Vas Hermeticum
…
i
As
Jung has pointed out, the vessel (vas)
in alchemy is a true
symbol, representing a mystical idea and exhibiting
correspondingly extensive connections of meaning. The legendary writer of
antiquity, Maria Prophetissa, says of it that “the whole secret lies in knowing
about the Hermetic vessel.” The vessel is always One, and it must be round
like the vault of heaven so that celestial influences can contribute to the
work. It is also often called a matrix or uterus in which the
filius philosophorum (son of the philosophers) is born, and at the same
time it is, in a mysterious way, identical with its contents. For
instance, it is simply the
aqua permanens
itself. Mercurius is “our
true hidden vessel, and also the