This mandala has definite Rosicrucian connections in that it appeared in Theophilus Schweighart’s Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum of 1618, the TITLE page of which indicates that the book was in harmony with ‘the enlightened Fraternity of the Christian Rose-Cross’.
The mandala indicates the threefold nature of Alchemy.
On the summit of a hill stands a tent or tabernacle bearing upon its top the four lettered name of God. Within this tent an alchemist who is 'with God’ (cum Deo) works the Spiritual Alchemy through inner prayer, contemplation of the Divine, and aspiration. This is the higher ‘Work’ (Ergon).
Below, within the hill in two grottos ,the parergon or 'subsidiary work’ is undertaken.
On the left, Soul Alchemy is portrayed, while on the right is Physical Alchemy.
The work of Soul Alchemy is shown symbolically by the male figure wading through the waters of the unconsciousness in his Soul, bearing a pot (the vessel of his consciousness) and a spoon with which to fill this. One of the tasks of Soul Alchemy is to inwardly experience and bring into consciousness that which resides in the unconscious sphere within. This process involves a Soul purification through meditative exercises, symbolized by the bucket in which some clothes are being washed, and the rain which falls and washes clean. The unconscious element in the Soul is in a sense the prima materia of the work of Soul Alchemy.
On the right, in the domain of Physical Alchemy, the Alchemist is portrayed with his furnaces and vessels, working to grasp ’Nature through the Art’. He has achieved a degree of success and clasps the flask, in which the essence of his labours is contained, to his bosom. The four lettered name of God also makes its appearance in his realm, following the maxim 'as Above, so Below’. (T.S.C. is probably Theophilus Schweighardt Constantiensem.)
These lower realms are cut off within the body of the mountain from the higher Spiritual Alchemy, but they are linked by the winged Female Sophia figure supported upon a column stating 'This is Wisdom*. This figure represents the spiritual potentiality in the Soul. Flowing into her being are the energies of the Solar and Lunar Archetypes which give rise to the gestation of the Soul Child, the slowly developing spiritual perception of the Alchemist.
Thus there is united the outward striving of the triple Wale figures in the three realms of Alchemy with the threefold Female figure, which indicates the inner sensitivity and open receptivity also necessary for the Alchemist’s development.
