From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordBodies described as deceptive appearances caused by stars.
- In the bookVisio is an apparition of spirits seen by people, while Similitudines names celestial appearances.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 38; facsimile PDF page 366.
Historical definition
Primales are deceptive bodies placed before our eyes by the stars.
Meaning
The definition assigns a source to the apparent bodies and characterizes them as deceptive. The stars place them before human eyes within the historical account. Neither their material constitution nor their duration is specified.
Use in the book
Visio is an apparition of spirits seen by people, while Similitudines names celestial appearances. The terms share a concern with appearing, but the present entry adds deception and stellar agency.
Aquaster also separates an appearance from what truly exists, sometimes describing a vision whose object is only apparent. The present entry adds stellar agency and expressly calls its bodies deceptive. These are related descriptions, not an equation of the two headwords.
Places to read
- PrimalesRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- SimilitudinesAppearances described as celestial.
- VisioA visible apparition described as supernatural and spiritual.
- VmbratilesBodies qualified as astral.
In this edition
The account is kept attributed to the dictionary. It does not serve as a diagnosis of a modern visual experience.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 38; facsimile PDF page 366 — Facsimile