17th Century School ~ The great work according to the symbolic system of Alchemists ,oil on canvas.

Leonora Carrington (1917-2011)... Santuario, oil on canvas, 1966

Victor Brauner (1903–1966) ... Untitled, a gift to Rosa 1943

Victor Brauner (1903-1966)... Morphological War of Man, drawing 1938

Ithell Colquhoun (1906 - 1988)...Alchemical Figure, Androgyne, watercolour 1941

Penny Slinger ...Alchemy and Ecstasy, collage on board 2014

Penny Slinger

Michaelis Faustij...Compendium alchymist 1706 Rebis Hermaphroditus

Alchemy: The Golden Art...

The alchemist who has achieved illumination. 

From Andrea de Pascalis,
Alchemy: The Golden Art. The Secrets of the Oldest Enigma

alterius non sit qui suus esse potest....Paracelsus

alterius non sit qui suus esse potest, "let no man belong to another that can belong to himself." Paracelsus

Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus (1493-1541) - original name Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim

“Thoughts are free and are subject to no rule. On them rests the freedom of man, and they tower above the light of nature. For thoughts give birth to a creative force that is neither elemental nor sidereal…. Thoughts create a new heaven, a new firmament, a new source of energy, from which new arts flow…. When a man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven, as it were, and from it the work that he desires to create flows into him…. "

"He who is born in imagination discovers the latent forces of Nature. . . . Besides the stars that are established, there is yet another -- Imagination -- that begets a new star and a new heaven."

Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.

“Know that man makes great discoveries concerning future and hidden things, which are despised and scoffed at by the ignorant who do not realize what nature can accomplish by virtue of her spirit…. Thus, the uncertain arts are in such a state that a new generation must come, full of prophetic and sibylline spirit, which will awaken and direct the skills and arts. The arts of this kind…are quite old, and enjoyed great reputation among the ancient. They were kept secret and taught secretly. For the students of these arts devoted their time to inner contemplation and faith, and by such means they discovered and proved many great things. But the men of today have no longer such capacity for imagination and faith; today their minds are exclusively concerned with things that are pleasant to the flesh and the blood; only what the flesh and blood want and desire is being studied, that alone is still being practiced…. These arts are uncertain today because man is uncertain in himself. For he who is not certain of himself cannot be certain in his actions; a skeptic can never create anything enduring, nor can anyone who serves only the body accomplish true spiritual works.”

The character of Paracelsus has inspired several writers, among them Jung, Robert Browning, (1812-1889), Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931), and Jorge Luis Borges (1889-1986).

In Borges's story 'The Rose of Paracelsus' the doctor prays to his God to send him a disciple. A young man (Johannes Grisebach) appears. He is ready to follow Paracelsus, if he can prove his skills as an alchemist by burning a rose to ashes and making it emerge again. Paracelsus says that the rose is eternal, and only its appearances may change. "The path is the Stone. The point of departure is the Stone. If these words are unclear to you, you have not yet begun to understand. Every step you take is the goal you seek." (from 'The Rose of Paracelsus' by Jorge Luis Borges) The man throws the rose into the flames. Paracelsus tells that all the other physicians call him a fraud - perhaps they are right. The young man says: "What I have done is unpardonable. I have lacked belief, which the Lord demands of all the faithful. Let me, then, continue to see ashes. I will come back again when I am stronger, and I will be your disciple, and at the end of the Path I will see the rose." He leaves, promising to come back, but they both know that they would not see each other again. Alone, Paracelsus whispers a single word and the rose appears again.

DAT ROSA MEL APIBUS "The Rose Gives The Bees Honey" engraving (possibly) by Johann Thedore deBry (d. 1598).

"Stop making gold," he taught, "instead find medicines."