Mark Stavish - The Path of Alchemy: Energetic Healing and the World of Natural Magic

"Mark Stavish has been a prolific writer on alchemy over the years, and this book represents his finest work yet. It is a must for any study of alchemy in understanding the subtle side of its process. He writes with a knowledge and insight that comes from years of experience, and yet the book is presented in an easy-to-read format. Mark's work is quite unique and is a valuable addition to the various alchemical paradigms that are starting to expand through the literary fields."

-Pat Zalewski, author of Golden Dawn Enochian Magick and The Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn

"The Path of Alchemy is an insightful, highly practical work, dedicated to the perpetuation of this ancient art and science. It promises what alchemy promises: `No Work, no result,' as is most certainly the case. Having myself completed all seven years of classes at the Paracelsus Research Society under Frater Albertus himself, I highly recommend this book. Its balance between theory and practice is what the sincere seeker into these Mysteries needs in order to learn from within and accomplish in the `without.' It is the finest piece of writing-clear, detailed, eclectically sound, and as complete as any work in this area can be-that I have seen in the past three decades. It is as indispensable as is Frater Albertus's own timeless classic, The Alchemist's Handbook."

-Joseph C. Lisiewski, Ph.D., author of Ceremonial Magic, Kabbalistic Cycles & the Mastery of Life, and Kabbalistic Handbook for the Practicing Magician

Mark Stavish has published nearly a hundred articles, book reviews, and interviews on the traditions of Western esotericism. He has also served as a consultant to print and broadcast media and several documentaries. In 1998, Stavish founded what became the Institute for Hermetic Studies. In 2001, he established the Louis Claude de St. Martin Fund, a nonprofit fund dedicated to advancing the study and practice of Western esotericism.

Mark Stavish

The Path of Alchemy is the compilation of millennia of human striving toward the Light. May it serve as a stepping stone for another generation of seekers, that the chain of the Hermetic tradition continue unbroken for another two thousand years. This book is dedicated to all those who serve the Light and are committed to completing the Great Work.

Use caution and common sense while carrying out the instructions and recipes found in this book. Herbal products must be prepared and used with care.

Many people are allergic to certain plants. Always make sure that the plants you are working with are safe to ingest and that you will not have any allergic reactions to working with them.

Check with a licensed health care professional before ingesting any herbal product. This book is no substitute for proper medical care; consult a doctor for any serious health problems.

You are responsible for your health. The publisher assumes no responsibility for injuries occurring as a result of following the instructions in this book, nor for the efficacy of the recipes.

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My early steps on the alchemical path occurred when I was less than ten years of age. That would have been, at the latest, 1962-the year that a German alchemist, Albert Riedel, opened a now-legendary school in Utah, the Paracelsus Research Society. In 1984, I entered the beginners' class of his school, to take further steps on this path, and was initiated into the oral tradition of alchemy by Frater Albertus.

It was the first-of perhaps a hundred books concerning alchemy I had searched-to show that the author had personal knowledge about how to actually do anything. By way of comparison, this book is much more open and direct, and it provides a step-by-step plan for study and work.

Like Albertus's Praxis Spagyrica Philosophica and his later work, The Alchemist's Handbook, The Path of Alchemy shows you how to grind medicinal herbs with a mortar and pestle and create tinctures that help to heal and balance mind and body. Certainly this is a practical book, as hands-on as you can hope for. It is also a comforting book. By this I mean that it does not contain hard-to-place symbolism or just hint at things that really could be said directly.

If you can brew a pot of coffee, you can begin doing the laboratory work detailed here. If you can afford the few dollars needed to buy a copy of The Path of Alchemy, you should be able to assemble all of the tools you need to perform experiments. If the fact that the experiments are not complicated suggests to you that they cannot be very revealing, then please hang on for a great ride!

The Path ofAlchemy is quite positive and affirmative, but there are a few "no's": no oaths, no secrecy, no gurus, no master, no limits on your imagination and freedom. No guarantees, either, save one: no effort, no result. Making this book is exactly right for today's student-it packs all of the transformational dynamite that Frater Albertus's classic The Alchemist's Handbook delivered in 1960. However, unlike that wonderful little book, this revealing book satisfies our culture's need for speed. The Path ofAlchemy is designed to be useful now, for anyone willing to give a bit of joyful attention and effort.

This book is a tool for personal transformation. The style and format are contemporary, which makes it easier to begin working on your alchemical realization than if you were reading what has previously been available. I say this with the greatest respect for those teachers who have gone before on this path, for without their previous efforts it would not be possible to open wider the doors to the Alchemical Temple.

Great teachers intend that those who come after them will accomplish even greater things. As alchemy is the work of evolution, one should not be surprised that changes come one after the other, and with increasing speed.