Johann Daniel Mylius (c. 1583 – 1642) was a composer for the lute, and writer on alchemy. Born at Wetter in present-day Hesse, Germany, he went on to study theology and medicine at the University of Marburg. He was the brother-in-law and pupil of Johann Hartmann (1568–1613).[1]

In 1616, while still a medical student, Mylius published Duncan Burnet's Iatrochymicus.[2] The Opus medico-chymicum, Mylius' own alchemical work, was published two years later. He is known for the collection Thesaurus gratiarum (1622) of pieces for the lute.[3] In the same year his Philosophia Reformata was published.[4] Mylius was the personal physician of Moritz of Hessen and his patrons included Maurice and Frederick Henry of Nassau.

Works

• Opus medico-chymicum. 1618.
• Antidotarium. 1620.
• Philosophia reformata. 1622.
• Anatomia auri. 1628.
• Danielis Milii Pharmacopoeae spagyricae, sive Practicae universalis Galeno-chymicae libri duo. - Francofurti : Schönwetter, 1628.

Johann Daniel Mylius (c. 1583-1642) was a German physician, alchemist, and Rosicrucian who produced several alchemical works, most notably Philosophia Reformata (1622), which contains a comprehensive series of engraved emblems depicting the alchemical process. The work is organized systematically, presenting the operations through clear, sequential imagery.

Philosophia Reformata contains approximately 19-21 primary emblems in its main sequence, depending on the edition. What follows is the standard sequence from the 1622 Frankfurt edition.

Mylius's emblematic style is notably clearer and more systematic than earlier alchemical imagery. His engravings show strong influence from the Rosicrucian movement and emphasize order, proportion, and sequential logic. The images are less cryptic than works like Clavis Artis and more didactic than the Rosarium, attempting to present the Great Work as a comprehensible, repeatable process.

Mylius also produced Basilica Philosophica (1618) and Antidotarium Medico Chymicum (1620), which contain related but distinct image sequences focusing more on medical alchemy and spagyric preparations. The Philosophia Reformata remains his most complete emblematic presentation of the Great Work from prima materia to perfected stone.

Part I: Preparation and First Operations

1. The Alchemist in His Laboratory The philosopher stands among furnaces, vessels, and instruments, often with books and celestial globe; establishes the setting and the combination of manual labor with theoretical knowledge required.
2. The Mining of Prima Materia Miners extract ore from the earth, often with Vulcan or workers at a forge; the collection of the raw philosophical matter from mineral sources, the stone hidden in common earth.
3. The Philosophical Egg on the Furnace A large ovoid vessel (the philosophical egg) sits on a furnace with carefully regulated fire; the sealed hermetic vessel containing the dual principles, maintained at constant gentle heat.
4. The Black Crow or Raven (Nigredo) A black crow or raven stands on a skull, bones, or dead matter, often within a landscape of death; the putrefaction stage, the necessary mortification and blackening.
5. The White Swan (Albedo) A white swan emerges from or replaces the crow, often on water or in flight; the washing and whitening achieved, the volatile soul purified and the white work begun.
6. The Peacock's Tail (Cauda Pavonis) A peacock displaying its iridescent tail, showing multiple colors; the transitional phase between white and red where the matter passes through rainbow colors.
7. The Pelican Feeding Its Young A pelican pierces its breast to feed its young with blood; the circulation and cohobation process, the matter repeatedly distilled and returned to nourish itself.

Part II: Conjunction and Marriage

1. The King and Queen Before Union Sol and Luna stand as separate crowned figures, sometimes holding flowers or emblems; the dual principles prepared and purified, ready for conjunction.
2. The Royal Bath King and Queen descend into or stand in a bath together, often with attendants; the dissolving waters, the return to fluid undifferentiated state before marriage.
3. The Coniunctio (Sacred Marriage) The King and Queen embrace or unite sexually within the vessel; the conjunction proper, the union of opposites into hermaphroditic unity.
4. The Death in the Vessel The united body lies dead in the tomb or vessel, crowned; the death following union, the putrefaction of the conjoined matter, necessary dissolution.
5. The Soul Ascending A small figure or vapor rises from the dead body toward the heavens; the separation of the volatile soul from the fixed body, the spiritual essence freed.

Part III: Purification and Resurrection

1. The Washing in the Clouds The soul is washed or bathed in celestial waters, rain, or dew from above; the purification of the volatile principle in the upper realm, the cleansing of spirit.
2. The Descent of Dew Purified dew or water descends from clouds back into the vessel; the return of the cleansed soul to reanimate the body, the reunification.
3. The Resurrection The body revives in the vessel, standing or rising, now whitened or luminous; the successful revivification, the stone reborn in purity, albedo completed.
4. The Hermaphrodite or Rebis A crowned double-sexed figure holding solar and lunar symbols, standing on sun and moon; the perfected union, the philosophical child, the androgyne containing both principles.

