Alchemy Rising: The White Book by Heliophilus. (Aula Lucis)

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The second and latest instalment to the Alchemy Rising series by the contemporary English alchemist Heliophilus is dedicated to the Art of Water and the mystery of the alchemical menstruums. Within its lavishly illustrated pages, Heliophilus takes us on an alchemical quest that follows the Sacred Fountain of the alchemists, through the great monarchical tributaries of Nature nurtured and nourished by the very streams and rivers that flow through the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms. From these kingdoms the alchemists drew their liquors, menstruums, spirits and lixiviums, and by doing so were able to calcine, precipitate, dissolve and sublime their subjects; reduce them to their first matter; and separate their philosophical principles.

¶ In The White Book, we are invited to join Heliophilus on his alchemical quest which begins with the consideration of various mother-waters of the alchemists. Guided by the light of his experience, we will gather them from the heavens and the oceans in which they fall. Our investigation into these essential waters will follow their courses from the rivers of the vine into the living tributaries of the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms, until finally we will search for the secret spring deep within the mountains. We will prepare our menstruums from the great monarchies of Nature, and from these very kingdoms we will distill their spirits, resolve their lixivia, decoct their oils and lay the foundation for that most potent of all alchemical dissolvents: the mysterious Alkahest of Paracelsus and the Philosophical Mercury of the Sages.

¶ “Burn it in Water and wash it with Fire,” the old Adepts were wont to say; but this must be done homogeneously, for fear of destroying or contaminating the very principles we wish to extract. Following in the footsteps of Heliophilus, using our menstruums we will ‘calcinate’ our subjects, and in so doing open them up—be they gemstones, minerals or metals, for by means of these fiery waters we can extract their essentials and thereby alchemically rejoin what we have divided. We will grip the Hand of the Philosophers and prepare each finger according to the tenets of the Art, and in these our mineral gardens we will prepare the seasoning to cook our mercurial fish.

¶ The White Book is divided into two parts: Theorica and Practica. The first is an introduction into the alchemical mystery of the Goddess and the concepts of transmutation, with a gathering of the Philosophers whose arcane ideas and mytho-hermetic symbolism are carefully laid out and considered before Heliophilus proceeds on to the practice. Practica is divided firstly into an archetypal discussion on ‘Moonshine’ and the exhalation of the stars, following which the work is separated further into the Vegetable, Animal and Mineral chapters. Under the Vegetable work Heliophilus discusses Acetum and the means of preparing one of the most versatile vegetable menstruums of the alchemists. This is followed by Tartar and the discussion of the importance and preparation of its spirit, its salts and the lesser Circulatum of Urbigerus.

¶ The Animal work includes a detailed inquiry into Urine and the means of extracting a spirit from Oyster shells, whilst the Mineral work itself is separated into five fingers, which constitute the aforementioned Hand of the Philosophers according to which Heliophilus demonstrates the preparation of each of the alchemical salts, namely Nitre, Sal Ammoniac, Salt, Vitriol and Alum, in keeping with the dictates of the Art. The final investigation in The White Book is titled ‘Mercurius Trismigestus’: the Thrice Great Mercury, a work of three parts which shall be concluded in the future in the final instalment of the Alchemy Rising series, The Red Book, and which Heliophilus initiates with a theoretical and practical inquiry into the Prima Materia of the Philosophers, the spirit wine of Lully and the elusive Sericon of the Sages.

¶ Alchemy Rising: The White Book is an essential manual for all aspiring alchemists, providing some of the indispensable keys necessary to unlock the riddles of the Philosophers, and sounding the deep waters of the Royal Art with clarity, sincerity and true passion.

• Limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies.

• Trim size 246 × 189 mm.

• 304 pages.

• Handbound in full white bonded leather.

• Stamped with blue holographic foil on front cover and spine, with alchemical symbols of water and fire blind debossed on both sides.

• Lavishly illustrated throughout with full colour photographs.

• Text set in Neacademia.

• Printed in full colour on Matt Art FSC-certified 150 gsm paper.

• Featuring textured colour endpapers, head & tail band and silk ribbon.