Alchemy Rising: The White Book
by Heliophilus
The second and latest instalment to the Alchemy Rising series, The White Book, is dedicated to the Art of Water and the mystery of the alchemical menstruums. Within its lavishly illustrated pages, we are invited to join Heliophilus on his alchemical quest which begins with the consideration of various mother-waters of the alchemists. Guided by the light of his experience, we will gather them from the heavens and the oceans in which they fall. Our investigation into these essential waters will follow their courses from the rivers of the vine into the living tributaries of the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms, until finally we will search for the secret spring deep within the mountains. We will prepare our menstruums from the great monarchies of Nature, and from these very kingdoms we will distill their spirits, resolve their lixivia, decoct their oils and lay the foundation for that most potent of all alchemical dissolvents: the mysterious Alkahest of Paracelsus and the Philosophical Mercury of the Sages.
“Burn it in Water and wash it with Fire,” the old Adepts were wont to say; but this must be done homogeneously, for fear of destroying or contaminating the very principles we wish to extract. Following in the footsteps of Heliophilus, using our menstruums, we will ‘calcinate’ our subjects, and in so doing open them up—be they gemstones, minerals or metals, for by means of these fiery waters we can extract their essentials and thereby alchemically rejoin what we have divided. We will grip the Hand of the Philosophers and prepare each finger according to the tenets of the Art, and in these our mineral gardens we will prepare the seasoning to cook our mercurial fish.
The White Book is divided into two parts: Theorica and Practica. The first is an introduction into the alchemical mystery of the Goddess and the concepts of transmutation, with a gathering of the Philosophers whose arcane ideas and mytho-hermetic symbolism are carefully laid out and considered before Heliophilus proceeds on to the practice. Practica is divided firstly into an archetypal discussion on ‘Moonshine’ and the exhalation of the stars, following which the work is separated further into the Vegetable, Animal and Mineral chapters. Under the Vegetable work Heliophilus discusses Acetum and the means of preparing one of the most versatile vegetable menstruums of the alchemists. This is followed by Tartar and the discussion of the importance and preparation of its spirit, its salts and the lesser Circulatum of Urbigerus.
The Animal work includes a detailed inquiry into Urine and the means of extracting a spirit from Oyster shells, whilst the Mineral work itself is separated into five fingers, which constitute the aforementioned Hand of the Philosophers according to which Heliophilus demonstrates the preparation of each of the alchemical salts, namely Nitre, Sal Ammoniac, Salt, Vitriol and Alum, in keeping with the dictates of the Art. The final investigation in The White Book is titled ‘Mercurius Trismigestus’: the Thrice Great Mercury, a work of three parts which shall be concluded in the future in the final instalment of the Alchemy Rising series, The Red Book, and which Heliophilus initiates with a theoretical and practical inquiry into the Prima Materia of the Philosophers, the spirit wine of Lully and the elusive Sericon of the Sages.
Alchemy Rising: The White Book is an essential manual for all aspiring alchemists, providing some of the indispensable keys necessary to unlock the riddles of the Philosophers, and sounding the deep waters of the Royal Art with clarity, sincerity and true passion.
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Table of Contents
Preface
I. Theorica
Via Humida
II. Practica
Moonshine
VEGETABLE WATERS
Acetum
Tartarus
ANIMAL WATERS
Urine
Oysters
MINERAL WATERS
The Hand of the Philosophers
Sal Petre
Vitriologia
Sal Ammoniac
Alum
Salt
III. Mercurius Trismegistus
Part I: Crone
Bibliography
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Lavishly illustrated throughout with nearly 120 full-colour photographs and five illustrations.
Classic Hardcover Edition - limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies
256 pages. Hand-bound in full white bonded leather. Stamped with blue foil on front cover and spine, with alchemical symbols of water and fire debossed on both sides. Printed in full colour on Munken Print Cream 150 gsm paper. Featuring textured colour endpapers, head & tail band and silk ribbon. Presented with a white letterpress bookmark, stamped in metallic blue foil.
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About the Author
The contemporary British alchemist Heliophilus posed The Great Question before a simple boarding school altar at the age of seven, and for the next thirty three years he struggled with the immensity and depth of that question. Through his wonderings for truth he reached out and touched mythology, philosophy, religion, science, until one day a way was opened to a hidden path.
He moved to the border country of South Shropshire where the plants are still pure and in abundance, and where he and a small group of Alchemists gathered to study the sacred art. In the nearly two decades since that moment, Heliophilus has explored the plant, mineral and metallic realms in great detail.
He lives alone with his dog, Mr. Raffles, and has chosen to remain anonymous, partly for it is his tradition, partly for truth’s sake and partly because he believes Alchemy is an art where the personality would only hinder its sacred teachings. After all: you are the Matter, you are the vessel, you are the thing to be transmuted.
