This pattern is one of the most important alchemical and Hermetic symbols. It is featured in Michespacher's 1654 book Cabala in Alchymia as the diagram
...显示更多 describing the very process of Creation. The three balls are said to represent the three alchemical elements- salt, sulphur and mercury, in conjunction with the Godhead at the center which unites the three to create the Universe; in other words, the three elements are spun together and held in equilibrium until an energy from the Creator activates the process. This is the act of material manifestation.