On the beginning of the fourth day, Christian is woken out of bed by the blaring of coronets. Talk about an alarm! He thought he was missing something important, but it turns out that he simply missed breakfast and was just in time for the festivities. He was taken to the fountain by the Virgin, and this time the lion of the fountain was standing with a large tablet taken from the ancient monuments that said: (in Latin) Prince Hermes. After so many injuries done to the human race, by God’s counsel, and by the aid of art, here I flow, made a healing medicine. Drink from me who can; wash who wishes; stir who dares; drink, brethren, and life.” So this is a fountain of life, which fits in well with the era during which this text was written – at the onset of the 17th century and the ongoing quest for the fountain of youth and world colonization (domination). Each of the guests washed in the fountain and took a drink of it from a solid gold goblet and were dressed in gold clothes and decorated with a Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece harkens back to the story of Jason, who had to acquire some fleece from a special golden, winged ram in order to prove his claim to the throne. Adorning these guests with this fleece connects them to the king, a relationship that becomes very important on Days 6 and 7.
The guests were lead up a spiral staircase that had 365 steps – one step for every day of the year – and were presented by the Virgin to the King and Queen.
The front of this chamber was rectangular, five times as long as it was broad, but towards the exit it had a great apse like a portal in which stood in a circle three royal thrones, the middle one somewhat higher than the others. Two people sat on each throne. On the first was an old king with a grey beard, but his consort was very beautiful and young. On the third throne sat a black king of middle age, and beside him a dainty old matron, not crowned but wearing a veil. On the middle throne sat two young persons with laurel wreaths on their heads, while over them hung a great ornamental crown.
I emphasize this passage, because these 6 royal figures become important to the Chymical Wedding, in that they will form the elemental parts of the Bride and Bridegroom. Cupid circles around the middle couple, playfully teasing them, as if to suggest divine intervention in the bringing of these two together. Cupid, in this image, is the cute little winged cherub of Renaissance art, son of Venus, who we will see again before the story is out.
Before the Queen is an altar, on which are a black, velvet book overlaid with gold, a small, ever-burning taper in an ivory candlestick, a celestial globe turning by itself, a clock, a crystal fountain flowing with blood-red liquid, and a skull through which a white snake was entwined.
Christian is constantly pointed out by the Virgin and various others, mocking his age or referencing him a trouble maker. He doesn’t like this much. He would like to become young again, which further suggests his involvement in alchemy and trying to find an elixir of youth. There is some speculation that the author who wrote this text, Andrae, was actually 19 when he first wrote it. Jung would suggest that he was toying with some shadow stuff, comparing himself to an old man on this transformative journey.
After a lot of dialogue and some playful teasing and dancing between the male guests and the Virgin’s maiden cohort, the royal procession files into a gallery to watch a play. Though there is no literal connection between the actual stories, I am reminded of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, during which a crucial theme of the play is reenacted before the primary characters right before their wedding. That play, an adaptation of Ovid’s “Pyramis and Thisbe” ends just as tragically as the play within the Chymical Wedding: This play tells of a King who is presented with a baby, his son’s intended, only to find out that a Moor had killed the entire kingdom. He goes to war, and defeats the Moor. The young baby, now a grown woman, is restored to her crown, but doesn’t allow herself to be properly guarded. The Moor, who was defeated by not destroyed, comes and captures her by seducing her and turning her against the King, now the son enthroned. The Moor treats the woman very badly, and the Young King wants to rescue her. He vanquishes the Moor and brings the woman home to marry her. In between each of the acts are several interludes: 1. a Lion fights a Gryphon and wins, 2. The four beasts of Daniel were brought on: a Lion, a Bear, a Leopard, and a Terrible Beast with iron teeth as seen in his vision. 3. An image of Nebuchadnezzar, decorated with many coats of arms all over its body (This I suspect references to his dream about the giant statue whose body is constructed from various elements, feet of iron an clay and head of gold.) 4. a chorus of fools, each carrying a piece of a globe that they construct and demolish. 5. a big elephant. All of these interludes help foreshadow what is coming for Christian, in a sense.
This play is followed by an entirely joyless dinner, as though the dinner was filled with bad news that the guests weren’t privy to. As such, after dinner, the dining hall is adorned with black, the altar set in the middle bearing 6 insignias and the guests are asked by the King to agree to go along with whatever is about to happen. Each of the royal persons drinks from the crystal fountain, then everyone else does too – a blood oath communion. The 6 royals put on black velvet and line up, and as the Queen of Hearts would say, “Off with their heads!” The blood from their bodies is caught in a chalice. The guests are then told to not worry and call it a night. Of course, Christian can’t sleep too well, and at midnight, he notices a fire on the lake. He watches from his window as 7 ships approach the castle, and the Virgin leads the 6 coffins and a chest that contains the executioner’s axe and head onto the ships, one each. All lights are extinguished once the coffins are laid aboard. And the pomp ended for the day.