image credit:
https://www.moleiro.com/vista/estaticos/formateadas/SS_5bed425e26879_filosofoalquimicologo_6.jpg
The border on Plate 2 again has plants and animals. Again, some of the plants have buds, some have blooms, and some have berries. The birds include an owl, a symbol of Athena, the Fountain of Virtues and a peacock, a symbol of Hera, the Fountain of Souls. (The Soul is also represented by a butterfly.) Deer are a symbol of Artemis, the Fountain of Nature. A male and female deer represent the potential active and passive aspects of Nature. The Magician, beginning his involution to Matter, still integrates the potential active and passive aspects of his nature, indicated by his red (Fire) and blue (Water) clothing.
The Magician carries a flask with a gold fluid, the prima materia, the First Matter. Above is a black scroll, with Eamus Questitum Quatuor Elementorum Naturas, “Let us inquire as to the nature of the four elements”. (translation by Google Translate.)
Fire and Water are still unified in Kether, but the Nigredo phase is foreshadowed by the blackness of the scroll. To learn about the nature of the four elements, the Magician must separate the prima materia.