Description

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“There's no sounder or more sage guide to alchemy – the practice and the philosophy – than Brian Cotnoir. This wise, lucidly-written book … offers explanations and exercises that will be of immeasurable help to anyone hoping to navigate this enormous field.” - Sukhdev Sandhu

Alchemy is both the art of transmuting base metal into gold and a powerful metaphor for spiritual transformation and creativity. This simple guide contains all you need to know to become an alchemist – to decode the most complex alchemical texts, to unite your inner spiritual work with your outer work, and to take up laboratory alchemy if you so wish.

Whether you are a beginner intrigued about the possibility of spiritually enriching your life and creativity, or a practising alchemist looking for the key to difficult texts, On Alchemy invites you to embark on a profound journey of personal change. It is full of meditations, visualizations and other practices to guide you on your way, from using geometry to purify your inner eye, to questioning the gods in your dreams, to using a circulation and distillation apparatus.

About the Author

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Brian Cotnoir is an alchemist, artist and award-winning filmmaker. His books include Alchemy: The Poetry of Matter, Practical Alchemy: A Guide to the Great Work, Alchemical Meditations, On the Quintessence of Wine and the Emerald Table. His film work has been screened at the Museum of Modern Art, Sundance Film Festival, HBO, PBS and other international venues.

Praise For…

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"This wise, lucidly-written book is his canonical distillation: here, in concentrated but lucid fashion, he offers explanations and exercises that will be of immeasurable help to anyone hoping to navigate this enormous field." - Sukhdev Sandhu directs the Colloquium for Unpopular Culture at New York University

"Magister Cotnoir distills and multiplies his ideas and sources with easy and unforced erudition. Finally, a book on Alchemy that tells us what to do." - Bill Breeze (known as Hymenaeus Beta), Frater Superior, O.T.O.

"Brian Cotnoir’s study of the Royal Art is here distilled in a form perfect for the student of alchemy and for those seeking to use the ideas, concepts and discipline of alchemy in their own creative practice." - Jesse Bransford, artist, Clinical Associate Professor of Art, NYU Steinhardt, and author of A Book of Staves

"Well-organized, clear and concise, this study provides an understandable framework for students of all levels to enter into this notoriously complex and difficult terrain." - Susan L. Aberth, Edith C. Blum Professor of Art History and Visual Culture, Bard College and author of The Tarot of Leonora Carrington.