Emoniel is the 5th wandering infernal prince of the forest. He commands 100 lesser princes and chief dukes, with over a thousand spirits below them. Being an airy demon, it’s hard to see him without the use of a crystal. Image: Stiller Beobachter (modified)
Based on the work of Paracelsus, Robert Fludd devised an alchemical theory of creation wherein god separated the materials of the universe out of a chaotic prima materia, in the same way that an alchemist in a laboratory would do. These engravings from the History of the Two Worlds, 1617, illustrated his wild theories. Source: archive.org
The Ngondo is yearly festival in Douala, Cameroon. A ceremony is performed by the jengu cult, in which a devotee enters the water to visit the kingdom of the miengu. Miengu (plural for jengu) are mermaid-like spirits with long hair and beautiful gap-teeth, who bestow good luck to devotees, cure diseases and allow them to communicate with the world of spirits. Image: Photokadaffi on Wikimedia Commons
Pendants like these, carved from ivory or bone, represent characters in proverbs from Bwami, an educational system that taught the values of the Lega people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were owned by men and women of the highest ranks of Bwami, who were the intellectual, moral, and political elite. Source: National Museum of African Art, Late 18th Century
In Welsh culture, professional sin-eaters attended funerals to ritualistically eat a meal over the corpse to absorb the deceased’s sins. Every sin stayed with them until their own death, and they were often social outcasts because of the spiritual uncleanliness they accumulated. One has to wonder if sin-eaters would eat the sins of other sin-eaters, passing the spiritual debt down for generations. Image: Two Old Ones Eating Soup, Francisco Goya, 1819
Diagrams of Alchemical Processes from Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln, Anonymous, ca. 1700. From Manly P Hall’s Collection of Alchemical Manuscripts, Box 4.MS 19.Vol 2
The Pooka or Puca or Pwca is a shape-shifting creature from Celtic foklore that can change into a horse, goat, cat, dog, or hare. If they take human form, they’ll have an animal feature like ears or a tail. Pookas are tricksters and can bring good or bad fortune. The character of Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was based on this creature. Image: British Goblins, W Sikes, 1881
The nurikabe is a yokai whose name means “plaster wall” due to its ability to change into a tall invisible wall at night, confusing travelers. Some say poking on the bottom left of the wall will make it disappear, while others maintain it cannot be passed. Image: Bakemono No E, 1802
Title page of De Arte divina & sacra, sine Aenigmate tradita & del praxin conscripta by Anonymous, ca. 1700. At the top of the painting you can see the Greek God Hermes, representing the element Mercury, the peacock representing the end of the Nigredo stage, and the element of air, represented by the faces blowing. From Manly P. Hall’s collection of alchemical manuscripts Box 3, MS 14
Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Seven Deadly Sins, Published by Hieronymus Cock, 1558: ENVY, GLUTTONY, GREED, LUST, PRIDE, SLOTH, WRATH & THE LAST JUDGEMENT
Danse Macabre, William Strang, 1891
Drawings from F. de La Rose-croix by Anonymous, circa 1700. Alchemy is sometimes referred to as ‘The Language of Birds’ due to different birds representing different stages in the alchemical process. Source: Manly P. Hall’s Collection of Alchemical Manuscripts Box 5
