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

out of its throat, which it had opened wide. And the serpent was inclined to devour me, but I prayed to God that I might escape, and I hid myself hurriedly from the serpent upon a rock that opened itself high into the air. There I encountered a wonderful man called Oedipus, who was supposed to be a fortune-teller of all hidden secrets. He had a servant named Tiriel, who taught the Oedipus—the resolver of secrets—his master, how he should tame the serpent and bring it into his power so that it would have to be subject to him. Then Oedipus fell down together with his servant and prayed inwardly to Vulcanus, who was a god of fire, that the serpent might be consumed by the fire. Vulcanus granted this request, and it happened that a roaring came from heaven with thunder, lightning, and sheet lightning, and many figures and likenesses appeared in the sky. And in particular there stood in the firmament a clear, bright rainbow for many hours, of many kinds of natural colors that could not all be retained.