"One must not confuse a symbol with a mere allegory, nor try to see in it the expression of some misty and irrational collective instinct. True symbolism depends on the fact that things, which may differ from one another in space, material nature, and many other limitative characteristics, can possess and exhibit the same essential quality. They thus appear as diverse reflections, manifestations, or productions of the same reality — which in itself is independent of time and space. It is thus not quite right to say that gold represents the sun, and silver the moon; rather is it the case that the two noble metals and the two luminaries are both symbols of the same two cosmic or divine realities."
- Titus Burckhardt, Alchemy, p.11
