The Language of Birds: Alchemical Symbolism Part 4, The Albedo & Citrinitas Stage
I'd originally wanted to do a separate article for each stage of the alchemical process, but when reviewing the different images that contained symbolism for the Albedo (White) stage, nearly all of them also contained Citrinitas (Yellow) stage symbolism as well. This may be because not all alchemists break up the stages of the Magnum Opus (the alchemical process) in the same way, and often the Citrinitas stage is combined with another.
During the Albedo and Citrinitas stages, the prima materia (the material the alchemist is working with whether it be physical or spiritual) is first split into its essential elements, a step alchemists call Separation, and then brought back together, in a step alchemists call Conjunction. In the case of alchemy, the essential elements are presented as the feminine sun, and the masculine moon. And the Conjunction of the two are represented by copulation.
Before we get into the sexy stuff, there are many other visual symbols related to the two stages you should know about to get the most out of interpreting a picture with alchemical imagery. The Albedo stage is most notably represented by the moon, the queen, the swan, the element water, the goddess Diana, and the metals silver and tin.
The Citrinitas stage is most notably represented by the sun, the king, the element air, the god Hermes, and the metals gold and mercury. When you notice that "Mercury" is the Roman name of the god Hermes, it clues you in to the way alchemists use the names of metals—they don't always refer to the physical objects.
As I mentioned earlier, the Conjunction step is normally represented by masculine and feminine symbols meeting and/or "knowing" each other in the Biblical sense. Sometimes it's represented by a figure that is half-man and half-woman, split down the middle. In spiritual alchemy, this step is about integrating the masculine and feminine energies that each person contains inside of them. And you can see this demonstrated in the the fantastic emblem from Hermetys Alchymia Naturalis, 18th Century, below.
Let's break this emblem down: The masculine and feminine figures are engaged in coupling, the Conjunction step, and their feet are severed, which represents the Separation step. Notice also the sun above and water below.
In the sky you can see an angel rising into the heavens and then falling. This is most certainly a representation of Lucifer, the morning star. While the name "Lucifer" (light-bringer in Latin) has become synonymous with The Devil, that's not always the case in alchemy and many other traditions. The appearance of Lucifer attempting to rise to the heavens suggests that the Philosopher's Stone (the alchemist's goal) in this case is spiritual transcendence as opposed to a physical goal like turning lead into gold. But why then, does the artist show the fall of Lucifer? Is it simply to make the figure known, or is there another message there? The answer to this may be in the objects the bird in the center is holding.
I'm not entirely sure what kind of bird this is, but I'm convinced it's either a black Phoenix or an Eagle. The more likely of the two is a phoenix, and it seems to have fire coming from its feet, so I'm going to go with that for my interpretation. The Phoenix represents the next and final stage of the alchemist's work, the Rubedo stage, when the Philosopher's Stone is achieved. The phoenix is holding a caduceus, which is Hermes' staff. The god Hermes is a symbol of the Cintrinas stage, but he's also a symbol of ascendance; he's able to travel between the worlds of the gods and mortals easily with his winged sandals. In the other talon, the phoenix is holding a globus cruciger, or the orb and cross, which represents Christ's dominion over the earth.
The globus cruciger and the Knight's Templar cross on the ship's sails make it clear, assuming these are not Free Mason references, that this artwork is from a perspective of Christian dominion. This leads me to believe that the Lucifer figure shown in the background is actually meant to be the Christian Satan, and the message is that the achievement of the alchemist's work, in this case spiritual ascendance, comes with an allegiance to Christ (represented by the phoenix holding the globus cruciger), not an individualistic pursuit (represented by the rebel angel's fall).
A quick note on the second bird: with the help of my spouse, I've identified it as a either a black Sultan chicken or a black Silkie chicken. I'm not sure if the breed of the chicken is important, but the egg in alchemy represents all of the natural elements: the shell is the earth, the membrane the air, the white the water, and the gold the sun. Showing the chicken incubating the eggs perhaps is the artist's way of communicating that the alchemist's work takes significant time and resources.
This all is, of course, my personal interpretation using my research of the dream-like symbols in alchemical art. I hope it will inspire you to come up with your own interpretation when you come across a piece like this that particularly excites you.
The next article in the series will be on the Rubedo stage, the final stage in the Magum Opus where the alchemist has achieved the Philosopher's Stone.