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Alchemy and Mysticism
The Hermetic Museum takes its readers on a magical mystery tour spanning an arc from the mediaeval cosmogram and images of Christian mysticism, through the fascinating world of alchemy to the art of the Romantic era. The enigmatic hieroglyphs of cabbalists, Rosicrucians and freemasons are shown to be closely linked with the early scientific illustrations in the fields of medicine, chemistry, optics, and color theory.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
303 people are currently reading
7470 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Roob
15 books16 followersAlexander Roob taught graphics and painting at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg and the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. As part of his ongoing drawing project, CS, he has investigated various aspects of hermetic symbolism and the underlying history of sequential and documentary methods of drawing. In 2005 he co-founded the Melton Prior Institute in Düsseldorf, which specializes in the history of pictorial journalism and print culture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
April 20, 2015
This is a magnificent compendium of alchemical symbols and the mystic thought behind them. Unfortunately, I was totally lost.
This is not a book for the beginner (which I am). Alexander Roob does not provide a sequential narrative. Those without knowledge of the development of mystical thought and alchemy would not be able to enjoy the wealth of information this book provides. They can only enjoy the beauty of the images, and get some sort of rudimentary understanding, which itself is rewarding enough.
Alchemy is the ancestor of my profession - Chemical Engineering. It is interesting to note that mystical ideas about the interconnectedness of mythology, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and art gave birth to such an unimaginative science. We chemical engineers share a common ancestor with phrenologists and palmists - not a very edifying thought!
If you are well read in mysticism and the history of alchemy, this is the book for you. Otherwise, I'd suggest some preliminary reading before approaching this.
This is not a book for the beginner (which I am). Alexander Roob does not provide a sequential narrative. Those without knowledge of the development of mystical thought and alchemy would not be able to enjoy the wealth of information this book provides. They can only enjoy the beauty of the images, and get some sort of rudimentary understanding, which itself is rewarding enough.
Alchemy is the ancestor of my profession - Chemical Engineering. It is interesting to note that mystical ideas about the interconnectedness of mythology, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and art gave birth to such an unimaginative science. We chemical engineers share a common ancestor with phrenologists and palmists - not a very edifying thought!
If you are well read in mysticism and the history of alchemy, this is the book for you. Otherwise, I'd suggest some preliminary reading before approaching this.
November 8, 2017
3.5 ⭐️ - 5 for the art and 2 for the descriptions and the narrative
Ultimately this is a very well collated art album
Ultimately this is a very well collated art album
February 1, 2010
Stunning works of art of pure symbology, fills almost every page of this over 700 page book. Well written description for every image helped to unravel some of the complex symbolical meaning of the alchemical art. I’ve learned a great deal from this book and it also received answers to some of my questions.
October 28, 2020
Very interesting information on the philosophies of mystics throughout the ages. They seem to mix reality with fantasy. Some of their assertions were very artistic, but to say that planets are "humming a certain type of energy" or specific shapes not only reflect reality, but determine reality is leaving science and entering the realm of fantasy.
Still it was informative to see how so many different people, especially the artist William Blake, sought otherworldly experiences by creating "secret truths" through numerology, astrology and synchronizing them with world religions.
Still it was informative to see how so many different people, especially the artist William Blake, sought otherworldly experiences by creating "secret truths" through numerology, astrology and synchronizing them with world religions.
September 16, 2020
Мінімалістичне по тексту, максимально наповнене по ілюстраціях. Можливо автор займається археологією алхімії більше, ніж практикою, але це лише на користь книзі. В основному зосереджено увагу на західній алхімії (європейські символічні мапи), але мабуть так на краще.
Для швидкого візуального знайомства із історією та основними екзотеричними принципами алхімії.
Для швидкого візуального знайомства із історією та основними екзотеричними принципами алхімії.
August 28, 2007
This is a must have for anyone interested in the alchemical arts or in occult philosophy. It is filled with illustrations, which convey immense amounts of information and meaning. It is a truly fantastic book.
