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Graduate School ETD Form 9 (Revised 12/07) PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared By Angela C. Ghionea Entitled RECURRING THOUGHT PATTERNS AND RESURFACING ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLS IN EUROPEAN, HELLENISTIC, ARABIC, AND BYZANTINE ALCHEMY FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD Doctor of Philosophy For the degree of Is approved by the final examining committee: James R. Farr Chair Myrdene Anderson Anthony T. Grafton To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Research Integrity and Copyright Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 20), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy on Integrity in Research” and the use of copyrighted material. Approved by Major Professor(s): ____________________________________James R. Farr ____________________________________ Approved by: Douglas R. Hurt 04/16/2013 Head of the Graduate Program Date RECURRING THOUGHT PATTERNS AND RESURFACING ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLS IN EUROPEAN, HELLENISTIC, ARABIC, AND BYZANTINE ALCHEMY FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Angela Catalina Ghionea In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2013 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana UMI Number: 3591220 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3591220 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the Department of History of Purdue University and Puskas Bilsland Fellowship, which provided financial support throughout the research and thesis preparation process. Professor James Farr deserves special gratitude for providing academic and organizational guidance and for steering my work in the right direction. I am also very thankful to my parents and husband for their patience and encouragement during the research. Thank you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT………………….………………….……………………………….…..........v INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………..….....1 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………….…..........................15 CHAPTER 2: PATTERNS AND SYMBOLS IN ALCHEMICAL DATA……………..31 Part I The Tunnel Pattern and Symbols of Chaos, Darkness, Blackness, Waters, Hades, Pit, Channel, Castle, Dome, Temple……………………………………................……..34 Part II Light Pattern and Symbols of First Dot/ God Manifested/ Deity Exalted into becoming the First Point of Light/ First Letter/ Letter A/ First Uttering/ First Dot/ Kether (Crown)/ Number 1/ Monad/ Unity/ One/ Oneness/ Wholeness/ Universe/ Cosmos/ Cosmic Egg/ House of the Chick/ Alembic…………..……..…………………………….…………....56 Horse Symbol (variants: Unicorn and Pegasus)………………….…………...…80 Stag Symbol………………………………………...…...…………...…….…….85 Light Pattern………………………………………………………….…….…….87 Tree Symbol……………………………...…………………………….…..…….89 Hybrid Pattern………………………………………..………………….…...…..94 Angel Symbol…………………………………………………………………....94 Sword Symbol……………………………………………….……………….…..96 Mermaid Symbol……………………………………………….………………..99 Symbols of Spirit, Soul and Body…………………………….………………..101 CHAPTER 3: ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ALCHEMICAL DATA…...…………..104 iv Page Isolation and its exoteric and esoteric meaning in alchemy…….….......105 Disintegration and its exoteric and esoteric meaning in alchemy…........109 The exoteric and esoteric meaning of Stone……………………........…114 This Stone is a Key………………………….………………………….131 CONCLUSION..………………………………………………………….…...………..148 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………..……………………………….….…151 VITA…………………………...………………...………………………………..……167 v ABSTRACT Ghionea, Angela C. PhD., Purdue University, May 2013. Recurring Thought Patterns and Resurfacing Alchemical Symbols in European, Hellenistic, Arabic, and Byzantine Alchemy From Antiquity to the Early Modern Period. Major Professor: James R. Farr. This study explores the symbolic nature, cognitive origin, and historic implications of patterns of imagery abundant in alchemical writings of European, Hellenistic, Arabic and Byzantine origin. In so doing, it seeks to bring greater balance between exoteric and esoteric aspects of alchemy in the historiography of alchemy that recently has favored the former and largely ignored the latter. The lack of sufficient research of patterns of imagery in the history of alchemy constitutes the theoretical motivation of the study. Textual evidence is provided in support of the three-pronged thesis: imagery patterns in alchemical writings are largely induced by altered states of consciousness (ASC), reiterate older symbolic patterns, and recur across cultures for reasons previously unknown to historians. Under this interpretation, alchemical sources appear coherently structured and meaningful, which refutes earlier claims that the texts are semantically intractable, self-repeating gibberish. The study proposes the hypothesis that the set of imagery patterns generated during ASC resurfaces as the basic structure of symbols in remote prehistoric shamanism, early mythologies, Cabalistic philosophical theories, and alchemical allegories. The comparative investigation of creational myths, Cabalistic schools of thought and alchemical sources across millennia, demonstrate that these bodies of knowledge share a common pattern of imagery and a similar set of symbols. The study proposes that mind patterns are distinguished from symbols, in the sense that patterns are the basic structure from which symbols are generated. vi The results of this study reveal a complex network of relationships which place alchemical symbols in the middle of the cultural nexus of the fields of esotericisms and the history of alchemy – a complexity overlooked in the current scholarship which disproportionately emphasizes the exoteric aspects of the history of alchemy. The study also argues that symbols of the occult art of metamorphosis originate in Prehistory during shamanism-induced trance-like states. Both the symbols and the techniques to alter the state of consciousness have been preserved across centuries by European alchemists in the commonly used practices aimed at divining the secrets of nature and the universe. By “tapping” into the unconscious, alchemists encounter symbols which they attempt to interpret and describe in alchemical books and images. Gradually, a cultural cyclical process is set in motion, involving first the alchemist’s exposure to alchemical symbols (through information present in books and plates), then the re-encounter with similar symbols during self-induced dreams, and finally the interpretation and reuse of the same symbols to further create new alchemical texts and art. During “the journey of the soul,” the re-encounter with imagery similar to the one found in alchemical books and drawings confirms alchemists’ expectations and cements their belief in the efficiency of alchemical symbols. The creative process of generation, rediscovery and reuse of alchemical symbols causes these symbols to evolve into an inventory constantly employed by alchemists. This process appeared beneficial because, on the one hand, the alchemists viewed it as a theory verification tool, and on the other hand it was an efficient method of encoding knowledge about perfecting human nature and base metals. The study demonstrates that alchemical symbols share a common origin with prehistoric art. It offers a new explanation and classification of alchemical symbols based on their pattern structure found in ASC. It uncovers the linear evolution of symbols as well as possible shifts of meaning in alchemy. It explains the rationale for alchemists to reuse these symbols, and demonstrates how alchemical symbols and theories have informed the history of alchemy. 1 INTRODUCTION From the moment when alchemist Zosimos1 of Panopolis decided in the late third or early fourth century CE to embark on a quest for genuine alchemical knowledge and test the theories he knew from old books, the history of alchemy took a new, esoteric, turn. He settled to investigate ancient alchemical recipes not through conscious reasoning, logics, mathematics, or literary analysis. Not even by experimenting with ingredients through trial and error in his laboratory. Instead, he chose a more personal method, unconventional by modern standards, one that for centuries will be employed by Faustian souls thirsty for an answer to the secrets of creation. These men have taken since prehistoric times a “darker” path: the dangerous journey of the soul in a quest for the method to discover those secrets which ordinary humans could not reveal. When Zosimos felt that his alchemical books had failed him, he attempted to find the answers from spirits, in dreams. There was no return in alchemy: the shamanic quest was on. Dating from the prehistoric past a set of ecstatic shamanic techniques, which occasionally included hallucinogens, have been employed by shamans to induce altered states of consciousness (ASC). 1 Important figure in Hellenistic alchemy, Zosimos of
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