A Short Talk by Boria Sax, PhD

Resemblances between Fairy Tales and Alchemical Texts:Both conceive life as a quest;Both center around transformations, both

personal and material;Both have a style that is “one dimensional”;Both center on extremes (good and evil, light

and dark, old and young) that are ultimately reconciled;

Both were developed in the early modern period against a background of wars and persecutions;

Both are very moralistic;Both tend to have happy endings

From Splendor Solis by S. Trismosin printed in 16th century London. The picture is an allegory for an alchemical process by which a being becomes pure spirit through ritual dismemberment: “I Have killed you so that you may have overflowing life.

From: Roob, A. (1997). The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy and Mysticism. New York: Taschen.

Ovid … writes of an ancient sage who wished to regenerate himself. He should cause himself to be divided up and boiled until completely cooked, then the limbs would reunite and rejuvinate most powerfully.” The dove is the spirit that will reunited the bodily remains.

From: Roob, A. (1997). The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy and Mysticism. New York: Taschen.

For more illustrations of Salomon Trismosin, please go to:

http://www.hermetics.org/solis/solis.html

We’ll continue in the Discussion Forum, so this is not really “The End,” but…

Thank you