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Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks Series
This series of limited edition hand-bound books by Adam McLean were initially produced between 1979 and 1986. They were never sold through book dealers, but only by direct mail order. Consequently, these books became collectors items, often fetching high prices on the second-hand market. Only a few copies remain of some of the older titles in this series and a number are now entirely sold out. Since 1997 fourteen new titles have been issued with more in preparation.
No. 4. The Rosicrucian Emblems of Daniel Cramer
Edited by Adam McLean. Translated by Fiona Tait.
Daniel Cramer's Emblems were issued in 1617 during the height of
Rosicrucian publishing under the title 'The True Society of Jesus
and the Rose Cross'. The work was published by the well known
Rosicrucian publishing house of Lucas Jennis of Frankfurt.
The 40 emblems, arranged in four 'decades', are an eloquent
expressions of a meditative process centred upon a mystical
contemplation of the heart of man. Each emblem has a title, a
verse from the Bible, and two lines of explanation added below,
but the symbolism of the engravings speaks for itself. We see the
symbol of the heart undergoing various processes, experiencing
certain aspirations or emotions, or being purified through
spiritual and alchemical operations.
It would seem that this emblem book was intended as a simple
statement of the Rosicrucian philosophy in a form which could be
grasped through imaginative working with symbols, rather than
through abstract intellectual philosophy. As with many of the
Rosicrucian books, it stood outside its time and seems not to
have made a definite impact on the world of the early 17th
century; however, the archetypal symbols still speak directly to
us, even some 350 years later, and the content of these emblems
remains a valuable tool for meditation.
Limited edition of 250 copies. 56 pages. 41 illustrations. A5 Hardbound.
Edition sold out.
