Hidden Splendour - Cleopatra the Alchemist

"Behold, wise ones, and understand:

behold the fulfillment of the craft of yoking groom with bride and them becoming one."

From the "Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers", II-IV cent. C.E.

The work that I am presenting today took over a year to complete. It deals with an ancient text of early alchemy, originally in Greek and preserved in a few copies (some of which are included in other alchemical compendiums).

I did not know that there was a text by a female Alchemist, and such an ancient one!

I also did not know at all that the hieros gamos was presented in such a way, directly linked to the alchemical processes, in a Western context.

I had never heard before of the female womb associated with the Ars Regia, in such a way, either!

It was an extraordinary discovery, for me, and I really wanted to produce some artwork to pay homage to such Sophia.

But it took a long time, and a lot of research!

The version of the text I could use was only in English and not complete. As far as I know, no Italian translations or critical editions (accessible ones) are there to be consulted. But I did my best to extract all I could and studied it for months before recording a reading today.

Please accept this gift from me, to honor "the hidden splendour, the zealously pursued beauty"

The sky seems to confirm, it is time for Cleopatra to be born again.

Click on the image to access the YouTube video.

Links to sources below!

The text and interpretation are from an excellent PhD thesis by Fabiana Lopes da Silveira, available here.

Visual art: by me, sacred geometry study.