The Symbolarium

Light

Candles blessed at Candlemas, the Paschal candle, the crossed candles of St. Blaise, and the fires of midsummer.

• BBlessed candlesCandele benedetteCandles blessed at Candlemas (2 February), and the Paschal candle.Light
• PPaschal candleCereus paschalisThe great candle blessed and lit from the new fire at the Easter Vigil, marked with a cross, the Alpha and Omega, and the numerals of the year, and set with five grains of incense for the five wounds of Christ.Light
• SSt. Blaise candlesThe blessing of throatsTwo blessed candles, crossed and held at the throat on 3 February, the feast of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr of Sebaste in Armenia.Light
• SSt. John’s firesMidsummer fires; fuochi di San GiovanniThe bonfires lit across Europe on the eve of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, 23 June, at midsummer.Light

Water and Salt

The oldest of the sacramentals: water and salt, blessed and mingled, and the waters of feasts, saints, and holy springs.

• HHoly waterAcqua benedettaWater blessed by a priest, usually with exorcized salt mixed in.Water and Salt
• SSaltSaleSalt exorcized and blessed, “by the God who commanded you to be cast into the water through the Prophet Elisha” (2 Kings 2:19–22).Water and Salt
• EEpiphany waterWater of the Three Kings; the Great Blessing of WatersWater blessed at the Epiphany by a solemn rite with a long exorcism, in the East as the Great Blessing of the Waters at Theophany.Water and Salt
• SSt. Ignatius waterAqua Sancti IgnatiiWater blessed with a relic or medal of St. Ignatius of Loyola, by a formula of the Society of Jesus.Water and Salt
• LLourdes waterEau de LourdesWater from the spring in the grotto of Massabielle at Lourdes, uncovered by Bernadette Soubirous on 25 February 1858 during the apparitions she reported.Water and Salt
• HHoly wellsClootie wells; fontes sanctiSprings dedicated to saints, many of them sacred long before Christianity, visited for cures.Water and Salt

Oil and Chrism

Oils blessed for anointing, from the simple blessed oil any priest could hallow to the three holy oils of Holy Thursday, and the oil of a saint’s tomb.

• BBlessed oilOglio benedettoOil blessed by a priest, as distinct from the holy oils blessed and consecrated by the bishop in Holy Week.Oil and Chrism
• CChrismSacrum chrismaOlive oil mixed with balsam and consecrated by a bishop.Oil and Chrism
• OOil of the sickOleum infirmorumOlive oil blessed by the bishop at the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday for anointing the sick.Oil and Chrism
• OOil of catechumensOleum catechumenorumOlive oil blessed at the Chrism Mass for anointing those preparing for baptism.Oil and Chrism
• SSt. Walburga’s oilWalburgisölA clear liquid that gathers on the stone slab over the relics of St. Walburga (died 779), the English-born abbess of Heidenheim, in her church at Eichstätt in Bavaria.Oil and Chrism

Wax

Medallions of blessed wax, stamped with the Lamb of God, and the wax offerings hung at shrines.

• AAgnus DeiA wax medallion stamped with the Lamb of God, blessed by the pope (note LXX).Wax
• WWaxCeraBeeswax; in the final oil, wax of the Paschal candle.Wax
• WWax ex-votosEx voto; botiOfferings of wax shaped as eyes, limbs, hearts, children, or whole bodies, hung at a shrine in petition or in thanks for a cure.Wax

Incense and Resins

The sweet smokes that honored God, and in the exorcist’s art drove off what could not bear them.

• GGold, frankincense, and myrrhOro, incenso, mirraThe gifts of the Magi.Incense and Resins
• OOnycha and stacteIngredients of the Temple incense (Exodus 30:34). Onycha is probably the operculum of a sea snail; stacte, probably liquid myrrh.Incense and Resins
• AAloeAloeHere the aloe of John 19:39, with which, mixed with myrrh, Nicodemus anointed Christ’s body; probably aloeswood (agarwood) rather than the aloe plant.Incense and Resins

Palms and Herbs

Branches and herbs blessed on the great feasts, hung in the house, and set against hexes.

