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Cœlum Philosophorum
Elements principles and the natural world · A Chymical Dictionary
At a Glance
The word. The philosophers’ heaven explained through quintessence and universal medicine.
In the book. Compare Cœlum Spagiricum, which names a part of a vessel, and Cœli planetarum, which concerns planetary orbs.
A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344.
Historical Definition
Cœlum Philosophorum is any quintessence or universal medicine, especially the philosophers’ stone.
Meaning
The entry moves heaven-language into a philosophical and medicinal field. It expressly includes any quintessence or universal medicine, then gives special prominence to the philosophers’ stone. The emphasis does not cancel the broader opening category. A reader should preserve both the range and the preferred example.
The definition does not make the subject an ordinary region of the sky. Nor does it identify a complete preparation. Quintessence and universal medicine are explanatory terms within the historical account, carrying claims that need to be read in the particular work where they occur.
Use in the Book
Compare Cœlum Spagiricum, which names a part of a vessel, and Cœli planetarum, which concerns planetary orbs. The three entries show how similar heaven vocabulary can operate in different settings. Lapis Philosophorum and Quintessentia provide the most direct further reading for this entry’s material and philosophical senses.
Places to Read
Quintessentia. A purified spiritual matter obtained from living things.
Lapis Philosophorum. The philosophers’ stone defined through supreme terrestrial power and its imparting of tincture.
Cœlum Spagiricum. The upper region of a vessel named as a spagyrical heaven.
Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344 — Facsimile
See also. Quintessentia; Lapis Philosophorum; Cœlum Spagiricum; Cœli planetarum