This series of posts explores The Book of Lambspring. A copy of the 1556 version of The Book of Lambspring is available here:
Zentralbibliothek Zürich / [Alchemistisches L… [6
(On the left side of the screen, you can click on PDF and download a copy of the text.)
Larger versions of the images are available here: The Book of Lambspring, 1556 | Compendium Naturalis
In my last post, we reviewed some of the basic vocabulary of spiritual alchemy. Now we can start analyzing the images and text within The Book of Lambspring.
In the preface of the 1556 version, the author credits Lord Hermann Marsow, the Superintendent of the Church of Dorpat, for teaching him the “hidden philosophy”. The author then refers to himself as “Lambspring” and includes a picture of his shield. The shield is divided horizontally, with blue on the top half and yellow on the bottom half. A lamb is pictured on the top half, with its feet on the border between the blue and yellow.
The vernal equinox, considered by some cultures to be the rebirth of the Sun, occurs in the Spring and occurs in the astrological sign of Aries. Aries is symbolized by the Ram. By depicting a lamb on his shield, the author seems to be emphasizing the idea of rebirth or initiation. The lamb is on the blue part of the shield, which is associated with Water and the subconscious, which is dominant over the yellow part, which is associated with Air and the conscious. And even though Aries is a Fire sign, there is no red present on the shield. For now, the lamb is in Water, which implies the Lunar Path.
The Ram who was immortalized as the constellation Aries is Khrysomallos, the son of Poseidon and Theophane.
Theophane (theos meaning “divine”; phanes meaning “bring to light”) was a beautiful mortal woman. She was abducted by Poseidon, who carried her to an island and transformed her into a ewe to hide her from her suitors. Poseidon transformed himself into a ram and fathered Khrysomallos (khrysos meaning “gold”; mallos meaning “wool” or “fleece”) with Theophane. Khrysomallos is best known for rescuing Phrixos and Helle.
Phrixos and Helle were brother and sister, the children of King Athamas and the cloud-nymph Nephele. King Athamas later married a mortal woman, Ino. Ino wanted her son to succeed King Athamas, so she plotted to have Phrixos sacrificed. Nephele learned of Ino’s plot and asked Hermes to intervene. Hermes sent Khrysomallos to rescue Phrixos and Helle.
Khrysomallos flew Phrixos and Helle eastward, but during the journey, Helle lost her grip and fell into the sea. Phrixos survived and, upon arriving in Colchis, sacrificed Khrysomallos to Zeus. Zeus immortalized Khrysomallos as the constellation Aries. Aeetes, the King of Colchis, hung Khrysomallos’ golden fleece in Ares’ sacred grove, where it was guarded by a dragon.
Years later, Jason (of Argonaut fame) embarked on a quest to obtain the golden fleece. Jason’s father’s half-brother Pelias (Jason’s half-uncle?) had seized the throne of Iolcus, even though Aeson (Jason’s father) was the rightful ruler. When Jason confronted Pelias to reclaim the throne, Pelias sent him on what was considered the impossible task of retrieving the golden fleece to prove himself the rightful ruler.
The golden fleece symbolizes kingship, spiritual attainment, and wisdom. All of these interpretations are represented later in Lambspring.
Khrysomallos, as the offspring of a god and a mortal who “brings the divine to light”, is a manifestation of the divine on the physical plane.
The children Khrysomallos saves are the offspring of a mortal and a cloud-nymph. Clouds are a boundary and represent a transition between the mortal and the divine. Clouds hide Olympus, the home of the gods, from mortal perception. And clouds are shape-shifters. Potential. The prima materia on the astral plane.
(The prima materia is the Chaos that existed before the Cosmos. It condenses during manifestation, eventually condensing enough to be perceived on the physical plane and then differentiating into the elements on the physical plane. It is the substance that the chemical alchemists start with, in their quest to create the Philosopher’s Stone.)
The cloud-nymph Nephele had a son and a daughter. The masculine (Phrixos), associated with Force (or energy) and the volatile, ascended. The feminine (Helle), associated with Form and the fixed, descended.
When Helle fell, she landed in the ocean, again implying the Wet or Lunar Path and associated with dissolution.
When Phrixos landed in Colchis, he was welcome by King Aeetes, who is the son of Helios and the Oceanid Perseis. Colchis is in the east, the land of the rising Sun, representing illumination. Helios, a Titan, is the Sun. (So the Dry or Solar Path…) Perseis is “she who destroys”. And though Helios is not considered a creator god in Greek mythology, he is seen as a life-giving god. So Perseis and Helios are a polarity of destruction and creation, which aligns well with alchemy’s solve et coagula.
(And not that it is relevant for Lambspring, but Perseis is also the mother of Circe of Odyssey fame, and the grandmother of Medea of Argonaut fame.)
All of that to explain how a lamb drawn on a background of blue and yellow relates to spiritual alchemy!
Luckily, the text for this image is not as dense. The author claims to have written the book clearly with the intent that anyone studying it can, with effort and patience, understand it. And the author also stresses that the understanding is a gift from God.
And we will continue to strive for understanding in my next post. 😊