• PPalm and olive branchesRami benedettiBranches blessed on Palm Sunday.Palms and Herbs
• BBlessed herbsErbe benedetteHerbs blessed by the Church, especially on the feast of the Assumption (15 August).Palms and Herbs
• aThe amulet herbsBetony, goat’s rue, savin, sage, horehound, cyclamen, laurel, masterwort, and angelicaSee each above.Palms and Herbs
• RRueRutaRuta graveolens, garden rue.Palms and Herbs
• SSt. John’s wortHiperico; perforataHypericum perforatum.Palms and Herbs
• VVerbenaVerbenaVervain, Verbena officinalis.Palms and Herbs

Bread, Ashes, and Chalk

Bread blessed on saints’ days, the ashes of Ash Wednesday, and the chalk that marks the door at the Epiphany.

• BBlessed breadPane benedettoBread blessed by a priest, distinct from the Eucharist.Bread, Ashes, and Chalk
• SSt. Agatha’s breadAgathabrot; minne di Sant’AgataBread blessed on 5 February, the feast of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr of Catania.Bread, Ashes, and Chalk
• BBlessed ashesCenere benedettaAshes of burnt palms, blessed on Ash Wednesday.Bread, Ashes, and Chalk
• EEpiphany chalkC+M+BChalk blessed at the Epiphany, with which the lintel of the house is marked for the new year, as 20+C+M+B+26.Bread, Ashes, and Chalk

Words and Names

Written blessings, holy names, and charm words, folded and worn, written on walls, or carved on rings.

• BBreveBreveA written prayer or holy names folded and worn on the body.Words and Names
• BBlessed paperCarta benedettaPaper blessed so that what is written on it may take effect.Words and Names
• pThe prologue of JohnIn principio erat VerbumThe opening verses of the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word,” written out and worn, or read over the sick, the fields, and the weather.Words and Names
• HThe Holy Name, IHSChristogramThe monogram IHS, the first three letters of Jesus in Greek, often within a sunburst.Words and Names
• IINRIIesus Nazarenus Rex IudaeorumThe initials of the title Pilate set over the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” written, the Gospel says, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.Words and Names
• LLetters from HeavenHimmelsbriefLetters, copied by hand from one another, said to have been written by God or by Christ himself, promising protection to whoever kept them.Words and Names
• TTetragrammatonThe four letters, YHWHThe four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible, not pronounced in Jewish practice.Words and Names
• AAGLAAtah gibor le-olam AdonaiA name of God formed, as Agrippa explains, from the first letters of a Hebrew verse, “the mighty God for ever”; his modern editor notes that the words open the second benediction of the Shemoneh Esreh.Words and Names
• SThe SATOR squareSATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTASA five-line Latin word square that can be read in four directions.Words and Names
• AAbracadabraThe fever charmA charm word written out line by line, one letter shorter each time, into a narrowing triangle.Words and Names

Medals and Crosses

The crucifix, the rosary, and the scapular, and the medals and crosses worn against evil, plague, and storm.

• CCrucifixCrocifissoThe image of Christ on the Cross.Medals and Crosses
• RRosaryCorone e rosarioStrings of prayer beads.Medals and Crosses
• SScapularScapolareTwo small pieces of wool joined by strings, worn over the shoulders, a miniature of the monastic scapular.Medals and Crosses
• SSt. Benedict medalCrux Sancti Patris BenedictiA medal of St. Benedict whose reverse bears a cross ringed by initials: Vade retro Satana, numquam suade mihi vana; sunt mala quae libas, ipse venena bibas, “Begone, Satan; never tempt me with vain things; what you offer is evil; drink your own poison.”Medals and Crosses
• MThe Miraculous MedalMedal of the Immaculate ConceptionAn oval medal of the Virgin with the prayer “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” made after the visions of Catherine Labouré, a Daughter of Charity, in the chapel of the Rue du Bac in Paris in 1830.Medals and Crosses
• CThe Caravaca crossCruz de CaravacaA patriarchal cross with two cross-arms, after the relic of the True Cross kept at Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia, Spain.Medals and Crosses
• SSt. Zacharias crossThe Saint Zacharias BlessingA cross bearing a string of capital letters and small crosses, each standing for a Latin invocation against the plague; the crosses stand for those that begin “Crux.”Medals and Crosses
• SSt. Christopher medalChristophorus, “Christ-bearer”An image of St. Christopher carrying the Christ child across a river.Medals and Crosses

Relics and Pilgrimage

Things touched to the saints and carried home from the holy places.

