The New Chemical Light: Now Available!

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This fairly beefy alchemical tract (technically two tracts in multiple sections) comes from the Alchemical Museum of Waites' time, originally penned by Sendivogius in the 1600s. It is strictly physical alchemy at work here, and strictly the more "authentic" path of the same, not like some works which are basically about just creating interesting medicines (few of which were safe!) or counterfeit currencies. Part of this work is in the form of dialogue between the alchemist and his mercury. In that sense it is vaguely like the much later work "On the Philadelphian Gold."

Here then the major concept of alchemy, that great work, is that of the four elements, three substances, two halves (male and female) thus joined creating the perfected substance that was believed to operate much like stem cells for the mineral world, literally, a sort of primordial material that could be purified out from other things and used to project matter. Importantly, Sendivogius references what some other contemporaries do, namely that this substance, while found in gross (literally vulgar, as in composted feces, etc) matter, to try and work with that same matter improperly will benefit the sage not at all.

99 pages.

The Only True Way: Now Available!

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This very short tract is an excellent primer to alchemy; it's actually more an explanation of the veils and hidden meanings of the terms used by other works than it is a process in its own right- the author is anonymous, but Waite dug it up and managed to translate it. Altogether, when paired with other longer, more literal works, it's of far greater value than its general obscurity suggests.

24 pages.

Six Keys of Eudoxus: Now Available!

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This alchemical manuscript is rather short, and alludes to Pontanus, Flamel, Hermes, and others, while proposing a six-step sort of system in which the philosophers' stone is made and used for various purposes.

It is vaguely a shortened adaptation of the Rosarium Philosophorum; making use of the general metaphor of the age- coagulating, fermenting, distilling, and other processes are overlapped with spiritual, often cosmic imagery.

24 pages.

The Tomb of Semiramis: Now Available!

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Talk about an early Yule gift; Createspace saw fit to finally accept and process this submission two months later; I have to assume whoever had it on hold quit their job or there was a glitch in the system.

This short work is alchemical in nature; it appears to adapt and retell "A Work of Saturn" by Hollandus and describes the crafting and augmenting of the philosophers' stone to create elixir- a sort of metallic substance that melts like wax at low heat (or in contact with silver) and can be dissolved in wine or injected into wounds- that this substance is a sort of mercurial compound renders it perhaps less favorable in modern medicine, although I suppose it could destroy infections.

26 pages.

A Subtle Allegory Concerning the Secrets of Alchemy: Now Available!

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This tract of alchemy was written by the famous Michael Maier, a German alchemist of the 16th and 17th century. It is an interesting work particularly because the veil of metaphor used to describe the process of alchemy itself takes the form of a short story involving the search for the legendary Phoenix- indeed, the putrefaction and vaporizing processes of the alchemists do seem to overlap with this imagery fairly well.

Maier is hopeful that the reader will compare this allegorical system to the general rudiments of alchemy which even the laypeople comprehended and will be able to discover for themselves the process.

33 pages.

Golden Tractate of Hermes: Now Available!

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The Golden Tractate of Hermes is one of the shorter variety of alchemical works ever made, but that doesn't make it worth a read; along with Pontanus' and Artephius' works (with allusions infrequently in other materials) it seeks to explain alchemy without all of the symbolism and veils most prevalent therein- a task it performs with some degree of success.

Not actually written by Trismegistus but in the Renaissance, the content here is as much to illuminate other works as to explain its own Ixir-crafting process.

24 pages.

Aphorisms of Urbigerus: Now Available!

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One of the foremost texts of alchemy, the Aphorisms of Urbigerus remains one of the better kept secrets of the tradition. Written in 1690 and originally of English manufacture, it contains a series of 100 short statements (technically 101 statements) on alchemy, and alchemical philosophy.

Referring often to the green dragon, the red lion, and other alchemical veils for simplistic chemical terms, it allows the reader, so it claims, to create three stages of purified mercury and several types of elixir- through both a long, proper method, and a shorter but less effective one. It combines the quite literal with the metaphoric in such a way that the modern reader can presumably determine what specific chemical processes are being used; as is not the case with at least half of all works of alchemy.

Three Treatises on Alchemy (Philalethes) - Now Available!

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Philalethes delivers another expert work on alchemy here, in three parts:

1. The Transmutation of Metals: Mostly about extracting the "seed" of metals for alchemical use.

2. The Celestial Ruby: Various workings and processes with some philosophical content.

3. Fount of Chemical Truth: A strange work alluding to natural processes which are not entirely clear.

A Work of Saturn: Now Available!

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Isaac Hollandus delivers again with one of the better alchemical works I have read.

