Johann Daniel Mylius - Philosophia Reformata

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