• CContact relicsBrandeaCloths, oil, dust, or other things touched to a saint’s tomb or remains, and so made relics themselves.Relics and Pilgrimage
• EEarth of the Holy LandBlessings (eulogiae) of the holy placesEarth, stones, water, and oil brought back by pilgrims from the holy places of Palestine.Relics and Pilgrimage
• vThe vernicleThe Veil of Veronica; vera iconThe cloth with which Veronica was said to have wiped Christ’s face on the way to Calvary, leaving his image; and the copies and badges made of it.Relics and Pilgrimage
• PPilgrim badges and ampullaeSignaculaSmall badges of lead and tin, and tiny flasks called ampullae, sold at shrines as tokens of pilgrimage.Relics and Pilgrimage

Instruments of the Rite

What the priest and the exorcist carried: the stole, the sprinkler, the censer, the bells, and the books.

• sThe stoleStolaThe long band of cloth worn by the priest about the neck, the sign of his sacred office.Instruments of the Rite
• aThe aspergillumAspergillum; aspersoriumThe brush, or perforated ball on a handle, with which holy water is sprinkled.Instruments of the Rite
• tThe thuribleCenser; turibulumThe metal vessel hung on chains in which incense is burned on live coals.Instruments of the Rite
• hThe holy water stoupAcquasantieraThe basin of holy water at the door of a church, and the small stoups kept in homes.Instruments of the Rite
• BBellsCampaneChurch bells blessed by the bishop in a rite popularly, and wrongly, called their “baptism.”Instruments of the Rite
• RThe Roman RitualRituale RomanumThe book of rites for the priest, issued by Pope Paul V in 1614, the year of Canale’s treatise.Instruments of the Rite
• eThe exorcists’ manualsFlagellum Daemonum, Fustis Daemonum, Thesaurus exorcismorumThe handbooks of the exorcist’s art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, above all those of the Franciscan Girolamo Menghi.Instruments of the Rite

Rings, Coins, and Keys

Healing by the king’s hand and the saint’s iron.

• CCramp ringsThe Good Friday ringsRings blessed by the kings of England on Good Friday, made from gold and silver offered at the cross.Rings, Coins, and Keys
• TTouch-piecesThe royal touch; the king’s evilGold coins, the angel and its successors, pierced and hung on a ribbon, given by the monarch to each person touched for scrofula, the “king’s evil.”Rings, Coins, and Keys
• SSt. Hubert’s keyClef de saint HubertA small iron in the shape of a key or horn, blessed at the shrine of St. Hubert, patron of hunters, in the Ardennes.Rings, Coins, and Keys

Wards of the House

What was hidden in the walls, buried under the hearth, cut in the beams, and hung in the window to keep a house safe.

• WWitch bottleBellarmine jugA bottle, often a bearded German stoneware “Bellarmine,” filled with urine, pins, nails, and hair or nail clippings, and buried under the hearth or threshold.Wards of the House
• CConcealed shoesThe hidden shoeWorn-out shoes, often a child’s, hidden in walls, chimneys, under floors, and above ceilings.Wards of the House
• WWitch marksProtection marks; apotropaic marks; daisy wheelsSymbols scratched or burned near doors and fireplaces: compass-drawn daisy wheels, overlapping Vs for the Virgin, and burn marks.Wards of the House
• WWitch ballA hollow ball of glass, often silvered or colored, hung in the window.Wards of the House
• HHagstoneHoled stone; hag-stoneA stone with a natural hole worn through it.Wards of the House

Against the Evil Eye

The charms of the Mediterranean against the envious gaze.

• fThe fig handMano fica; higaA hand with the thumb thrust between the first two fingers, made as a gesture or carved as a charm.Against the Evil Eye
• CCornicelloCornetto; the Neapolitan hornA small horn, most often of coral, but also of gold, silver, mother-of-pearl, amber, or lava.Against the Evil Eye
• eThe eye beadNazar; nazar boncuğuA bead of handmade glass worked in rings of dark blue, white, light blue, and black, like an eye.Against the Evil Eye
• CCoral, redCorallo rossoPrecious red coral, Corallium rubrum, of the western Mediterranean, prepared as powder.Against the Evil Eye

Amulets and Stones

Stones and simples worn for their hidden virtues rather than taken as medicine.

• PPeonyPeoniaPaeonia officinalis and the “male” peony, the kind formerly grown for its medicinal root.Amulets and Stones
• EEagle-stoneAetitesA hollow nodule of iron oxide with a loose stone rattling inside.Amulets and Stones
• BBezoar stoneFrom the Persian panzehr or the Arabic badzehr, “counterpoison”A concretion formed in the stomach of goats and other animals.Amulets and Stones
• TToadstoneBufonites, borax of the jewellersFossil teeth of an extinct fish, Lepidotes, believed to come from a toad’s head.Amulets and Stones
• AAmberSuccinum; Greek ēlektronFossil tree resin, chiefly from the Baltic coast.Amulets and Stones
• BBloodstoneHaematitesHematite, iron oxide, which streaks blood-red; the name was later given to green jasper spotted with red.Amulets and Stones
• LLodestoneMagnesMagnetite, naturally magnetic iron ore.Amulets and Stones
• EElf-shotElf-arrows; fairy dartsPrehistoric flint arrowheads turned up in the fields.Amulets and Stones
• TTongue stonesGlossopetraeFossil sharks’ teeth, called tongue-stones, and by the Germans adders’ tongues.Amulets and Stones

Charms of Darkness

Not every charm protected: some were made to steal and to harm.

• HThe Hand of GloryThe dried and pickled hand of a hanged man, holding a candle made from the fat of a hanged man.Charms of Darkness

The Persons of the Psyche

• SThe ShadowUmbraThe side of the personality one does not wish to be.The Persons of the Psyche
• PThe PersonaLatin: the actor’s maskThe face turned to the world.The Persons of the Psyche
• AThe AnimaLatin: soulThe feminine image in the psyche of a man.The Persons of the Psyche
• AThe AnimusLatin: spirit, mindThe masculine image in the psyche of a woman.The Persons of the Psyche
• SThe SelfDas SelbstThe whole of the psyche, and its centre.The Persons of the Psyche
• DThe DoubleDoppelgängerOneself met as another.The Persons of the Psyche

Parents and Elders

• GThe Great MotherMagna MaterThe mother behind every mother, who gives life and takes it back.Parents and Elders
• FThe FatherSenex, the old kingLaw, order, and spirit, and their hardening.Parents and Elders
• WThe Wise Old ManSenex sapiensSpirit in the form of a knowing elder.Parents and Elders
• WThe WitchThe mother’s dark face, who binds and devours.Parents and Elders
• MThe MagicianMagusThe master of hidden powers, and their temptation.Parents and Elders
• WThe Wise Old WomanThe old motherThe knowing elder of the feminine: counsel, fate, and the old ways.Parents and Elders
• SThe SenexThe old man, SaturnOrder, limit, and time, and their hardening into rigidity.Parents and Elders

Children and the Young

• DThe Divine ChildPuer divinusThe future, not yet born into the world.Children and the Young
• MThe MaidenKoreThe girl carried below and returned.Children and the Young
• EThe Eternal YouthPuer aeternusThe youth who will not be bound by time.Children and the Young
• FThe FoolThe innocent who knows nothing and finds the way.Children and the Young
• VThe VirginParthenosOne-in-herself: whole, and belonging to no one.Children and the Young
• OThe OrphanThe abandoned oneAlone and without origin: the lonely beginning of the self.Children and the Young

Heroes and Tricksters

• HThe HeroThe one who goes into the dark and comes back.Heroes and Tricksters
• TThe TricksterHermes, Loki, CoyoteThe shape-shifter who breaks every rule.Heroes and Tricksters
• TThe TwinsThe DioscuriThe pair who are one, one mortal and one divine.Heroes and Tricksters
• WThe Wounded HealerChironThe one who heals by virtue of a wound.Heroes and Tricksters

Spirits and Mediators

• AThe AngelAngelos, messengerThe messenger between the worlds.Spirits and Mediators
• DThe DevilLucifer, Satan, MephistophelesThe adversary, and the dark fourth.Spirits and Mediators
• PThe PsychopompThe guide of soulsThe one who leads the soul across.Spirits and Mediators
• SSophiaWisdom, Hagia SophiaWisdom as a feminine figure beside God.Spirits and Mediators
• RThe RedeemerSalvatorThe one who frees what is bound.Spirits and Mediators

Wholes and Extremes

• KThe King and QueenRex and ReginaThe royal pair whose marriage makes the whole.Wholes and Extremes
• AThe AndrogyneRebis, the hermaphroditeMale and female in one body: the opposites united.Wholes and Extremes
• AThe AnthroposThe cosmic manThe first man, whose body is the world.Wholes and Extremes
• GThe GiantThe first, crude powers, before the order of the gods.Wholes and Extremes
• DThe DwarfThe CabiriSmall, hidden, and creative: the little powers of the deep.Wholes and Extremes

Monsters and Hybrids

• GThe GorgonMedusaThe face that turns to stone.Monsters and Hybrids
• SThe SphinxThe riddle that must be answered.Monsters and Hybrids
• MMelusineMelusinaThe water-woman with a serpent’s tail.Monsters and Hybrids

