On Alchemy : Essential Practices and Making Art As Alchemy

This beautifully designed and accessible book contains everything you need to know to start practicing alchemy – the art of material and spiritual transmutation.

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 practicing 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.

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.