Although important in Egyptian and Greek religion it was the Renaissance physician/alchemist Paracelsus who first introduced the mythological figure of Vulcan as the patron deity of alchemy and as symbolic of the hermetic art. The Doctor by Samuel Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, a type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor (disambiguation). ... Paracelsus Paracelsus (born 11 November or 17 December 1493 in Einsiedeln, Switzerland - 24 September 1541) was an alchemist, physician, astrologer, and general occultist. ... Vulcan, in Roman mythology, is the son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Maia and Venus. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... The word hermetic is commonly applied to literary or graphical symbolism that is exceedingly obscure, convoluted, or esoteric. ...

To Paracelsus Vulcan was synonymous with both the alchemist/physician's manipulation of fire, heating and distilling of nature's properties for medicine, and the transforming power and creative potential locked within Man, the greater invisible Man or anthropos, slumbering within.

Alchemy is an art and Vulcan (the governor of fire) is the artist in it: 'He who is Vulcan has the power of the art ... All things have been created in an unfinished state, nothing is finished, but Vulcan must bring all things to their completion. Everything is at first created in its prima materia, its original stuff; whereupon Vulcan comes, and develops it into its final substance ... God created iron but not that which is to be made of it. He enjoined fire, and Vulcan, who is the lord of fire, to do the rest ... From this it follows that iron must be cleansed of its dross before it can be forged. This process is alchemy; its founder is the smith Vulcan. What is accomplished by fire is alchemy-whether in the furnace or in the kitchen stove. And he who governs fire is Vulcan, even if he be a cook or a man who tends the stove.

Elsewhere Paracelus writes: The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1891-1892). ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Dross is a mass of solid impurities floating on a molten metal bath. ...

Nothing has been created as ultima materia — in its final state. Everything is at first created in its prima materia, its original stuff; wherupon Vulcan comes, and by the art of alchemy develops it into its final substance.

Alchemy is a necessary, indispensable art ... It is an art, and Vulcan is its artist. He who is a Vulcan has mastered this art; he who is not a Vulcan can make no headway in it.

The Elizabethan Alchemist Francis Bacon however was skeptical of alchemy's enlistment of the Roman deity as symbolic of true Alchemical enquiry and exlaimed in The Advancement of Learning (1605): The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ... |idola theatri]]), which result from an abuse of authority. ... Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ...

Abandoning Minerva and wisdom they play court to the sooty smith Vulcan and his pots and pans.

However, Paracelsian alchemists such as Gerard Dorn, Jan Baptist van Helmont and Arthur Dee each acknowledged the Roman god of forge and furnace as symbolic of the art. Van Helmont specifically described alchemy as Vulcan's art, whilst Arthur Dee in his Arca Arcarnum wrote: Gerhard Dorn (circa 1530–1584) was a Belgian philosopher, translator, alchemist, physician and bibliophile. ... Jan Baptist van Helmont. ... Arthur Dee (1571-1651) was the eldest son of Dr John Dee. ... Arthur Dee (1571-1651) was the eldest son of Dr John Dee. ...

Though I am constrained to die and be buried nevertheless Vulcan carefully gives me birth.

The Roman god and Paracelsian deity associated with alchemy is cited no less than three times by Sir Thomas Browne in The Garden of Cyrusof 1658,firstly in its opening lines: Sir Thomas Browne (October 19, 1605 – October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works that disclose his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric. ... The Garden of Cyrus or The Quincuniall, or Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, naturally, artificially, mystically considered is a work written by Sir Thomas Browne. ...

That Vulcan gave arows unto Apollo and Diana according to gentile theology in the work of the fourth day may pass for no blind apprehension of the creation of the Sun and Moon.

Secondly within the context of Classical Greek myth in which Vulcan constructs and casts an invisible network in order to ensnare Venus his wife in flagrante delicato with her lover Mars. Browne humorously stating: Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or Ἀπέλλων, Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros, was the archer-god of medicine and healing and also a bringer of death-dealing plague; as... Diana was the equivalent in Roman mythology of the Greek Artemis (see Roman/Greek equivalency in mythology for more details). ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason) means reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... Bulk composition of the Moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ... Greek mythology comprises the collected legends of Greek gods and goddesses and ancient heroes and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ...

As for that famous network of Vulcan, which inclosed Mars and Venus, and caused that inextinguishable laugh in heaven; since the gods themselves could not discern it, we shall not pry into it.

The Classical myth of Venus and Mars trapped by Vulcan's cunning invention is also a lesser-known example of the "fixing" and union of the opposites in the alchemical opus. Marble Venus of the Capitoline Venus type, Roman (British Museum) Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love and beauty, the rough equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. ...

And finally at the very apotheosis of the literary-alchemical opus in which he delivers his three factors for determining truth, namely authority, reason and experience; Vulcan here representing the demi-urge or "higher man" who, not unlike the Gnostics, "Man of Light," uses his craftmanship and skills to aid, enlighten and liberate the Spiritual Man within. Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge...

Flat and Flexible truths are beat out by every hammer, but Vulcan and his whole forge sweat to work out Achilles his armour.

In modern times the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung interpreted Vulcan as one who: Carl Jungs autobiographical work Memories , Dreams, Reflections, Fontana edition Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875, Kesswil, – June 6, 1961, Küsnacht) (IPA: ) was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. ...

kindles the fiery wheel of the essence in the soul when it 'breaks off' from God; whence come desire and sin, which are the "wrath of God." CW 12 215.

The alchemists adoption of the mythic figure of Vulcan may be interpreted on several levels. At the lowest scale of interpretation Vulcan represents the cunning amoral demiurge who blindly gains power over Nature without integrity; this mundane level anticipates the nascent Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. The activities of the extraction of coal from mines to fuel colossal Furnaces to manufacture Steel and Iron on a gigantic scale and the development of the railroad and steam-train throughout Europe and North America are both decidedly Vulcan-like activities and in many ways the general "busyness" of the Protestant work-ethic and Industrialised Western society, is strongly reflected in this archetypal figure. At a higher level of interpretation Vulcan is transformed to become an inspired apostle, the visionary capable of releasing Mankind from the bonds of unknowingness and darkness. The term Demiurge refers in some belief systems to a deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. ... A Watt steam engine in Madrid. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighbouring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

The transforming power of Vulcan the "higher man" and anthropos figure of the alchemists has today devolved into the negative aspects of a demi-urge figure; none other than modern technological man, who, divorced from God, forges his own destiny independent of Religion, Divine Love or theological considerations towards a brave new world or utopia.

Resources

• Jolande Jacobi ed. Paracelsus Selected Writings, 1951, Princeton

See also

• Hermes Trismegistus