Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens : Sources of an Alchemical Book of Emblems

Atalanta Fugiens was first published in 1617 in Oppenheim, and is Michael Maier's most important work. It is one of the finest alchemical emblem books, and unique in its own right. Maier was a devoted Rosicrucian, and readers will note this influence on the emblems. The Rosicrucians gave new stimulus to Christianity at this time, and the esoteric world from London to Prague was influenced by this scholarly group that included Robert Fludd, Sir William Paddy, and alchemist Francis Anthony among its members. In Atalanta Fugiens, the old and new are firmly united. This book was published in a time when great changes were taking place in the theological and scientific field. Maier stands on the spot where the ways of theology and science part, and he wanted to prove that science and theology are two aspects of one Divine Truth. His work can be considered a manifesto of the Rosicrucian movement of purification and soul-therapy, with great dependence on the study of alchemy, number, and music. The hidden symbolism in this book, and in Maier's fugues, may be taken to