SourceBaphomet in Lévi
The composite goat figure used to represent equilibrium and the Absolute.
Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental MagicLoading Lumitheca…
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SourceCaduceus
Mercury’s serpent-entwined rod as an emblem of persuasion and reconciliation.
Historical talisman traditionsSourceCornucopia
The overflowing horn as a sign of provision, abundance, and fortune.
Historical talisman traditions
SourceDante's Living Shadow
The traveller's interruption of sunlight distinguishes him from the surrounding shades.
Dante, Purgatorio
SourceFaust’s threshold pentagram
The incomplete sign that admits Mephistopheles but prevents his departure.
Goethe’s Faust, Part OneSourceFive Bats of Happiness
A Chinese grouped bat motif in the Pavitts’ compilation, bringing wishes for luck, wealth, longevity, health and peace into one emblem.
Historical talisman traditionsSourceJade and Moral Virtue
A valued stone interpreted through both talismanic protection and ethical qualities.
Historical talisman traditions
SourceLingam
Shiva’s sacred emblem, represented in one legend as a pillar whose limits cannot be found.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Sowing Gold in Atalanta Fugiens
Maier’s sixth emblem gives the chymist’s work the form of a sower casting gold over prepared earth.
Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens (1618)SourceTetragram in Lévi
The four-letter divine name interpreted through manifestation and humanity.
Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic
The Falstaff opera poster
The Falstaff design reproduced in The Modern Poster advertises Verdi’s opera through monumental lettering and a reclining figure.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceThe Four Stars above Purgatory
Four unfamiliar lights mark the southern sky at the beginning of the ascent.
Dante, PurgatorioSourceThe sign of the Macrocosm in Faust
The image of universal harmony that proves insufficient for the scholar.
Goethe’s Faust, Part One
The Wind Bearing an Embryo
Maier’s first emblem pictures an infant inside a personified wind, joining the Latin motto to an image of Boreas.
Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens (1618)
SourceTorii
The gateway whose origin and form Davis discusses through competing interpretations.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingShowing 15 of 15 entries