Atalanta Fugiens, Michael Maier: Emblem VII: Piercing the Alchemical Egg with the Fiery Sword
Commentary on Emblem VII: Piercing the Alchemical Egg with the Fiery Sword
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Themes
Atalanta fugiens, an alchemical emblem book, was published in 1617; alongside images, poems, and discussion, it included fifty pieces of music in the form of fugues, the form itself being a pun on Atalanta "fleeing."
The “Ovum Philosophicum,” which can be translated as the Philosophical or Alchemical Egg, is the principal vessel used in alchemical operations. During the alchemical process, the material, Hermetically sealed in the Egg, is put through a symbolic death and rebirth. When the Egg is cracked, a new mystical substance emerges capable of improving any substance with which it comes in contact.