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Paracelsus

1493–1541 · Switzerland
Paracelsus

Description

Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus, was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.

Facts

BornTheophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, 10 November 1493, Egg, Schwyz, Swiss Confederacy, (now Switzerland)
Died24 September 1541(1541-09-24) (aged 47), Salzburg, Salzburg, (now Austria)
EducationUniversity of Basel University of Ferrara, (M.D., 1515/16)
EraRenaissance philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolRenaissance humanism
InstitutionsUniversity of Basel
Main interestsMedicine, alchemy, astrology, theology
Notable ideasToxicology "The dose makes the poison"

Life & work in brief

Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.

Work / contributionSignificance
BiographyParacelsus was born in Einsiedeln, a village close to the Etzel Pass in the Canton of Schwyz.
PhilosophyAs a physician of the early 16th century, Paracelsus held a natural affinity with the Hermetic, Neoplatonic, and Pythagorean philosophies central to the Renaissance, a world-view exemplified by Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola.
Chemistry and alchemyParacelsus was one of the first medical professors to recognize that physicians required a solid academic knowledge in the natural sciences, especially chemistry.
Contributions to medicineHis hermetic beliefs were that sickness and health in the body relied upon the harmony of humans (microcosm) and nature (macrocosm).
Reception and legacyThe oldest surviving portrait of Paracelsus is a woodcut by Augustin Hirschvogel, published in 1538, still during Paracelsus's lifetime.
WorksGerman Wikisource has original text related to this article: Paracelsus

Contribution to the celestial-alphabet tradition

Physician-magus whose astral-magic cosmology of signatures linked stars, metals and letters — the doctrine that each terrestrial thing carries the signature of its ruling planet. A direct heir of the Agrippan stellar-kabbalistic programme applied to medicine and metals.

In the Luco Library
The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus
Paracelsus (tr. A. E. Waite)

The planetary kameot — the apparatus they worked with

The 7 magic squares ↔ 7 doubles ↔ 7 planets (Sefer Yetzirah §4). Each square's order n gives a distinct sigil modulus; the constant is M = n(n²+1)/2. Saturn 3×3 = the Lo Shu (M=15), the basis of the Aiq-Bekar sigil method. Caveat (§6.3 / §15b.3): the sigil-over-kamea method is Renaissance (Agrippa, 1531), not medieval Jewish.

♄ Saturn3×3
8
1
6
3
5
7
4
9
2
double ב · M=15
♃ Jupiter4×4
16
2
3
13
5
11
10
8
9
7
6
12
4
14
15
1
double ג · M=34
♂ Mars5×5
17
24
1
8
15
23
5
7
14
16
4
6
13
20
22
10
12
19
21
3
11
18
25
2
9
double ד · M=65
☉ Sun6×6
35
1
6
26
19
24
3
32
7
21
23
25
31
9
2
22
27
20
8
28
33
17
10
15
30
5
34
12
14
16
4
36
29
13
18
11
double כ · M=111
♀ Venus7×7
30
39
48
1
10
19
28
38
47
7
9
18
27
29
46
6
8
17
26
35
37
5
14
16
25
34
36
45
13
15
24
33
42
44
4
21
23
32
41
43
3
12
22
31
40
49
2
11
20
double פ · M=175
☿ Mercury8×8
64
2
3
61
60
6
7
57
9
55
54
12
13
51
50
16
17
47
46
20
21
43
42
24
40
26
27
37
36
30
31
33
32
34
35
29
28
38
39
25
41
23
22
44
45
19
18
48
49
15
14
52
53
11
10
56
8
58
59
5
4
62
63
1
double ר · M=260
☽ Moon9×9
47
58
69
80
1
12
23
34
45
57
68
79
9
11
22
33
44
46
67
78
8
10
21
32
43
54
56
77
7
18
20
31
42
53
55
66
6
17
19
30
41
52
63
65
76
16
27
29
40
51
62
64
75
5
26
28
39
50
61
72
74
4
15
36
38
49
60
71
73
3
14
25
37
48
59
70
81
2
13
24
35
double ת · M=369

Lineage — influence tree

Where Paracelsus sits in the magi lineage: who shaped this figure, and who this figure shaped in turn. Mage names link to their own ficha.