Unlocking the Secrets of Alchemy: 7 High-Resolution Engravings

Alchemy is a language of transformation, written in symbols, visions, and sacred art. These engravings are not just historical curiosities, they are living diagrams of the human soul’s journey. I’ve restored seven of my personal favorite alchemical images into high-resolution 5x7 framed prints, each one a window into the invisible world the alchemists spent their lives decoding.

Spiegel der Kunst und Natur in Alchymia (1663)

The Spiegel der Kunst und Natur in Alchymia, or Mirror of Art and Nature in Alchemy, is one of the most important compilations of early modern alchemical philosophy. Published in Augsburg in 1663, it represents an attempt to reconcile human art with the divine workings of nature, a “mirror” that reflects both the visible and invisible worlds. The engravings in this text, including Raphael Custos’s Conjunction, are more than illustrations: they are living diagrams of the alchemical process, meant to guide the reader through transformation on both the material and spiritual levels.

The title itself is crucial. In alchemy, mirrors symbolize reflection, self-knowledge, and the perception of hidden truths. By calling the book a “mirror,” Michelspacher framed alchemy not just as chemistry or proto-science, but as a path of self-realization, where the alchemist’s inner world is reflected in the outer experiments. The “Art” is the human craft, laboratory procedures, calculations, the skill of the hand. The “Nature” is divine creation, the eternal cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. Alchemy, then, is the marriage of these two forces, and the book positions itself as a key to that union.

Philosophically, this work emphasizes the doctrine that the microcosm (human being) is a reflection of the macrocosm (the universe). The engravings are saturated with astrological symbols, elemental diagrams, and allegorical figures. Each pointing to the truth that transformation of metals mirrors the transformation of the soul. To “read” this book properly was to engage in meditation, contemplation, and spiritual labor, not merely to scan text.

The Astrologer (1624 Print)

This mysterious engraving, often called The Astrologer, presents a solitary figure pointing toward a great celestial fire in which the Sun and Moon appear suspended together. At first glance, it may appear to be a simple astronomical study, but in alchemical symbolism, this image holds far deeper meaning. The unification of the Sun and Moon within the fire represents the central mystery of the Great Work: the marriage of opposites. The Sun, radiant and masculine, is the symbol of gold, spirit, and consciousness; the Moon, reflective and feminine, is silver, matter, and the unconscious. To see them together in the furnace of transformation is to witness the coniunctio oppositorum, the sacred union that gives birth to the Philosopher’s Stone.

The astrologer himself, robed, contemplative, and gesturing toward this fiery mystery, embodies the archetype of the guide or hierophant. Some scholars have suggested that this figure is none other than Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary sage of Hermetic philosophy. Hermes, whose wisdom bridged the Greek, Egyptian, and later alchemical traditions, was believed to be the revealer of the Emerald Tablet, the very text that proclaims, “As above, so below.” If this interpretation is true, the engraving becomes more than a scene of stargazing; it is a vision of Hermes himself pointing initiates toward the cosmic fire where matter and spirit are reconciled.

The Sun and Moon in the flame also echo the alchemical furnace, the fiery vessel in which metals, essences, and souls are purified. By placing these celestial bodies in the fire, the artist communicates that true transformation requires the burning together of opposites, the willingness to let both reason and intuition, the conscious and the unconscious, dissolve into one greater light. It is not the fire of destruction but of transmutation, where even the most irreconcilable forces can merge into wholeness.

Thus, The Astrologer is not only a meditation on the heavens but a call to inner work. The image reminds the viewer that to truly understand the stars, one must also master the fire within, the alchemical blaze where the Sun and Moon, gold and silver, spirit and body, are united in the eternal dance of transformation.

The Alchemical Dragons (Robert Vaughan, 1652, after Harley 2407)

In this engraving, two dragons writhe together in combat, their coils locked in a deadly yet sacred embrace. Unlike the benign or benevolent dragons of later myth, these creatures embody the raw and terrifying forces of nature, the prima materia itself. That they are drawn upon the Earth circle is no accident: the Earth, in alchemical cosmology, is the base plane, the realm of the prima materia, the “first matter” from which all things must arise. To depict the dragons within this circle is to remind the adept that transformation must begin at the lowest point, in the dense, chaotic matter of both body and soul.

The two dragons are not merely beasts but polarities: sulfur and mercury, fixed and volatile, masculine and feminine, solar and lunar. Their vicious struggle represents the friction of opposites, for in alchemy no creation is possible without destruction, no refinement without dissolution. This is why they are depicted devouring one another, each consuming the Sun, the Moon, the symbol of the completed Work. To eat the Sun is to participate in the mystery of transmutation, to absorb its light and be changed by it. Yet because each dragon seeks to devour the Sun for itself, the struggle is eternal until balance is achieved.