Part IV: The Red Work and Completion

1. The Red King Enthroned A crowned red king sits on throne with scepter and orb, solar radiance behind; the perfected red sulphur, the solar consciousness fixed and crowned, rubedo achieved.
2. The Phoenix Rising from Flames The phoenix immolates itself and rises renewed from its own ashes; the self-regenerating stone, the immortal quintessence achieved through fire, the medicine that creates itself eternally.
3. The Projection or Transmutation The philosopher casts powder onto molten metal in a crucible, producing gold; the operative proof of the stone's power, the transmutation of base metals.
4. The Crowned Son or Filius Philosophorum A radiant crowned child or young king holds the perfected stone; the philosophical child, the completed work as offspring of the royal marriage, the medicine universalis.
5. The Garden of the Philosophers A paradisiacal garden with fountain, tree of life, or gathered adepts; the achieved state of wisdom, the restored Eden through completion of the opus.

Additional Emblems in Extended Versions

Some editions of Philosophia Reformata or Mylius's related work Antidotarium Medico Chymicum include supplementary images:

1. The Fountain of the Philosophers A multi-spouted fountain with Sol and Luna on either side; the mercurial source flowing into dual streams, the origin of both solar and lunar work.
2. The Dragon Devouring Its Tail The ouroboros serpent encircling vessels or cosmic symbols; the cyclical nature of the work, the end contained in the beginning.
3. The Seven Planetary Operations A sequence or composite showing the seven metals/planets being worked; Saturn through Sun, each stage corresponding to a specific operation and color.
4. The Philosopher's Stone in Glory The stone displayed radiating light, often in a monstrance-like setting or held aloft; the final manifestation of the medicine, capable of transmutation and healing.

On the left in the first place next to the Old or Ancient initiator we see the Sun King sitting on a Lion while down inside the cave a sulfurous dragon sends his fire from the dronic breath. On the other side Queen Moon over a dolphin and moonbird entering Earth. Near to the Elder the young=initiated. Universal Matter symbolized by the tree of metals=7 metals and in the last roots=Sun and Moon. Other metals are represented as Stars. We have there the symbolism of the Elements and the Earth symbolizing man and Lion. Fire is the dragon its symbol. Water = The Sea. The dolphin, the moon woman and the bird=Air. The 7 figurines are representative of the colors and operations of the Opus magnum. The crow=mortification next to the skull; the two crows=distillation and the three crows=sublimation. We see the two birds that symbolize the Crown; and the white color end of the initial process of the master's degree. The two birds and the tree=is the regime of Mars, the colors of the rainbow; the Unicorn and the Rosal=Red Color. And, the child born is the best indication of the end of the Great Work and symbol of the making of the Philosopher's Stone.

• Victor Arturo Cabello-Reyes 

"Until the Earth becomes celestial and terrestrial sky and combines with the earth. Then Magnum Opus will have been consummated." - J. D. Mylius, Philosophia reformata

From Adam McLean

Johann Daniel Mylius, Philosophia reformata..., Frankfurt 1622, has three series of emblems. The first shown here with 28 emblems, is unique to Mylius, the second series is a reworking of the 20 emblems of the Rosarium philosophorum sequence, and the third is a re-engraved version of the Azoth series of Basil Valentine (13 images).

Emblem 1.

In a deep valley between two mountains, a naked woman with a Moon head stands nursing a solar headed child at her breast. Her body is enveloped in the globe of the Earth, and she stands with her feet immersed in a lake or channel of water that runs between the two mountains. On top of the leftmost mountain a salamander stands in a blazing fire, while on the top of the rightmost hill, is a birds nest. On bird sits on the nest while the other is about to fly off into the air.

Emblem 2.

Four woman or goddesses stand balancing upon spheres which bear the symbols of the four Elements - from left to right Earth, Water, Air and Fire. They balance upon their heads flaming flasks. Inside each of these flasks a symbol is seen - from left to right , a dark man, a seed sprouting(?), a bird with wings outstretched as if about to fly off, and a lion's head. Each of these women stand with hands upon their hips except for the woman-goddess upon the Water globe with the seed flask on her head, for she is pointing with her left hand to the earth below.

Emblem 3.

Upon a radiant globe of light figures of the Sun and Moon are seated back-to-back, the Sun on the left. The Sun-headed figure holds out in his right hand a double flask, in the upper part of which is a king with sceptre, while in the lower is a black bird (a crow or raven). The Moon-headed woman holds out a double flask in her left hand, the topmost sphere of which contains a white swan, while the lower has a peacock. She points to this lower sphere with her right forefinger. Within the radiant sphere of light is a three headed snake. To the left is a stump of a tree which is regenerating showing forth a few new leaves, while to the right is a fully mature tree.

