A piece in the Principium series.
Let knowledge grow, let life be enriched.
Que cresça o conhecimento, que se enriqueça a vida.
Motto of the University of Chicago.
The main illustration comes from an old French primary-school manual, and its author is unknown.
The figure stands inside a transmutation circle. Transmutation circles are normally used by alchemists to carry out the transformation/transmutation of matter through alchemy. The circle is drawn on a surface and the material to be transmuted is placed in the centre. Following the Law of Equivalent Exchange, whereby something can only be created by sacrificing something else of equal value, the alchemist places their hands on the circle and seeks to transmute the object into something new. Human transmutation corresponds to the search for the Philosopher's Stone, in which the spirit is converted into something new that may later even affect matter and transmute it.
The symbols placed on the back and head represent various concepts: the eye inside a triangle or pyramid – a symbol of knowledge, spiritual vision, inner vision and insight into the hidden; the sun and moon symbolise the eternal cycle of day and night, of life and death; the circle is a universal symbol of unity, of sacred space, of the cosmos; the compass represents movement towards perfection and, as a maker of circles, represents supreme energy.
