SOLVE et COAGULA:
ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLISM of the DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE
One of the most prevalent emblems of the Scottish Rite is
that of the Double-Headed Eagle. Mentioned
briefly in comparison to the white-lambskin apron of the Craft Lodge, the symbol
of the double-headed eagle is perhaps one of the most ancient emblems in
Scottish Rite, having been represented for thousands of years in many of the
worlds cultures.
Albert Pike believed that the emblem of the double-headed
eagle ultimately derived from alchemy.
Pike cited several of these works as evidence for the true
meaning and significance of the double-headed eagle, which he equated with the
alchemical Stone of the Philosophers.
In Lambsprinks’s
there is an image of an alchemist in the garb of an
Imperial messenger. Upon his chest is a double-headed eagle of white and black,
showing the union of opposites in one being and the noble ascent to the heavens
in the guise of the proud bird of eternity.