Largely revolving around the use of lead for medical purposes (something I cannot recommend!) "A Work of Saturn" is a bit less veiled and difficult to understand than most texts on alchemy- Hollandus fails on only one account, for while referring to the lead of the philosophers as antimony, the text describes a process which quite clearly involves rudimentary, normal lead- as in, the toxic element, which Hollandus unwisely recommends the alchemist taste in order to make sure the process is working.

It is essentially one long process for distilling powdered lead to make elixir- the resulting material (a red oil from a strange sort of compounded mineral deposit) is said by Hollandus to allow the projection (multiplication) of metals, as well as being used in dissolved and ingested form to cure all ailments, or injected into wounds to resolve infections.

30 pages.

Alchemy Books For Sale

The following is a continuously edited list of works which I have released which pertain to alchemy. All links are to Amazon.

THE CHEMICAL ART
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Ficinus' philosophical work containing an extremely interesting conversation between a necromancer and Satan among other things, with regards to alchemy.

A TRACT OF GREAT PRICE
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An interesting philosophical work of unknown authorship. It relates the generation of metals to the ascension of vapors and their mixing with other materials.

CONCERNING THE TINCTURE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
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A spurious Paracelsian work of note, openly threatening the enemies of "true" alchemical lore.

THE AURORA OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
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Paracelsus' work relating the occult to past civilizations and attempting to refute errors in then-modern alchemical philosophy.

THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF HOMER
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A series of statements regarding reality and the practice of creating and transmuting.

THE ROSARY OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
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The longest alchemical text; a series of intricate illustrations and partly metaphoric chemical experiments; equal parts philosophy and physicality.

THE THREE ELIXIRS OF ALCHEMY
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A short work attributed to Hollandus- speaks of the creation of elixir, a universal medicine of cosmic capabilities.

THE TWELVE KEYS OF BASIL VALENTINE
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Mostly philosophical and part metaphor- almost certainly a spurious work of later date. This version omits the attractive but useless woodcuts of later editions.

THREE TREATISES ON ALCHEMY
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The Transmutation of Metals, The Celestial Ruby, and A Fount of Chemical Truth by Philalethes.

THE MIRROR OF ALCHEMY
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Roger Bacon's hands-on experimentation with replicating natural forces to create metals.

A WORK OF SATURN
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Details the creation of universal medicine through purifying and processing lead.

APHORISMS OF URBIGERUS
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A series of 100 alchemical aphorisms which detail the creation of elixir.

ON THE PHILADELPHIAN GOLD
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A philosophical dialogue between Philadelphus and Philochrysus on the topic of spiritual matter.

THE SECRET WORK OF HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY
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A less difficult alchemical manuscript explaining the creation of the stone of the philosophers.

THREE WORKS ON ALCHEMY
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Trithemius' "Everburning Lights", Philalethes' "Alkahest", and Pontanus' "Philosophic Fire".

TURBA PHILOSOPHORUM
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One of the better known and earliest alchemical works in the form of a lengthy dialogue.

TRACT ON THE TINCTURE AND OIL OF ANTIMONY
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A Baconian work of note. Short, but in depth medicinal and chemical practice. Mostly literal.

STONE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
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One of the most interesting works of Kelly, created while under imprisonment. A very literal work claiming that only gold, silver, and quicksilver are used outside of any works of Saturn.

GOLDEN TRACTATE OF HERMES
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A largely explanatory work which seeks to make the process of alchemy more understood.

A SUBTLE ALLEGORY
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A short work by Maier relating alchemy in the tale of the Phoenix as a metaphor.

THE TOMB OF SEMIRAMIS
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A short work re-adapting and clarifying Hollandus' system of elixir creation.

THE SIX KEYS OF EUDOXUS
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A six-step program to crafting the philosopher's stone and attendant compounds.

FREHER'S PROCESS
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A short and semi-transparent spiritual counterpart to physical alchemy.

THE ONLY TRUE WAY
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A very short tract explaining some major alchemical terms while criticizing past alchemists as frauds.

AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS' TINCTURE
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A short tract on the compounds prepared for alchemy, using a lot of spiritual metaphor and secondary sources.

CONCERNING THE HERMETIC ART
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A short academic work detailing some physical and some spiritual alchemical topics.

AULA LUCIS
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A short and mostly physical tract that refers to Lully, Trithemius, Philalethes, and more.

THE ALCHEMICAL CATECHISM
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A short work in the form of question and answer explaining most significant physical alchemical topics.

NEW CHEMICAL LIGHT
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About a hundred pages of Waite-transcribed lore regarding physical alchemy, from Sendivogius.

THE ROMANCE AND MYSTERY OF ALCHEMY AND PHARMACY
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A fine edition containing herbal recipes, fictional and nonfictional medical lore, and quite a bit on the subject of alchemy.

A COLLECTION OF ALCHEMY
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A compilation of fourteen premiere alchemical works, with a substantial preface, appendix, reading list, and list of terms.