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The Beginner's Guide to Alchemy: Practical Lessons and Exercises to Enhance Your Life

The Beginner's Guide to Alchemy: Practical Lessons and Exercises to Enhance Your Life

Current price: $17.99
Publication Date: May 5th, 2020
Publisher:
Rockridge Press
ISBN:
9781646117475
Pages:
146
Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days

Description

Transform Your Mind and Soul to Find Your Highest Self

There's a lot more to alchemy than turning lead into gold. Alchemists are committed to not only the transformation of actual substances with elements but also the transformation of themselves. This beginner's guide teaches you how to refine the baser parts of yourself (such as your fears, doubts, and anger) and take steps to uncover your truest, enlightened self.

  • Know Your History—Learn all about alchemy's roots and basic principles, including its three primary facets: physical, spiritual, and mental.
  • Discover Who You Are—Insightful activities and introspective journaling exercises make alchemy accessible.
  • Expand Your Learning—Explore illustrated vignettes on notable alchemists, like Nicolas Flamel and Christina of Sweden, along with charts on the Ladder of the Planets and their corresponding elemental associations.

Bring positive change into your life with the transformative powers of alchemy in this beginner's guide.

About the Author

Sarah Durn is a writer, medievalist, actor, and maker. She’s written for Gizmodo, io9, The A.V. Club, and The Mary Sue, among other publications. She is a proud membership candidate of Actor’s Equity and holds a BA in collaborative storytelling with a minor in medieval and Renaissance studies.

Praise for The Beginner's Guide to Alchemy: Practical Lessons and Exercises to Enhance Your Life

“It would be enough if The Beginner's Guide to Alchemy was just a concise but thorough summary of alchemy. But Sarah Durn’s book provides lead-to-gold bonuses in the form of being entertaining, relevant, and often inspirational—not to mention also including easy and useful alchemical exercises anyone can leverage. If you’re interested in alchemy or want to live an alchemical life, this is the book for you.” —Miguel Conner, host of Aeon Byte and author of Voices of Gnosticism

“With a humorous and feminist approach, Durn illuminates the process of transformation on all levels—physical, mental and spiritual. The Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy supports us to awaken individually and collectively within a world of constant flux.” —Meg Hayertz, author of Tarot for Beginners

“A Beginner’s Guide To Alchemy is at once a history, science, and interactive self-enhancement book that doesn’t feel like one until you’ve reached the end and suddenly feel wiser, lighter, and, dare I say, enhanced. Durn feels like a friend and modern day shaman as she guides you through alchemy in all of its variations—physical, mental, and spiritual—by way of history lessons, scientific and philosophic ponderings, and at-home exercises that stimulate alchemical transformation within your own world. You’ll be finding the alchemy in cooking spinach, grinding coffee beans, or going to bed on time before realizing that these small alchemical transformations are microcosms of bigger ones; transforming yourself and the world around you doesn’t require anything you don’t already possess; it begins and ends with you.” —Rachel Hilson, actress & activist