Magic and Mysticism 3 of 9
Part 3 of 9
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“There is a magic about you that is all your own.”
D.M. Dellinger
Above: The Four, the Three, the Two, and the One
The Four, the Three, the Two, and the One is an Esoteric etching print created in 1595. This illustration, whose full title is Syzygy or the Conjunction of the Macrocosmic Unity with the Microcosmic Triunity, is one of four illustrated plates from the Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae (Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom), an unusual, circular book on alchemy, written by the German physician, hermetic philosopher, and alchemist Heinrich Khunrath. Khunrath wrote the volume, and directed an engraver in its illustration, most likely either of the well-known Dutch printers Peter van der Doort or Hans Vredeman de Vries.
FAMOUS MAGICIANS
Adelaide Herrmann (1853–1932), famously known as the “Queen of Magic,” was a pioneering English-American magician, stunt performer, and vaudeville headliner. Born in London, she began her career as an acrobat, dancer, and trick velocipede rider before emigrating to the United States and marrying the prominent illusionist Alexander Herrmann (“Herrmann the Great”) in 1875. Rather than serving as a passive assistant, Adelaide became an active onstage collaborator, developing original acts and performing high-risk routines like the dangerous bullet catch illusion. Following Alexander’s sudden death in 1896, she took command of the touring production, eventually performing solo and commanding top billing across vaudeville circuits well into her 70s. By expanding her repertoire to include elaborate spectacles, animal menageries, and grand illusions, Adelaide Herrmann shattered Victorian-era glass ceilings to become one of history’s most successful and enduring female illusionists..
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
W.B Yeats