This cannibalistic imagery mirrors the alchemical axiom solve et coagula, dissolve and recombine. The dragons consume and destroy, only to give rise to something higher. Their fight is not futile chaos but the necessary churning of energies that will eventually stabilize into the Philosopher’s Stone. Spiritually, they embody the shadow and the light of the self, each trying to dominate, each refusing to yield. The alchemist’s task is to stand in the center of this struggle, mediating the opposites so that neither destroys the other, but together they birth a unified whole.

The engraving radiates a raw, primordial energy, a reminder that the path of alchemy is never clean or tame. Creation begins in chaos, and only by confronting the dragons within the Earth-circle of our own being, only by witnessing them devour and dissolve, can one rise with the Sun reborn inside.

The Hand of Philosophy (1667)

Among the most iconic alchemical images, The Hand of Philosophy presents a symbolic diagram of the entire Great Work condensed into the human hand. Originally appearing in Isaac Hollandus’s Die Hand der Philosophen and later republished in 1667, this engraving became a visual teaching tool for initiates who were learning to read the language of alchemy. Unlike cryptic texts or abstract diagrams, the human hand offered a familiar, living canvas, something each person carried with them, making the mysteries more accessible.

Each finger represents a stage of transformation and is linked to planetary metals: Saturn/Lead, Jupiter/Tin, Mars/Iron, Venus/Copper, Mercury/Quicksilver, the Sun/Gold, and the Moon/Silver. Together, they chart the cyclical process of corruption, purification, and exaltation that the alchemist sought in both laboratory and soul. The palm, often inscribed with symbols of the four elements, becomes the center — the prima materia, or first matter, from which all things arise and to which all things return.

The “hand” was also an initiatory metaphor. To grasp the secrets of nature, one had to use not only the intellect but also practice, discipline, and direct experience — quite literally, the work of the hands. This is why the image was sometimes called “the manual of philosophy”: philosophy not as abstract speculation, but as embodied craft. By studying this diagram, adepts were reminded that wisdom is not just thought but action, not just reading but doing.

In spiritual terms, the Hand of Philosophy expresses the unity of opposites and the cooperation of cosmic forces. The planets at the fingertips guide the alchemist through the harmonization of inner archetypes, wrath and love, reason and instinct, matter and spirit. Holding this engraving today is like holding a symbolic compass, pointing to the eternal truth that the path of transformation is always, quite literally, at hand.

Wheels Within Wheels: The Flammarion Engraving (ca. 1888)

Few images are as instantly recognizable in esoteric and alchemical circles as the Flammarion Engraving. Though first published in Camille Flammarion’s L’Atmosphère: Météorologie Populaire in 1888, its roots and symbolism reach far deeper than a simple scientific illustration. The engraving shows a cloaked traveler kneeling at the edge of the world, where the dome of the heavens meets the Earth. With curiosity and daring, he pushes his head and arm beyond the celestial veil — peering into a hidden realm of wheels, fires, and cosmic machinery.

On the surface, it appears to be a fantastical rendering of cosmology: the Earth as a flat disc, capped by the starry firmament, beyond which lies the mysterious order of the spheres. But symbolically, the scene is much more than astronomy. The traveler represents the initiate, the seeker of wisdom, who dares to go past ordinary appearances to discover the invisible forces that govern reality. His gesture, reaching through the veil of the stars, is the very act of alchemy itself: the penetration of surface forms to grasp the hidden unity beneath.

The “wheels within wheels” beyond the heavens resonate with Hermetic and alchemical cosmology. The alchemists believed the visible world was only a reflection of deeper, unseen structures, spheres of fire, ether, and celestial influences that shaped material reality. By depicting the heavens as a kind of living machinery, the engraving conveys the same truth as the Emerald Tablet: “That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below.” The initiate’s curiosity bridges these two realms, showing that discovery comes through both observation and direct visionary experience.

Though created in the 19th century, long after the flowering of Renaissance alchemy, the Flammarion Engraving is often called “alchemical art” because it embodies the spirit of the Work: the search for hidden truth, the union of science and mysticism, the belief that reality is layered with symbolic meaning. Alchemists worked with furnaces and flasks, but their true task was always to pierce the veil of matter and reveal the eternal laws beneath. This image captures that moment perfectly, the bold seeker pushing past appearances to glimpse the divine order of the cosmos.

What makes the Flammarion Engraving timeless is its universality. It does not only belong to scientists, mystics, or philosophers, it speaks to anyone who has ever felt the edge of the known and longed to see what lies beyond. That is why it continues to be embraced in alchemical, occult, and psychedelic circles alike: it is the perfect metaphor for breaking through, for lifting the veil, for stepping into the invisible world that is always waiting just beyond our reach.

