On the Occult Philosophy or the Secret Miraculous Birth of the Seven Planets and Metals

It opened its throat wide, and the wind blew a fiery vapor and smoke out of the throat that it had spread open wide, and the serpent was inclined to devour me. But I prayed to God that I might escape, and I hid myself quickly from the serpent upon a rock that rose high into the air. There I encountered a wonderful man called Oedipus, who was to be a seer of all hidden mysteries. He had a servant called Tiriel, who taught Oedipus, the solver of mysteries, his master, how he should tame the serpent and bring it into his power so that it must be submissive to him. Then Oedipus fell down with his servant and prayed fervently to Vulcan original: "Vulcanum", who was a god of fire, that the serpent might be consumed by the △ alchemical symbol for fire. Vulcan granted this request, and it happened that a roar came from heaven with thunder, blowing, and lightning, and many figures and images appeared in the sky, and particularly there stood in the firmament a clear, bright rainbow for many hours, of many-