Alchemy Rediscovered and Restored: revised 2nd. ed. with foreword by Sir Dudley Borron Myers

by Archibald Cockren

Archibald Cockren was a practising physician who became disenchanted with the reductionist medical interventions of his day and sought a method of treating the whole person. This led him to alchemy, and to experiments in the spagyric art that produced substances of astonishing therapeutic value. Alchemy Rediscovered and Restored is Cockren’s attempt to make the physical benefits of the art accessible to everyone, stripped of its tortuous and mystifying symbolism. Cockren gives the reader a brief and accurate history of alchemy, along with biographical accounts of some of the major adepts who have figured in its story. The process of extraction of the alchemical ‘seeds’ or vital essences of various metals is revealed, and Cockren describes the medical elixirs that can be obtained, climaxing with the final step in the great arcanum – the discovery of the alkahes t or universal solvent of the philosophers, also known as the philosophers’ stone . This is a book for all those interested in the alchemical process, one that can be read with profit by adept and newcomer alike.

Genres: Alchemy, Nonfiction, Science

92 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2017

Reviews

[❀ Diana ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

O carte drăguță care sumarizează cu ce se ocupă alchimia și care ne oferă câteva informații despre cei mai cunoscuți alchimiști și lucrările lor: Hermes Trismegistos, Flamel, Paracelsus, Vaughan, Valentin, ș.a.m.d.

Cam multe citate și prea puține comentarii și experiențe proprii, însă este o cărticică bună care poate fi luată drept o scurtă introducere în artele alchimice. Îi ajunge și 3 steluțe, am citit-o și repede.

[Sergiu · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the topic itself was enjoyable, the inserts from other works on point, the writing itself is close to deplorable.

The author takes quotes from various sources out of context to "strengthen" his arguments, he contradicts himself within the same chapter, saying one thing and then turning 180 degrees to uphold the opposite; while I'm on the topic of chapters, you'll find a number of chapters that are just quotes.

The only reason I'm not giving this book 1 star or less (if less would be possible) is because I've found some valuable sources of information, especially close to the end of the book.

[Rares Hudac · Rating 1 out of 5]

O mizerie. Nu am putut nici macar sa o termin. Nici in engleza nu are sens, d-apoi in romana.

[sinucigas paralel · Rating 3 out of 5]

o particica de istorie a alchimiei condensata intr-o carte scurta. a fost interesant

[Comptes Rendus de René Guénon]

Mai 1946 • A. Cockren - Alchemy Rediscovered and Restored

Le titre de ce petit volume est plutôt ambitieux, mais, il faut bien le dire, le contenu n’y répond guère ; l’auteur est évidemment de ceux qui, concevant l’alchimie comme purement « matérielle », la réduisent tout simplement à n’être qu’une sorte de chimie spéciale ou, si l’on veut, d’« hyperchimie ». La première partie est une sorte de résumé de l’histoire de l’alchimie, interprétée naturellement dans le sens que nous venons d’indiquer ; les deux autres parties, respectivement théorique et pratique, contiennent « un exposé de l’extraction de la semence des métaux et de la préparation d’élixirs médicinaux suivant la pratique de l’Art hermétique et de l’Alkahest des
Philosophes », ou, dirions-nous plutôt, suivant l’idée que s’en fait l’auteur. Ce qu’il y a de plus intéressant là-dedans, du moins au point de vue pratique qui seul peut être réellement valable en pareil cas, c’est incontestablement l’application médicale ; le principe n’en est d’ailleurs pas expressément indiqué, mais il est facile de comprendre qu’il s’agit en somme de traiter les maladies de chaque organe par des remèdes tirés du métal dont la correspondance astrologique est la même que celle de cet organe ; cela peut en effet donner des résultats appréciables, et il est évident
qu’une telle médication, même si elle ne peut pas être dite proprement alchimique, n’en mériterait pas moins d’être expérimentée sérieusement.

[Adina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful if you didn't read anything on the subject. However the flow is sometimes abrupt and some things are insufficiently explained.