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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 DictionaryPyromancy

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English Edition · Branch 647 of 740

Pyromancy

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 647

Pyromancy

Spirits celestial influences and signs · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Divination through the signs of fire.

In the book. The neighboring divinatory terms classify practices by the medium through which a sign appears.

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

Historical Definition

Pyromancy is an art of foretelling by fire.

Meaning

Fire is treated here as a source of signs. The entry names a way of interpreting appearances, rather than a method for transforming a substance. Its place in a chemical dictionary shows how widely the compiler understands the vocabulary required for reading these authors.

Use in the Book

The neighboring divinatory terms classify practices by the medium through which a sign appears. Compare Sortilegium, where spirits supply the presage, and Somnia, where the stars are said to operate during sleep. These are the dictionary’s historical classifications.

Places to Read

Somnia. Dreams explained through stellar operations in the sleeper.

Sortilegium. Foretelling mediated by spirits.

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

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Pyromancy; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 366; compare Somnia, Sortilegium

See also. Somnia; Sortilegium

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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.