 1846. Neptune has of course  been orbiting the Sun for millions of years, taking 165 years to orbit our nearest star,  but its only since 1846 that its existence has been known  by humans. It was the first planet to be discovered by mathematical calculation, being not visible except by telescope.  

In mythology Neptune was the ruler of seas and oceans and this is reflected in its designated symbol of a Triton. Neptune is also associated with the horse, the god often being depicted riding a shell-shaped chariot drawn by horses. 

Roman Mosaic 2/3 century CE

Astrologically Neptune is the ruler of the Zodiac sign of Pisces as well as hospitals, prisons, mental institutions and monasteries; in fact all places which involve a withdrawal from society  are believed to be under the rule of Neptune as well as psychic phenomena such as dreams, hypnotism, extra-sensory perception, illusion and deception in general. Alcohol and drug-taking, especially hallucinogenic mushrooms, along with melodrama and cinema are all classic examples of Neptunian influence. Neptune is also associated with humility and spiritual illumination.

Neptune was a popular subject for Renaissance and baroque fountains in Italy, in particular Berni's Trevi fountain in Rome. The Roman god of the seas influence in popular culture continues in the curious ritual  of paying homage to Neptune when crossing the equator, especially upon cruises.

Venus and Mars

As for the famous network of Vulcan, which inclosed Mars and Venus, and caused that inextinguishable laugh in heaven; since the gods themselves could not discern it, we shall not pry into it; Although why Vulcan bound them, Neptune loosed them, and Apollo should first discover them, might afford no vulgar mythology.


Thus does Sir Thomas Browne allude to the union of the goddess of love with the god of war and their subsequent entanglement, caught inflagrante delicto by Vulcan with his cunning network, in  the Discourse, The Garden of Cyrus. However, the Classical myth of Venus, the goddess of love, taming Mars, the god of war, was first elaborated upon by the Renaissance Hermetic scholars Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) and Pico della Mirandola (1463-94) as symbolic of the victory of love over war and the supremacy of Harmony over strife.

Indeed the planet Earth itself orbits between the planets Venus and Mars, symbolically intermediate between peace and war. The Classical myth was also a lesser representation of the coniunctio of the alchemists and more frequently alluded to as the union of  Sol et Luna, Sun and Moon, it was also alluded to as the astrological phenomenon of the Eclipse, an event which continues to exert a fascination upon humanity.

For the alchemist the uniting of the opposites was the primary objective of the 'Great Work' or magnum opus. And it's interesting to note in passing that C.G. Jung's deepest and final writing on alchemy is entitled Mysterium Coniunctionis (1955-56).

Paintings - Mars and Venus captured by Vulcan - Luca Giordano 1670's
Below- Mars and Venus united by Love - Paulo Veronese c.1578  
See Also - Vulcan 

Drought

After one of the driest Springs recorded, the drought in five English counties, all in the east of England has now been made official. I would suggest however that this current drought, and the severe shortage of rain which farmers and food-growers are experiencing,  goes much deeper. There's a serious and  wide-spread drought and thirst throughout many regions of the world for a fairer distribution of wealth and resources, moral integrity, compassion, leadership and  spiritual  vision. These droughts can't begin to be remedied until humanity acknowledges, as drought along with volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricane, flood, famine and  war,  painfully reminds those suffering, that humanity isn't as much in control of its destiny as it imagines, and the words of the Prince of Peace  are heeded-

Whoever drinks water shall be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water  I  give shall not thirst;  for the water  I give shall be a well of water springing up into everlasting life.