Vulcan of the alchemists
Encyclopedia
Vulcan of the alchemists was the patron deity of alchemy
. It was also known to be a symbol of the hermetic
art.
Despite being important in Egyptian and Greek religion, it was the Renaissance
physician
/alchemist
Paracelsus
who first introduced the mythological figure of Vulcan.
Elsewhere, Paracelus writes:
alchemist Francis Bacon
, however, was skeptical of alchemy's enlistment of the Roman
deity as symbolic of true Alchemical enquiry and exlaimed in The Advancement of Learning (1605):
However, Paracelsian alchemists such as Gerard Dorn, Jan Baptist van Helmont
and Arthur Dee
each acknowledged the Roman god of forge and furnace as symbolic of the art. Van Helmont specifically described alchemy as Vulcan's art, whilst Arthur Dee in his Arca Arcarnum wrote:
The Roman god and Paracelsian deity who was associated with alchemy, was cited no less than three times by Sir Thomas Browne
in The Garden of Cyrus
of 1658, firstly in its opening lines:
Secondly, within the context of Classical Greek myth (in which Vulcan constructs) casts an invisible network in order to ensnare Venus, his wife in flagrante delicto with her lover Mars
. Browne humorously stating:
The Classical myth of Venus and Mars trapped by Vulcan's cunning invention is also a lesser-known example of the "fixing" and union of the opposites in the alchemical opus.
And finally at the very apotheosis of the literary-alchemical opus in which he delivers his three factors for determining truth, namely authority, reason and experience; Vulcan here representing the demi-urge or "higher man" who, not unlike the Gnostics, "Man of Light", uses his craftmanship and skills to aid, enlighten and liberate the Spiritual Man within.
In modern times, the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung
interpreted Vulcan as one who:
The alchemists' adoption of the mythic figure of Vulcan may be interpreted on several levels. At the lowest scale of interpretation, Vulcan represents the cunning amoral demiurge
who blindly gains power over Nature without integrity; this mundane level anticipates the nascent Industrial Revolution
of the 18th century. The activities of the extraction of coal from mines to fuel colossal Furnaces to manufacture Steel and Iron on a gigantic scale and the development of the railroad and steam-train throughout Europe and North America are both decidedly Vulcan-like activities and in many ways, the general "business" of the Protestant work ethic
and industrialised Western society, is strongly reflected in this archetypal figure. At a higher level of interpretation Vulcan is transformed to become an inspired apostle, the visionary capable of releasing Mankind from the bonds of unknowingness and darkness.
The transforming power of Vulcan the "higher man" and anthropos figure of the alchemists has today devolved into the negative aspects of a demi-urge figure; none other than the modern technological man, who, divorced from God, forges his own destiny independent of Religion, Divine Love or theological considerations towards a brave new world or utopia.
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
. It was also known to be a symbol of the hermetic
Hermetic
* Hermeticism, a magical and religious movement stemming from the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus* Hermeticism , a literary movement in poetry started in Italy* Hermetics, the deliberate use of esoteric imagery...
art.
Despite being important in Egyptian and Greek religion, it was the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
/alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
Paracelsus
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
who first introduced the mythological figure of Vulcan.
Paracelsus' Discoveries on Vulcan alchemy
To Paracelsus, Vulcan was synonymous with both the alchemist/physician's manipulation of fire, heating and distilling of nature's properties for medicine, and the transforming power and creative potential locked within Man, the greater invisible Man or anthropos, slumbering within.
Alchemy is an artArtArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and Vulcan (the governor of fire) is the artist in it: 'He who is Vulcan has the power of the art ... All things have been created in an unfinished state, nothing is finished, but Vulcan must bring all things to their completion. Everything is at first created in its prima materia, its original stuff; whereupon Vulcan comes, and develops it into its final substance ... GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
created ironIronIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
but not that which is to be made of it. He enjoined fire, and Vulcan, who is the lord of fire, to do the rest ... From this it follows that iron must be cleansed of its drossDrossDross is a mass of solid impurities floating on a molten metal. It appears usually on the melting of low-melting-point metals or alloys such as tin, lead, zinc or aluminium, or by oxidation of the metal. It can also consist of impurities such as paint leftovers...
before it can be forged. This process is alchemy; its founder is the smith Vulcan. What is accomplished by fire is alchemy-whether in the furnace or in the kitchen stove. And he who governs fire is Vulcan, even if he be a cook or a man who tends the stove.
