PREFACE.

...concerning Bacchus the "Pig-Singer" original Greek: Χοιροψάλας (Choiropsalas), an obscure epithet for Bacchus/Dionysus possibly relating to sacrifice., and why the sow was detested by the Egyptians; why white and saffron-colored roosters were dedicated to Anubis The jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead, here associated with the dawn or vigilance., and why the same birds are under the protection of Mercury and the Sun; what Nergal A Mesopotamian deity of the underworld and plague, often associated with the planet Mars or the scorching heat of the sun. was; what the winged lion represents in Alchemy Chemia In alchemical imagery, the winged lion often represents "volatile" matter—substances that can be vaporized or transformed by heat.; why Michael, or Phaenon, or the Saturn of the Basilidians A Gnostic sect from the 2nd century CE who held complex views on the planetary spheres and their angelic rulers. was depicted with a lion-like appearance; why the image of the Sun is both white and black; why the swan and the raven are sacred to him; why the Hydra has seven heads to some, and nine to others; why Triptolemus The mythical figure who spread the knowledge of agriculture. is considered the son of Ocean and Earth according to Musaeus A legendary polymath and poet of early Greece.; why Venus represents summer, and Saturn represents winter; why the latter lay hidden; what the Philosophical Latium Latium Philosophicum A wordplay on the region of Latium and the Latin verb latere (to lie hidden). It refers to the "hidden" state of the prime matter in the alchemical process. is; why he is the same as Prometheus; why Vulcan is both male and female original Greek: ἀρσενόθηλυς (arsenothēlys), meaning androgynous or hermaphroditic. In alchemy, this often refers to a substance containing both "active" and "passive" principles., and why he only fell into Lemnos after the sun had set; concerning the springs brought forth by Achilles on the Trojan shore, by Pegasus on Parnassus, by Cadmus at Thebes, by Bacchus with his staff thyrsus, and by Janus with his rod; why Proteus is formless original Greek: ἀμορ-φὸς (amorphos). Proteus, the sea-god, represents the "First Matter" which can take any shape or form.