Emblem 4.

Within a cavern in the side of a mound or hill a winged dragon lives in a blaze of fire and flames. On the right a bearded philosopher stands and points to the dragon, while to the left an armoured knight Is about to shoot an arrow at the dragon with his bow. On the hill above a Lion lies, and seven plants grow out of the hill.

Emblem 5.

Calcination. On the left an alchemist bearing tongs attends a square furnace from the top of which flames and smoke emerge. On the right below a window a Sun-headed man and a Moon-headed woman sit at a table flanking an old bearded man with wings, whose hands are raised seemingly in blessing. On the table two flowers possibly roses grow out of a triangular crucible. In the foreground in front of the table A lion is in the act of devouring a snake.

Emblem 6.

Solutio. On the right, a man naked except for a lonincloth stands in a nimbus of flaming fire pointing with both hands to a receiving flask set into the side of a large square furnace. On the left a lion is in act of devouring a sun disc in the air. In the centre a woman stands, holding up in her left hand a plant with seven roses, while she points to the ground below the lion with her right forefinger.

Emblem 7.

Separation. A winged Hermes or Mercury stands upon a pair of wings, between the Sun disc on the left and Moon disc on the left. In each hand he holds a caduceus. On the left is an armed warrior or knight with sword and shield (probably a Mars figure). On the right is a female figure holding a bird in her left hand - a hawk or eagle. She points to the earth with her right hand and is probably a Diana-Moon figure.

Emblem 8.

Conjunction. Under a heavy shower of rain falling from a layer of cloud under a rainbow, arching between Sun and Moon, a couple are being married by another man, their hands being linked together. On the right a man with a trident (possibly a Neptune figure) walks away from this scene looking backwards at the couple. On the left is a circular furnace, on the top of which two male heads are fused together to form a double spout with two collecting flasks. This double-faced form emits flames from the top of its head.

Emblem 9.

Putrefaction. On top of a flaming black globe stands a skeleton, which holds a black crow in its right hand. On each side of this is a winged angel, both of which point to the black globe. In the heavens above, on the left is the Sun and on the right the Moon. In the lower foreground is a regenerating tree stump.

Emblem 10.

Four Grades (of Fire). Four women with solar heads sit at a table. In the sky above are two winds blowing towards four flaming flasks set above the zodiac with its signs. Three of the woman seated at the table point to their heads. In front of them on the table are the symbols of Aries the Ram, Scorpio the Scorpion and Libra the Scales. The other woman points to her symbol Capricorn the Goat.

Emblem 11.

Congelation. On the left stand three figures - a mature king, a young man, and an old winged man. The old man points to the ground, the young man gestures upwards, while the king seems to point to the right, where an alchemist works at a furnace, tending the fire. On top of the furnace is a long necked flask within which is a small serpent or snake.

Emblem 12.

Cibation. Three birds sit upon a flaming downward pointing triangle. In the left top vertex of this triangle is the Sun, in the right top vertex, the Moon, while at the bottom vertex is a woman in a nimbus of fire nursing her child and seated on a crescent moon. At the centre of the triangle is a winged dragon.

Emblem 13.

Sublimation. On the left, a king holds a sceptre in his left hand and a phoenix bird rising from its fiery pyre in his right hand. On the right, a queen stands holding a swan in her right hand and pointing with her left to a square built furnace in the foreground, on top of which is a threefold flask. On the left of this furnace is a flaming triangular crucible, beside which a dragon emerges from a cave in the earth. On the right of the furnace is a plant with three flowers, one a Sun, one a Moon and the other a Star, which an old man with a scythe is about to cut down (possibly a Saturn-Chronos figure). On the right is a tree with five Sun fruits in its branches.

Emblem 14.

Fermentation. A man scatters seed upon a furrowed field with his right hand. On the ground lie a Sun-headed figure and a Moon-headed figure, their feet pointing in opposite directions. From the right a winged angel flows upon trumpet and caries a sceptre over her left shoulder.

Emblem 15.

Exaltation. On a raised platform with five steps a King and Queen are seated between a tree with Sun, Moon and five stars of the planets The King holds a sceptre in his right hand and gestures to the Queen, who points with her left hand to a strange double-bodied lion with fused head which stands at the bottom of the steps, its mouth disgorging a stream of liquid. Six other lions stand on the steps to the left and there are a further six lions on the steps on the right.

Emblem 16.

Multiplication. A Queen rides upon a lioness, which is nourishing four lions cubs at its breast. The Queen holds up in her left hand a disc within which a pelican is seen nourishing its young on its own blood.

Emblem 17.

