stratharchives: Owl motif from Khunrath’s Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom, 1609The owl motif th

stratharchives:

Owl motif from Khunrath’s Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom, 1609
The owl motif that we use as our avatar on social media is from Heinrich Khunrath’s The Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom, printed in 1609 in Hanau and located in the Young Collection. Khunrath was a physician and Hermetic alchemist. The Amphitheatre is a fascinating volume containing nine plates of incredibly detailed engravings, each one representing a different aspect or stage to Khunrath’s alchemical work. For detailed analysis of the engravings in this book see this webinar by Dr Peter Forshaw The Alchemy of the Amphitheatrum which forms part of the Infinite Fire series.
The owl engraving follows the nine plates and precedes the main text of the work. The motto ‘Was helffen fakeln, licht oder briln, So die levt nicht sehen wollen?’ translates to ‘What good are torches, light, or spectacles, to those who will not see?’
Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae solius verae,
Heinrich Khunrath 1560-1605.
Hanoviae, 1609
[reference: Khunrath, Young Collection]