Detail of a painting suggesting irresponsible gene engineering taking place in an office with IBM 7090 mainframe computers in the 1960s

Painting by Jes Brinch 2024

Homonculus:
Some Alchemists aim to create an artificial being known as a Homonculus. The practice may be interpreted as a precursor to reproductive and genetic science on one hand, and the effort to embody the universal spirit on the other. The goal was to create a life within the Alchemical vessel.

The starting Prima Materia used was sometimes bodily fluid. It was widely held that tiny fully formed humans were present in sperm. In this case the creature could be grown like a plant from a seed.

Other related goals could be to make a n indestructible new body for oneself out of divine universal materials.

Or some may have wished to create a super human servant or helper. The homonculus was probably a model for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story.

The depictions of the Homonculus found in Alchemical contexts usually show a little human figure in a flask or adjacent to other Alchemical works. The name itself comes from the Latin for “little man in the bottle".

Have fun if you’re planning to try to make a new friend this weekend!
 
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#Homonculus