Daniel Stolcius von Stolcenberg - Viridarium Chymicum

Daniel Stolcius von Stolcenberg - Viridarium Chymicum (1624)

Daniel Stolcius von Stolcenberg (also spelled Stoltzius, 1600-after 1624) was a Bohemian alchemist and physician who produced Viridarium Chymicum (The Chymical Garden) in 1624. This work contains 107 emblems organized into distinct series, making it one of the most extensive alchemical emblem collections. Each emblem combines an engraved image with Latin epigrams (usually four-line verses).

The emblems are organized thematically rather than as a single linear sequence. What follows covers the major thematic sections and representative emblems from each.

Thematic Organization Summary

Stolcius organized his 107 emblems not as a linear process but as a comprehensive symbolic vocabulary covering:

• Historical-Pedagogical: Honoring past masters and their contributions
• Zoological: Animal symbolism for principles and operations
• Botanical: Growth metaphors for the vegetative stone
• Metallurgical: Mining and metalworking as operative instructions
• Anthropological: Human figures for psychological-spiritual dimensions
• Astronomical: Celestial correspondences and timing
• Technical: Apparatus and practical procedures

This allows the reader to approach the work from multiple angles, recognizing the same truths expressed through different symbolic languages.

Viridarium Chymicum represents the mature emblem-book tradition at its most comprehensive. Unlike sequential works like the Rosarium or Twelve Keys, Stolcius provides a complete symbolic encyclopedia allowing the reader to construct understanding through pattern recognition across categories. The work is heavily influenced by Maier's Atalanta Fugiens but is more systematic in organization. Each emblem's epigram is brief, focusing on a single insight rather than elaborate verse. The engravings are clear and well-executed, making the work widely reproduced and influential throughout the 17th century. Stolcius demonstrates deep knowledge of both practical laboratory alchemy and mystical-philosophical interpretations, keeping both dimensions in creative tension.

Structure of Viridarium Chymicum

The work is divided into several "figurae" (figure series), each exploring different aspects of the alchemical process through varied symbolic vocabularies.

Series I: The Philosophers and Their Sayings (Figurae 1-12)

These emblems feature portraits or representations of famous alchemists with their key teachings.

1. Hermes Trismegistus with the Emerald Tablet Hermes holds or gestures toward the Tablet inscribed with "As above, so below." Establishes the foundational hermetic principle of correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm.
2. Maria Prophetissa (Mary the Jewess) with Vessels Maria stands among her inventions—the bain-marie and various distillation apparatus. Honors the foundational female alchemist and the principle of gentle, water-bath heating.
3. Geber with Furnace and Book The Arab alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan tends furnaces while consulting texts. Represents the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical laboratory work.
4. Raymond Lull with Ars Magna Lull surrounded by wheels and combinatorial diagrams. Shows the logical-mathematical approach to understanding elemental combinations.
5. Albertus Magnus in His Study Albert the Great among books, instruments, and specimens. Depicts the scholastic approach to natural philosophy and alchemy.
6. Roger Bacon with Optical Instruments Bacon examining light through lenses and prisms. Represents experimental method and the study of light as key to transformation.

Series II: Animal Symbolism (Figurae 13-30)

Emblems using creatures to depict alchemical principles and operations.

1. The Green Lion Devouring the Sun A green lion tears into and consumes a solar disk. Vitriol (green lion) dissolving gold, freeing the solar seed for regeneration.
2. The Red Lion (Leo Ruber) A red lion stands triumphant, often crowned. The perfected red sulphur, the fixed solar principle achieved.
3. The White Eagle and Red Lion An eagle and lion face each other or struggle. Volatile mercury (eagle) and fixed sulphur (lion) in conjunction.
4. The Salamander in Fire A salamander sits unharmed within flames. The principle that survives maximum fire, the incombustible essence of the stone.
5. The Pelican Vulning Itself A pelican feeds its young with blood from its pierced breast. Circulation and cohobation, the stone nourishing itself for multiplication.
6. The Phoenix Rising The phoenix burns and resurrects itself from ashes. The self-regenerating stone, resurrection through voluntary death.
7. The Toad and Eagle A toad (earthbound) and eagle (skybound) shown together. The base prima materia containing the volatile celestial principle.
8. The Dragon Devouring Its Tail The ouroboros in circular form. Unity of beginning and end, the cyclical nature of the work.
9. The Winged and Wingless Dragons Two dragons, one with wings (volatile) and one without (fixed). The dual nature of mercury requiring balance.
10. The Crowned Serpent A serpent wearing a crown, sometimes encircling the stone. Mercury fixed and ennobled, the volatile made royal.

Series III: Botanical and Growth Symbolism (Figurae 31-48)

Emblems featuring trees, plants, and gardens representing the vegetative growth of the stone.

