ALEMBIC
A name given
to the glass or copper vessel, or still, used by the alchemists for
distillation. Specifically, it applied to the head of such a vessel, therefore
pointing to the mind, which must be cleansed from all superfluous thoughts. See
Still, Vessel.
CYCLOPS
One of the giant
metalworkers trained by the smith-god, Hephaestus, to forge thunderbolts for his
father, Zeus. He was one-eyed, and these clues give a wonderfully apt symbol of
the initiate working on his conscious mind, armed with the great potential of
its reflective power. He must be single-minded in his efforts to make contact
with his inner mind, the Sun God, Zeus. The initiate, Odysseus, erred when he
blinded his Cyclops, for this means he forgot for a time his one-pointed
mission, and this delayed him on his journey to reach Ithaca, his real home, the
subconscious. (Gr. kyklops-kyklos, a circle, and ops, an eye). See Giant, Odin.
FISH
The emblem of Hermetic knowledge, later used as an emblem for
Jesus, thus also for the initiate. Jesus chose fishermen to be his first
disciples because those engaged in the act of fishing are meditating - the only
way to obtain higher knowledge and understanding. The fable of Jonah being
'swallowed by a whale', or a great fish, indicates that he was 'swallowed' by
higher knowledge - became initiated. He was in the 'whale' for three days,
indicating the stages of the process, after which he was presumed dead.
MANDRAKE
A poisonous plant (Mandragora) of the potato family, the
subject of many strange fancies extended to other plants, such as white bryony.
It was said to have the rudimentary shape of a human, with a head, two arms, and
two legs forming roots and became an occult talisman capable of increasing the
value of anything associated with it. This attribute appears to have been
invented by the allegorists, as well as the strange superstition that the
mandrake shrank from being touched, cried out with a human voice, and clung
desperately to the soil embedding it. So the mandrake was portrayed as the
subconscious. The story of a dog being used to drag the root from the earth and
dying in the effort also emphasizes this point. See Bryony, Jerusalem artichoke.
OUROBOROUS
The serpent shown eating its own tail is an
emblem of the Hermetic process, the turning of the outer mind inward toward the
subconscious. Being a circle, it is also a symbol of Eternity and the wheel of
birth and death, as characterized by the phrase, 'In my end is my beginning.'
VITRIOL
Oil of Vitriol is a hydrous sulphate of a metal, as blue,
green and white vitriol, respectively that of copper, iron and zinc. The
alchemists frequently used the word, for it was their acid which putrefied and
killed all metals except gold. It was the vinegar given to Jesus on the cross.
The alchemists also used the letters of the word to describe their art - Visita
Interiora Terra Rectificand Invenies Occultum Lapidum, which means visit the
interior of the earth (the centre of the mind) for by rectifying (purifying the
conscious mind) you will find the hidden stone (the subconscious). (L. vitreus,
glass). See Acid.