Man, Myth and Magic Gallery

Reputed portrait of Joan of arc, from the original, formerly in the Church of St

Reputed portrait of Joan of arc, from the original, formerly in the Church of St. Maurice, Orleans - also Jeanne d'Arc (1412 - 30 May 1431) is a national heroine of France and a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Many believed she had visions from God that told her to recover her homeland. In early 1429 she convinced the uncrowned King Charles VII to give her a suit of armour and permission to relieve the siege at Orleans. At first treated as a figurehead by veteran commanders, she gained prominence when she lifted the siege in only nine days -

© 2005Charles Walker / TopFoto

ASTROLOGY - NOSTRADAMUS The schema of the cosmos [Mundus Elementaris] according

ASTROLOGY - NOSTRADAMUS
The schema of the cosmos [Mundus Elementaris] according to the late mediaeval cosmology: an engraving from Johann Daniel Mylius, Opus Medico-Chymicum, 1618, used also in Janitor Pansophus, Seu Figura Aenea Quadripartita. According to this cosmology, the universe was a living thing, a ladder of spiritual being. The alchemical system portrayed in this complex diagram departs to some extent from the Theological system, and even from the standard Ptolemaic. The outer sphere consists of the zodiac, with its twelve images for the signs. In the conterminous sphere, are the corresponding sigils for the twelve signs, and an indication of which part of the human body these signs rule. The concentric next in descending order gives the twelve corresponding Months and seasons. Then, in the yellow concentric, follows the names of the four Elements, along with a sigil denoting the relevant Element, and a series of three sigils which are more difficult to explain: precisely why the Earth [Terra] should be linked with the sigils for Salt and Sulphur is not at all clear. Follows, in descending order, the planetary spheres, from Saturn to the Moon. In each case, the name of the ruler of the sphere is given: these correspond to the archangels of history, the Secundadeians, described by the occultist Trithemius, in De Septem Secundadeis, in 1522, which had a profound influence on the writings and dating system of the seer, Michel Nostradamus. The one deviation is the list of Archangels is the name of the archangel of Mars, who is given as Samuel, when it should properly be Samael. Below the sphere of the Moon, the spheres become more arcane. The first sublunar sphere makes various statements about the Trinities of the material plane - these are the Three Principles (of Salt, Mercury and Sulphur); the Three Worlds - Celestial, Material and Infernal; the Three Ages and the Three Reigns (no doubt a reference to Joachimite predictive philosophy

© 2003 Charles Walker / Topfoto

ROSICRUCIAN - CHAKRAS - ZODIAC The image of Cosmic Man and Woman with the planetary

ROSICRUCIAN - CHAKRAS - ZODIAC
The image of Cosmic Man and Woman with the planetary centres which correspond [almost] to the charkas of the Oriental system. These occidental charkas are visualized as planetary forces (for example, with the Moon at the sexual centre or Root). Around the pair area the sigils for nine signs of the zodiac. The design is a pastiche based on the engravings in William Law's edition of Jakob Behmen, the Teutonic Philosopher - a work which deeply influenced the art and thought of the poet, William Blake

© 2003 Charles Walker / Topfoto