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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · English Edition

Gerhard Dorn and John French

A Chymical Dictionary

An Expanded Diotimos Lexicon of Paracelsian and Alchemical Language

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A Chymical DictionaryPhantasmata

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English Edition · Branch 642 of 740

Phantasmata

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 642

Phantasmata

Spirits celestial influences and signs · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Spirits identified through secluded or obscure dwellings.

In the book. Sylvestres can include airy spirits or gigantic woodland men.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 38; facsimile PDF page 366.

Historical Definition

Phantasmata are spirits of the wood or desert that live in any obscure place.

Meaning

The source gives wood and desert as places, then broadens the description to any obscure place. The entry is about beings and their dwelling, rather than simply any misleading mental image.

Use in the Book

Sylvestres can include airy spirits or gigantic woodland men. Visio concerns an apparition seen by people. The different definitions show why spirit, dwelling and appearance should be followed separately.

Places to Read

Sylvestres. Names with airy-spirit and gigantic woodland senses.

Visio. A visible apparition described as supernatural and spiritual.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 38; facsimile PDF page 366 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Phantasmata; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 366; compare Sylvestres, Visio

See also. Sylvestres; Visio

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About This Reading Edition

The complete 706 historical definitions of the 1650 English dictionary, modernised and accompanied by expanded Diotimos commentary, reading routes, 15 textual notes and complete linked indexes.

Historical Text

A Chymicall Dictionary, London 1650, English version associated with John French, based on Gerhard Dorn’s Dictionarium Theophrasti Paracelsi. The containing volume also prints Sendivogius and Paracelsus; neither neighboring work changes this dictionary’s attribution.

About This Edition

Complete 706 definition paragraphs with new introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes; Diotimos Editions, 2026.

Rights

The historical 1650 English text is in the public domain. New introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and published with the site owner’s authorization.