Jung's Library

This engraving represents the 'Sixth Key' of Basil Valentine, illustrating the 'Chemical Wedding' or the union of opposites (Sulfur and Mercury). A bishop presides over the marriage of a King and Queen, symbolizing the conjunction of solar and lunar principles, while laboratory operations involving distillation and heating occur in the background. The imagery serves as an allegorical recipe for the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, emphasizing the balance and union required for successful transmutation.

This finely detailed engraving depicts Michael Maier, the author of Atalanta fugiens, at the age of 49 in 1617. Maier was a celebrated physician, alchemist, and counselor to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II; he is shown here with symbols of his learning and status, including a book and his family crest.

This intricate emblem from the 1582 'Splendor Solis' depicts the alchemical 'conjunction' through the figures of a King and Queen standing beneath dual suns. The scrolls they hold, labeled 'Lac Virginum' (Virgin's Milk) and 'Coagula', refer to the transformative chemical processes required to achieve the Philosopher's Stone. The scene is framed by a lush botanical border and a predella showing a battle scene involving Alexander the Great, linking alchemical mastery to worldly conquest.

An allegorical engraving from Heinrich Khunrath's 'Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae' (1602) depicting the entrance to the Cave of Eternal Wisdom. The scene shows an initiate approaching a radiant cavern inscribed with Latin maxims and the Hebrew name of God, symbolizing the arduous spiritual and intellectual journey toward enlightenment. The composition serves as a visual guide to the Hermetic path, explicitly warning the 'profane' to stay away while inviting the purified seeker to ascend the seven stages of wisdom.

This striking emblem, titled 'Hic Pater devorat Filium' (Here the Father devours the Son), illustrates the alchemical process of 'solutio' or the dissolution of the fixed into the volatile. The king represents the prime matter consuming its own offspring to achieve a higher state of spiritual purity, while the winged figure symbolizes the release of the soul and spirit from the body. It is the thirteenth figure from the influential 'Book of Lambspring' included in the 1678 edition of the Musaeum Hermeticum.

This intricate engraving, known as the 'Oratorium et Laboratorium,' illustrates the alchemist's dual pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and physical transmutation. The scene balances a sacred prayer space on the left with a practical laboratory on the right, emphasizing Khunrath's belief that true alchemical success requires both divine grace and rigorous scientific labor.

This is the title page of Michael Maier's 'Atalanta Fugiens' (1618), one of the most famous alchemical emblem books. The intricate engraving by the De Bry workshop illustrates the myth of Atalanta's race against Hippomenes and Hercules' quest for the golden apples, serving as complex allegories for the chemical secrets of nature. The border scenes depict the various stages of these myths, including the transformation of the lovers into lions, which carries deep esoteric meaning in the context of Great Work.

This intricate engraving depicts the 'Emerald Tablet' of Hermes Trismegistus, a foundational text of Western alchemy, inscribed onto a massive rock face within a symbolic landscape. The scene integrates the text with allegorical elements like a flowing river, a bridge, and various animals, representing the interconnectedness of the macrocosm and microcosm. It is a key illustration from Heinrich Khunrath's influential work, 'Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae,' which sought to harmonize alchemy, magic, and Christian mysticism.

This monumental engraving serves as a visual encyclopedia of musical theory and its mathematical foundations. The structure is a 'Temple of Music,' where architectural elements like columns and arches house organ pipes and complex tables that illustrate the ratios of musical intervals. At the base, figures are shown in a workshop, perhaps referencing the legendary discovery of musical proportions by Pythagoras in a blacksmith's forge, while the upper levels connect earthly music to the celestial harmony of the spheres.