Fama Fraternitatis: Now Available!

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And here it is; one of the most important works I never originally thought to release an edition of- the famous Fama Fraternitatis, first worked into English by Thomas Vaughan, that selfsame work which inspired occult changes in its own era and long after.

Containing a great deal of content in only a few pages, for someone like myself the most interesting inclusions are those which overlap it with the type of occult of Trithemius and Pontanus among others- with everburning lights and strange mechanisms and symbology. The Fama Fraternitatis formed the backbone of what was represented as an order so wise in its era that members could prolong human longevity to centuries, make gold, cure any disease, and speak with spirits.

24 pages.

The Alchemical Catechism: Now Available!

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This short, sweet work is actually one of the better alchemical works I have edited, at least insofar as being easily understood in its explanations of topics within alchemy such as the inferred differentiation between the heating action of digestion (manure decomposing!), the anaerobic burn (a kiln) and open flame. It is in the form of questions and answers, and was first worked into this form by AE Waite, that madman of manuscripts himself.

Its interesting content regarding the generation of materia by the action of vapors within the Earth is a primitive forerunner to the modern understanding of volcanism and tectonics.

32 pages.

Concerning the Hermetic Art: Now Available!

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This little text is more an academic study of alchemy than anything else; although it entitles itself after Hermeticism, the philosophical side of transformation is only half the content here; the other half details some primary sources of, and allusions to, physical alchemy, especially the composition of the green lion and the philosophic fire spoken of by Pontanus and others. It refers also to Flamel and Geber among others.

Altogether it's a good work; a bit on the dense side, but with several very literal, straight-forward passages with regards to the physical alchemical component that seems of greater interest to most. Importantly, the work echoes (multiple times from multiple sources) that alchemy is veiled and hidden from the unwise, and that multiple traps have been laid for those seeking to simply turn things into gold and become wealthy.

52 pages.

An Explanation of the Natural Philosophers' Tincture: Now Available!

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This manuscript concerns the chemical components of alchemy more than the actual crafting of any sorcerers' stone or elixir itself; indeed, it is the general recipe for the precursor materials needed to work the great work itself. The formula is fairly explicit but most of the secondary content used to "prove" the point is religious in nature and heavily metaphorical. Overall, a fine alchemical work of note, from one of the less well known figures within the period. It is slightly similar to some of Hollandus' work.

37 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.

Freher's Process: Now Available!

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Within the realm of alchemy a heavy amount of metaphor is typically used, but Freher's short tract here is exceptional perhaps for its willingness to state that the spiritual, here, and the chemical are deliberately overlapped- that isn't to say it's as transparent as glass; the text specifically (at the end, obviously!) says there is more that could be said, omitted because it's superfluous- a common cliff-hanger style in literature dealing with alchemy.

Though short, this work has as much detail on the rudimentary process of refining base materials into the stone of the philosophers (elixir)- here more a spiritual matter than physical, as the Rosarium Philosophorum.

36 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.

Turba Philosophorum: Now Available!

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The Turba Philosophorum is one of the foremost philosophical and alchemical texts of all time; probably comparable in popularity to the Rosarium Philosophorum.

It is delivered in the form of a dialogue between various great antiquated minds in science and philosophy, despite the fact that it was created no earlier than perhaps the late 800sAD and probably in the early 900s. It expounds and elaborates upon alchemical principles and truths that would become commonplace centuries later in virtually all Renaissance era works of this type.

I utilized Waite's (now public domain) translation of this work, and modernized it completely, significantly improving the formerly cramped format of the same.

110 pages.

Three Works of Alchemy: Now Available!

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Here are three short works of alchemy compiled together, for the purpose of length; each one was too short to release on its own. That being said, it's one of the most significant possible triplicities of alchemical lore that could possibly be released at all.

