Page 814

[Alexandr Korol]

between cosmic and earthly forces.
There are also many other symbols and images associated with the completion of the philosopher’s stone creation:

1. Alchemical marriage: Often described as the union of the Sun and Moon. This symbol represents the joining of opposites — male and female principles — leading to the creation of the philosopher’s stone. In art, it is depicted as a royal wedding.
2. Green Lion: This symbol is often associated with the philosopher’s mercury and the absorption of the Sun, leading to transformation into gold. It is a metaphor for the transformative process leading to perfection.
3. Dragon: In alchemy, the dragon can symbolize both the raw material from which work begins and the final transformation when it “devours itself ” (Ouroboros) and becomes the philosopher’s stone.
4. Mars’s weapon: The use of weapon symbols often appears in alchemical texts, representing purification through fire and struggle with imperfect matter. It symbolizes power and the metaphorical destruction of the old to create the new.
5. Dethroned King: Symbolizes the destruction of the ego and restructuring of the inner self to achieve truth and enlightenment. This is the stage when the king is “diminished” to become purer and more perfect.
6. Phoenix: This mythical symbol of rebirth represents the dying of the old and the rising of the renewed. In alchemy, the phoenix embodies the transformation of substances and the renewal of the alchemist through knowledge and practice.
7. Hermaphrodite: This symbol encompasses the union of male and female principles in alchemical work, leading to harmonization of opposites and attainment of wholeness in the transformation process.
8. The Sevenfold: In alchemy, the number seven symbolizes the seven stages of the Great Work or the seven metals associated with celestial bodies. They undergo successive transformation stages: calcination, dissolution, coagulation, and others.
9. Ouroboros: Represents the cyclicality of nature and the eternal cycle of birth and destruction. This serpent biting its own tail symbolizes continuity