1. The Philosophical Tree A tree with roots in earth, trunk in water, branches in air, bearing solar and lunar fruits. The stone growing from base matter toward perfection through all elements.
2. The Golden Tree (Arbor Aurea) A tree bearing golden fruits or coins. The multiplication of the stone, the philosophical harvest.
3. The Tree of Knowledge (Good and Evil) A tree with dual fruits, serpent coiled, sometimes with Adam and Eve. The dual nature of mercury—poison and medicine in one substance.
4. The Rose Garden White and red roses growing together in an enclosed garden. The white and red works achieved, the double tincture, the hortus conclusus.
5. The Lily Among Thorns A white lily growing surrounded by thorns. The purified white stone emerging from difficulties, the chosen one among many.
6. The Wheat and Chaff Grain being winnowed, separating wheat from chaff. The separation of pure from impure, essential from accidental.
7. The Vine and Wine Grapevines being harvested and pressed for wine. The extraction of spirit from matter, fermentation as transformative process.

Series IV: Mining and Metallic Operations (Figurae 49-62)

Emblems showing extraction, purification, and transformation of metals.

1. Miners Extracting Ore Workers dig in mountains, bringing ore to the surface. The collection of prima materia from mineral sources.
2. The Forge and Anvil Vulcan or smiths working metal with hammer and fire. The forceful separation and shaping through heat and percussion.
3. The Seven Metals as Figures Seven crowned figures representing gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, mercury. The planetary metals in their imperfect states awaiting perfection.
4. The Washing of the Metal Metal being washed in streams or baths. The purification through aqueous dissolution, removal of impurities.
5. The Crucible Test Metal tested in a crucible under intense fire. The trial by fire proving purity, the assay determining true from false.

Series V: Human and Anthropomorphic Figures (Figurae 63-80)

Emblems featuring human forms representing stages and principles.

1. The King in the Bath A crowned king bathes in or emerges from water. The dissolution of solar principle in mercurial waters for purification.
2. The Queen Receiving the King Luna welcomes Sol, sometimes in embrace. The prepared opposites meeting for conjunction.
3. The Sacred Marriage in Bed King and queen unite in a canopied bed or vessel. The coniunctio, the sexual union producing the hermaphrodite.
4. The Hermaphrodite with Two Heads A double-headed figure, one crowned with sun, one with moon. The rebis, the unified consciousness containing both principles.
5. The Corpse in the Coffin A crowned body lies dead in a tomb. The necessary death following conjunction, putrefaction before resurrection.
6. The Resurrection from the Tomb The figure rises glorified from the opened grave. The stone revived, the great work approaching completion.
7. The Red King Enthroned The solar king in full crimson glory on his throne. The perfected red sulphur, rubedo achieved.
8. The Child Born from the Vessel An infant or crowned child emerges from the philosophical egg. The filius philosophorum, the stone as offspring of the work.

Series VI: Celestial and Cosmic Imagery (Figurae 81-95)

Emblems featuring astronomical, astrological, and cosmic symbols.

1. The Sun and Moon in Conjunction Sol and Luna as celestial bodies meeting or eclipsing. The syzygial union, the alchemical marriage reflected in the heavens.
2. The Seven Planets in Order Saturn through Sun arranged in sequence or hierarchy. The stages of the work corresponding to planetary spheres.
3. The Sphere of the Elements Concentric circles showing earth, water, air, fire, and quinta essentia. The cosmological structure mirrored in the alchemical vessel.
4. The Celestial Dew Descending Rain or dew falling from stars onto earth. The purified volatile descending to revivify the fixed.
5. The Eclipse (Sol Niger) A darkened sun, the black sun. The nigredo at its deepest, the death of light before rebirth.
6. The Zodiacal Circle The twelve signs surrounding the work or stone. The timing and cosmic influences on the operations.

Series VII: Vessels, Apparatus, and Operations (Figurae 96-107)

Emblems showing equipment and practical procedures.

1. The Philosophical Egg on Furnace The sealed ovoid vessel maintained at constant gentle heat. The hermetic container where all transformations occur.
2. The Pelican (Self-Feeding Vessel) The pelican-shaped vessel with circulation tubes. The apparatus for repeated distillation and return of matter to itself.
3. The Athanor (Philosophical Furnace) The self-feeding furnace maintaining constant temperature. The disciplined fire necessary for long digestion.
4. The Distillation Tower A multi-stage alembic with ascending and descending flows. The purification through repeated sublimation.
5. The Bath (Balneum Mariae) Vessels heated gently in water bath. The patient, maternal heating that nurtures without destroying.
6. The Sealed Vessel (Hermetically Sealed) A flask or egg sealed with the hermetic seal. The closed system preventing escape of volatile spirits.
7. The Scales and Weights Balance scales with substances being measured. The precision of proportions necessary for success.
8. The Four Furnaces Different furnace types for different operations. The varying degrees and modes of fire required at each stage.
9. The Projection Crucible The final vessel where the stone transmutes base metal. The proof of completion, the stone in operation.