A two-day conference

Location: Venice, Palazzo Giustinian Lolin (University of Warwick Venice Centre)

Dates: 16-17 June 2025

Organizer: Sergei Zotov

Keynote speaker: Jennifer M. Rampling

Submission deadline: 15 April 2025


Zotov!!!
Rampling!!!

"Alchemy is often associated with the imagery of flasks, furnaces, and laboratories. However, the universe of alchemical iconography extends far beyond these familiar motifs, encompassing a rich tapestry of symbols and allegories tied to both chemical processes and cultural phenomena. Thanks to extensive archival efforts and digitisation projects, we now have access to thousands of alchemical image series preserved in manuscripts and printed books. How might our understanding of this visual tradition deepen if we approach alchemical allegorical iconography using the same methodologies applied to other forms of imagery — such as iconographic analysis and the study of text-image relationships?"

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/ias/...interiora/

"I first asked the question of whether there might be a mapping between the alchemical herbal manuscript tradition and the Voynich Manuscript in a 2019 post, having not long previously put up a post trying to link to scans of alchemical herbals. The fact that the Voynich Manuscript’s Herbal A pages originally (as far as we can tell) contained 97 plants and also that the (yes, very badly named) alchemical herbals list of plants has 98 plants is a coincidence I pointed out that is somewhat suspicious (but far from conclusive)."

Nick Pelling.

https://ciphermysteries.com/2025/02/02/b...h-herbal-a

Tate St Ives 1 Feb - 5 May 2025, Tate Britain 12 Jun - 19 Oct 2025

"One of the most radical artists of her generation, Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) was an important, but often overlooked figure in British Surrealism. Debuting at Tate St Ives in February 2025, and Tate Britain from June, this landmark exhibition is the largest of Colquhoun’s work ever staged, featuring over 200 artworks and pieces of archival material including painting, drawing and writing; many of which have never been publicly exhibited. The exhibition draws on Tate’s significant archive of the artist’s work, tracing Colquhoun’s evolution from her early work and engagement with the surrealist movement, to her fascination with the intertwining realms of art, sexual identity, ecology, magic and mysticism."

https://www.tate.org.uk/press/press-rele...een-worlds

"As part of the Weston Library Coffee mornings in the Visiting Scholars Centre of the Weston Library, Sergei Zotov (Warburg Institute) presents alchemical manuscripts of the 'The Crowning of Nature' & the Ripley Scroll".

With useful links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWopMmo7_YY

"You don't need to spend a dime to get an ebook. There are plenty of free and legal ways to get them, so you can keep reading to your heart's content."


https://www.howtogeek.com/legal-ways-to-...ee-ebooks/

"In 1976, the bustling corridors of a metal-processing plant in Belgium witnessed an extraordinary discovery. Among the industrial waste and metallic debris, a group of scientists identified a remarkable bacterium, later named Cupriavidus metallidurans. Unlike most microbes, which would perish in such toxic environments, this resilient bacterium thrived. It not only endured the heavy metal-laden surroundings but also detoxified harmful compounds, making it a scientific marvel. Decades later, in 2009, researchers uncovered another astonishing capability: C. metallidurans could convert toxic metals into 24-carat gold within just a week, a feat that captured global attention."

https://micro-bites.org/2025/01/22/bacte...ce-fields/

"Jung diagnosed the modern mental health crisis as being caused by the decline of religion in modernism. Yet by doing so, he unintentionally reintroduced the religious impulse - through the deification of the psyche...Regarding alchemy, Jung mistakenly attributes it to the psychological plane rather than seeing it as a method for spiritual transformation which also necessarily incorporates the intermediary realm of the human psyche."

https://philarchive.org/archive/BENTDO-41

"In the Byzantine anthologies of alchemical works, a considerable number of symbols are listed and used for various purposes. This chapter looks at the symbols occurring in Stephanus’s Lessons and the Dialogue of the Philosophers and Cleopatra (written in Constantinople during the first half of the seventh century) as preserved by codex Marcianus graecus 299. The two cases indicate that the alchemical symbols conveyed operative information aiming to interpret passages not immediately related to the practice of alchemy."

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/o...917db26a9a


In: Premodern Experience of the Natural World in Translation


The entire text is Open Source:

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-e...-dror-weil

Also, check out this very interesting Herbarium blog:

https://herbariumworld.wordpress.com/202...anslation/

"Using the premise that languages and the alphabets that comprise them are metaphorical microcosms of our world, Nigel Pennick demonstrates how various alphabets function as a metaphysical description of reality. "


https://www.amazon.com/Magical-Alphabets...0877287473

"Metaphorical explanations are used in the recipes of special potions containing certain herbs and minerals. For example, cinnabar, which has played an important role in Chinese culture since ancient times, was used not only in art but also in funeral rituals, traditional medical practices and alchemical recipes."


METAPHORICAL TERMINOLOGY IN ANCIENT TEXTS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE: PROBLEMS OF UNDERSTANDING AND TRANSLATION

pp 143 to 159 here:

https://l.jvolsu.com/index.php/ru/compon...nload/3070