Filius philosophorum

{{Short description|Symbol in alchemy}}

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File:Infans Philosophicus tres agnoscit patres, ut Orion.png by three fathers.]]

The {{lang|la|filius philosophorum}} (Latin for "the philosophers' child", i.e. made by the true students of philosophy) is a symbol in alchemy. In some texts it is equated with the philosopher's stone ({{lang|la|lapis philosophorum}}), but in others it assumes its own symbolic meanings. Other terms for the {{lang|la|filius philosophorum}} include {{lang|la|filius sapientiae}} ("child of wisdom"), {{lang|la|infans noster}} ("our child"), {{lang|la|infans solaris}} ("sun child"), {{lang|la|infans lunaris}} ("moon child"), and {{lang|la|infans solaris lunaris}} ("sun moon child").

There are several images that have been used to represent the {{lang|la|filius philosophorum}}. Among these are the transformed hermaphroditic Hermes, the child of the Red King and the White Queen (the Sun and Moon), the child of the egg, and the three-fathered Orion.

The {{lang|la|filius philosophorum}} was also one of the Jungian archetypes analyzed by the Swiss psychologist.