“Rebis is two things, and these two things are one thing, namely, water joined to a body, by which the body is dissolved into a spirit, that is, mineral water, out of which it was first made; and this body and spirit make up one mineral water, which is called Elixir, that is to say, ferment; for then water and spirit are one thing, of which is composed a tincture and medicine for purging all bodies.” - Anonymous. The Golden Tract Concerning The Stone of the Philosophers
Rebis, literally “two things” is the final product of the alchemical Great Work, the Philosopher’s Stone, personifying the “union of opposites”, compositum de compositis (“Conjunction of compounds”): Male and Female, sulfur and mercury, light and darkness, day and night, Sun and Moon, King and Queen, active and passive, cold and hot qualities, dryness and humidity. After man has passed through the stages of decomposition and purification, separating opposite qualities, these qualities are again united in what is sometimes called the Divine Hermaphrodite or androgyne, the reconciliation of spirit and matter. As an indication of this, Rebis was depicted as a figure with one body and male and female heads, which corresponded to the Sun and Moon or the Red King and White Queen.
Rebis, literally “two things” is the final product of the alchemical Great Work, the Philosopher’s Stone, personifying the “union of opposites”, compositum de compositis (“Conjunction of compounds”): Male and Female, sulfur and mercury, light and darkness, day and night, Sun and Moon, King and Queen, active and passive, cold and hot qualities, dryness and humidity. After man has passed through the stages of decomposition and purification, separating opposite qualities, these qualities are again united in what is sometimes called the Divine Hermaphrodite or androgyne, the reconciliation of spirit and matter. As an indication of this, Rebis was depicted as a figure with one body and male and female heads, which corresponded to the Sun and Moon or the Red King and White Queen.
Union of Opposites
Rebis, literally “two things” the final product of the alchemical Great Work Personifying the “union of opposites”, compositum de compositis (“Conjunction of compounds”): Male and Female, sulfur and mercury, light and darkness, day and night, Sun and Moon, King and Queen, active and passive, cold and hot qualities, dryness and humidity.
After passing through the stages of decomposition and purification, separating opposite qualities, these qualities are again united in the Divine Hermaphrodite or androgyne, the reconciliation of spirit and matter.
Rebis was depicted as a figure with one body and male and female heads, which corresponded to the Sun and Moon or the Red King and White Queen.
EMBLEM XXXVIII. On the Secrets of Nature.
Rebis, like Hermaphroditus, is born from two mountains, Mercury and Venus.
Epigram XXXVIII:
The ancients called Rebis twin-born because in one body are both male and female—an androgynous being.
For from two mountains was Hermaphroditus born,
So is it called, given by Hermes and gracious Venus.
Atalanta fugiens, hoc est Emblemata nova de secretis naturae chymica, by Michel Maier (1568-1622)
The image corresponds to Plate 9 in the series of seven parables within Splendor Solis (Harley MS 3469, British Library), illustrating the stage of conjunction in the alchemical process. This is the rebirth of the unified matter following the prior stages of dissolution and resurrection, symbolised by the emergence of the Rebis (the "twofold thing" or hermaphrodite), representing the perfect union of opposites (Sulphur and Mercury, male and female, Sun and Moon).
"A hermaphrodite, winged, standing on a globe representing the world, with one wing red and the other white, holding in the left hand an egg, and in the right a round mirror or shield. This figure signifies the union of the male and female principles, the rebirth of the matter after putrefaction, and the emergence of the four elements from the perfected substance. United pairs of opposites bring forth the children of nature: earth, water, air, and fire."
- from Splendor Solis
From the 16th-century alchemical masterpiece Splendor Solis: The Rebis, a winged hermaphrodite holding the philosopher's egg and a mirror of truth. This symbol represents the sacred union of opposites—male and female, sun and moon—birthing perfection in the Great Work
Rebis (from Latin res bina, meaning "dual thing" or "twofold matter"), a central symbol in alchemy representing the hermaphrodite or androgyne
Lux lucens in tenebris or Angelus Lucis—the light that appears within darkness The Angel of Light
The figure is androgynous and double-faced - a single being that contains a dual nature within one body This is Mercurius in his perfected or mediating form: neither purely spiritual nor purely material, neither masculine nor feminine, but the reconciler of opposites. The double face indicates simultaneous vision into two worlds, or two stages of the Work at once.
The wings confirm that this is a spiritual or subtle principle rather than a human individual. One wing is red, the other pale or grey. Red corresponds to the rubedo, the stage of completion, incarnation, and life-force. Pale or grey corresponds to the earlier whitening and to the realm of spirit. The figure stands between these conditions rather than exclusively in one.
In the left hand is a circular vessel or disk, often interpreted as a mirror, plate, or shallow bowl. It reflects a landscape. This is not a literal object but a symbol of the world reflected in consciousness. It holds a highly reflective circular shield or mirror, symbolising self-knowledge, clarity, or the reflective nature of the perfected matter.
In the right hand is an egg. This is the Philosophers’ Egg: the sealed vessel of transformation, the womb of the Stone, the microcosm containing all elements in potential. Holding the egg openly means that the Work has progressed beyond chaos and concealment. The operator now knows what the vessel is and how it functions.
The figure stands outdoors, not in a laboratory. This is important. Splendor Solis repeatedly shows that the true Work ultimately unfolds in life itself, not only in glassware.
This image corresponds to the fifth parable in the manuscript's series of seven illustrative parables, illustrating the conjunction stage where opposites merge to form the divine hermaphrodite. It signifies the achievement of harmony, the birth of the philosopher's stone, and the emergence of the four elements from unified matter.
Alchemically, the Rebis embodies the culmination of the Great Work: the reconciliation of polarities leading to wholeness and illumination.
the Hermaphrodite or Rebis—the unified being that emerges after the conjunction of opposites in the alchemical work. It represents the stage following the Chemical Wedding, where Sol and Luna (sulphur and mercury, king and queen, masculine and feminine) have been joined and purified into a single perfected nature. The two heads sharing one body show this is not mere mixture but true union—two consciousnesses or principles integrated while retaining their distinct identities. The Rebis is simultaneously one and two, transcending duality without erasing it. The sphere held at the heart contains the microcosmic world or the Stone in formation—the fruit of the union. This is the philosophical child, the new being that could not exist until the opposites were reconciled. The red and white wings flanking the figure represent the sulphurous (red, active, solar) and mercurial (white, receptive, lunar) streams that have now been embodied. They are no longer separate forces but attendant powers of the unified adept. Their presence suggests this union is both protected and witnessed by angelic intelligence. In the sequence of the Great Work, this follows the blackening (nigredo), whitening (albedo), and yellowing (citrinitas), and precedes or coincides with the reddening (rubedo)—the final stage. The Rebis is the living philosopher's stone before its full manifestation, the integrated self that can now perform the final fixation and multiplication. The practical meaning: the adept has reconciled inner opposites—spirit and body, intellect and intuition, will and surrender—and now operates from wholeness rather than conflict. The two angels are no longer warring but serving. This is the stage where the initiate becomes capable of the Magnum Opus in the outer world because the inner Work has achieved stable synthesis.