Opus Magnum Alchemical Symbols
Originally posted on the Motte on 2026-03-20
| Category | Symbol | Meaning | Modern symbol | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Latin | ||||
| Element | &salt; | Salt | Sal | ||
| &earth; | Earth | Humus, solum, tellus, terra | |||
| &water; | Water | Aqua | |||
| &fire; | Fire | Flamma, ignis | |||
| &air; | Air | Aer | |||
| &death; | Death | Mors | 1 | ||
| &life; | Life | Vita | 2, 3 | ||
| ðer; | Quintessence, ether | Quinta essentia, aether | 4 | ||
| Metal | &Hg; | Quicksilver, mercury | Hydrargyrum | Hg | |
| &Pb; | Lead | Plumbum | Pb | ||
| &Sn; | Tin | Stannum | Sn | ||
| &Fe; | Iron | Ferrum | Fe | ||
| &Cu; | Copper | Cuprum | Cu | ||
| &Ag; | Silver | Argentum | Ag | ||
| &Au; | Gold | Aurum | Au | ||
Elements
| Opus Magnum symbol | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Latin | ||
| &salt; | Salt | Sal | |
| &earth; | Earth | Humus, solum, tellus, terra | |
| &water; | Water | Aqua | |
| &fire; | Fire | Flamma, ignis | |
| &air; | Air | Aer | |
| &death; | Death | Mors | 1 |
| &life; | Life | Vita | 2, 3 |
| ðer; | Quintessence, ether | Quinta essentia, aether | 4 |
Notes
1
Opus Magnum uses a rotated life symbol, which Unicode does not have, but which CSS can imitate. Unicode does have the similar symbol &ironcrocus;—listed as “crocus of iron”, which apparently is calcined/anhydrous rust or ferrous sulfate.
2
Unicode lists this symbol as signifying sulfur, not life.
3
For some reason, Opus Magnum uses the plural form “vitae” for the name.
4
Opus Magnum uses a masking empty triangle superimposed on another empty triangle, which looks a lot like a star of David (a non-masking empty triangle superimposed on another empty triangle). Unicode lists a different symbol for quintessence, ðerunicode;.
Metals
| Opus Magnum symbol | Meaning | Modern symbol | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Latin | ||
| &Hg; | Quicksilver, mercury | Hydrargyrum | Hg |
| &Pb; | Lead | Plumbum | Pb |
| &Sn; | Tin | Stannum | Sn |
| &Fe; | Iron | Ferrum | Fe |
| &Cu; | Copper | Cuprum | Cu |
| &Ag; | Silver | Argentum | Ag |
| &Au; | Gold | Aurum | Au |