A chicken egg monster called “Homunculus”. Homunculus from an egg - fact or fiction, and how to make it Is it possible to grow a homunculus

First of all, it is worth mentioning that during its heyday, alchemy existed in the form of two sections, “high alchemy” and “applied” - the adherents of the high despised the adepts of the applied for the mundaneness of their aspirations (the notorious search for gold, wealth and attempts to fit into the court of those in power), and strictly speaking, “high alchemy” was closer to religious philosophy than to chemistry in modern world. The area of ​​interest of high alchemy includes knowledge of the essence of being and matter and the search for the philosopher's stone (it should be noted that the philosopher's stone was a substance capable of transforming all aspects of life to their ideal prototype - healing diseases of the body and soul, giving immortality, etc. And the ability to transform metals into gold was, from their point of view, nothing more than the healing of diseases of metals and in no case was the goal of the “great work”!) To create a stone, from the point of view of alchemy adherents, it was necessary to first understand the essence of life and existence in general, and for this, experiments were carried out with the creation of life (initially this was the point of contact between alchemy and Kabbalah, according to legends which gave initiates the power to revive clay golems with the power of true words, such an approach was also shared by high alchemy for which the homunculus was more of a helping spirit or something similar, rather than a test tube baby and created from inanimate matter and energy.) - further experiments with homunculi shifted to the plane of applied alchemy (various instructions, spells, etc. etc. methods designed for a wide range of people) and ceased to interest high adherents - they fundamentally refused such popularization of their art and wrote all treatises in the most symbolic language, closed to the uninitiated.

From a scientific point of view, the methods of creating a homunculus that have become widespread among ordinary people are a relic of the medieval theory of embryo formation (animalculism) - according to it, the rudiments of all organs are collected from each organ into the sperm and a ready-made embryo is formed in it, and female body needed only as an incubator. Thus, “practical” alchemists tried to replace the female body in this process with a retort and, using various manipulations with spells and a nutrient medium, force those same embryos to grow. (in this regard, the similarity between many of the instructions for creating a homunculus and the instructions for breeding basilisks is interesting!)

Naturally, not a single documented creation of a homunculus exists, although many famous scientists and alchemists are credited with their creation (Villanova, Paracelsus and even Newton!), but attention to questions of life and death is indeed characteristic of many alchemists throughout the history of this discipline, as well as characteristic of popular rumor - therefore the creation of homunculi is very widely covered in the literature. If you are interested in this, I can advise you to turn to primary sources in search of interesting stories and instructions ("Golem" by Gustav Meyrink regarding the Kabbalistic approach, "Faust" by Goethe + translated books on alchemy, etc.)

A homunculus (from the Latin “little man”) is a humanoid creature grown artificially from a male seed. For the first time, medieval alchemists spoke about the possibility of this process.

Historical background

Alchemist creates a homunculus

Information that has survived to this day indicates that one of the first homunculi was created by the Spanish physician and alchemist Arnold of Villanova.

Born in the 13th century, he lived an extremely long life - 71 years, when the average human life expectancy in those days was 30 years.

The most famous recipe for a homunculus belongs to none other than one of the founding fathers modern science- Paracelsus.

In his opinion, a human seed, placed in special conditions, is reborn into a homunculus. Its further growth and development is ensured by feeding with human blood.

How to make a homunculus?

On November 16, 2015, a strange video was posted on the popular video hosting site YouTube in which a certain man, without showing his face, talks about an experiment to create a homunculus.

The video, which was watched by more than 10 million people, shows in detail the process of growing a homunculus at home and the resulting result. We present to your attention a video recording that we consider to be an ideal guide to growing a homunculus.

Video about a homunculus from an egg

The experiments of other alchemists have shown that the creation of homunculi is not limited to the use of chicken eggs. It can be assumed that a homunculus from an ostrich egg will be larger than its chicken counterpart. These could be the eggs of other birds, and even horse manure.

However, all homunculus recipes have the following in common:

1. Use of human genetic material.
2. Ripen in a warm place away from sunlight (ideal temperature 37 degrees Celsius).

An Alternative Method for Creating a Homunculus

Method using mandrake root. Keep in mind that the plant is poisonous. To create a homunculus from a plant requires special spells that we were unable to find.

