Collectanea Chemica: Being Certain Select Treatises on Alchemy and Hermetic Literature

by Arthur Edward Waite (Editor), Frederick Hockley (Editor)

Book by Waite, Arthur Edward

Genres: Alchemy, Paganism

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A. Gilbert described him, "Waite's name has survived because he was the first to attempt a systematic study of the history of western occultism viewed as a spiritual tradition rather than as aspects of proto-science or as the pathology of religion."

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A.E. Waite, co-creator of the standard Rider-Waite Tarot deck, has compiled an excellent collection of alchemical literature, all helpfully rendered in modern English. This should be required reading for anyone interested in the birth of Western science, or, for that matter, in the death of Western magic.

Things I learned from this book:

----Dr. Fr. Antoine's Receipt, Showing the way to make his most excellent medicine called "Aurum Potabile"
(involves burned tin, Red wine vinegar, brandy, and sack)

----No less than three methods for producing the Philosopher's Stone.

----Many, many, many applications for human urine.

Truly a handbook for the adventurous.