The Ministry of the Spirit-Man

A circular bookplate belongs to the Library of Hermetic Philosophy. The English translation of the Latin text, Hermetic Philosophy, is printed in an arc. In the center is a blue oval containing a white pelican in its piety. This is a traditional symbol of sacrifice where the bird feeds its young with blood from its own breast. In alchemical and Christian contexts, this represents self-sacrifice and the giving of life. The pelican rests on a cubic pedestal. This pedestal is marked with a cross and four red roses at its points, representing the Rosy Cross. Golden rays of light shine down from the top of the oval.

The term Hermetic Philosophya philosophical and esoteric tradition based on writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, often involving alchemy, astrology, and theurgy refers to the core subject of the library that owned this book. The pelican in its pietyan iconographic motif depicting a pelican wounding her breast to nourish her chicks is a common symbol in both heraldry and alchemy. The Rosy Crossa cross with a rose at its center, the primary symbol of the Rosicrucian order signifies the union of the spiritual and the physical. The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermeticaalso known as the Ritman Library, a world-renowned Dutch library specializing in Hermetica is the modern repository associated with this bookplate.