(Manuscript illuminations, Splendor Solis, 1582; scanned from "Art And Symbols Of The Occult" by James Wasserman, Tiger Books International, 1993)

ALCHEMY - THE ROYAL ART

The selection of pictures on this page represent the 22 stages of alchemical process. Seen from the Gnostic standpoint, they represent the 22 steps in the mystery of initiation which every candidate has to pass to accomplish the Great Transformation. This transformation signifies the complete abandoning and dissolving of the mortal human personality and replacing it with another, divine one. The individual steps are specific phases or tasks which the candidate has to pass and accomplish in order to reach the great goal. The Path begins with the first stage which is the stage of the divine touch in which the divine spark in the heart (represented by the shield on the armour) is touched and stirred by the Gnostic Sun or the Holy Spirit and begins to reflect the idea of the Great Transformation. The armour itself represents the personality of the candidate in question. Three vital parts of it are primarily touched in this process: the head (helmet), the heart (shield) and the astral body (the bluish cape). The crown symbolizes the final victory which is already certain at the beginning of the Path. This final victory is represented by the final picture, the 22nd stage. The new divine being rises as the new sun above the world to spread its light and nourish it.