Elsewhere, Paracelus writes:
Nothing has been created as ultima materia — in its final state. Everything is at first created in its prima materia, its original stuff; whereupon Vulcan comes, and by the art of alchemy develops it into its final substance.
- Alchemy is a necessary, indispensable art ... It is an art, and Vulcan is its artist. He who is a Vulcan has mastered this art; he who is not a Vulcan can make no headway in it.
Other works and discoveries
The ElizabethanElizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
alchemist Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
, however, was skeptical of alchemy's enlistment of the Roman
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
deity as symbolic of true Alchemical enquiry and exlaimed in The Advancement of Learning (1605):
Abandoning Minerva and wisdom they play court to the sooty smith Vulcan and his pots and pans,
However, Paracelsian alchemists such as Gerard Dorn, Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry"...
and Arthur Dee
Arthur Dee
Arthur Dee , the eldest son of Dr John Dee, was a physician and alchemist.He was the eldest son of John Dee, by his second wife, Jane, daughter of Bartholomew Fromond of East Cheam, Surrey, and was born at Mortlake on 13 July 1579. He accompanied his father in travels through Germany, Poland, and...
each acknowledged the Roman god of forge and furnace as symbolic of the art. Van Helmont specifically described alchemy as Vulcan's art, whilst Arthur Dee in his Arca Arcarnum wrote:
Though I am constrained to die and be buried nevertheless Vulcan carefully gives me birth.
The Roman god and Paracelsian deity who was associated with alchemy, was cited no less than three times by Sir Thomas Browne
Thomas Browne
Sir Thomas Browne was an English author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric....
in The Garden of Cyrus
The Garden of Cyrus
The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincunciall Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, naturally, artificially, mystically considered is a Discourse written by Sir Thomas Browne. It was first published in 1658, along with its diptych companion, Urn-Burial...
of 1658, firstly in its opening lines:
That Vulcan gave arows unto ApolloApolloApollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
and Diana according to gentile theologyTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in the work of the fourth day may pass for no blind apprehension of the creation of the Sun and Moon
Secondly, within the context of Classical Greek myth (in which Vulcan constructs) casts an invisible network in order to ensnare Venus, his wife in flagrante delicto with her lover Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. Browne humorously stating:
As for that famous network of Vulcan, which inclosed Mars and VenusVenus (mythology)Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
, and caused that inextinguishable laugh in heaven; since the gods themselves could not discern it, we shall not pry into it.
The Classical myth of Venus and Mars trapped by Vulcan's cunning invention is also a lesser-known example of the "fixing" and union of the opposites in the alchemical opus.
And finally at the very apotheosis of the literary-alchemical opus in which he delivers his three factors for determining truth, namely authority, reason and experience; Vulcan here representing the demi-urge or "higher man" who, not unlike the Gnostics, "Man of Light", uses his craftmanship and skills to aid, enlighten and liberate the Spiritual Man within.
Flat and Flexible truths are beat out by every hammer, but Vulcan and his whole forge sweat to work out Achilles his armour.
In modern times, the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
interpreted Vulcan as one who:
kindles the fiery wheel of the essence in the soul when it 'breaks off' from God; whence come desire and sin, which are the "wrath of God. CW 12 215.
The alchemists' adoption of the mythic figure of Vulcan may be interpreted on several levels. At the lowest scale of interpretation, Vulcan represents the cunning amoral demiurge
Demiurge
The demiurge is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics...
who blindly gains power over Nature without integrity; this mundane level anticipates the nascent Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
of the 18th century. The activities of the extraction of coal from mines to fuel colossal Furnaces to manufacture Steel and Iron on a gigantic scale and the development of the railroad and steam-train throughout Europe and North America are both decidedly Vulcan-like activities and in many ways, the general "business" of the Protestant work ethic
Protestant work ethic
The Protestant work ethic is a concept in sociology, economics and history, attributable to the work of Max Weber...
and industrialised Western society, is strongly reflected in this archetypal figure. At a higher level of interpretation Vulcan is transformed to become an inspired apostle, the visionary capable of releasing Mankind from the bonds of unknowingness and darkness.
The transforming power of Vulcan the "higher man" and anthropos figure of the alchemists has today devolved into the negative aspects of a demi-urge figure; none other than the modern technological man, who, divorced from God, forges his own destiny independent of Religion, Divine Love or theological considerations towards a brave new world or utopia.