You guys are too kind, but I actually have the Hermetic Museum, as a gift from Steve & Jim a couple of years ago. It is an excellent collection (although one wishes the pages were twice as big) including many of the finest images, with an interesting thematic arrangement. Are you saying you're actually getting an original 18th century book? Wow.
It's interesting that alchemical emblems are hard to find except in books. Old illustrated books were often cut up for the collector's market because more money could be made selling pages separately. If this is not the case with Hermetic texts, it may be because they have been preserved and handed down by people with an appreciation of more than monetary value.
I mentioned Adam McLean elsewhere recently, but here's an interview, if you missed the link. His book The Alchemical Mandala is a good introduction. He explains practical ways of approaching these images without getting bogged down in a lot of pseudo-esoteric nonsense. He is the editor of the Alchemy site at Levity, and perhaps the most notable public figure in contemporary alchemy.
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It's interesting that alchemical emblems are hard to find except in books. Old illustrated books were often cut up for the collector's market because more money could be made selling pages separately. If this is not the case with Hermetic texts, it may be because they have been preserved and handed down by people with an appreciation of more than monetary value.
I mentioned Adam McLean elsewhere recently, but here's an interview, if you missed the link. His book The Alchemical Mandala is a good introduction. He explains practical ways of approaching these images without getting bogged down in a lot of pseudo-esoteric nonsense. He is the editor of the Alchemy site at Levity, and perhaps the most notable public figure in contemporary alchemy.
- alex 1-31-2002 2:55 pm