It contains "The Immortal Liquor Alkahest" of Philalethes, "Everburning Lights" by Trithemius, and "Philosophic Fire" by Pontanus. Philalethes' work, in the form of question and answer, spells out what alkahest is, where it comes from, and how to obtain it (namely, from human blood and urine.) Trithemius' work is ascribed to him but was made later, containing the simplistic backstory that Trithemius gave a scrip to someone whom the author met with, discovering the secret of creating phosphorescent lamps which could give off light for thousands of years. The third text, by Pontanus, is itself a key of alchemy- namely because it is the only text to tell the reader the nature of alchemical fire and where to research it (specifically, they are recommended to read Artephius' work.) With these three texts combined, alchemy becomes substantially easier to understand.

26 pages.

The Secret Work of the Hermetic Philosophy: Now Available!

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While this specific work claims the title of Hermetic Philosophy, it is more a standard alchemical text than a philosophical tract.

It attempts to reduce the convolution and deliberate obfuscation of alchemical truth by prior authors to a lesser degree such that the student is more readily able to understand the process of creating the stone of the philosophers- an attempt which is partially successful. It then divides the total work into the Zodiac, referencing stages of time required to produce the final result by astrological means.

52 pages.

On the Philadelphian Gold: Now Available!

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"On the Philadelphian Gold" is mostly a Socratic-style dialogue related to philosophy as opposed to alchemy, but it is an alchemical work nonetheless, insofar as  it relates to the several types of matter and body posited to exist by one member of this same dialogue; Philadelphus, speaking with the materialistic Philochrysis on the topic of spiritual gold.

This work was made by the Philadelphian Society many centuries ago. This edition has been rendered from older English usage to mostly modern English, save for a few references which have no other proper counterpart.

38 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.

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.

The Mirror of Alchemy: Now Available!

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The Mirror of Alchemy is one of those many alchemical works misattributed to an author who had nothing to do with the crafting of the work. Dating to no earlier than the 16th century, the Mirror is ascribed to Roger Bacon, who lived and died several centuries earlier.

This does nothing to denigrate the value of the work, however- here we have the most explicit and literal description of the basic tenets of alchemy; that the laboratory setup used to make elixir is as literal a representation of nature as possible- a graduated vessel resembling a triangular mountain, made of fired clay, the presence of argent vive and sulfur (oddly with little mention of salt) and other methods to create a universal medicine- the tincture of the philosophers, the dragon- the peacock-colored, shining substances of alchemical lore.

24 pages.

Golden Chain of Homer: Now Available!

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When works of alchemy are made, mostly they fixate on obscure philosophy- the only exceptions I have encountered are this work and some of Paracelsus' materials. The Golden Chain of Homer, however, is explicit and describes actual alchemical experiments and their recipes.

For those interested in alchemy this work is highly recommended; it may be seen as a somewhat dense but spectacular overview of the philosophy and the working of alchemy itself. Disclaimer: I in no way endorse the practice of these experiments.

64 pages.

Rosary of the Philosophers Update: Illustrating Begins... Notes on Alchemy

One of the illustrations present in the Rosary of the Philosophers.

 
Illustrating has begun for the Rosary of the Philosophers and is now approximately half completed. Many of the woodcuts present show the typical Sol and Luna being combined; the process by which the philosophical (alchemical) arts are completed. The work explains that for both pure sulfur and pure mercury, the solar and lunar element are present; in sulfur the physical outward appearance is that of the sun while the inward, hidden mercurial element is its true nature, and likewise the reverse is true for pure mercury, argent vive, in which the solar element is hidden within, while it presents its lunar, silvery nature tangibly.

It should be noted that alchemy and most alchemical works (including this one) are essentially steganographies- the foliated earth so often alluded to here is nothing more than organic material (compost) that has been leeched of its saltpeter content, such that the nitrates begin accumulating as a crust upon its surface- a process in altered form used in the production of the base matter from which gunpowder was and still is made (black powder, that is.) A true alchemical secret since such acts were, in those days, little other than wizardry to most.