Alchemy & Mysticism (Hermetic Museum)

Incredible book, perfect for lovers of esoteric art and those wanting visual aids for contemplation. Be aware of the dimensions, it was a bit smaller than I expected, but there are advantages to having a more compact book (for example you could comfortably peruse it in a coffee shop or on a flight)

Fantastic book, a must read.

I can’t get over how beautiful this book is. I was intrigued by medieval art and learning about the hermetic principles. Not only is this book have great illustrations, but it has a clean appearance, and easy to read text. Easily my new favorite reference. Easy to hold and manage as well. You could take this book with you to a coffee shop easily if you wanted and be amused by all of the details!

Love this book.

I don't practice alchemy. I bought this book because it sounded really interesting and I wanted something that brings a lot of principles of alchemy into one source book instead of various google searches. This book has within it's title "The Hermetic Museum," and I feel that's pretty appropriate because it certainly feels that way. There's a lot of pictures with only shallow tidbits of information, kind of like what you'd see in those small cards at the bottom of a painting in a museum. I do like that there's a lot of art which does pass on a fair amount of information itself. I feel that as a general reference book this book introduces you to a lot of the concepts of alchemy, but it does not explore those concepts in depth. This book fills space with pictures rather than words. And then about 80% of the text just explains what's being depicted rather than what that depiction actually means. In some ways it's frustrating. As someone who knows nothing about alchemy I mistakenly thought the green lion (green vitriol) and the gray wolf (antimony) were the same thing because this book presents them in a similar fashion. In the artwork the green lion and the gray wolf are depicted as eating things and the book just basically states they're chemicals that are known to devour substances. It took a google search for me to realize they were two separate things. In my defense, artwork about alchemy uses a wide range of symbolism and alchemy uses confusing code names (for example: quicksilver vs. alchemical quicksilver.) All in all, I do think this is a good book, but have the internet handy if you want to explore the alchemic principles in depth.

I wish this was offered in a bigger size for my older eyes. That's my only complaint. If you have eye problems, the type will be a tad too little for you. Beautiful book with numerous pictures with a plethora of information.

I bought this book for the images, not some overly wordy explanation, so i am very pleased. Alchemy has to be experienced not theorized about. Although some symbols are shared so can be understood by everyone, such as The Queen and King, certain colours, or Wings on the feet, the alchemists depicted their own interpretations so that Alchemy is not a "standard" language with agreed upon explanations.

Amazing collection of Images with brief descriptions. More of a reference book to be used while studying other Alchemy / Mysticism books than to be read on its own.

A must have book for alchemy lovers.

Done to the perfection. Stunning works of art.

Je me suis régalée à feuilleter les pages de ce livre. Attention, il faut avoir un assez bon niveau en anglais pour le lire (dans le cas contraire, un traducteur auto fera l'affaire mais à vos risques et périls). Je ne suis pas complètement profane niveau connaissances en ésotérisme mais je ne cesse d'apprendre de nouvelles choses fascinantes à travers ce livre. Et qu'est ce qu'il est beau ! Les illustrations sont captivantes ! L'état du livre est impeccable, les pages sont d'un blanc immaculé. Il est arrivé correctement emballé sous papier blister. Je n'achète d'habitude jamais des livres neufs donc je ne sais pas si c'est habituel en tout cas ça suffit à m'impressionner. J'ai dû contacter le vendeur pour obtenir une information avant la livraison et ils ont été très réactifs pour me répondre.

Prachtig boek, fijn formaat, heel heel veel illustraties, hier ga ik uren lees plezier van hebben!

Muy bonito libro, vale por completo el precio, viene totalmente en inglés, sin embargo es fácil de comprender y las imágenes son muy bonitas, es muy completo para entender la alquimia y cosas más espirituales 🧷