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A circle within a square within a triangle within a circle — the emblem of the great work.
Also known as: Squared circle, Alchemy symbol
The best-known composite emblem in alchemy, from Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens of 1617: a circle, a square, a triangle and an outer circle nested together. It represents the philosophers' stone and the elements composing it, and is a designed emblem rather than a working laboratory sign.
Depicts the philosophers' stone as a figure of nested shapes: an inner circle, a square, a triangle and an enclosing circle, published as emblem XXI of Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens in 1617.
From 1617
The nested shapes are conventionally read as the four elements, the three principles, the two contraries and the one stone — a scheme the accompanying epigram sets out.
An emblem composed for a printed philosophical work rather than a sign used at the bench. Alchemists did not write it in their notebooks the way they wrote the sign for sulphur.
Frequently presented online as the central symbol of practical alchemy. It is an emblem from one book, however influential.
Widely adopted in modern fiction, games and tattoo design as shorthand for alchemy in general.
Contexts: Tattoo
A large outer circle enclosing a triangle, which encloses a square, which in turn encloses a smaller circle at the centre.