Aurum Cordis

Aurum Cordis (“The Gold of the Heart”) is a static website that reads the alchemical Opus Magnum through three lenses at once: classical alchemy, orthodox Christian theology, and Jungian depth psychology.

Why this project exists

Most modern summaries flatten alchemy into either chemistry history or esoteric mysticism. This project instead treats alchemy as a symbolic grammar for transformation and puts it in structured dialogue with:

• Patristic and classical Christian theology,
• Scriptural exegesis,
• Jung’s account of individuation and the unconscious.

The result is a long-form, chaptered reading experience designed for careful study rather than quick reference.

What’s in the site

Core sequence (the Great Work)

• Foundations: Prima Materia, Four Elements, Tria Prima, Seven Metals
• Stages: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, Rubedo
• Synthesis: Philosopher’s Stone, Opus Magnum
• Context: Jung & Alchemy, Bibliography

Reference appendices

• Cross-Reference Index (pages/cross-reference.html): filterable theological/Jungian/scriptural index driven by JSON data.

Design and implementation

This is a no-build web project:

• HTML pages in / and /pages
• Shared styling in css/base.css, css/components.css, css/animations.css
• Per-page styling in css/pages/
• Lightweight vanilla JavaScript in js/main.js
• Content/data assets in assets/ and data/

Front-end behavior

The JavaScript layer provides:

• scroll-triggered reveal animations,
• smooth anchor scrolling,
• active nav highlighting,
• dropdown and mobile nav behavior,
• lazy background and image loading,
• optional page-specific interactions.

Project structure

aurum-cordis/
├── index.html
├── pages/
│   ├── prima-materia.html
│   ├── four-elements.html
│   ├── sulphur-mercury-salt.html
│   ├── seven-metals.html
│   ├── nigredo.html
│   ├── albedo.html
│   ├── citrinitas.html
│   ├── rubedo.html
│   ├── philosophers-stone.html
│   ├── opus-magnum.html
│   ├── jung.html
│   ├── bibliography.html
│   └── cross-reference.html
├── css/
│   ├── base.css
│   ├── components.css
│   ├── animations.css
│   └── pages/
├── js/
│   ├── main.js
│   ├── diagrams.js
│   └── search.js
├── data/
│   └── cross-reference.json
└── assets/
    ├── icons/
    └── diagrams/

Run locally

Because there is no build step, you can serve the project with any static file server.

Python

python3 -m http.server 8000

Then open: http://localhost:8000

Node (optional)

npx serve .

Deploy

The repository is structured for straightforward GitHub Pages deployment:

1. Push to your GitHub repository.
2. Enable Pages in repo settings.
3. Set source to the default branch root.

Using diagrams in documentation and pages

The /assets/diagrams/ directory contains reusable thematic artwork suitable for:

• hero figures,
• chapter headers,
• README/documentation visuals,
• teaching materials.

Suggested highlights:

• assets/diagrams/prima-materia.png
• assets/diagrams/nigredo.png
• assets/diagrams/albedo.png
• assets/diagrams/citrinitas.png
• assets/diagrams/rubedo-phoenix.png
• assets/diagrams/philosophers-stone.png

Editorial posture

This project is explicitly confessional and interpretive.

• It does not present all alchemical traditions as equivalent.
• It does not reduce theology to psychology.
• It does not claim historical alchemy was “secretly modern chemistry.”

Instead, it offers a comparative reading framework for symbolic theology, spiritual formation, and historical alchemical language.

License

See LICENSE.

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Ora et Labora et Lege