“In alchemy the tree is the symbol of Hermetic philosophy.” - Jung, Psychology and Alchemy
"The tree represents the whole work. Its roots are in the earth, its branches in heaven. The fruits are gold and silver."
— François-Nicolas Nöel, Atlas FM ICONOGR 2, Bibliothèque nationale de France
the "Philosophical Tree" (Arbor Philosophica), a detailed diagram classifying all knowledge and being. It systematically traces existence from God (Deus), down through immaterial and material creations, using binary divisions to organize everything into a logical hierarchy.
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"On account of likeness alone, and not substance, the Philosophers compare their material to a golden tree with seven branches, thinking that it encloses in its seed the seven metals, and that these are hidden in it, for which reason they call it a living thing. Again, even as natural trees bring forth divers blossoms in their season, so the material of the stone causes the most beautiful colours to appear when it puts forth its blossoms. Likewise they have said that the fruit of their tree strives up to heaven, because out of the philosophic earth there arises a certain substance, like to the branches of a loathsome sponge. Whence they have put forward the opinion that the point about which the whole art turns lies in the living things of nature [in vegetabilibus naturae] and not in the living things of matter; and also because their stone contains within it soul, body, and spirit, as do living things."
- Gerhard Dorn, 'Congeries Paracelsicae chemicae de transmutatione metallorum'
"I beg, with the eyes of the mind look upon this little tree of a grain of wheat according to all its circumstances, so that, as the tree of the Philosophers, you may be able to plant it in the same way and to promote the increase of its own radical moisture for growing in such a manner that the most noble gold and silver (in whose nature all the heavenly and earthly virtues of the elements, prepared, are infused) may grow and, as in an incorrupt seed, may ripen. Taking care lest the aforesaid gold and silver be dissolved from their own glue by any mineral matter, or by strong water, and similar things." - - Instructio patris ad filium de arbore solari (Instruction of a father to his son concerning the Solar Tree), Theatrum Chemicum, vol. VI (1661).
Different variations of Plate 6 from Splendor Solis - "The Other Parable"
- Instructio patris ad filium de arbore solari (Instruction of a father to his son concerning the Solar Tree), Theatrum Chemicum, vol. VI (1661).
"And of our Stone, the Sages have said that it has its head in the earth, and its root in the air.” - Gloria Mundi
"The roots of its ores are in the air and the summits in the earth." - Laurentius Ventura, Theatr. Chem., II
"It is a tree that grows on the tops of the mountains, a young man born in Egypt, a prince from Andalusia, who desires the torment of the seekers. He has slain their leaders. . . . The sages are powerless to oppose him. I can see no weapon against him save resignation, no charger but knowledge, no buckler but understanding. If the seeker finds himself before him with these three weapons, and slays him, he [the prince] will come to life again after his death, will lose all power against him, and will give the seeker the highest power, so that he will arrive at his desired goal." - Book of Ostanes
"Of itself, from, in, and through itself is made and perfected the stone of the wise. For it is one thing only: like a tree (says Senior), whose roots, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, and fruit are of it and through it and from it and on it, and all come from one seed. It is itself everything, and nothing else makes it." - Khunrath
the Alchemical Tree or the Hermetic Tree of Life Crossed Keys: Often associated with St. Peter and the papacy, in an alchemical context, they may symbolize the unlocking of secrets or the binding and loosing of elements. Suns: The sun is a central alchemical symbol, representing the "solar light" or the masculine principle, associated with gold, the citrinitas (yellowing) stage, and the dawning of inherent inner light. The suns with faces are common in medieval and Renaissance art. Eagles: The eagle is a symbol of ascent, purification, and the spirit. It can represent the process of sublimation or the volatile aspect of matter being purified.