Gods and Adversaries

• AApolloPhoebus, the god of lightForm, measure, clarity, and the beautiful image.Gods and Adversaries
• DDionysusBacchus, the god of the vineEcstasy, intoxication, and the dissolving of every boundary.Gods and Adversaries
• AThe AntichristThe adversaryThe shadow of the redeemer, returning at the end of an age.Gods and Adversaries

Figures of The Red Book

• PPhilemonThe winged old manA figure of the psyche who knew more than Jung did.Figures of The Red Book
• SSalomeThe blind daughterThe anima as Jung first met her: blind, and loving.Figures of The Red Book

Journeys

• NThe Night Sea JourneyNachtmeerfahrtSwallowed in the dark, carried to the east.Journeys
• DThe DescentNekyia, katabasisGoing down to the dead, to come back with knowledge.Journeys
• AThe AscentRising toward the light, and coming down again.Journeys
• FFlightRising free of the ground, or fleeing from what pursues.Journeys
• IInitiationThe passage through a threshold into a new state.Journeys
• QThe QuestThe GrailThe long search for what was lost.Journeys
• RThe ReturnNostosComing home with what was found.Journeys

Death and Birth

• DDeathMortificatio, nigredoThe ending that belongs to a change.Death and Birth
• RRebirthRenovatioBecoming new, in five forms.Death and Birth
• SSacrificeGiving something up, so that something new may live.Death and Birth
• DDismembermentSparagmosTorn apart, to be put together anew.Death and Birth
• MThe Miraculous BirthBorn another way, and so not wholly of this world.Death and Birth
• FThe FallThe loss of paradise, and the birth of consciousness.Death and Birth
• CThe CreationCosmogonyThe world, and consciousness, coming into being.Death and Birth
• EThe End of the WorldApocalypse, RagnarökDestruction, revelation, and what comes after.Death and Birth
• EThe Eternal ReturnEternal recurrenceAll things return, endlessly: the heaviest thought.Death and Birth
• DThe DeadThe ancestors, the departedThe unanswered questions of those who came before.Death and Birth

Unions, Spells, and Changes

• SThe Sacred MarriageHieros gamos, coniunctioThe union of opposites, pictured as a wedding.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• RThe Royal IncestThe union of like with like, read as a symbol.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• EThe EnchantmentThe spellHeld under a spell, waiting to be released.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• MMetamorphosisShape-shiftingChanged into another form, and changed back.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• FThe FloodThe delugeThe waters that end one world and begin another.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• TThe Treasure Hard to AttainWhat is guarded because it is worth the danger.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• WThe WastelandThe barren land of a wounded king.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• TThe TemptationThe offer that tests who one is.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• TThe Theft of FirePrometheusStolen light, and the price of it.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• AThe AbductionThe rape of PersephoneSeized by the depths: the innocent carried below.Unions, Spells, and Changes
• PPossessionBeing seizedAn archetype taking hold of the whole person.Unions, Spells, and Changes

Rites and Ordeals

• DThe Dragon FightThe combat with the monsterConsciousness wresting itself free from the devouring depths.Rites and Ordeals
• SThe Sacrificial MealCommunion, the MassEating the god: the sacrifice shared and taken in.Rites and Ordeals
• IIncubationTemple sleepSleeping in the sacred place to receive the healing dream.Rites and Ordeals
• DThe DanceRound dance, ringMovement in the round: the rhythm that orders and releases.Rites and Ordeals

• CCalcinatioBurning to ashThe fire that dries and purifies.Operations of the Work
• SSolutioDissolvingDissolved back into the waters.Operations of the Work
• CCoagulatioBecoming solidWhat was fluid takes on body.Operations of the Work
• SSublimatioRising as vapourWhat was heavy rises, and becomes spirit.Operations of the Work
• SSeparatioDividingDividing the one into two, so it can be known.Operations of the Work
• CCirculatioCirculationRound and round, until it is refined.Operations of the Work
• DDistillatioDistillingRising and falling again, until only the essence is left.Operations of the Work
• FFermentatioFermentingThe leaven that brings the dead matter to life.Operations of the Work
• MMultiplicatioMultiplyingThe finished stone increasing its power.Operations of the Work
• PProjectioProjectionCasting the stone upon the metal to change it, and the psyche upon matter.Operations of the Work
• CConiunctioThe conjunctionThe union of opposites in the vessel.Operations of the Work
• PPutrefactioPutrefactionRotting: the old form must decay before the new can grow.Operations of the Work
• MMortificatioMortification, killingThe killing of what has ruled too long.Operations of the Work
• CCibatioFeedingNourishing the matter in the vessel, a little at a time.Operations of the Work
• EExaltatioExaltationRaising the matter to its highest degree.Operations of the Work

Shapes

• MThe MandalaSanskrit: circleThe circle with a centre, a picture of wholeness.Shapes
• ○The CircleRotundumWholeness, without beginning or end.Shapes
• ✚The CrossTwo ways crossing at a centre.Shapes
• SThe SpiralReturning to the same place, a little higher.Shapes
• CThe CentreAxis mundiThe still point around which everything turns.Shapes
• SThe SquareStability, the earth, and the four made firm.Shapes
• △The TriangleThe three, rising toward a point.Shapes
• ✡The HexagramSeal of SolomonTwo triangles joined: fire and water in one.Shapes
• SThe SphereThe round, the rotundumWholeness in three dimensions, with no beginning and no end.Shapes
• SSquaring the CircleQuadratura circuliThe impossible figure of the whole.Shapes

Numbers

• OThe OneThe monadUnity, before and after the many.Numbers
• TThe TwoThe pair of oppositesThe first division, and the tension that drives the psyche.Numbers
• TThe TrinityThe threeThreeness, process, and the missing fourth.Numbers
• QThe QuaternityThe fourFourness, the pattern of completeness.Numbers
• FThe FiveThe quintessenceThe four, and the centre that unites them.Numbers
• SThe SevenThe number of the planets, the days, and the stages.Numbers
• TThe TwelveThe whole circle of time.Numbers

The Colours of the Work

• BBlackNigredoThe blackening at the start of the work.The Colours of the Work
• WWhiteAlbedoThe whitening: the first light after the dark.The Colours of the Work
• YYellowCitrinitasThe yellowing, as the dawn becomes day.The Colours of the Work
• RRedRubedoThe reddening: the work completed in blood and life.The Colours of the Work
• GGreenBenedicta viriditasThe blessed greenness of living things.The Colours of the Work
• PThe Peacock’s TailCauda pavonisAll the colours at once, before the white.The Colours of the Work
• BBlueThe colour of sky and depth, of distance and spirit.The Colours of the Work
• VVioletThe ultravioletWhere the spectrum passes beyond sight.The Colours of the Work

Metals, Principles, and Substances

• 🜚GoldAurumThe incorruptible: not the common gold.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• 🜛SilverArgentumThe metal of the moon.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• ♄LeadSaturnThe heaviest and darkest metal, where the work begins.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• ☿MercuryMercuriusThe quicksilver spirit, the elusive heart of the work.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• 🜔SaltSal sapientiaeWisdom, and the bitterness it costs.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• 🜍SulphurThe burning principle: desire and will.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• ♀CopperVenusThe metal of Venus: love, beauty, and verdigris.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• ♂IronMarsThe metal of Mars: strength, war, and will.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• ♃TinJupiterThe metal of Jupiter, completing the seven.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• VVitriolV.I.T.R.I.O.L.Go down into the earth, and you will find the hidden stone.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• PThe Prima MateriaThe first matterThe chaos from which the work begins: despised, everywhere, and everything.Metals, Principles, and Substances
• QThe QuintessenceThe fifth essenceThe fifth, beyond the four: what the elements hold in common.Metals, Principles, and Substances

The Heavens

• ☉The SunSolConsciousness, and its daily and yearly course.The Heavens
• ☽The MoonLunaThe light of the night, waning and returning.The Heavens
• SThe StarA light in the dark: guidance and destiny.The Heavens
• RThe RainbowA bridge of light between heaven and earth.The Heavens
• LLightningSudden illumination, and sudden change.The Heavens
• 🜁The WindSpirit that blows where it will.The Heavens
• NNightNyxThe dark from which the day is born.The Heavens
• DThe DawnAuroraThe first light, before the sun.The Heavens
• CThe CloudWhat hides the divine, and brings the rain.The Heavens
• RRainDewWhat falls from heaven to make the earth fertile.The Heavens
• EThe EclipseThe black sunThe light swallowed by the dark.The Heavens
• PThe PlanetsThe seven governorsThe seven wanderers, each ruling a metal, a day, and a temper.The Heavens

The Elements

• 🜄WaterThe sea, the lake, the springThe commonest symbol of the unconscious.The Elements
• 🜂FireEnergy that warms, purifies, and consumes.The Elements
• 🜃The EarthMatter, body, and the mother of all.The Elements
• SThe StoneLapis philosophorumWhat endures: the philosophers’ stone.The Elements
• SThe SeaThe collective unconscious, unfathomed.The Elements
• IIceFeeling frozen; life held still.The Elements
• DThe DewRos, the heavenly moistureGrace falling in silence from above.The Elements
• FThe FountainThe mercurial fountainThe source that springs from the centre.The Elements

The Land

• MThe MountainThe height to be climbed, where heaven and earth meet.The Land
• CThe CaveThe hidden place of transformation, inside the earth.The Land
• FThe ForestWhere the known way ends.The Land
• DThe DesertThe wildernessThe empty place of trial and revelation.The Land
• IThe IslandA world apart, surrounded by the sea.The Land
• RThe RiverThe flow of life and time, and the border to be crossed.The Land
• GThe GardenParadise, hortus conclususThe walled and tended place, where nature is ordered.The Land
• WThe WellThe springThe deep source, and the way down.The Land
• AThe AbyssUngrundThe depth without a bottom.The Land
• VThe VolcanoFire breaking up from below.The Land
• CThe CrystalThe axial systemThe form that is there before the substance fills it.The Land

Growing Things

• TThe TreeArbor philosophicaGrowth, rootedness, and the axis of the world.Growing Things
• FThe FlowerThe golden flower, the rose, the lotusThe centre unfolding.Growing Things
• SThe SeedThe whole, hidden in the small.Growing Things
• VThe VineWineEcstasy, and the blood of the god.Growing Things
• EThe EggOvum philosophicumThe whole in potential, before it opens.Growing Things
• PThe PearlBeauty grown around a wound, in the depths.Growing Things
• AThe AppleThe fruit of knowledge, discord, and youth.Growing Things
• RThe RoseRosa mysticaThe flower of love, and of the centre.Growing Things
• LThe LotusPadmaRising from the mud, to open on the water.Growing Things

• HThe HeartThe seat of feeling, courage, and conscience.The Body
• EThe EyeSight, awareness, and the eye that watches.The Body
• HThe HandMaking, taking, blessing, and giving.The Body
• BBloodLife itself, given and shed.The Body
• SThe SkullDeath remembered, and what outlasts the flesh.The Body
• BBreathPneuma, spiritus, ruachSpirit, which is breath and wind.The Body
• PThe PhallusGenerative power, which is more than sexual.The Body
• HThe HeadThe seat of mind, and the oracle.The Body
• FThe FootStanding on the earth; the point of contact and of wounding.The Body
• WThe WombThe vessel of life, and of rebirth.The Body
• BThe BonesWhat remains, and what rises again.The Body
• NThe NavelOmphalosThe centre of the body, and of the world.The Body
• HHairThe maneStrength and vitality, and what grows unbidden.The Body
• BThe BreastNourishmentThe first world: the source of milk and of comfort.The Body
• SThe SpineThe serpent’s pathThe axis of the body, climbed by the serpent power.The Body

Serpents and Dragons

• SThe SerpentThe chthonic, the healing, and the wise.Serpents and Dragons
• UThe UroborosThe tail-eaterThe serpent that devours its own tail.Serpents and Dragons
• DThe DragonDracoThe guardian who must be faced.Serpents and Dragons
• SThe SalamanderThe creature that lives in the fire.Serpents and Dragons

Birds

• BThe BirdSpirit, soul, and thought in flight.Birds
• EThe EagleHeight, sight, and the spirit that rises.Birds
• PThe PhoenixBennuBurned, and risen from its own ashes.Birds
• PThe PelicanThe mother who feeds her young with her own blood.Birds
• OThe OwlWisdom that sees in the dark.Birds
• RThe RavenCaput corviThe black bird of the beginning.Birds
• DThe DovePeace, spirit, and the white light after the dark.Birds
• CThe CockThe herald of the light.Birds
• SThe SwanCygnusThe white bird of the hidden god and the dying song.Birds

