The untamed nature, represented by the bears, follows you on this Royal Route. Look closer and you will see two bears flanking the shield. A large shield with the Czech white lion displayed between the first and second floors. The decoration is recent and has no relation to alchemy or the Royal Route.įurther along the road, at number 6, you will find the House of the White Lion. The first symbol you will note is the House of the Black Madonna 7 at the first junction on your left. They are our masculine and feminine side, if you will 1. Together, the spirit and the soul are the two invisible forces key to our transformation. Dissolution allows us to free the feminine essence of ‘soul’. This is a mechanism to free the masculine essence of ‘spirit’. Jung points out we can show our true identity by reaching beyond our personality and ego. Jung describes how we face the darkness inside us calling it, ‘The dark night of the soul' 6. Part of personal development is becoming aware of shadow aspects of our self. Disruptive events, including growing up, make us turn into ourselves. Jung compared the nigredo with our realisation and understanding of consciousness and unconsciousness. The House of the White Lion – Prague, Czechia Psychology This mirrors the raw nature of the ingredients alchemists start with. Crows and toads, because of their colour, are also used. Bears portray the nigredo because of their colour and their raw nature. There is also imagery associated with Nigredo it is all about shadows and obscurity. The symbol for water, and for this step, is a downwards-pointing triangle 1. Water and acids were common, so the tools needed here include kettles and cauldrons 1. Alchemists immersed the powder into a liquid. Salamanders, lions and dragons are also used. The symbol for fire, and for calcination, is an upwards-pointing triangle 1. The main idea is to reduce the substance into base ingredients 1. Tools needed are obvious: furnaces and mortars. Here you reduce substances to ashes by heating, drying or crushing them. The first step in Nigredo is calcination. Alchemists cleansed the ingredients by cooking them to a uniform black matter 3. The first stage in alchemy is Nigredo, or a blackening. (Links in this article take you to other articles I wrote explaining some of the Prague symbols in more detail.) 1 – Nigredo It’s a sign your journey is about to begin. This winged messenger holds a staff which can convert things from one state to another. As you reach the first junction, look out for the statue of Mercury 5 on top of the entrance to number 29. Head through the tower and along Celetna street to begin your journey. The Powder Tower is also symbolic of a threshold into the city. They built the Municipal House 4 you see today at the end of the nineteenth century. Charles IV chose this as the starting point for his Royal route because he lived in the building next door. Start the walk at Prague’s Powder Tower, at the entrance to the Old Town. Use it whilst walking the streets of Prague to discover the grand pattern behind the symbols. This guide explains each stage, maps the stage to the Royal route in Prague and explains the process of self-realisation. Prague’s alchemical symbolsĪlchemy has four distinct stages, each of which having several steps 3. In his view, as we grow into adults we change from base material (a baby) into a fully functioning adult. He saw a parallel between this and the alchemists’ path of transformation. Much later, alchemy influenced Swiss psychologist Carl Jung 2. He chose a route from the eastern part of the city towards the castle in the west, following the sun. He saw this as part of a transformation too – from a base material (man) into something precious (a king) Prague, as seen from the top of the Lesser Town Bridge Tower – Prague, Czechia Using alchemyīohemia’s King Charles IV wanted to create a royal procession for his coronation.
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