Rosicrucianism & Gold- und Rosenkreuz

This hand-colored emblem depicts the 'pelican in its piety,' a symbol of self-sacrifice where the mother bird feeds her young with her own blood. Set within an oval frame inscribed with 'PHILOSOPHIA HERMETICA,' the image also features a rose-adorned altar and a radiant sun, central motifs in the high-grade Masonic and Hermetic traditions of the late 18th century.

This emblem, titled 'PHILOSOPHIA HERMETICA,' features the 'pelican in its piety,' a symbol of self-sacrifice and Christ, often used in alchemy to represent the stage of multiplication. Below it, four roses are arranged in a square, a direct reference to the Rosicrucian order. The combination of these symbols encapsulates the spiritual and transformative goals of Hermetic philosophy.

This intricate engraving serves as a symbolic representation of the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. The composition is dense with iconography, including the double-headed eagle, a skeleton signifying memento mori, and various tools and celestial bodies that represent the moral and philosophical teachings of the order.