Esoteric Eden

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Stone relief of a Seraphim carved into a wall

The Serafim or “Fiery Ones” are serpent-like fire angels of incomprehensible size with six wings and sixteen faces. There is one for each of the four winds and they are reborn each new day from the river of light that flows from the Throne of Glory. In Kabbalah they are the higher angels of the first created divine realm of Beriah where they continually burn themself up into nothingness. Image: Tamarah Hayardeni

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Engravings of hybrid monsters from Opera nela quale vi e molti mostri de tutte le parti del mondo antichi et moderni or “Work in which there are many monsters from all parts of the world, ancient and modern” by Giovanni Battista de’Cavalieri, 1585. Image: Wellcome Collection

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In Malay and Indonesian mythology, the Langsuyar is the vampiric reanimated corpse of a woman who died while pregnant or giving birth. Described as beautiful women with ankle length black hair, green robes, and incredibly long hands and nails, they feast on the blood of newborn children.

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The Antikamnia Chemical Company created these morbid calendars in the late 19th century and early 20th century to promote their pain killers to druggists. While their products were effective, they were revealed to contain a banned—and poisonous—ingredient, acetanilid. Images: Wellcome Library

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Catacomb saints are the lavishly decorated bodies of early Christians that were exhumed from the catacombs of Rome by the Vatican and placed in towns throughout Europe between the 16th and 19th century. The bodies were covered in gold and precious stones and acted as relics. Images: Neitram, Dalibri & Dbu (wikimedia commons)

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The Hand of the Philosophers is an alchemical symbol first appearing in Isaac Holland’s Die Hand der Philosophen, 15th century. Each feature of the hand corresponds to a quality, element and/or ingredient of the alchemical process. The thumb features a crown & quarter moon and represents the chemical saltpetre, which Holland calls “The King & Lord of all salts.”

The index finger features the star with six points, the meaning of which is only available to initiated alchemists, and the salt Roman Vitriol. The middle features the Sun, and represents Sal ammoniac. Above the ring finger is a lantern, representing alum. The little finger represents both the lock and key of the “hand” as well as common salt. In the palm, the fish represents Mercury, and the fire is just fire.

Images: Sammlung Alchymistischer Schriften, 18th century, Die Hand der Philosophen, 15th century

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Woodcuts from Des Circkelsz und Richtscheyts, Heinrich Lautensack, 1618. This book was meant as a guide for painters, sculptors, stonemasons, goldsmiths, and others to better understand perspective and the human form. Source: Embassy of the Free Mind

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