The Alchemist's Handbook: A Practical Manual (Weiser Classics Series)

“If you really want to learn the basic principles of practical alchemy, Frater Albertus’ Alchemist’s Handbook is literally is worth its weight in gold.”—from the foreword by Israel Regardie, author of The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order

The Alchemist's Handbook has long been considered a modern-day classic on the actual practice of alchemy since its first publication in 1960. The book still stands as a groundbreaking work presenting in clear, concise language a practical manual of working knowledge that was formerly handed down only under oath of secrecy.

The scope of alchemical work is to provide both a means to synthesize all the other sciences and the necessary training of the intellectual and spiritual faculties. “Hermetic philosophy, with its practical arcanum,” writes Frater Albertus, “repeats itself over and over again in the ancient axiom ‘As above, so below. As below, so above.’"

The Alchemist's Handbook discusses in detail:

• The basic fundamental principles of alchemy.
• A guide to the formation of an inexpensive home laboratory with illustrations of the necessary equipment.
• Step-by-step instructions for the work of the Lesser Circulation, the alchemical transformation within the plant kingdom.

 
“The teachings of Frater Albertus are part of a lineage that traces back to Rosicrucian sources and much earlier and The Alchemist’s Handbook is still the best introduction to that lineage. If you feel the call of Alchemy and want real information on the subject, this is definitely the book you will want to read, reread, and read again. It may just turn out to be the book that changes your life.”—From the foreword by Robert Allen Bartlett, author of Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy

First published by Weiser Books in 1974, this new Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Robert Allen Bartlett, author of Real Alchemy.

Frater Albertus Spagyricus (Dr. Albert Richard Riedel, 1911-1984), was founder of the Paracelsus Research Society in Salt Lake City, which later evolved into Paracelsus College. Based on the Paracelsian concept of three essentials, Body, Soul, and Spirit, Frater Albertus developed a system of teaching alchemical concepts using the spagyric technique of separation and cohobation, or repeated distillation. The unique gradated courses allow students to explore aspects of the vegetable, mineral, and animal kingdoms in an understandable and accessible way. Frater Albertus had a profound effect on the way Alchemy and particularly the Spagyric method was disseminated and understood in the mid-to-late 20th century.