"Alchimia Arts creates limited collector's editions inspired by the forgotten history of alchemy, Freemasonry and the Western Mystery Tradition...Decades of research and passion for Count Alessandro di Cagliostro have culminated in this one off set of Collector’s Editions launched to coincide with and commemorate the official date of his death 231 years ago on 26 August 1795 in the Inquisition Fortress of San Leo."
"The Autonomous University of Mexico City (UACM), through the Vlady Center, will present the temporary exhibition "Leonora Carrington: a sacred journey," consisting of 60 works by the surrealist artist and 20 photographs of pieces as sculptures, jewelry, lithographs, drawings, and metal engravings...The opening will take place on August 27 at 7:00 p.m., at the Vlady Center of the UACM, located at Goya 63, Mixcoac neighborhood. Admission is free, and the exhibition can be visited from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., until November 11."
The Art of Alchemy: Inner Alchemy & the Revelation of the Philosopher's Stone
by Sarom, Gabriyell
"From the dawn of humanity to the modern age, alchemy has always been a subject of great curiosity. Its mere mention brings old tales of wiseman working in smoke-filled alchemical laboratories trying to transform metals into gold whilst creating elixirs that immortalized the body.
While this mythical picture is still prevalent today, the alchemical teachings and practices found in this volume are not about creating medicines or heating toxic materials in brick furnaces to create bizarre compounds but about using our body and mind as the alchemical laboratory.
This book is centered on practices and procedures of Inner Alchemy, and it aims to shed new light on this ancient tradition, revealing its power to deeply transmute our body, energy, mind, and soul.
Although it may appear to be an arcane discipline filled with cryptic and often unintelligible language, alchemy holds a powerful treasure once its lexicon and teachings are decoded. The secret to creating the real Philosopher's Stone and achieving true immortality is now at your disposal."
Reason Tried by Fire: The Rota Alphabetalis and Other Logical and Mnemonic Devices in the Pseudo-Lullian Alchemical Codicillus
Gorini González, Diego
"This article explores the Codicillus, a pivotal yet understudied text within the pseudo-Lullian alchemical corpus, dating back to the mid-fourteenth century. The aim is to present the conceptual development of the alchemical doctrine contained in the work by elucidating its key logical and mnemonic devices. These include the three alchemical principles (material, demonstrative and operative), the division of the opus in four stages, the so-called ‘science of middles and extremes’, and an alphabetical wheel of the elements. Through this analysis, the Codicillus emerges as a remarkable instance of operational rationality in medieval experimental science, as well as an early application of the ‘Art of Memory’ to alchemy."
"Drawing on Hermetic principles, alchemical stages (nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, rubedo), and the doctrine of signatures, the book shows how plants and geometric patterns serve as catalysts for healing and spiritual growth. It weaves together historical lineage—from Egyptian temple gardens and medieval monasteries to the rebel wisdom of Paracelsus—and offers practical tools: designing geometric garden layouts, making alchemical herbal medicines, harvesting under celestial cycles, and creating sacred spaces. The author emphasizes that consciousness is real and can interact with matter, making intention an essential ingredient in all herbal and alchemical work."
The Alchemical Republics: How Italy’s Renaissance City-States Weaponized the Occult
Shane McGrath
"To history books, the Italian Renaissance was a golden age of humanism, linear perspective, and classical architecture. But beneath the pristine white marble of the piazzas lay a shadowy, desperate arms race...In a fractured peninsula dominated by hyper-competitive city-states—where Venice, Florence, Milan, and the Papal States constantly plotted each other’s violent demise—traditional mercenary armies (condottieri) and conventional diplomacy were never enough. To secure absolute power, the ruling elites turned to the ultimate forbidden tools: Divine Magic (Theurgy) and Demonic Magic (Goetia)."
"This late fifteenth-century manuscript, written on paper, contains a compilation of alchemical texts assembled and copied by Arnold of Brussels. For the most part, it was made in Naples between 1472 and 1490, as often noted at the end of works (for example, fols. 149r, 182v, 196v). A group of works in the middle of the volume appear to be in a different, possibly German, hand (fols. 79-101). As well as lists of philosophers, recipes, and key alchemical terms, it contains a number of texts and treatises of historical importance. These include the pseudo-Albertus Magnus's "Semita Recta" ("The Straight Path," fols. 17v-18r) and Hermes Trismegistus's "Obra de la Alkimia" ("The Work of Alchemy," ff. 30v-32v), as well as multiple works or excerpts of works by Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (known as Geber), Ramon Llull, Arnold of Villanova, and Pliny the Elder among others. For more information, see Hirsh (1970). The text is simply adorned with colored initials and paraph markers, but has been further embellished by later readers with simple line-fillers, a large number of manicules(*), and – perhaps most interestingly – sketches of alchemical apparatus (fols. 19v-20r). Later hands have made annotations and additions to the text throughout. There are multiple conflicting systems of foliation, and the quires appear to have been reordered at least once before being bound in their current order. Some of the leaves are damaged and many have had their margins repaired. Others are almost completely detached from the text block (for example, fol. 94)."
(*) The manicule, ☞, is a typographical mark with the appearance of a hand with its index finger extended in a pointing gesture.
No complete, official English translation of *Die theoretischen Brüder oder zweite Stuffe der Rosenkreutzer und ihrer Instruktion* exists in a standalone commercial book format. However, key excerpts, instructional sections, and grade descriptions have been translated and analyzed by historians of Western Esotericism—most notably Christopher McIntosh in his seminal study *The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason*.
The title translates to: **"The Theoretical Brothers, or Second Degree of the Rosicrucians and Their Instruction."**
Origin & Context:
First published anonymously in 1785 (attributed to Graf von Löhrbach), the text was a classic 18th-century "expose". The publisher claimed to have obtained the internal manuscripts by accident, releasing them to the public to unveil the secret teachings of the **Order of the Gold- und Rosenkreuz** (Golden and Rosy Cross), an influential Rosicrucian-Masonic offshoot active during the German Counter-Enlightenment.
What the Book Contains:
The book leaks the operational material and instructional curriculum for the 2nd Degree (*Theoricus*) of the 9-grade Rosicrucian system—a structure that was later adapted by modern esoteric groups such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
1. **Rituals and Ceremonies**
* Detailed descriptions of the initiation ceremonies, floor plans, and symbolic carpets (*Tapis*) used for the degree of *Theoricus*.
* The catechism and dialogue exchanged between the lodge officers and the initiate.
2. **Theoretical Curriculum (Natural Philosophy)**
* **Cosmology & Creation:** Lectures explaining the origins of the universe, light, dark, and divine emanations.
* **Element & Planetary Theory:** Instruction on Paracelsian natural philosophy, linking the seven planets to specific metals, body systems, and diseases.
* **Pansophy:** Synthesizing Lutheran theology with Hermeticism, Kabbalah, and sacred geometry.
3. **Practical Alchemy (The Appendix)** * An appendix containing laboratory instructions from the 3rd (*Practicus*) and 5th (*Philosophus*) degrees. * Step-by-step chemical and spagyric processes for manipulating minerals, sulfur, and mercury in an attempt to work toward the *Magnum Opus* (the Philosopher's Stone).
