Speculum Veritatis summarized this concepts in its first picture. And Canseliet captions it in this way: “ The union of two aries”. As a matter of fact in latin languages, aries is the same as ram. But the hermetic use of this symbol dates back to “ cabalistic” or green language ancient egyptian attitude. In fact egyptian name for ram and Soul, our Sulphur, sounded alike: Khnum. Indeed Cabalist language cryptic code is moreover a phonetic one.
Now we are ready to read that excerpt from Michael Maier “Subtilis Allegoria Super Secreta Chymia Authore Michaelis Mejeri” taken from Musaeum Hermeticum Amplificatum et Reformatum, 1677. Or “A Subtle Allegory concerning the Secrets of Alchemy very useful to posses and pleasant to read”, as A.E.Waite summarized in his translation of“ HermeticMuseum”,1893.
In this treatise Michael Maier describes important covered alchemical phases through a fictive journey accompanied with right times or Signatures or Sun Path.
Title Europe: Earth. “I left my native town on the day of the vernal equinox (Spring Equinox), when the Moon and Sun were both in the sign of Aries, with the intention of first traveling through Europe, and to enquire everywhere after the Phoenix”. ButWaite fails to translate a: “circa caput draconis, ut vocant astronomi constituta” or about the time when Caput Draconis or Head of Dragon, as astronomers call it, will be. It goes without saying that renaissance period astronomers were astrologers as well.
A christian cultured person may call to mind that in Spring time there is a resurrection, a new body, a supreme fixation or calcination if you like, as europe-earth give us a synonym for and as a sidenote points out: “Europa terra assimilatur” or Europe is assimilated to earth. What horned animals are for. And what’s more animal than Sun Path on ecliptic and its Sun beams gathered from reflecting Moon? A new life is being born through this ultimate fixation or Fire Proof. A Phoenix is the utimate product of Solve et Coagula. Perfect Red Sulphur is achieved, forever. You can see a Phoenix picture enlarging the coloured Abraham the Jew Molinier
Do not confuse here with the Limojon de Saint Didier aka Alexandre Toussaint famed engraving. In fact he actually represents alchemical labors of Hercules starting in Taurus, while Michael Maier means a final achievement in Aries. Limojon is painting mass disgregation while Maier a new body.
My final opinion is that Hortulus Hermeticus 39 might put on displays a secret information about External Influences or Signatures. This time on “Cosmos” (1) or middle note. Sun goat may be astronomical Sun, shorter than Moon goat since Sun beams are gathered from reflecting Moon. As a matter of fact, in Cosmos, alchemists did only check for Sun-Moon aspects.
Latin epigram poetic structure and poor printing, in Bibliotheca Chemica-Curiosa tome 2 page 898, causes it to be very difficult to translate and consequently does not provide a real help, but for a comparison between Goat Moon and Apollo/Sun.My translation cannot but being interpretative: ” Beef Apis of Egypt provided plenty of symbols to feed, when Isis and Osiris were celebrated. Similarly you goat (2) Moon or (3) perfect Apollo will bring help …..(4)”
- See Thesaurus Hermeticum & Dry Pythagorean River ;
- Caprum sounds a male term and is nonexistent. Capra,ae or goat is feminine indeed;
- Vel means or, either, like. Apollo is here in ablative;
- Not readable;