From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordDreams explained through stellar operations in the sleeper.
- In the bookCompare Sortilegium, a presage through spirits, and Pyromancy, divination through fire.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371.
Historical definition
Somnia are operations made in a person by the stars during sleep.
Meaning
The definition treats dreams as effects of an active relation between stars and the sleeping person. It supplies a cause within the compiler’s natural philosophy, rather than merely listing images seen in a dream.
Use in the book
Compare Sortilegium, a presage through spirits, and Pyromancy, divination through fire. Dreams belong to the wider vocabulary of signs and influences, but this sentence does not claim that every dream is a reliable prediction.
Places to read
- SomniaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- PyromancyDivination through the signs of fire.
- SortilegiumForetelling mediated by spirits.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371 — Facsimile