Appearance

Homunculus drawn by alchemists

According to the alchemical certificate, the time of “gestation” or, more precisely, the maturation of the homunculus is exactly 40 days. The height of the homunculus is about 30 centimeters.

To be fair, we note that this article is purely theoretical in nature and we ourselves have not made any attempts to make a homunculus.

It is interesting that fairy tales often mention creatures similar to homunculi, and one can assume the sexual division of homunculi: a boy the size of a thumb and an inch. They were grown from cabbage stalks and barley grains, respectively, and in appearance they were a small copy of a person.

What is a homunculus for?

According to medieval alchemists, the homunculus is capable of fulfilling the wishes of his father-creator. The homunculus has secret knowledge inaccessible to ordinary people.

They are also credited with paranormal abilities: reading minds, communicating with spirits, transforming into animals, controlling the weather, and much more.

Later experiments with a real homunculus

The creature called a homunculus, or as it is also called homunculus, can be treated differently. To some it may seem like a strange monster, to others it may interest others, and others will want to grow homunculus at home on their own, like, for example, the hero of the video. There are also those who predict a great future for him.

Let's figure out together what is known today about these strange games with nature, and you will have to decide for yourself whether all this is true or not.

Lifting the veil of history

Medieval alchemists, despite the condemnation of European society, devoted themselves without reserve to their work, boldly rushed into the abyss of desperate experiments. The search for a panacea, the philosopher's stone, the elixir of youth, transmutation, and other unusual matters deprived them of sleep and peace. Among the experiences there were those that initially promised failure and defeat; as a rule, they ended in disappointment, despair and the desire to end it once and for all. But there were also those who made the hearts of the brave beat wildly in anticipation of the victory of mind over flesh. Some of them to this day excite minds and consciousness with their unfinished work and inexplicable consequences. These include experiments to create a creature called homunculus, mysterious and mysterious.

Homunculus - a strange creature similar to a person

That a human likeness can be created artificially, they started talking back in the 13th century, thanks to the efforts and diligence of the then famous experimenter Arnaldus de Villanova. But information about how he managed to do this, unfortunately, has not been preserved to this day.

But we know what Paracelsus thought about the origin of homunculus (drawing - photo). The famous Swiss physician and alchemist of the 16th century believed that a creature could be created from human sperm placed in a certain environment (for example, in an egg, and then in horse manure). The mechanism of this process remains unclear to this day.

Paracelsus fed his creation, located in a flask, with drops of human blood; the demonic creature matured at the temperature of a woman’s womb for 40 weeks and reached a size of 12 inches.

Views of animalculists and ovists

Until the end of the eighteenth century, it was generally accepted that the homunculus was located in the sperm (photo), and sometimes these concepts were even identified. In their opinion, when they enter the mother’s body, these little people simply increase in size; the embryo only grows and does not develop. The strange and mysterious theory immediately received the name animalculism. One of its adherents was Leeuwenhoek, a famous scientist who had been studying sperm for a long time.

Thus, Nicholas Hartsoecker, in 1694, argued that the “simplest animals” are found in the sperm of humans and animals, which is why it is a homunculus.
The fact that many people carried out the experiments is evidenced by the drawings of that time. In one of them, Faust bent over the table (photo - drawing “Faust with a homunculus”) and froze in anticipation of a miracle. In another, a drawing by Nicholas Hartsecker, a famous Dutch scientist of the late seventeenth century, the homunculus is nestled in a sperm (photo).

The views of the Ovists were similar to the theory of animalculism, but there was also a difference. They considered the basis for the origin of a creature not to be the male sperm, but the female reproductive cell - the egg. For some reason, the Ovists saw a lot in common between the creation of a homunculus and a clay golem. You can see what a golem - homunculus - looks like in the photo. The followers of this experiment claimed that their homunculus, having grown stronger, soon left its owner. In addition to human sperm, they used skin, bones, and similar fragments of the body of an animal used to produce a hybrid.

There were also those who advised using a mandrake, whose root resembles a human silhouette, to create a homunculus. You need to pick it early on Friday morning, then wash it thoroughly, dry it, and fill it with honey and milk. The most cold-blooded ones recommended feeding it with blood for greater strength, intelligence and strength. It was believed that the miniature man who grew from it would guard and protect its owner for a long time, serve him faithfully and fulfill all his whims.

