Alchemical symbol for cinnabar

A sign for mercury sulphide, the chief ore of mercury.

Also known as: Cinnabar sign, Vermilion, Minium

AlchemyHistorical & archaeologicalScientificStandard profile

Meanings

Mercuric sulphide: the red ore from which mercury was won, and the source of the pigment vermilion. Its transformation into a shining liquid metal on heating was among the most persuasive demonstrations available to an alchemist.

Historically documentedVerified fact
Denotes cinnabar, mercuric sulphide, the principal ore of mercury and the mineral source of the pigment vermilion.
Officially standardisedVerified fact
Encoded at U+1F708 ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR CINNABAR.
Contexts: Software
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Heating cinnabar drives off sulphur and leaves running mercury, a visible transformation of a dull red stone into a bright liquid metal — routinely cited as the kind of demonstration that made transmutation appear plausible.

Visual description

A small circle with a curved stroke and a short line attached to one side.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originHigh confidence: High confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

The Secrets of Alchemy
Lawrence M. Principe, University of Chicago Press (2013) · retrieved 2026-08-20
The standard modern scholarly account, and the principal corrective to the older occult reading of alchemy. Cited for what alchemical practice actually was and for the historiography of its later reinterpretation.
Alchemical and chemical symbols
Science History Institute · retrieved 2026-08-20
A research museum and library in the history of chemistry. Cited for the material history of the notation and its transition into modern chemical symbols.
Alchemical Symbols (Unicode block U+1F700–U+1F77F)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-08-20
Authoritative for the encoded character, its code point and its Unicode name. The Unicode name records a conventional association and is not itself a historical claim about usage.
Alchemical symbol
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.

Last reviewed 2026-08-20

Part of

Alchemical symbols — elements, substances and operations

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Meanings

Historically documentedVerified fact

Denotes cinnabar, mercuric sulphide, the principal ore of mercury and the mineral source of the pigment vermilion.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Encoded at U+1F708 ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR CINNABAR.

Contexts: Software

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Heating cinnabar drives off sulphur and leaves running mercury, a visible transformation of a dull red stone into a bright liquid metal — routinely cited as the kind of demonstration that made transmutation appear plausible.

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originHigh confidence: High confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

The Secrets of Alchemy
Lawrence M. Principe, University of Chicago Press (2013) · retrieved 2026-08-20
The standard modern scholarly account, and the principal corrective to the older occult reading of alchemy. Cited for what alchemical practice actually was and for the historiography of its later reinterpretation.
Alchemical and chemical symbols
Science History Institute · retrieved 2026-08-20
A research museum and library in the history of chemistry. Cited for the material history of the notation and its transition into modern chemical symbols.
Alchemical Symbols (Unicode block U+1F700–U+1F77F)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-08-20
Authoritative for the encoded character, its code point and its Unicode name. The Unicode name records a conventional association and is not itself a historical claim about usage.
Alchemical symbol
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.

Last reviewed 2026-08-20