The Hieroglyphic Sovereign of the Lapis Philosophorum
This alchemical illumination presents a majestic three-faced kingly figure enthroned upon a sphere that floats above the chaotic primordial waters. The figure, robed in royal purple holds a scepter in one hand and a globus cruciger in the other, signifying his sovereign authority over creation. Encircling him are the nine orders of angels, the sun and moon, and planetary symbols representing the aspects of creation that must be mastered and harmonized in the completion of the Magnum Opus.
Within the lower sphere, a blindfolded figure walks amid a diverse array of animals while an oval philosophical egg rests nearby. He chases the elusive hare which leads to the underground entrance of the Alchemical Mountain.
This composition serves as an emblem of the Philosopher’s Stone as the perfected mediator uniting macrocosm and microcosm. The tricephalic sovereign embodies the Tria Prima (Salt, Sulphur, Mercury) or the triune divine creative principle, governing the alchemical Great Work through harmonious integration of opposites.
The sphere represents the alchemical vessel, the Earth, and the human life itself, where chaotic matter undergoes transformation, with the philosophical egg denoting incubation and rebirth into spiritual perfection.
Celestial elements underscore the Hermetic axiom “as above, so below,” illustrating the celestial influences on terrestrial transmutation and the ultimate reconciliation of spirit and matter under divine kingship, guiding the practitioner toward illumination, attainment of the Stone, and the completion of the Opus.
Image from the manuscript Figurae hieroglyphicae de lapide philosophorum (Mscr.Dresd.N.36), attributed to Edward Kelley and David Beuther.
From the manuscript Figurae hieroglyphicae de lapide philosophorum (Hieroglyphic Figures on the Philosopher’s Stone), preserved as Mscr.Dresd.N.36 in the SLUB Dresden library.
It is a colorful alchemical illumination, likely dating to the 18th century, though it compiles and illustrates material attributed to the 16th-century figures Edward Kelley (also spelled Kelly, 1555–1597/8) and David Beuther (c. 1514–1582).
The manuscript is a Sammelhandschrift (composite manuscript) of alchemical emblems focused on the Lapis Philosophorum (Philosopher’s Stone). These illustrations were meditative and instructional tools, encoding the stages of the Great Work (Magnum Opus) through symbolic imagery rather than literal recipes.