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Title: The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation by Dennis William Hauck ISBN: 0-14-019571-8 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.92 (12 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: "New Age" formulation based on alchemy, but not Royal Art
Comment: Alchemy nowadays is quibbled over between the "Parachemists" and the Jungians, but neither of them achieve much but a profaning of the merits of the art. First of all it is almost impossible to understand alchemy by dividing it by todays mindset which divides the human into a mechanical hardware and a intellectualist psychological software which gives rise to the division into the two spurious camps above. Notwithstanding this one can make some gains by such studies as long as one does not assume one is doing alchemy as the ancients understood it. However, I really have to say that the techniques & illuminations given in this book can be dismissed as not following alchemy quite easily, the author gives any number of techniques in his chapters, when generations of alchemists have said that all is accomplished by one method & one regimen. His first revelation is also preposterous, he claims to identify "the secret fire" by referring to a quote that says that symbols referring to swords, lances reveal the secret fire. Then he says, but swords mean that the secret fire is thought! Taking the lowest common denominator of modern "new age" thought to be true. That the whole of the mysteries of Arthurian legend for instance, where this question is related in terms of the lady of the lake, excalibur, the sword in the stone, the sword bridge, are solveable in terms where the Sword is mundane thought is laughable, one might inquire what has thought to do with the legend of the Knight sleeping with a Lady, with a Sword between them. A science, as such, as the distillation of centuries of understandings into a system, is very late. Modern science could be seen as the distillation of all that went on in the industrial revolution into an overarching system. To understand alchemy one must see it also as the late systemisation of the concerns of centuries beforehand. I would recommend that an aspiring alchemist should read "The Decline of the West" by Oswald Spengler to see how the "Magian" world contrasts with ours, a major clue here, then read "Ancient Egypt, The Light of the World" by Gerald Massey & "Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries" by W.Y. Evans Wentz and then consider how Alchemy is the distillation and systemisation of those worlds into a physic(s) (sic). One could also read "Dark Night of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross, where even he brings in the true state of the experience in the night of the spirit as metaphor. For when one enters this world one will quickly realise that the alchemists weren't dealing so much in metaphors but palpable realities. In the end one has to say that the jungians are often quite warm when interpreting alchemy, but it is still jungian psychology & not alchemy. Read the book, it is not without it's charms, but much of what the author says is the work of a neophyte and one hopes that he will not stop here but go on. But as the alchemists says the understanding of these works is not in the hands of man, but in the hands of "God".
Rating: 4
Summary: Inspired,insightful...truly alchemical!
Comment: This is a rare book combining knowledge with a hands on approach intending to initiate the reader into alchemy as a way of life.Very well researched, written and also 'experienced'-the author presents his own alchemical journey-it can also be a good starting point for those interested in pursuing further this fascinating topic.As for alchemy's relevance for our times,D.W.Hauck's 'The Emerald Tablet'provides a very strong case indeed.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good introduction for beginners
Comment: This book serves as a plain language introduction to alchemical symbolism and concepts. It includes an English translation and line-by-line explication of the Emerald Tablet. It also devotes a complete chapter to each of the seven operations of alchemy and includes several black and white illustrations from traditional treatises on alchemy. Unfortunately, the author spends a little too much time attempting to demonstrate his personal alchemical achievements, with results that can be downright silly ("Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know" -Lao Tzu). The suggested exercises are unhelpful (for greater benefit, I would recommend taking up a discipline like yoga), the inclusion of celebrity star signs (not to mention a subchapter called "The calcination of William Shatner") undermines the credibility of the whole, and the absence of a strong editor shows up in several avoidable errors (using the word "courtesan" for "courtier", referring to Antonin Artaud as a 19th-century figure, etc.). Still, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a basic guide to alchemical processes and symbolism.
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Title: Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus by Hermes, Patrick J. Smith, J. D. Holmes ISBN: 1558183604 Publisher: Holmes Pub Group Pub. Date: 15 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: The Tower of Alchemy: An Advanced Guide to the Great Work by David Goddard ISBN: 1578631130 Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Emerald Tablets of Thoth The Atlantean by Doreal ISBN: 0966531205 Publisher: Source Books & Sacred Spaces Pub. Date: 16 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece by Three Initiates, The Three Initiates ISBN: 0911662251 Publisher: DeVorss & Company Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Hermeticum and The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius by Clement Salaman, Dorine Van Oyen, William D. Wharton, Jean-Pierre Mahe ISBN: 0892818174 Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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