Here is the image for the April Invite to Write:
Our symbol for this month is alchemy as reflected by the curcubit/alembic in the image above.
The curcubit is a chemical flask often used in alchemical imagery. Why does the concept of breaking down concepts, objects, and other matter into an indivisible and unchangeable basic element captivate us? Long before the discovery of the atom, this idea was already present in the European scientific imagination. Alchemy shows the modern sciences' connection to a time where scientific achievement was still shrouded in the mysteries of magic and sorcery. How does the process of alchemy reflect the dissonance between our demands of the physical world and our ability to change it? How does it reflect our personal journeys and transformations? Is there a difference between our society's relationship to science and the medieval world's relationship to alchemy?
Image: The Peacock, Solomon Trismosin (attributed to), 1532CE, German, illuminated manuscript (pigment on paper)
Tears tear down the victor’s face,
Hermetic muse of freckled fate.
From splendor’s grief, you are not spared;
Like lunar teeth, cavernous glare.
First is last and next is sweet;
Joy is morality’s defeat.
Look down, under your feet reflects
Each solar flare’s completed quest.
Invisible yet potent guide;
Shapeshifting like virescent eyes.
Gazing back, clarity’s hue;
A portal in the shape of You.