October 23, 2018
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο δεν έχει να κάνει με την ιστορία της Αλχημείας αλλά είναι μία άκρως ενδιαφέρουσα συλλογή εικόνων και σχεδίων που έχουν να κάνουν με αυτή.
Είναι εντυπωσιακές εικόνες και βοηθούν τον αναγνώστη να ταξιδέψει νοερά σε περασμένους αιώνες όταν κάποιοι άνθρωποι μέσω της Αλχημείας προσπαθούσαν να δώσουν απαντήσεις για σημαντικά ζητήματα.
Σίγουρα κάποιος που δε γνωρίζει ούτε καν τις βασικές αρχές της Αλχημείας, όπως και εγώ άλλωστε, δε θα καταλάβει σχεδόν τίποτα από τα σχέδια, αλλά είναι πραγματική απόλαυση να τα βλέπεις!
Είναι εντυπωσιακές εικόνες και βοηθούν τον αναγνώστη να ταξιδέψει νοερά σε περασμένους αιώνες όταν κάποιοι άνθρωποι μέσω της Αλχημείας προσπαθούσαν να δώσουν απαντήσεις για σημαντικά ζητήματα.
Σίγουρα κάποιος που δε γνωρίζει ούτε καν τις βασικές αρχές της Αλχημείας, όπως και εγώ άλλωστε, δε θα καταλάβει σχεδόν τίποτα από τα σχέδια, αλλά είναι πραγματική απόλαυση να τα βλέπεις!
December 13, 2021
3 3/4 stars
September 2, 2023
If you're not acquainted with the history of alchemy and have a basic understanding of its symbols this read may prove to be a bumpy ride for the uninitiated readers. :) But once you grasp the way of how alchemists viewed life and the ways of achieving spiritual awakening (alchemy was treated as such if you pay close attention, although it is revered as the ancestor of modern chemistry and even medicine thanks to Paracelsus), you won't regret reading this book by A. Roob.
March 13, 2015
This is not a book to read, but to contemplate. Just like walking around a museum for hours will cause you to walk past Van Goghs and Picasso's in indifference, starring at these for too long will cause insensitivity or- even worse- literal mindedness. This book doesn't go that deep into the principles of Alchemy, but it makes available unlike any other book I know of, a complete portal of sacred alchemical art both East and West. To say one has 'read' this book is deceiving ones self. To say one has grasped the truth through one of these manifold and enigmatic images, is found
August 16, 2024
This book is based on the idea that there are buried philosophical treasures residing outside public consciousness. The author, Alexander Roob, calls this the Hermetic Museum. It is not a physical museum but the bringing together of the best of these images and ideas into this book.
I bought this book at the Philadelphia Art Museum after spending an afternoon looking at the Marcel Duchamp collection. Duchamps’ ‘Door as a substitute for two doors’ is features as the final textual page of the book! That and the focus on William Blake as a key figure in the Mystical tradition sold me on my purchase.
The book is broken down into large groupings such as Macrocosm, Rotation, Opus Magnum. Do those headings mean nothing to you? Well same for me and the subtopics include things like Resurrection, Matrix, Wheel which are equally opaque.
However, each section is liberally illustrated and those include sources and commentary from artists and writers which is what really makes the book valuable. I used it while contemplating on the magnificent plates from William Blake’s Jerusalem.
I bought this book at the Philadelphia Art Museum after spending an afternoon looking at the Marcel Duchamp collection. Duchamps’ ‘Door as a substitute for two doors’ is features as the final textual page of the book! That and the focus on William Blake as a key figure in the Mystical tradition sold me on my purchase.
The book is broken down into large groupings such as Macrocosm, Rotation, Opus Magnum. Do those headings mean nothing to you? Well same for me and the subtopics include things like Resurrection, Matrix, Wheel which are equally opaque.