David Christianus, a doctor at the University of Giessen who studied homunculus, described in the 18th century how it could be made from an ordinary chicken egg. According to him, on the first day of the March lunar cycle, you need to take a black laying egg, make a small hole in the shell, remove part of the protein and place human sperm in it. After sealing the hole with parchment, the egg should be placed in the excrement. On the thirtieth day, according to Christianus, one can expect the appearance of a miniature man capable of serving his master, who will feed on lavender seeds and earthworms.

In the eighteenth century, a representative of academic science, one of the founders of epigenesis, K.F. Wolf, harshly criticized such preformationist ideas and sharply opposed their discussion and dissemination.

How to create your own homunculus

Do you want to feel euphoria and feel omnipotent? In this case, why don’t you repeat the bold experiment yourself? Try to make a homunculus (photo) from an ordinary egg.

Creating an artificial creature is not difficult; you can do it as the author of the video advises.

In addition to the egg, you will need a jar with a lid, a syringe, seed material, and simple tools.

From quail egg You can make a homunculus even faster, it will turn out in just 40 days, and it will be the same as that of the author of the video.

Or, as shown in the video, an unknown creature can even arise from an ostrich egg.

Over the question of whether this is true or not, many “broke their spears”, because one so wants to believe that man is not only the arbiter of destinies, but also their creator. So, is it possible to say with confidence that these creatures have the right to life, or is the “fake homunculus” a figment of someone’s fevered imagination?

Why is Homunculus fake?

After watching the video below, everything will immediately become clear to you, and any remaining doubts about this matter will dissipate by themselves. Having examined the photo of the result of the work, it becomes clear that there can be no talk of any meaningful behavior. There is a noticeable similarity more with a single-celled organism than with an intelligent being.

You can and should be skeptical about the theory, like, for example, the author of the video.

But who knows, whether in the future we will not experience delight and surprise from an experiment to create intelligent homunculi?

What modern scientists can’t come up with! Science knows how to create a unique robot, clone an animal, how to make a homunculus or grow human organs. However, serious scientific research was carried out in ancient times and received particular development during the Middle Ages, when the so-called alchemists worked tirelessly in their underground laboratories.

In addition to searching for the notorious philosopher's stone and other semi-magical tricks, these tough guys tried to solve one of the most key mysteries of existence: is it possible to grow a person in a laboratory? A living creature that closely resembles a human, but only a very small one, was first created and raised by the Swiss physician Paracelsus, back in 1534.

The fruit of Paracelsus’s incredible efforts was immediately dubbed the homunculus (lat. homunculus- little man), and many amateur alchemists began to repeat the doctor’s experiments and try to grow their own version of this creature. Let's try to create a small human baby without resorting to traditional methods.

Above we have already given the meaning of the word homunculus, what kind of creature this is, and why it is called that. Let's dig a little deeper and find out more useful information about this creature.

Wikipedia does say that a homunculus can be obtained artificially, through certain manipulations proposed by the medieval alchemist Paracelsus. He was convinced that human sperm placed in a warm environment would help create a small living organism (horse manure served as an improvised “greenhouse”). During his experiments Paracelsus acted approximately in this sequence.

Further development of biological sciences led to the assertion that the homunculus is located in spermatozoa, and when, during natural fertilization, it entered the womb of a woman, it turned into the embryo of an ordinary person. This fact was confirmed by medieval pictures in which the homunculus was identified with the sperm.

Now you know literally “what the homunculus is made of” and “what it eats,” a photo of which we tried to find on the Internet.

Since we do not know a number of magical manipulations of Paracelsus, we will use items that can be easily found in real life, without resorting to all sorts of supernatural things.

• For this we need a regular chicken egg.. It is necessary to take a fresh, just laid egg from a hen that has not been in contact with the rooster.
• Male seed (where would we be without it). Although later we will tell you what can replace it.
• Pharmaceutical syringe.
• A piece of thick fabric.
• Medical syringe.

Let's begin the process of creating a homunculus

If you are incredibly attracted to a creature called a homunculus, you can watch a video of its creation right in this section. By the way, you can try to grow a homunculus from an ostrich egg.

How to make a homunculus without a seed: from mandrake, from horsehair

We have already told you what a homunculus is, that it is a living organism capable of breathing, moving, consuming food and recognizing its owner. You have learned about the most popular and most remarkable ways to create a little man. The key element of these experiments is male sperm, however, even ancient magicians and sorcerers spoke about the possibility of conceiving a homunculus without sperm. There were 2 main ingredients for this:

• Mandrake. The root of this plant always has a bizarre shape and visually resembles a human figure. Ancient peoples believed that with the help of special spells and potions it was possible to turn the mandrake root into a living person.
• Horsehair. To use this method, you need to find a mare in heat, pull out her hair and rub it near the animal’s genitals. Then we throw the hair into a jug of spring water, put it in a dark place for 10 days and thus grow a homunculus. In this case, we will not get a man, but a little worm capable of attracting big money. Place it next to banknotes at night and you will increase your income several times.

Truth and fiction about homunculi

Perhaps only the lazy did not think about how to raise a homunculus. There are hundreds of stories and comments online regarding this topic. The bravest users have already managed to conduct incredible experiments, film their efforts and post it all on YouTube.

Some videos are truly Oscar-worthy, like the video in which a guy grows something by crossing a chicken egg and samples of his own seed. Soon he kills this something with his own hands with a heavy volume of the Russian-Chinese dictionary. It was this incident that gave rise to popular meme about homunculi and aroused great interest in these creatures, as well as in their parents, that is, the creators.

Chemists, biologists, armchair psychoanalysts and simple onlookers began to absorb this topic from all sides, thinking about whether it was even possible to cross the sex cells of a chicken and a human and get offspring. There is still a heated debate on this issue, and videos with new experiments appear on the Internet.

To confirm or refute rumors about a homunculus, it is better to try to grow it yourself. The most popular and accessible method is a homunculus from an egg, the creation of which does not require complex devices or magical rituals.

If you want to create a homunculus without sperm, remember children's fairy tales. Yes, yes, famous all over the world Boy with Thumb, Thumbelina or Katigoroshka are nothing more than homunculi grown from individual particles. Namely, Little Thumb appeared from a cabbage stalk, Thumbelina - from barley grain, and Katigoroshka - from a pea.

We cannot guarantee that you will be able to grow a living creature from similar plants, but we have provided you with the opportunity to learn a little more about homunculi, their creation and life activity. However, you can be sure whether all these stories about humanoid creatures are true or not only after watching videos or conducting your own experiments.

If now scientific and production breakthroughs in all spheres of human life are taken for granted, in the Middle Ages even a small discovery received many admiring applause. Scientists, in their hard work, obtained results that were ahead of their time. Medicine and the study of living organisms are the main areas of research that the doctor from Switzerland was engaged in Paracelsus. The famous experiment by which this alchemist artificially created a living being in 1534 - homunculus. This discovery added his name to the list of the most talented researchers of that era. Read below for information on how to make a homunculus, this is exactly what this organism was called, at home and how to care for it.

How to raise a homunculus

Are you intrigued and want to create a “little man” of your own? First, let's dive into the theory and talk about how Paracelsus and his follower Count von Kuffstein created their homunculi.

Paracelsus's recipe(the first experiment was made in 1534):

1. Place the male seed in a retort or plug.
2. Place the vessel in a warm and dark place (the alchemist used horse dung for the experiment, which he watered with a special liquid).
3. After 7-10 days, remove the plug from the manure.
4. The resulting organism is fed with human blood.
5. After 40 days, the creature’s growth reaches 30-32 cm, and the homunculus is able to recognize its creator.

Count von Kuffstein's recipe(the first experiment was made in 1775):

1. The male sperm is placed in bovine fat and then in a jug.
2. The vessel is buried in horse manure for 20 days.
3. For three weeks, the dung should be watered with hot water (the feces begin to ferment and have an average temperature of +15 ⁰C).
4. Dig out jugs from the manure. At this stage, the homunculi have a height ranging from 19 to 21 cm (the Count himself has successfully grown 10 homunculi).
5. With proper care and nutrition, the creatures reach a height of up to 35 cm.