Beasts

• HThe HorseInstinctive force, which carries.Beasts
• LThe LionLeoRoyal and devouring power.Beasts
• BThe BullFertile strength, offered in sacrifice.Beasts
• WThe WolfDevouring hunger, and a fierce kind of nurture.Beasts
• DThe DogGuardian of the threshold, and faithful guide.Beasts
• SThe StagCervus fugitivusThe fleeing spirit of the wild, crowned with antlers.Beasts
• UThe UnicornMonocerosWild power, tamed only by the pure.Beasts
• AThe ApeThe human made animal, and the animal made human.Beasts
• BThe BearInstinctive strength, and a fierce mothering.Beasts
• HThe HareQuick, fertile, and of the moon.Beasts
• GThe GoatLust, vitality, and the one who bears the sins.Beasts
• FThe FoxCunning that survives by wit.Beasts
• LThe LambAgnus DeiInnocence offered up.Beasts
• CThe CatBastet, the familiarIndependent, nocturnal, and never quite tame.Beasts
• CThe CamelThe first metamorphosisThe spirit that kneels to be loaded.Beasts

Creatures of the Water

• FThe FishIchthysLife in the depths, drawn up.Creatures of the Water
• WThe WhaleLeviathanThe monster of the deep that swallows.Creatures of the Water
• CThe CrocodileSobek, LeviathanThe devouring jaws of the depths.Creatures of the Water
• CThe CrabCancerMoving backward: the pull of the past, with a way forward hidden in it.Creatures of the Water

Small Creatures

• TThe ToadEarthbound and poisonous, with a jewel in its head.Small Creatures
• SThe SpiderThe weaver at the centre of the web.Small Creatures
• BThe BeeThe ordered community, and souls on the wing.Small Creatures
• BThe ButterflyPsycheThe soul, emerging transformed.Small Creatures
• SThe ScarabKhepriThe beetle that rolls the sun into rebirth.Small Creatures

Vessels and Enclosures

• VThe VesselVas hermeticumThe container in which change happens.Vessels and Enclosures
• HThe HouseThe structure of the psyche, lived in.Vessels and Enclosures
• TThe TowerHeight, enclosure, and the danger of reaching too high.Vessels and Enclosures
• TThe TempleTemenosThe sacred precinct, set apart.Vessels and Enclosures
• CThe CityThe ordered community, walled and centred.Vessels and Enclosures
• TThe TombThe grave that is also a womb.Vessels and Enclosures
• BThe BathBalneumImmersion that cleanses and joins.Vessels and Enclosures
• AThe AltarThe place of offering, where the human meets the divine.Vessels and Enclosures
• TThe ThroneThe seat of rule, and of what rules the soul.Vessels and Enclosures
• CThe CastleThe Grail castleThe fortress of the treasure, hard to find and harder to enter.Vessels and Enclosures
• PThe PrisonThe captive spiritBound in the dark, awaiting release.Vessels and Enclosures
• TThe TheatreThe stage of the dreamThe inner drama, and the seat of the one who watches it.Vessels and Enclosures
• GThe GrailThe vessel of the Last SupperThe vessel found by the one who asks the right question.Vessels and Enclosures

Ways and Thresholds

• CThe CrossroadsWhere the ways divide and a choice is forced.Ways and Thresholds
• LThe LabyrinthThe winding way to a centre.Ways and Thresholds
• BThe BridgeThe way across what divides.Ways and Thresholds
• DThe DoorThe gate, the thresholdThe threshold between one state and another.Ways and Thresholds
• LThe LadderScalaThe way up by stages.Ways and Thresholds
• BThe BoatThe ship, the arkThe vessel that carries across the waters.Ways and Thresholds
• CThe ChariotThe vehicle drawn by forces the driver must master.Ways and Thresholds

Things Held and Worn

• WThe WheelTurning time, fortune, and the round of birth and death.Things Held and Worn
• KThe KeyWhat opens, and what locks.Things Held and Worn
• RThe RingBond, circle, and power.Things Held and Worn
• SThe SwordThe blade that cuts, divides, and judges.Things Held and Worn
• MThe MirrorReflection, and the truth one would rather not see.Things Held and Worn
• CThe CrownSovereignty, and the work completed.Things Held and Worn
• VThe VeilWhat hides the mystery, and what may be lifted.Things Held and Worn
• TThe ThreadThe line of fate, and the way back out.Things Held and Worn
• LThe LampThe lanternA small light carried into the dark.Things Held and Worn
• BThe BookKnowledge written down, sealed, or to be opened.Things Held and Worn
• SThe ScalesThe balance, LibraWeighing the heart: judgment, justice, and equilibrium.Things Held and Worn
• SThe SpearThe lance of LonginusThe wound that pierces, and the wound that heals.Things Held and Worn
• CThe CaduceusThe staff of HermesTwo serpents about a winged staff: opposites held in balance.Things Held and Worn