The Significance of the Alchemist’s White Peacock

A photo of the White Peacock on the facade of 10, Celetna - Prague, Czechia

The Significance of the Alchemist’s White Peacock

I’ve written about the Royal Way in Prague – the path that the procession to a coronation would take through the city of Prague. I’ve also noted the connections to alchemy, like the White Peacock, and how some of these symbols were hidden along the Royal Way as well.

After the Powder Tower, the statue of Mercury and the Black Madonna, continue walking along Celetna street to follow the Royal route1, also known as the alchemists’ trail. There is a relief of a white peacock on the facade of the building at number 10. The peacock is a little the worse for wear and, as of time of writing, the building needs a facelift but the image of the bird is large and clearly visible.

A photo of the White Peacock on the facade of 10, Celetna - Prague, Czechia
The White Peacock on the facade of 10, Celetna – Prague, Czechia

Symbolism

The peacock is well-known as a royal bird2. Untrained observers may connect the bird to the Royal Route and stop there.

Alchemists value the peacock for symbolism. In alchemical terms, the peacock’s tail is respected for being multi-coloured2 3. Other points to keep in mind are2 3 4:

  • The peacock features in Greek mythology, where Hera gave the peacock the 100 eyes of the giant Argos.
  • Peacocks fight and eat poisonous snakes, so poison is transformed into the colours of the peacock’s tail. Such a conversion – from black to colours, poison to beauty – maps to the alchemical process.
  • White is a divine colour, and represents rebirth as well as purity

If you’re following the alchemical process, the next step is albino, or whiteness. And the colours of the rainbow combine to create white. It’s this mix of facts and whimsy that made alchemy so popular at the time.

A photo of the facade at Number 10, Celetna Street - Prague, Czechia
The facade of Celetna 10 – Prague, Czechia

You can see a pattern emerging in the alchemist’s trail here. The Black Madonna represents the darkness; the alchemist’s initial state of ‘unknown’ or ‘impurity’. Alchemists call this nigredo. The next stage is a purification to become clean, or white. Alchemists call this albedo and it is the second stage of the search for the philosopher’s stone.

These two stages let an alchemist confront ‘the shadow within’ and purify himself. The duality of these two aspects of being human will be later tackled in the last stage of alchemy, rubedo.

The Royal route is the path taken by Bohemian royalty on the day of their coronation. The symbolism of their path – transforming from a mere man to a king – matches the symbolism of alchemy – transforming base materials into gold. Read my separate articles about the Royal Route and alchemy for more information.

The peacock symbolises we are on the right track and heading towards whiteness – but that we haven’t really got there yet …

References

  1. CzechTourism (2020). The Royal Route of Prague. [online] Visitczechia.com. Available at: https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/landmarks/urban-architecture/c-prague-royal-route[↩]
  2. Eden, E.E. (2021). The Language of Birds: Alchemical Symbolism Part 3, The Peacock’s Tail. [online] Buttondown.com. Available at: https://buttondown.com/eveharms/archive/the-language-of-birds-alchemical-symbolism-part-3/ [Accessed 31 Mar. 2025][↩][↩][↩]
  3. Jörg Völlnagel (2016). Illuminating Alchemy’s Colorful Peacock Stage. [online] Getty Iris. Available at: https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/illuminating-alchemys-colorful-peacock-stage/[↩][↩]
  4. Universe of Symbolism. (n.d.). White Peacock Symbolism | White Peacock Meaning. [online] Available at: https://www.universeofsymbolism.com/white-peacock-symbolism.html[↩]
Remember: links were correct at time of publication.