ALCHEMY
ALCHEMICAL TEXTS | PERSONAL WRITINGS | ALCHEMY AND ISLAM
SUGGESTED BOOKS | LINKS

SUGGESTED ALCHEMICAL WORKS


Louis Cattiaux, Sleeping Beauty or Alchemy reposing

CONTEMPORARY
•Simón H., Las Palomas de Diana y la Medicina Universal (1985). La Coruña, editorial Baussant, 1995. Simón H. is one of the foremost Hermetic philosophers in present day Spain, and his books are very charitable. Simón's e-books can be found at Muñoz Moya editor, and his books can be bought at the Librería Kier of Madrid.
•Bernard Roger, A la découverte de l’alchimie. Dangles, 1988. An excellent introduction to the subject.
•Bernard Roger, Paris et l’alchimie. Paris, Alta, 1981. Proposes a most interesting Parisian itinerary.
•René Alleau, Aspects de l’alchimie traditionelle. Paris, Minuit, 1953. Important.
•René Alleau, De la nature des symboles (1958). Paris, Payot, 1997.
•Pierre Dujols, Les nobles écrits de Pierre Dujols (1914). Grenoble, Mercure Dauphinois, 2000. Important.
•Claude D'Ygé, Nouvelle assemblée des philosophes chymiques (1954). Paris, J.-C. Bailly, 1991. Important.
•Fulcanelli, Le mystère des cathédrales. Paris, Pauvert, 1979. Essential. Specialists debate over the true identity of this Adept: he could have been Canseliet, Dujols, Julien Champagne, a fusion of these three... or none of them. Patrick Rivière suggests that Fulcanelli was the Hermetic pseudonym of the Physicist Jules Violle (1841-1923).
•Fulcanelli, Les Demeures Philosophales (2 vols). Paris, Pauvert, 1979. Essential, perhaps even more important than "The Mystery of the Cathedrals" for it was written later in the course of the Work.
•Eugène Canseliet, L’alchimie expliquée sur ses textes classiques. Paris, Pauvert, 1980. Interesting.
•Frater Albertus, The Alchemist’s Handbook. Weiser, 1974. Important to familiarize the student, through vegetal analogy, with the basic operations used in the Work.
•Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, The Golden Game. Thames and Hudson, 1988. A beautiful book of alchemical engravings, with charitable comments by a son of the Art.
•René Guénon, La Grande Triade. Paris, Gallimard, 1957. Interesting.
•Titus Burckhardt, Alchimie. Milan, Archè, 1979. Interesting.
•Henri Coton-Alvart, Les Deux Lumières. Paris, Dervy, 1996. Essential for inserting the alchemical effort in a metaphysical, cosmological and Gnostic context. Coton-Alvart was a great master, by his own desire posthumously discovered.
•Henri La Croix-Haute, Propos sur Les Deux Lumières de Henri Coton-Alvart. Grenoble, Mercure Dauphinois, 2001. Writings of Coton-Alvart assembled and briefly commented upon by his disciple.
•Many authors, Ces Hommes qui ont fait l'Alchimie du XXe siècle. Grenoble, Geneviève Dubois éditions, 1999. Contains unpublished texts by Coton-Alvart and gives precious biographical information on many 20th century proponents of the Art.
•Louis Cattiaux, Le Message Retrouvé (1956). Bruxelles, Les amis de L. Cattiaux, 1991. An inspired work of great interest, written by an important Adept.
•Louis Cattiaux, Florilegio Epistolar. Tarragona, Arola Editors, 1999. A selection of letters written by Cattiaux. In Spanish, as the French original lays still unpublished. Interesting.
•Emmanuel d'Hooghvorst, Le Fil de Pénélope (2 vols). Paris, Table d'Émeraude, 1996 (I) and 1998 (II). Interesting.

CLASSICS
•Hermes Trismegistos, Corpus Hermeticum. Many editions. Important.
•Albertus Magnus, Composite of Composites. Essential.
•Thomas Aquinas, Traité de la Pierre Philosophale. Milan, Archè sebastiani, 1979.
•Basilius Valentinus, Les douze clefs de la philosophie (translation, introduction and notes by Canseliet). Paris, Minuit, 1956. Most important for certain paths.
•Basilius Valentinus, The triumphal chariot of antimony. Holmes/Alchemical Press, 1992. Important, for the same reason.
•Many authors, The Hermetic Museum. Reprint Kessinger. Important texts.
•Many authors, Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum. Reprint Kessinger. Important texts.
•Many authors, Collectanea Chemica. Alchemical Press, 1991. Important.
•Anonymous (probably Uthman ibn Suwaid), La Tourbe des Philosophes. Paris, Dervy, 1993. An Arabic text that was, in its Latin version, most important for Western Alchemy.
•Petrus Bonus of Ferrara, The New Pearl of Great Price. Reprint Kessinger. Very important.
•Paracelsus, The hermetic and alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Reprint Kessinger.
•Eirenaeus Philalethes, Alchemical Works: Eirenaeus Philalethes Compiled. Cinnabar, 1994. Essential.
•Nicolas Flamel, Oeuvres. Paris, Courrier du Livre, 1989. Essential.
•Michael Maïer, Atalante fugitive. Paris, Dervy, 1997. Most interesting.
•Limojon de Saint-Didier, Le triomphe hermétique (1699). Milan, Archè, 1991. Important.
•Altus, Mutus Liber. Milan, Archè, 1979. Essential.
•Heinrich Khunrath, Amphithéâtre de l’éternelle sapience. Milan, Archè, 1990. Most interesting.
•Christopher Glaser, The Complete Chemist (1677). Reprint Kessinger. A Chemistry manual, important to understand the terminology that is still used by present day practitioners of the Art.
•Nicolas Leméry, Cours de Chymie (Paris, 1675). A difficult to find Chemistry manual that was very popular during the 18th century (more than thirty editions). Important, like Glaser's manual, to understand the terminology.