An alchemical essay

In 1564, Dr. John Dee shared with us his mysterious and enigmatic work, the Monas Hieroglyphica. A powerful symbol to remind us that our world is united and complete, even if it seems irreparably fragmented.

Find the the Latin original of Monas Hieroglyphica here and an English translation here.

Dee’s monad is as simple yet powerful today as it was the moment he first depicted it. However, as we perceive our world as an increasingly fragmented reality, we need more and more complex symbols to remind us of its original wholeness. In this essay I will examine one such complex, “modern” symbol. Born of the spirit of its time, this new work knows its place: just as there were more perfect symbols a thousand years before Dee’s, so is the Monas Aequilibris a lesser work compared to his monad.

ISBN 978-615-01-4562-4 | Copyright © Balázs Tátrai, 2024