ALCHEMY - MUTUS LIBER, OR SILENT BOOK - PLATE 3. The second plate explores the spiritual fundament which lies behind the material realm. Jupiter, with his associate eagle, gazes down upon the three realms of the material sphere. In the outer concentric, his paramour, Juno (with her peacock) represents Jupiter's anima - the spiritual essence that pulls him down into matter, in search of his inner feminine. This is the spiritual realm of Fire, where the gods and goddesses dwell. She points downwards to the division (or realm) of Air, where the birds fly. Below is the sphere of Water (divided from the section of Air by the mysterious Net, which is of such profound symbolism in alchemy). One might expect the section above and opposite that of Air to represent the Earth, but this is not portrayed in the outer shell: it is symbolized in the second concentric, where humans use nets and fishing lines in attempts to catch the spiritual realm, and bring it down to the earth plane. In this concentric are houses, churches and animals, presided over by a female - probably a Venus figure, to judge from the five flowers on the plant behind her (five is the number of Venus). The inner circle represents the union of the earthly and spiritual realms, with the humans on the surface of the dark Waters (with all their Biblical implications) and the mythological figure of Neptune, in a chariot drawn by sea-creatures: here, Mankind and the Gods mingle - a statement of the condition which exists on earth, through unrecognised by the uninitiated. The alchemical masterpiece, Mutus Liber (or Silent Book) first appeared in print during 1677 - probably brought into the light of day by the French alchemist, Jacob Saulat, as a book with 13 plates, which was later increased to one of 15 plates (as in the series available here). *** Local Caption *** The book is almost without words, and such words as appear are rarely what they seem to be, and are certainly susceptible to more than one level of interpretation. The alchemical importance of the images resides in the subtle graphic symbolism. A clear exposition of this symbolism may be found in Adam McLean, A Commentary on the Mutus Liber, 1982.