The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation - Softcover

Hauck, Dennis William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140195718 ISBN 13: 9780140195712

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1999

Synopsis

The Emerald Tablet—an ancient document that contains the essence of the alchemical teachings—has had an important influence on many Western spiritual and religious traditions. Ostensibly concerned with turning base metals into gold, alchemy was in fact dedicated to transforming the lead of self into the gold of spirit. This brilliant history of alchemy traces its sources back to ancient Egypt, and presents alchemy as a useful, practical system of self-transformation. Each of the seven steps of alchemical transformation is explained, with hands-on techniques and exercises, treating alchemy as a living discipline for achieving a spiritual awakening.

About this title

About the Author

Dennis William Hauck, journalist and internationally recognized authority on the paranormal, is one of the founding editors of the Mutual UFO Network's MUFON UFO Journal. He currently publishes a weekly newsletter, The Haunted Places Report.

 

Reviews

An emerald slab inscribed with the esoteric wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus that may be more than 2000 years old has inspired alchemists throughout history in their quest to understand the relationship between humans and the universe. Hauck, who has written about mystical experiences (Haunted Places), explores the tablet's message, drawing primarily on the work of classical scholars such as the Persian alchemist Zoroaster, the 16th-century physician Paracelsus, Pharaoh Akhenaten and the pre-Christian alchemist Maria Prophetissa to illuminate his substantial review of the history and principles of alchemy. In the Hermetic tradition, the physical and metaphysical worlds are mirror images: the transformation of a base metal into gold corresponds to the evolution of an ego-dominated person into one who possesses a permanent state of enlightened consciousness. Hauck's elucidation of the laws governing the refinement of energy, such as the Doctrine of Correspondence, the Seven Steps to Transformation and the Octave of Creation, will strike a chord with students of modern esoteric traditions such as the Fourth Way and Theosophy. His explanations of alchemical principles are difficult to understand, however, and will require scrutiny on the part of readers new to the material. However, those who have dabbled in the esoteric arts may find real gold in these teachings. 43 illustrations. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

There is no phenomenon of Western culture more surprising and perennially fascinating than that of alchemyAthe endless search of learned fanatics for the secret of making gold, or wisdom, or both. Hauck, a practicing alchemist, is the latest in a line of re-inventors of the old tradition, and his reflections on the inner meaning of calcination, coagulation, and other alchemical processes is both idiosyncratic and fascinating. Highly recommended for larger libraries, or where books on occult traditions are popular.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140195718
• ISBN 13: 9780140195712
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 452