Rosarium Philosophorum: Integration of Anima and Animus

One of the most profound images in the Rosarium Philosophorum is the “alchemical wedding,” where the divine feminine and divine masculine are shown uniting in embrace. At first glance, it appears as an intimate scene, yet to the alchemist it is a sacred drama of transformation. The figures are not two ordinary lovers but archetypal forces, the Sun and Moon, King and Queen, sulfur and mercury, animus and anima. Their embrace symbolizes the coniunctio, the sacred marriage in which opposites dissolve into one another to create something new and eternal.

Above them hovers a bird, often depicted as a dove or phoenix, descending with wings outstretched. This bird is the Spiritus Mercurius, the spiritual essence that mediates between heaven and earth, between body and soul. It is both Holy Spirit and alchemical mercury: subtle, transformative, and immortal. Its descent signals that this union is not merely physical or psychological but divine, overseen and sanctified by the higher realms. In many versions of the engraving, the bird carries a halo or emanation of light, reminding the viewer that the alchemical wedding is the gateway to illumination.

The Latin inscriptions woven into the image reinforce this truth. They often proclaim phrases such as “Et sic unus erit ex duobus” “And thus one shall be made from two.” This motto is central to both alchemy and mysticism, echoing not only Hermetic philosophy but also Gnostic and Christian mysticism, where the return to unity with the divine is the goal of all spiritual labor. By merging the masculine and feminine principles, the adept is not merely balancing opposites but returning to the original wholeness of creation, the androgynous state before the fall into division.

In Jungian psychology, this image was deeply influential. Jung saw the Rosarium’s alchemical wedding as a map of individuation, where the conscious (masculine/solar) and unconscious (feminine/lunar) finally unite. The bird above them represented the “Self,” the higher totality that emerges when the opposites are reconciled. To Jung, this image captured the most essential psychological truth: that wholeness requires not the rejection of opposites but their loving embrace.

Thus, the Rosarium Philosophorum’s alchemical wedding is more than an emblem, it is a universal teaching. Whether read through the lens of alchemy, mysticism, or psychology, the message remains: to achieve the Philosopher’s Stone, to find wholeness, illumination, and rebirth, one must first embrace the dance of duality and allow it to be transformed into unity under the wings of spirit.

The Emerald Tablet (Illustration, Heinrich Khunrath)

Few works in the history of alchemy carry as much weight and mystery as the Tabula Smaragdina, or Emerald Tablet, attributed to the mythical sage Hermes Trismegistus. Heinrich Khunrath’s illustration captures its legendary aura, surrounding the tablet with dense symbolism and veiled Latin text. In my version, I have translated the Latin inscriptions into English so that modern readers can access what was once hidden to all but initiates. This translation opens the doorway for everyone to experience the text as it was intended: a set of cryptic instructions for spiritual and material transmutation.

The Emerald Tablet is famous for lines like “That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.” These words express the principle of correspondence, a cornerstone of both alchemy and Hermeticism. The artwork frames these ideas visually, placing the Tablet at the center as both a cosmic law and a practical guide. In Khunrath’s engraving, rays of divine light descend onto the Tablet, signifying revelation, the truth that the microcosm of man reflects the macrocosm of the heavens.

The meaning of this artwork lies in its portrayal of the Tablet as more than words on stone. It becomes a living bridge between realms: the Earth circle and prima materia at the bottom, the celestial heavens at the top, and the Tablet itself mediating between them. The alchemist’s task was to read these words not literally but symbolically, uncovering in their layered poetry the recipe for the Great Work. “Separate the subtle from the gross, gently and with great ingenuity,” the Tablet instructs, a teaching that applies as much to the purification of the soul as to the refinement of metals.

For centuries, the Emerald Tablet was treated as a kind of divine riddle. Every alchemist from medieval Europe to the Islamic Golden Age sought to decode its meaning, interpreting the phrases as formulas for distillation, sublimation, or inner mystical ascent. By placing it within richly illustrated engravings like Khunrath’s, the text gained not only authority but also an aura of sacredness. Seeing it surrounded by symbols reminded the viewer that these words were not mere philosophy, but living instructions to be enacted in both laboratory and spirit.

By offering the translated text alongside the image, we remove the barrier of language and allow modern seekers to encounter the Tablet directly, just as the adepts once did. The enduring power of this artwork lies in its universality: whether you are a mystic, a psychonaut, or a student of history, the Emerald Tablet continues to whisper the same message across the centuries, that the secret of the universe is written within, and the Great Work is the unveiling of what was always hidden.

🖼Bringing the Work Into Your Space🖼

These seven engravings are not only historical treasures, they are gateways into the philosophy, psychology, and spirituality of alchemy. Restored into high-resolution 5x7 framed prints, they are small enough for a desk or altar, yet powerful enough to inspire meditation, conversation, and study.

By surrounding yourself with these symbols, you’re not just collecting art, you’re participating in a lineage of seekers, philosophers, and visionaries who used these very images to map the journey of transformation.

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

www.stonedalchemist.com/category/artwork