How to make a homunculus at home

The general idea of ​​how to create a home homunculus for yourself is: simple principle: Semen from the male, takes the power of the female egg. Based on this, we can conclude that a homunculus at home can only be obtained from an egg ( full instructions you can read below).

There is another way. It does not require complex instruments that scientists use in genetic engineering, so this method can be classified as “at-home”:

1. A cow or sheep is artificially inseminated.
2. The female is fed the blood of another animal.
3. After 3 weeks, the cow is killed and the small fetus is placed in a vessel with the mother's blood.

Impressed? We would like to disappoint you - most likely, this information is not true. And the text was taken from the memoirs “ Book about a cow", which were written in the 12th century in one of the Arab countries.

In this video clip, Anton will conduct a short video lesson in which he will show the process of creating a homunculus from an ostrich egg and give useful practical tips:

Homunculus from a chicken egg

Now we come to the most interesting thing - creating a homunculus from a chicken egg. In a chicken egg (although in fact any material is suitable for this method - from quail eggs to ostrich) there are all the necessary substances necessary for the successful development of the future organism.

So what we need:

• Chicken egg (attention, the egg must be freshly laid, and the chicken must be kept separate from the rooster).
• Male seed (the basis of the future homunculus).
• Syringe (for introducing the seed into the yolk).
• Thick fabric.
• Alcohol (to disinfect the surface of the egg and the syringe needle).

Step-by-step recipe for creating a homunculus from a chicken egg:

1. We prepare the seed.
2. We make a small hole in the egg shell. We inject sperm with a syringe (fertilization).
3. We seal the hole with tape (to prevent harmful bacteria from entering the fruit).
4. Place the egg in a tightly closed container, which we wrap with a cloth.
5. The resulting “packaging” is placed in a warm environment (in winter time, a central heating battery is ideal for this) for a period of 5 days to 2 weeks.

Details about the creature

A homunculus obtained from an egg can have different mass, size and shape. It all depends on the genetics of a particular person. Yes, yes... after all, the resulting creature is your “continuation”.

Let's take a closer look at all the information that will be useful for caring for the “little man”:

• Many believe that the creature is asexual. This is not true, and like humans, they have different gender characteristics.
• Full physiological processes take place in the body. Homunculi sleep, eat food, etc.
• The behavior contains elements of ingenuity and intuition.
• Not too developed, but present, nervous system and muscle mass.
• There is no discomfort from street light or from any other lighting device.

How else did they try to make a homunculus in ancient times?

People have wanted to artificially grow a living organism that has signs of intelligence since time immemorial. Scientists are now successfully cloning animals.

In the near future, using the DNA of the remains of an organism, it will be possible to grow extinct species of plants and animals. Let's consider how homunculi were raised in ancient times:

• Mandrake. The root shape of this plant always has an unusual shape. In his form, one could easily see parts of a person - legs, arms and head. Different peoples had different potions and spells that could turn the mandrake root into a living creature.
• Horse hair. The mare pulls out hair and rubs near the genitals (all this must be done during estrus). The hair was thrown into a jug of water and placed in a dark and inaccessible place. After 10 days, a small creature resembling a small worm will float at the bottom of the vessel.

1. The first homunculus was grown in Switzerland in 1534 by the physician and philosopher Paracelsus.
2. There are many fairy tales and stories in the world related to small creatures that were born in an unusual way:

• Tom Thumb- from cabbage stalks.
• Thumbelina - from a flower bud.
• Kotigoroshko - from a pea .

1. In Goethe's most famous tragedy "Faust", Mephistopheles creates a small man - a homunculus - in a flask in a laboratory.
2. During the Second World War, Hitler dreamed of creating an obedient creature capable of killing the enemy. After the war, the American leadership took scientists to Argentina, where research continued. The fruits of his labors became the basis of a new science - transplantology, which made it possible to transplant human organs.

Having learned how to make a homunculus, the most curious will repeat the experiment, and we are sure that they will get a positive result.

For others who are doubtful about this fantastic idea, we want to inform you that there were followers of Paracelsus both in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and they still exist in our time.

But many people now think that this is all fake; here is an article with a rationale for this.

Video tutorial: making a homunculus from an egg

In this step-by-step video lesson, the famous alchemist Arkady Mamontov will tell and show how to grow a homunculus in a chicken egg from his own seed, what you will need for this: