A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery

This dictionary documents alchemical symbolism from the early centuries AD to the late-twentieth century for use by historians of literary culture philosophy science and the visual arts and readers interested in alchemy and hermeticism. Each entry includes a definition of the symbol giving the literal (physical) and figurative (spiritual) meanings an example of the symbol used in alchemical writing and a quotation from a literary source. There are fifty visual images of graphic woodcuts copperplate engravings and hand-painted emblems some reproduced here for the first time.