Mother earth as the womb of return

uterum maternum; uterus maternus; mater; Uterus maternus

Human death is described as return to the mother’s womb, then immediately explained through earth as the mother of the earthly human.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Human death is described as return to the mother’s womb, then immediately explained through earth as the mother of the earthly human. The phrase therefore refers locally to burial and earthly origin, not a literal return to a human uterus. The ensuing last-day regeneration transforms the analogy into a theological account of losing earthly flesh and receiving heavenly clarified flesh.

Places to read

  1. Book 5 · Death · Passage 2Latin“reditus in uterum maternum”