Please become familiar with this section concerning the Rosarium.
"A picture is worth a Thousand words." The Alchemist created incredibly information-dense imagery. While some decorative accents are present, every major element is allegorical. Male/female imagery transcends gender, "up/down" orientation of images implies theological meaning, and the 'number' of elements links up with divine principles.
The animals portrayed have philosophical intent yet also serve as measurement markers for certain points of Alchemical preparation. For example, the Black Crow alludes to a death of immature ideas and also represents successful completion of a basic Alchemical process where an essential substance properly heated turns black.
When considering the relative literacy of the era, these images convey an incredibly rich source of learning to all that understand the metaphors, regardless of personal literacy or Mother Tongue.
This 'illustrates" the comprehensive role of spirituality and the physical world. Further more it helps provide a foundation that will be very helpful when we examine Carl Jung's theories of Collective Unconscious.
This section describes an aspect of Alchemy and is not intended to represent a complete overview.
Any materials contained in this post may be included in any quizzes.