The Rebis is an androgynous alchemical figure: a single body bears two heads, masculine and feminine, frequently associated with the Sun and the Moon. The image appears in early modern alchemical emblem literature as a representation of an accomplished conjunction, in which previously separate principles are united. It does not describe a historical person or an “alchemical god.” The Rebis acts as a living diagram of the union of opposites, particularly in traditions that link Sulfur, Mercury, the Sun, and the Moon.
| Form | Androgynous two-headed body, masculine and feminine |
|---|---|
| Traditional etymology | Re-bis, “double thing” |
| Associated principles | Sun and Moon, Sulfur and Mercury |
| Operation | Conjunction and union of opposites |
| Context | European alchemical emblem from the early modern period |
How can you recognize a Rebis?
The Rebis generally depicts a standing body topped by two heads, one masculine and the other feminine. The hands hold geometric or alchemical attributes, while the Sun and Moon may appear above or around the figure.
Famous images place the androgyne on a dragon and surround it with a dense array of planetary, elemental, and geometric signs. This accumulation indicates that it is not a portrait but a visual synthesis.
The figure should be read as a result: what was separated is now united in a single symbolic body.
What does the word Rebis mean?
Alchemical authors connect the term with the Latin expression res bina or the idea of a “double thing.” The symbolic etymology corresponds perfectly to the two-headed figure.
The word expresses a unity composed of two principles. It is not about erasing differences but about bringing them together in a new, stable form.
This logic of union appears in several alchemical images in which king and queen, Sun and Moon, or Sulfur and Mercury undergo separation, purification, and then conjunction.
Why does alchemy unite the masculine and feminine?
Alchemical literature uses the masculine-feminine pair to represent chemical and cosmological polarities. The Sun may be associated with a masculine principle and the Moon with a feminine principle; Sulfur and Mercury form another major polarity.
The Rebis shows the moment when this duality ceases to be opposition and becomes composition. The figure therefore belongs to a mode of thought centered on the transformation of matter.
Sulfur and Mercury each have their own entry in the Grimoire; the Rebis helps explain what their union symbolically produces in certain systems.
What place does it hold among the emblems attributed to Basil Valentine?
The work Azoth, circulated in the 17th century under the name Basil Valentine, presents a series of emblems that became famous in the history of alchemy. One of them shows an androgynous figure at the center of a vast network of symbols.
The Wellcome Collection preserves a French edition from 1624 and later facsimiles of this work. Editorial tradition connects these images to Basil Valentine, whose historical identity is itself complex and debated.
This editorial context must be preserved: discussing the Rebis without its books, engravings, and commentaries amounts to stripping the image of half its language.
Why isn’t the Rebis simply a symbol of modern androgyny?
Today, the Rebis is relevant to discussions of androgyny and the union of genders. This contemporary reception is understandable in view of a figure that combines man and woman in a single body.
In historical alchemy, however, the focus remains on the conjunction of principles and the transformation of matter. The sex of the two heads functions within a broader system of correspondences.
The Rebis should therefore be considered alongside the Ouroboros and the symbol of the philosopher’s stone: three images that have become emblematic of alchemy, but each corresponding to a different logic.
Sources and historical background
The Wellcome Collection preserves a 1624 edition of Azoth, or the Way to Make the Hidden Gold of the Philosophers, attributed to Basil Valentine, a major source of the alchemical emblem associated with the Rebis.