"It pleased the Physicists to see man as a tree standing upside down, for what in the one is the root, trunk, and leaves, in the other is the head and the rest of the body with the arms and feet.” - Andrea Alciati, Emblemata cum commentariis
"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” - Matthew 13:31-32
"Thus the stone is perfected of and in itself. For it is the tree whose branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits come from it and through it and for it, and it is itself whole or the whole and nothing else." - Consilium coniugii
“He is the first man and the first tree and the first created of everything whatsoever.” - De tartaro: Fragmenta anatomiae
"But when the philosophers compare their matter to a certain golden tree of seven boughs, they mean that such matter includes all the seven metals in its sperm, and that in it these lie hidden. On this account they called their matter vegetable, because, as in the case of natural trees, they also in their time produce various flowers. So, too, the matter of the Stone shews most beautiful colours in the production of its flowers. The comparison, also, is apt, because a certain matter rises out of the philosophical earth, as if it were a thicket of branches and sprouts: like a sponge growing on the earth. They say, therefore, that the fruit of their tree tends towards heaven. So, then, they put forth that the whole thing hinged upon natural vegetables, though not as to its matter, because their stone contains within itself a body, soul, and spirit, as vegetables do."
- The Aurora of the philosophers by Paracelsus
“This heavenly tree that shines by night is also the soul tree of rebirth, in which every creature who dies becomes a celestial light and returns as a star to the eternity of the Great Round. Hence the archetypal connection between the candle and the lamp, for example, and the feast of the dead. This connection is exemplified in the Christian-Germanic winter- solstice symbolism of the Christmas tree. Another fine example is the Buddhist tree, which was bedecked with candles at the feasts of the dead. To every candle of the seven-terraced tree, whose summit is a lotus with many petals, belongs a flower of light, a soul illumined and redeemed, enthroned on a lotus blossom.”
- Erich Neumann - The Great Mother, An Analysis of the Archetype
"But when the philosophers compare their matter to a certain golden tree of seven boughs, they mean that such matter includes all the seven metals in its sperm, and that in it these lie hidden. On this account they called their matter vegetable, because, as in the case of natural trees, they also in their time produce various flowers. So, too, the matter of the Stone shews most beautiful colours in the production of its flowers. The comparison, also, is apt, because a certain matter rises out of the philosophical earth, as if it were a thicket of branches and sprouts: like a sponge growing on the earth. They say, therefore, that the fruit of their tree tends towards heaven. So, then, they put forth that the whole thing hinged upon natural vegetables, though not as to its matter, because their stone contains within itself a body, soul, and spirit, as vegetables do."
- The Aurora of the philosophers by Paracelsus
"Take fire or unslaked lime, which the Philosophers say grows on trees. In this fire God himself glows in divine love. … Likewise the Natural Master says regarding the art of fire, that Mercurius is to be decomposed … and fixed in the unquenchable or living fire, wherein God himself glows, together with the sun, in divine love, for the solace of all men; and without this fire can the art never be brought to perfection. It is also the fire of the Philosophers, which they keep hidden away and concealed. … It is also the noblest fire which God created upon earth, for it has a thousand virtues. To these things the teacher replies that God has bestowed upon it such virtue and efficacy … that with this fire is mingled the Godhead itself. And this fire purifies, as purgatory does in the lower regions."
- The Gloria Mundi
"This tree brings forth many colors and fruits, and in its midst grows a great tree with a silver trunk, on which sits many birds. The place of this tree is in the world, and on its branches sit birds by day and crabs by night. The wonderful tree bears many fruits, the first of which are the finest and are called Philosophers' Terra olata. The second fruit is gold, the third is the stone. This tree can change cold to warm and warm to cold. Its pressing makes moist into dry and dry into moist. That which is hard becomes soft, and that which is soft becomes hard."
— Splendor solis, Aureum vellus oder guldin Schatz und Kunst-Kammer, c. 1708, Trissmosin, Salomon
“For it is the young tree grown out of the old root which shall illuminate what the old tree has been in its wonders.” — Jakob Böhme (1575–1624)