However, each section is liberally illustrated and those include sources and commentary from artists and writers which is what really makes the book valuable. I used it while contemplating on the magnificent plates from William Blake’s Jerusalem.
December 19, 2015
Want to learn about perception? The human mind? Art?
Get it, stare at it, and when it falls apart from overlove, take the pages and frame them.
The worst part about this book, well, two worst things about it, are:
1. Many people end up with the abridged version. Dont be one of these people. It should be around 600 pages, any less and you've been cheated out of some of the best parts.
2. The binding is extremely weak, and it WILL fall apart quickly.
Get it, stare at it, and when it falls apart from overlove, take the pages and frame them.
The worst part about this book, well, two worst things about it, are:
1. Many people end up with the abridged version. Dont be one of these people. It should be around 600 pages, any less and you've been cheated out of some of the best parts.
2. The binding is extremely weak, and it WILL fall apart quickly.
November 15, 2024
un viaggio in un sogno, ed un libro di testo per gli iniziati. Non di certo il primo libro che una persona interessata all'alchimia dovrebbe leggere (pena la perdita di senno), ma almeno il secondo, o il terzo, o il quarto, per meditare su i simboli, e sentire la ricerca per il vero attraverso i segni di chi è già stato pellegrino su questo sentiero.
April 15, 2009
This book is over 700 pages, and no, I have not read them all. It is mainly pictures however, and I have dipped into it widely. A good reference work on the art associated with alchemy and (to the degree it is possible) with mysticism.
September 27, 2015
Increíble compendio del saber... Alquimia, conocimiento, espiritualidad, mística, saber, divinidad... Me han impactado muchas de las cosas que he aprendido con este libro. ¡Creo que debéis descubrir como yo todo lo que os puede ofrecer!
June 26, 2009
This is the unabridged version that every one should track down right away. Simply gorgeous, and of the quality one expects from Taschen when they're on top of their game.
April 28, 2017
Fantastic resource for anyone working with alchemical ideas in psychology, artistic commentary, or history.
October 22, 2020
My review is of the Bibliotheca Universalis edition that has 500-and-something pages.
This fine little book is an absolute treasure trove of esoteric imagery, complete with accompanying quotes and attributions. It's not very wordy, but books like this primarily serve an aesthetic purpose as well as acting as a springboard for further research. There are numerous books on the occult in a practical, wordy sense but books like this that show the illustrative side are much rarer to come across.
Even if you don't know anything about the occult or don't care to, this book is objectively beautiful. It's a hardback with a robust spine, the pages are thick and glossy and the images really pop. There's a good mixture of black and white, sepia and full-colour images.
Content-wise, you'll find everything in here from Da Vinci to the caduceus. There are entire sections on some of the most prevalent occult imagery such as serpents and wheels.
Even better is the fact that this book can be bought for a really low price, despite its quality and the extensive number of pages. You really can't go wrong here!
This fine little book is an absolute treasure trove of esoteric imagery, complete with accompanying quotes and attributions. It's not very wordy, but books like this primarily serve an aesthetic purpose as well as acting as a springboard for further research. There are numerous books on the occult in a practical, wordy sense but books like this that show the illustrative side are much rarer to come across.
Even if you don't know anything about the occult or don't care to, this book is objectively beautiful. It's a hardback with a robust spine, the pages are thick and glossy and the images really pop. There's a good mixture of black and white, sepia and full-colour images.
Content-wise, you'll find everything in here from Da Vinci to the caduceus. There are entire sections on some of the most prevalent occult imagery such as serpents and wheels.
Even better is the fact that this book can be bought for a really low price, despite its quality and the extensive number of pages. You really can't go wrong here!
January 14, 2024
Very well curated book, extremely interesting and gives a more than sufficient overview of the subject treated in it (alchemy and the study of it). Loved how the author taught the topic and its evolution through decades using pictures rather than lengthy explanations. Recommended if interested in the topic.
July 13, 2024
Many might get this book as a visual introduction into the occult and mysticism, however I would advise against getting it for that purpose; without any background knowledge much of the complex symbolism latent in the illustrations will be left unappreciated. The text primarily serves to describe what is happening in the many various illustrations or to give context to them. It does so rather succinctly, and for the casual reader it does the job, however it may leave those wanting to look deeper slightly unsatisfied. That being said, I would buy this for the quantity and quality of the illlustrations alone. Reading this feels like taking a walk through an occult art museum more than anything else.
May 5, 2025
A beautiful book. Though it is not a book of introductions of alchemy if one wants to systematically study it, it is a book with detailed illustrations and notes/references for great amount of pictures. It’s a great journey going through all illustrations and feel the art.
July 8, 2025
One of the most informative and beautiful esoteric books I've read to date!
December 9, 2021
Didn't read through all of the text. But the pictures are worth five stars and more.
December 27, 2017
This is a good, sort of encyclopedic, introduction to the Western alchemical tradition. Goes well beyond the facile "pre-Chemistry" treatment often lazily given in historical discussions of alchemy's role in Western epistemology.
Let's address that: epistemology. I've always been interested in these chimeric intermediary periods of history, and alchemy really does have one foot in the modern era, the other in the middle ages. Matter and spirit weren't always so divided as they are in modernity, which is almost entirely submerged in materialism and scientific positivism. This purging of anything mystical, indeed seemingly anything that goes beyond explicating the mechanistic elaborations of atoms, is precisely what one of my favorite writers, Joris-Karl Huysmans, bemoaned in his seminal works of A Rebours and La Bas. Huysmans manages to contextualize the importance of this proto-Renaissance period during late medieval period in La Bas via his protagonist's research into the infamous serial killer and comrade-in-arms of Joan D'arc, Gilles de Rais. This is all important to epistemology, as this time can be seen through the lens of de Rais.
With de Rais, that evil baron of Retz, we must reconcile his being an accomplished Latinist from a precocious age, a respected scholar with one of the largest private libraries in medieval Europe, someone widely read in the natural philosophy (i.e. science) of his time; yet also eventually attempting to use alchemical mysticism, human sacrifice, ritualistic sex practices, and demon summoning in a gambit to generate gold to fill his drained coffers. With de Rais, as with alchemy itself, we have on the one hand the development of what will become modern science and materialism, while on the other a thought process deeply soaked in medieval scholasticism. We have both a burgeoning understanding of the ways in which chemicals interact, and a conviction in the transubstantiation of the eucharist.
I think having read Jung will help readers understand some of the archetypes in the mystical tradition, which are elaborated upon in this book. Discussions involving the divine feminine and the divine masculine, the sultry and virginal, that run through the mystical alchemical tradition seem to suggest an exposure to biblical and theological traditions in the West (and their Jungian significance) would allow the reader to extract more from the otherwise rather encoded symbolic language with which this subject is rife.
The book is a decent primer in alchemy, delivering a steady discussion of the bulletpoints relevant to a very weird and interesting time in the development of Western thought.
Let's address that: epistemology. I've always been interested in these chimeric intermediary periods of history, and alchemy really does have one foot in the modern era, the other in the middle ages. Matter and spirit weren't always so divided as they are in modernity, which is almost entirely submerged in materialism and scientific positivism. This purging of anything mystical, indeed seemingly anything that goes beyond explicating the mechanistic elaborations of atoms, is precisely what one of my favorite writers, Joris-Karl Huysmans, bemoaned in his seminal works of A Rebours and La Bas. Huysmans manages to contextualize the importance of this proto-Renaissance period during late medieval period in La Bas via his protagonist's research into the infamous serial killer and comrade-in-arms of Joan D'arc, Gilles de Rais. This is all important to epistemology, as this time can be seen through the lens of de Rais.
With de Rais, that evil baron of Retz, we must reconcile his being an accomplished Latinist from a precocious age, a respected scholar with one of the largest private libraries in medieval Europe, someone widely read in the natural philosophy (i.e. science) of his time; yet also eventually attempting to use alchemical mysticism, human sacrifice, ritualistic sex practices, and demon summoning in a gambit to generate gold to fill his drained coffers. With de Rais, as with alchemy itself, we have on the one hand the development of what will become modern science and materialism, while on the other a thought process deeply soaked in medieval scholasticism. We have both a burgeoning understanding of the ways in which chemicals interact, and a conviction in the transubstantiation of the eucharist.
I think having read Jung will help readers understand some of the archetypes in the mystical tradition, which are elaborated upon in this book. Discussions involving the divine feminine and the divine masculine, the sultry and virginal, that run through the mystical alchemical tradition seem to suggest an exposure to biblical and theological traditions in the West (and their Jungian significance) would allow the reader to extract more from the otherwise rather encoded symbolic language with which this subject is rife.
The book is a decent primer in alchemy, delivering a steady discussion of the bulletpoints relevant to a very weird and interesting time in the development of Western thought.
December 23, 2019
I recommend making use of this as a bedside book: good dreamfood, presumably, but at the same time it very definitely puts you to sleep. I read it over several months in this way.
It could be that I've lost interest in hermeticism and so on, because I don't feel that it's a bad book so much as it is uninteresting—the book is well put together, both in terms of organization and reference materials (esp. the extreme variety of alchemical sketches presented) and also in regards to the physicality of it, the sturdy pages and textured hardcover—but my apathy towards it may also be that the book is a wholesale regurgitation without independent thinking or substantial flow; wouldn't it be better just to read the original texts?
The Joyce mentions are cute and reek of him going solely off of some essay or two that he didn't cite. Blake is brought up a lot, and I feel that the author maybe could have done better just writing a book about Blake's alchemical influences, although the author was probably heavily referencing specifically such a work.
It could be that I've lost interest in hermeticism and so on, because I don't feel that it's a bad book so much as it is uninteresting—the book is well put together, both in terms of organization and reference materials (esp. the extreme variety of alchemical sketches presented) and also in regards to the physicality of it, the sturdy pages and textured hardcover—but my apathy towards it may also be that the book is a wholesale regurgitation without independent thinking or substantial flow; wouldn't it be better just to read the original texts?
The Joyce mentions are cute and reek of him going solely off of some essay or two that he didn't cite. Blake is brought up a lot, and I feel that the author maybe could have done better just writing a book about Blake's alchemical influences, although the author was probably heavily referencing specifically such a work.
August 1, 2017
700 pages of classical and obscure alchemical, hermetic and other less easily categorisable images - with short but excellent commentary. Taschen has published a much shorter version - 200 odd pages.
August 4, 2025
The worst book I read this year. I bought this book because I am very intrested in the idea of Alchemy and the book itself was stunning. But upon reading it, I can say that I actually know less about Alchemy than before reading the book itself.
There dosent appear to be any form of linear structure, no over arching narrative, no themes to be explored. This book is compiled of random concepts of Alchemy and provide an extremely piss poor dialog of said concepts.
Most of the chapters are filled with pictures with horrible context of what is going on within the pictures, but there is no analysis. No explanation of the symbolism, just a vague abstract connotation sidelining a very confusing photo.
The author essentially, never takes the abstract art contained within Alchemical works and distill's the art into applicable understanding. To put simply, if you ask someone to translate Spanish into English, but they use Spanish and no English in order to explain what they are saying. That's not translating, thats not conveying an understanding of the material, that's parroting.
Its similar to takeing an abstract painting, and just labeling the surface level observations, but never explaining them or placing any form of interpretation. It makes me question if even the author comprehended what he wrote if he never put ANY observstions down.
"the essence of God is like a wheel, the more one looks at the wheel, the more one learns about it its shape, and the more one learns, the greater pleasure one has in the wheel" The author quoted someone at the start of the chapter and yes this is the exact quote. (misspellings and all) I understand what this quote is trying to imply, but this has to be the worst quote I have ever read in my entire life. There has to be a translation or cultural implication that does not translate well, because from my vantage point, this put me over the edge after reading around 500 pages of this dribble.
I read some reviews arleady, it appears that the general consensus is that many readers have no idea what this book is or what it may be trying to say. This has not stopped the book from receiving an astonishing 4/5 stars but I believe this occurred because people believe that if they dont understand what was written, it must be too far advanced for them. I could not disagree more.
The context of my rating, which expects a book to have a somewhat obvious beginning, middle, end, general reach ability for a wide audience, exploration of a theme/idea, and simply enjoyablity, this book deserves a 1/5.
No concept was explained and not a single average reader would be able to get something out of this confusing mess. Maybe im wrong, maybe an advanced philosophical Alchemist understood this book perfectly and im simply too "uninitiated" to ever grasp even a morsel of sheer complexity laid out in the symbolism contained within this book. Maybe this is on par with an advanced physics textbook and im just an idiot who can barely put 2 and 2 togther. Either way, for the 99% of uninitiated people, my review should keep you away from this book. For that 1% niche of modern day Alchemist's, please, be my guest, take a read and let me know if even you got something out of it.
There dosent appear to be any form of linear structure, no over arching narrative, no themes to be explored. This book is compiled of random concepts of Alchemy and provide an extremely piss poor dialog of said concepts.
Most of the chapters are filled with pictures with horrible context of what is going on within the pictures, but there is no analysis. No explanation of the symbolism, just a vague abstract connotation sidelining a very confusing photo.
The author essentially, never takes the abstract art contained within Alchemical works and distill's the art into applicable understanding. To put simply, if you ask someone to translate Spanish into English, but they use Spanish and no English in order to explain what they are saying. That's not translating, thats not conveying an understanding of the material, that's parroting.
Its similar to takeing an abstract painting, and just labeling the surface level observations, but never explaining them or placing any form of interpretation. It makes me question if even the author comprehended what he wrote if he never put ANY observstions down.
"the essence of God is like a wheel, the more one looks at the wheel, the more one learns about it its shape, and the more one learns, the greater pleasure one has in the wheel" The author quoted someone at the start of the chapter and yes this is the exact quote. (misspellings and all) I understand what this quote is trying to imply, but this has to be the worst quote I have ever read in my entire life. There has to be a translation or cultural implication that does not translate well, because from my vantage point, this put me over the edge after reading around 500 pages of this dribble.
I read some reviews arleady, it appears that the general consensus is that many readers have no idea what this book is or what it may be trying to say. This has not stopped the book from receiving an astonishing 4/5 stars but I believe this occurred because people believe that if they dont understand what was written, it must be too far advanced for them. I could not disagree more.
The context of my rating, which expects a book to have a somewhat obvious beginning, middle, end, general reach ability for a wide audience, exploration of a theme/idea, and simply enjoyablity, this book deserves a 1/5.
No concept was explained and not a single average reader would be able to get something out of this confusing mess. Maybe im wrong, maybe an advanced philosophical Alchemist understood this book perfectly and im simply too "uninitiated" to ever grasp even a morsel of sheer complexity laid out in the symbolism contained within this book. Maybe this is on par with an advanced physics textbook and im just an idiot who can barely put 2 and 2 togther. Either way, for the 99% of uninitiated people, my review should keep you away from this book. For that 1% niche of modern day Alchemist's, please, be my guest, take a read and let me know if even you got something out of it.
June 18, 2022
Best Quotes from Alchemy & Mysticism
Full of interesting, obscure information but the lack of a sequential narrative does mean one gets lost at times. What is completly missing is a logical synthesis. Instead of a connected whole, this book reads like a collection of quotes and interesting imagery, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
What I miss the most in this book is one longer text, explaining alchemy as a whole and going over at least a few of the major alchemists. As it is, the author tackles different subjects with no explanation as to how the selection of different subjects and authors mentioned was made. Since his narrative isn't chronological I didn't understand the logic behind the author's order of different subjects nor did I understand the relevancy of some of them to the main theme of alchemy and mysticism (for example the colour wheel, or even Josephy Beuys being included in this book).
It seems to me that the author took illustrations as a starting point and than tried to match up quotes to the illustrations as best as he could. There are lots of quotes from Blake, Kircher and Joyce for example. Mostly what the author does is list quotes without really explaining them. And since all the quotes are taken out of context, it's difficult to understand them.
Perhaphs this book should have been titled "Best Quotes from Alchemy & Mysticism"?
Full of interesting, obscure information but the lack of a sequential narrative does mean one gets lost at times. What is completly missing is a logical synthesis. Instead of a connected whole, this book reads like a collection of quotes and interesting imagery, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
What I miss the most in this book is one longer text, explaining alchemy as a whole and going over at least a few of the major alchemists. As it is, the author tackles different subjects with no explanation as to how the selection of different subjects and authors mentioned was made. Since his narrative isn't chronological I didn't understand the logic behind the author's order of different subjects nor did I understand the relevancy of some of them to the main theme of alchemy and mysticism (for example the colour wheel, or even Josephy Beuys being included in this book).
It seems to me that the author took illustrations as a starting point and than tried to match up quotes to the illustrations as best as he could. There are lots of quotes from Blake, Kircher and Joyce for example. Mostly what the author does is list quotes without really explaining them. And since all the quotes are taken out of context, it's difficult to understand them.
Perhaphs this book should have been titled "Best Quotes from Alchemy & Mysticism"?
May 1, 2022
I do not have the faintest recollection of when or how I picked up a copy of Alexander Roob’s Alchemy & Mysticism, an art book about (unsurprisingly) alchemy and mysticism. It is not quite the Alchemy And Mysticism For Dummies book that I think I would require in order to actually start understanding all this alchemy stuff in a way that makes at least narrative sense to me (obviously the actual material is just… entirely made-up weird nonsense) but it certainly helped add some things to my very piecemeal knowledge of alchemy and associated esoterics.
The art is… well, not all of it is necessarily good, although a lot of it is quite magnificent, but it is all definitely a lot, and it is very strange and interesting. I didn’t really look at the details of all the diagrams and charts and allegorical drawings, partly because a lot of them are heavy on calligraphic text (often in other languages) and partly because I can’t be arsed. I know that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but guys, alchemy is bonkers. This book was an experience.
Originally posted at This is your brain on quicksilver.
The art is… well, not all of it is necessarily good, although a lot of it is quite magnificent, but it is all definitely a lot, and it is very strange and interesting. I didn’t really look at the details of all the diagrams and charts and allegorical drawings, partly because a lot of them are heavy on calligraphic text (often in other languages) and partly because I can’t be arsed. I know that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but guys, alchemy is bonkers. This book was an experience.
Originally posted at This is your brain on quicksilver.
April 30, 2023
A comprehensive overview of the visual tradition associated with alchemistic beliefs and hidden knowledge in European history (with a few forays into other cultural spheres). The book is visually stunning with full-colour illustrations of important manuscripts and drawings, somewhat loosely organised by theme or subject. There are accompanying bits of text to provide some context to the illustrations, but I would have wished for a bit more energy to be put into these explanations. A general introductory chapter detailing the fundamental ideas, theories, and symbols of alchemy, hidden knowledge, and mysticism before the main portion of the book is sorely missed and its absence makes the book a little hard to approach for people with no prior knowledge of these subjects. That said, alchemy and mysticism were never just one thing, and I do appreciate the care that the author has taken in including a very wide variety of differing forms of expression and belief. I also enjoyed the way in which the book highlights how much of modern day western science is built directly on the foundations and interests of the alchemists. A very interesting book, gorgeously illustrated.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews