Page 28 - September 2022 Magazine - Bumper Edition

is a detailed ‘recipe’ for the creation of a homunculus. The process begins by mixing human semen with a phosphorescent elixir that remains unidentified throughout the text and ends with the homunculus born from a cow. Once ‘born’ the creature is said to ‘grow a human skin and become hungry for its mother's blood. ’ Transferred to a large glass or lead vessel, the creature is then ready to do the Alchemists bidding.
The Alchemist was technically attempting to create an artificial ‘rational animal’ through the manipulation of organic tissue.
According to one manuscript:
‘ The sperm of a man be putrefied by itself in a sealed cucurbit for forty days with the highest degree of putrefaction in a horse's womb, or at least so long that it comes to life and moves itself, and stirs, which is easily observed. After this time, it will look somewhat like a man, but transparent, without a body. If, after this, it be fed wisely with the Arcanum of human blood, and be nourished for up to forty weeks, and be kept in the even heat of the horse's womb, a living human child grows therefrom, with all its members like another child, which is born of a woman, but much smaller.’
The notion of the humanoid creature being fully grown and yet much smaller than an adult human, is due to the formerly popular theory of ‘Preformationism’. This is the theory that believed animals develop from miniature versions of themselves. ‘Sperm were believed to contain complete preformed individuals called ‘animalcules’ (little animal) development was the simply a matter of enlarging this into a fully formed being and was the beginning of ‘spermists' theory, which believed that sperm was in fact a ‘little man’ that was placed inside a woman for growth into a child. It was later added that if the sperm was a homunculus and was identical in all but size to an adult human, then the homunculus may already contain sperm of its own. ‘This led to a reductio ad absurdum (reduction to absurdity) with the homunculi.../.... the spermists’ theory also failed to explain why children tend to resemble their mothers as well as their fathers, though some spermists believed that the growing homunculus assimilated maternal characteristics from the womb.’
The text then indicates that once the cow or ewe has given birth, the resulting ‘unformed substance’ should be placed in a previously prepared powder, which will cause the ‘thing’ to grow a human skin.
The text advises that the creator of this creature should keep it in ‘a large glass or lead container for three days.’ During this time, the creature will become hungry, so one must ‘feed it the blood of its decapitated mother for seven days. It should then develop into a full-grown tiny, grotesque humanoid with some fragment of a human soul.’
The existence of a soul in such a creature is the fascinating part. How could a creature that was technically a ‘blasphemy’ have a soul; the spiritual essence of a human given to us by God? This notion was thoroughly examined in Mary Shelley’s fictional text Frankenstein, (1818) with the creature being a perfect example of a somewhat larger homunculus, who doesn’t fair well in the world of man.
Advice regarding how to ‘use’ the homunculus was also outlined in the text... ‘If it is decapitated, and its blood is given to a man to drink, the man will assume the form of a bovine or a sheep; but if he is anointed with it, he will have the form of an ape. Kept alive for a year and then placed in a bath of milk and rainwater, it will tell things that happen far away.’ The homunculus then, seemingly a very useful creation.
At the time the Alchemist practiced his art, it was widely believed that humans could mimic and manipulate the natural reproductive process. Of course, they discounted the female completely, believing the womb was all that they needed to replace, an ‘oven’ if you will, in which to ‘cook’ the creature; the homunculus being
28 | The Flickering Cauldron® Magazine - Blasphemous Creations