Good but let down by UFO tangents

This book is a strange brew of historical information about alchemy, combined with the, sometimes, fantastical experiences of the author.

When the author is explaining the alchemical symbols etc, he shows that he has a great command of knowledge. The section on explaining the "Opus Medico-Chymicum" is great, as is the section dealing with the Azoth.

However, at times, the author starts to go off on tangents about UFOs - This it seems is a hang over from his previous job as an editor for a UFO magazine. Ironically, the book could have benefitted from this material being edited out. It would have given the whole thing more credibility.

Thath being said, this is a good book and does a very nice job of making clear the process of alchemy (at least mostly from a psychological point of view.

If you are looking for a book that fully expounds the spiritual aspects of alchemy, you might want to look elsewhere. But as an introduction, this is fine.

Good but let down by UFO tangents

This book is a strange brew of historical information about alchemy, combined with the, sometimes, fantastical experiences of the author.

When the author is explaining the alchemical symbols etc, he shows that he has a great command of knowledge. The section on explaining the "Opus Medico-Chymicum" is great, as is the section dealing with the Azoth.

However, at times, the author starts to go off on tangents about UFOs - This it seems is a hang over from his previous job as an editor for a UFO magazine. Ironically, the book could have benefitted from this material being edited out. It would have given the whole thing more credibility.

Thath being said, this is a good book and does a very nice job of making clear the process of alchemy (at least mostly from a psychological point of view.

If you are looking for a book that fully expounds the spiritual aspects of alchemy, you might want to look elsewhere. But as an introduction, this is fine.

Good Start

The book is most suitable for people who are new to alchemy because it is written in a very simple language. In this book Dennis takes the verses from the Emerald Tablet, as a pattern for seven stages of alchemical transformation, and applies it to different areas of human development. He provides numerous examples which are intended to facilitate the understanding of each stage of alchemical transformation, but in my opinion, some of these examples don't quite make it.

The book will nevertheless be very helpful to a beginner to get an idea about the seven stages of alchemical transformation - to actually know them, one will have to experience them - and the later stages of alchemical transformation seem to be beyond the scope of this book - at least I have that impression based on the examples provided.