A woman with five stars of the planets around her head, and accompanied by the Sun and the Moon walks across a sea or lake. The Suin points to his head with his left hand, while the Moon points to the water below with her right. From the four corners, four winds blow in towards the centre.

Emblem 18.

In a cave under a hill are the Gods of the seven planets. In the front the Moon, Sun and Venus are seated, while behind them Jupiter, Mars Saturn and Mercury stand on four low mounds. At the feet of the Gods are the symbols of the Zodiacal signs they rule. At each corner is a sphere of fire.

Emblem 19.

Within a circle of stars a man on the left stands on a Sun, while on the right a woman stands on a Moon. Together they support an Earth globe within which is a triangle, within that a square, and inside that a circle. The Sun and Moon shine down from the corners outside the circle of stars, and the Moon at the woman's feet, and the Sun at the man's feet each casts a shadow.

Emblem 20.

A winged old man sits warming himself in front of a fire. At his feet a Sun-headed boy and a moon-headed girl child play.

Emblem 21.

A winged old man standing beside a forest is approached by a woman running from a wild dog or wolf

Emblem 22.

Two women are washing clothes. Water is being heated on a furnace and poured into a large wooden tub. Theres are seven vessels in all in in this emblem.

Emblem 23.

A crowned lion and a winged crowned lioness are fighting for supremacy.

Emblem 24.

A King stands on the left holding a sceptre in his right hand, while a woman stands on the right holding a three blossomed lily branch in her right hand. In the air between them are two black birds or crows, the lower one upside down and the higher upright. Beside the King is a regenerating tree stump.

Emblem 25.

An old man leans on a large cubic stone or square built furnace, inside of which two flasks are joined at their necks. A bird is seen inside of each flask.

Emblem 26.

Hermes-Mercury stands on the left with his caduceus in his right hand, beside a large furnace, on top of which three long necked flasks are placed. On the right a Lion rampant stands beside the furnace.

Emblem 27.

A warrior with sword and shield, perhaps a Mars figure, stands on the left and beholds a woman nursing her child at her breast, behind which is a cornfield of ripe grain. A male and a female child play around her skirts, the boy holds out a fruit to her, perhaps an apple.

Emblem 28.

A woman sits at a table which is covered in coins. Three poor people approach her holding out begging bowls.

Opus Medico-Chymicum

Above, the macrocosmic and celestial world, the sacred Hebrew "יהוה"-Τετραɣράμματον [tetragrammaton] with its 4 Letters YHWH, the Name of God, surrounded by his angels. The zodiacal world (circle of 12 signs) and planetary and below the terrestrial world, in the center of is the 'Garden of the Alchemist' with 7 metals and planets. 3 Principles and symbols of tartar, nitre, orpiment, ammoniac salt, green-gray and others. Three fundamental symbols = Tetragrammaton, Lamb and Dove. Father-Son-Holy Spirit. On the left a Man embodying the solar symbols and masculine principles. Man = day and on his chest the Sun-Moon, in his sex-solar symbol. He has one foot on the stars and the other on a wing of the Phoenix. His right hand is the solar disk. The Lion next to him also has one paw on the stars and another on the wing of the Phoenix. Woman The Moon = is a symbol of the sophic mercury and feminine principle; the woman is on the "hermetic current" and in front of it the figure of the Deer = (12 stars on its horns) and a clover. He has one foot in the "mercurial current" and the other on an eagle's wing. Man symbolizes the sun = (sophic Sulphur) and masculine Principle and we see his left hand "tied" to the cosmos by a silver chain. The woman in her right hand has a bouquet of grapes= (lunar fertility). Both principles = Sun and Moon are representative of the alchemical operations that are "bound with chains to the macrocosm". The streams of water and fountains is the representation of the ''Hermetic Current'' and symbol of the Sophic Mercury. Below the figures there are 2 balloons per figure: Phoenix = fire and air and Eagle = water and earth.

Macrocosm is the celestial world. Below in the center the double Lion; the fire on one side and the mercurial fountain on the other. The alchemist holds in his hands two axes to split the trees impregnated with substances favorable to the Great Work. The two bodies of lions are 2 sulfurs and can also be represent the 'prima materia' of the Philosophers' Stone, since it comes from the double mercury... which is 'Totally Leonine'. 5 emblematic birds of the Alchemical Process that are = Black crow, White Swan, half dragon and bird, Pelican and the Phoenix. Three sulphurs = Fixum sulphur, Sulphur Aetheorum and Sulphur combustible. Sal Elementorum, Sal Central and Sal terrenum and finally the three Mercury's = Mercury Philosophorum, Mercurius Corporeum and Mercurius Vulgaris. In the center are ternary symbols or mercurial triangles with the Seal of Solomon.

Basilica Philosophical

Basilica Philosophical (Portico of Philosophy by John Daniel Mylius, Frankfurt, 1618)