Basilisk

The priest studied him for a moment with the basilisk stare of an icon. My brother was about as far from a saint as it is possible to be, Filippo. He lived for lechery and debauch. He loved only his own carnal pleasure. ... 

The names given to this mystical something were as many as the properties which were assigned to it. It was called the one thing, the essence, the philosopher s stone, the stone of wisdom, the heavenly balm, the divine water, the virgin water, the carbuncle of the sun, the old dragon, the lion, the basilisk, the phcenix, and many other names were given to it. 

Never heard of him. Missier Grande s basilisk stare dared me to call him a liar. I didn t. Just between us two,sier Alfeo, who do you think your master is going to accuse ... 

Soon after its memorable account of basilisks and women, the De natura rerum arrives at a lengthy description of the homunculus and its mode of generation. Coming on the heels of the basilisk, which was made by a sort of artificial parthenogenesis, the homunculus seems to be its masculine twin. Just as the basilisk embodied the quintessence of feminine impurity, so the homunculus, created without any feminine matter, will serve as a magnification of the intellectual and heroic virtues of masculinity. But first let us relate its mode of production ... 

This interpretation fits well with alchemical symbolism, in which the basilisk represented the prima materia. Containing the basilisk/prima materia is essential for transformation in other words, the passions must be restrained for psychological transformation to begin. 

The basilisk, then, can be seen as the shadow side of Alexander his rational and strategic abilities were used in the service of his greed for experience and need for power. In the painting, the basilisk contained is separated from Alexander by the great divide of a wide and rapidly flowing river. 

FIGURE 13 Alexander the Great as Conqueror. (Harley 3469, by permission of the British Library) A. Bas-relief at the base of Plate 1-4, center. B. Detail, showing the basilisk. 

Jung also referred to the pre-Christian origins of this symbolism, pointing out that a three-headed Hermes (Mercury) was worshipped in Arcadia. In Plate 1-4, we encountered the basilisk, which in some versions has three heads. 

Lobanov-Rostovsky, Sergei. Taming the Basilisk. In The Body in Parts Fantasies of Corporeality in Early Modern Europe. Edited by David Hillman and Carla Mazzio, 195-217. New York and London Routledge, 1997-... 

Transmutation of base metals into silver or gold is ultimately achieved through projection —an unexplainable process that could occur at a distance— the red tincture projected from the heart of the red king (the red stone) onto his subjects, who personify the base metals. The basilisk (or cockatrice) (Figure 54) is a serpent of Roman mythology. Some versions have it hatched by a serpent from an egg laid by a cock. Others view it as a poisonous mixture of cock and... 

Clearly, it is a symbol for alchemical projection at a distance. Come to think of it, our newly named Plastique Monstresque film genre affords us a 400-foot-tall basilisk called Godzilla whose breath vaporizes air force jets and army tanks hundreds of meters away. 

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