Philosopher s egg

Newman, William Royall. The Philosopher s Egg theory and practice in the alchemy of Roger Bacon. Micrologus 3 (1995) 75-101. 

The Philosopher s Egg Theory and Practice in the Alchemy of Roger Bacon ,... 

Metals, Menstruum, Second Menstruum, Mine, Our Mine, Mine of the Metals, Mercury, Thickened Mercury, Piece of Money, Egg, Philosopher s Egg, Root, Unique Root, Stone known in the Chapters of Books. 

One of the oddest named pieces of equipment was the Philosopher s Egg. It was a retort— that is, a vessel into which substances are distilled—but an espeddly important one. The alchemist hoped that it would eventually contain the substance that constituted the Philosopher s Stone. It could then be said, in the strange allegorical language of alchemy that so often mixed the symbolic and the mundane, that the Stone had hatched from the Egg. 

It was often recorded that as the colors of the peacock s tail appeared in the Philosopher s Egg, a wonderful scent also came forth. 

Equal weights of two substances, one marked with a star and the other with a flower, are combined and sealed in the Philosopher s Egg. The alchemist makes the fire by the most primitive method— presumably the most "nat-ur " way—with a bow drilL The vessel is then placed in the athanor. Sol and Luna link hands to symbolize the amalgamation of the materials, presnmably sopbic mercnry and sophic snlfur. The number 10 appears at tbe feet of each figure, and there is a target beside tbe atbanor. 

Again the substances are weighed, but an important change has taken place the symbol of the flower has been replaced by the symbol of the sun. Again the fire is laboriously made, the Philosopher s Egg placed within the furnace, and Sol and Luna unite, but this time the numbers around their feet show multiplication—apparently the Stone that was activated in plate 10 now increases. 

The ovens stand on the top row. Then the vessel is opened and the material weighed. Symbolic suns are on the stills at either side. At the bottom the alchemist and the soror are shown with the Philosopher s Egg between them. They vow secrecy—and the Great Work is completed... 

Above one of the alchemical symbols from Edward Kelley s book Theater of Terrestrial Alchemy, showing the Philosopher s Egg. 

Below an illustration from a book by Franz Hartmann, one of tbe founding members of the OTO, which shows the traditional Philosopher s Egg with the symbols of the zodiac inside it. 

The operations of the Great Work found their consummation in the hermetically scaled-Vessel known in alchemy under many names, notably as the Vase of Hermes, the Vase of the Philosophers, or the Philosopher s Egg. In shape it resembled a pear rather than an egg but the pear had no alchemical significance, whereas the egg was the symbol of creation or of fertility. Indeed, the Vessel was also regarded as a brooding house or incubator, under the name of the House of the Chick. Among its other names were the House of Glass and the Prison of the King. 

The fifty engravings of Atalanta Fugiens make use of many mythological themes and fancies. A great variety of other alchemical imagery includes representations of the Philosopher s Egg (Fig. to) and the ubiquity of the Stone... 

The heat from the athanor was communicated as needed to the balneum marts (balneum marie or bain marie—hot-water bath) accessory on the right and also to the sand bath accessory on the left in Figure 116a. Both the balneum marts and sand bath accessories had their own furnaces for specialized operations. The athanor itself was commonly used for operations involving a sealed vessel or philosopher s egg. 

As is born at the appointed time, from the union of5w//wrand Mercury of the Wise in the Philosopher s Egg (which the Alchemists still called the Sublimator), the Red Stone , the Chrysoprase is thus born in the Soul of Man, this athanor (or philosophical furnace), whose Heart is the Sublimator (or Philosophical Egg) - Total Illumination, the decisive factor in Reintegration (Fig. 4). 

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