"Khunrath, who wrote in the sixteenth century, says directly: “He who knows the stone, is silent about it.” This reminds us of Lao Tsu’s words: “Whoever speaks does not know, whoever knows does not speak.”" — Carl Jung, ETH, Lecture XV, Page 128
“Therefore study, meditate, sweat, work, cook... so will a healthful flood be opened to you which comes from the Heart of the Son of the great World, a Water which the Son of the Great World pours forth from his Body and Heart, to be for us a True and Natural Aqua Vitae....” - Heinrich Khunrath
Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae solius verae
c. 1609
by Heinrich Khunrath
Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae
Oratorium et Laboratorium ("Oratory and Laboratory"). This intricate, circular emblem—designed by Khunrath and engraved by Paullus van der Doort—depicts a domed chamber fusing ecclesiastical and artisanal elements: an altar for prayer adjoins a furnace for distillation, symbolizing the adept's integrated life of contemplation and operation. Surrounding the central figure of the alchemist (often interpreted as Khunrath himself, kneeling in devotion amid retorts and astrolabes) are Latin captions, with Quæritur in Libro Naturæ et Sacræ Scripturæ inscribed as a foundational axiom. It frames the scene as a quest for the prima materia (prime matter), the elusive substance of transformation, which is "sought" through this binocular gaze on creation and revelation.
The broader text divides into "amphitheaters" of wisdom: the first explores macrocosmic correspondences (Nature's book), the second microcosmic regeneration (Scripture's redemptive arc), and the third prophetic fulfillment in the adept's soul. Khunrath draws on Kabbalah to argue that both books encode the same sephirotic structure—the Tree of Life mirrored in stellar patterns and biblical genealogies. A related passage in the work states: "Twofold is the Macrocosmic Cabala which is handed down to us: the Macrocosmic Cabala of the Book of Nature, and the Macrocosmic Cabala of the Book of Scripture. Both are from God, both are true, both agree perfectly." This reinforces the inscription's call for reconciliation, positioning the alchemist as a "Christian Kabbalist" who reads God's dual script to unveil eschatological secrets.
“THE GATEWAY OF THE AMPHITHEATER OF ETERNAL WISDOM OF THE WHOLE EARTH,”
... and truly of heaven itself, but anciently entrusted to Jehovah; from there, through the mystical path of theological wisdom, the sons of Perseverance ascend, first through the contemplation of nature, then through the steps of Theosophical philosophers, flowers of doctrine gathered from divine revelation, until they reach the unity of God’s touch. For only those purified by divine light, cleansed from all filth, and led by God’s finger, can see the laws of the sevenfold starry sky. They will not look with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the mind, inwardly enlightened; not as physicists-chemists, but as Christian-Kabbalists, divine contemplatives, and true philosophers in their hearts and lives. They will ascend with the steps of wisdom, goodness, and power of the Creator’s virtue. This wisdom will not die, nor will true theology perish, nor will orthodox philosophy (so called “divine wisdom”) disappear.
Created by the philosopher KHUNRATH of Lipsia, master of sacred theology, doctor of medicine, friend of truth and Jesus Christ alone. Completed in the year of our Lord 1602.
"Know nature, universally, and particularly; from the book of the most holy Scripture: Of the nature itself, which is, and the greater world, the whole: and the lesser world, this is man, for example, according to both his body and his spirit." — The Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom, c. 1595 by Heinrich Khunrath
Since the phoenix represents "all the colors" (that is, the integration of all qualities), an illustration in the Amphitheatrum sapientiae of Khunrath shows it logically perched on the two heads of the Rebis, whose unity is clearly represented. The inscription calls it the "Hermes bird" and the "blessed green," symbols that represent the Holy Spirit or Ruach Elohim, which plays a fundamental role in Khunrath. — Carl Jung, CW 15, p. 391 In another passage, Khunrath states that at the hour of the conjunction, darkness, the head of the crow, and all the colors of the world will appear, "including Iris, the messenger of God, and the phoenix's tail." He adds: "Observe the secrets of the rainbow in the Old and New Testaments." — Carl Jung, CW 15, p. 392
Library of Light Edition 1.0 — Last revised: April 2026