A Chymical Dictionary

Imagines

Spirits celestial influences and signs · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Metallic images treated as subjects of celestial efficacy.

In the book. Gamahei are images impressed by supercelestial influence.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 27; facsimile PDF page 355.

Historical Definition

Imagines are metallic figures or effigies in which celestial powers operate.

Meaning

The definition identifies both a material medium and an attributed activity. The figures are metallic, and celestial powers are said to operate in them. Their shape is not described, and the entry supplies no means by which a power is attached to a particular image.

The term therefore concerns a relation between figure and efficacy rather than merely the visual resemblance of a representation to its subject. The source’s claim should remain legible without supplying an unmentioned system of planetary assignments.

Use in the Book

Gamahei are images impressed by supercelestial influence. Gamathei are stones marked with characters and images and associated with celestial virtues. Imaginatio instead concerns a star in a person. These comparisons keep medium and subject clear: a metallic figure, a marked stone and imagination in a human being are related through vocabulary, but separately defined.

Places to Read

Gamahei. Images attributed to an influence beyond the celestial.

Gamathei. Stones bearing signs and images associated with celestial powers.

Imaginatio. Imagination described through human, celestial and supercelestial relations.

In This Edition

The modernised definition retains the asserted operation of powers as a historical account. It adds no construction procedure for such figures.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 27; facsimile PDF page 355 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Imagines

See also. Gamahei; Gamathei; Imaginatio