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The Philosopher’s Stone: Alchemy and the Secret Research for Exotic Matter
The Philosopher’s Stone reveals the connections between little known ideas in physics and ancient alchemy. Examining American, Soviet and Nazi research, Farrell traces out alchemy’s view of an information-creating physical medium, and shows how this idea is related to the phenomenon of high-spin rotation and the unusual properties in matter that it induces.
350 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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480 people want to read
About the author
Joseph P. Farrell
65 books244 followersJoseph P. Farrell is a recognized scholar whose credentials include a Doctor of Patristics degree from the University of Oxford. His literary contribution is a veritable résumé unto itself covering such fields as Nazi Germany, Sacred Literature, physics, finances, the Giza pyramids, and music theory. His latest book is Genes, Giants, Monsters, and Men: The Surviving Elites of the Cosmic War and Their Hidden Agenda. Earlier books include:
The Giza Death Star (2001)
The Giza Death Star Deployed (2003)
Reich of the Black Sun (2004)
The Giza Death Star Destroyed (2005)
The SS Brotherhood of the Bell (2006)
The Cosmic War (2007)
Secrets of the Unified Field (2008)
The Nazi International (2008)
The Philosophers' Stone (2009)
Babylon's Banksters (2010)
Roswell and the Reich (2010)
LBJ and the Conspiracy to Kill Kennedy (2010)
Genes, Giants, Monsters, and Men (2011)
The Giza Death Star (2001)
The Giza Death Star Deployed (2003)
Reich of the Black Sun (2004)
The Giza Death Star Destroyed (2005)
The SS Brotherhood of the Bell (2006)
The Cosmic War (2007)
Secrets of the Unified Field (2008)
The Nazi International (2008)
The Philosophers' Stone (2009)
Babylon's Banksters (2010)
Roswell and the Reich (2010)
LBJ and the Conspiracy to Kill Kennedy (2010)
Genes, Giants, Monsters, and Men (2011)
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 8, 2014
It is difficult to pinpoint his thesis. It is easier to examine the argument and narrative as they unfold. Strictly speaking, the question deals with the nature of the philosopher’s stone—the alchemical device allegedly used to transform base metals into gold. Farrell looks at it from a different angle—the philosopher’s stone is the physical medium itself. Transforming one element into another is simply putting stress on that medium.
From that thesis Farrell brings in his discussion of the occult, high physics, and Nazi technology. First, alchemy’s occultic roots. Farrell picks up where his Giza Death Star Destroyed left off. Before we discuss that we should note a little background information and some of Farrell’s presuppositions. Farrell assumes (and I think I hold to something similar) there was an ancient “high” civilization with an ancient technology. Either this civilization experienced a civil war or fought (and lost) a war from the outside. In either case the losing side “went underground” for much of what would later become ancient and Western history.
Much knowledge was lost and alchemical research is perhaps a search for that knowledge.
Farrell notes that the ancient neo-Platonic magicians spoke in alchemical concepts (and probably studied alchemy). When St. Constantine converted the Roman Empire, alchemy and many of the schools of magic disappeared. With the rise of the Templars almost 1,000 years later, alchemy and “magic” revived in full form. Farrell asks the very interesting question, “How did it appear without ‘missing a beat’ when most movements take decades to fully develop?” The reasonable explanation is an underground alchemical movement.
Farrell takes this reasoning a step further. Many alchemists were able to disguise alchemical research via Filioquist terminology. Indeed, if one studies the hermetic and neo-platonic texts of this period, they use almost the same language and concepts of the Augustinian Filioque and doctrine of Absolute Divine Simplicity.
Farrell’s book then becomes an extended discussion in theoretical physics and will probably lose most readers. Granted, the Nazi connections are intriguing and explain the evidence better than any other model offered by “academics,” but only the most committed reader can progress beyond this phase.
There was a very good discussion on Nikolai Kozyrev and St Maximus the Confessor. Farrell (likely borrowing from God, History, and Dialectic) shows how Maximus’ worldview on “being and becoming” is very similar to what Kozyrev said on the nature of time.
CONS OF THE BOOK
It was really hard to follow at times. I’ve followed Farrell’s works and have read some of his books, but many of his discussions seemed to belabor the point.
PROS OF THE BOOK
While his discussions belabored the point, they also seemed to prove the point. His arguments are most thorough.
Further, his rhetorical skill has few equals. He can draw out the implications of a concept or line of argument better than most. While his discussions on theoretical physics are dizzying because most people aren’t familiar with post-Einsteinian physics, he does a good job of explaining the points.
From that thesis Farrell brings in his discussion of the occult, high physics, and Nazi technology. First, alchemy’s occultic roots. Farrell picks up where his Giza Death Star Destroyed left off. Before we discuss that we should note a little background information and some of Farrell’s presuppositions. Farrell assumes (and I think I hold to something similar) there was an ancient “high” civilization with an ancient technology. Either this civilization experienced a civil war or fought (and lost) a war from the outside. In either case the losing side “went underground” for much of what would later become ancient and Western history.
Much knowledge was lost and alchemical research is perhaps a search for that knowledge.
Farrell notes that the ancient neo-Platonic magicians spoke in alchemical concepts (and probably studied alchemy). When St. Constantine converted the Roman Empire, alchemy and many of the schools of magic disappeared. With the rise of the Templars almost 1,000 years later, alchemy and “magic” revived in full form. Farrell asks the very interesting question, “How did it appear without ‘missing a beat’ when most movements take decades to fully develop?” The reasonable explanation is an underground alchemical movement.
Farrell takes this reasoning a step further. Many alchemists were able to disguise alchemical research via Filioquist terminology. Indeed, if one studies the hermetic and neo-platonic texts of this period, they use almost the same language and concepts of the Augustinian Filioque and doctrine of Absolute Divine Simplicity.
Farrell’s book then becomes an extended discussion in theoretical physics and will probably lose most readers. Granted, the Nazi connections are intriguing and explain the evidence better than any other model offered by “academics,” but only the most committed reader can progress beyond this phase.
There was a very good discussion on Nikolai Kozyrev and St Maximus the Confessor. Farrell (likely borrowing from God, History, and Dialectic) shows how Maximus’ worldview on “being and becoming” is very similar to what Kozyrev said on the nature of time.
CONS OF THE BOOK
It was really hard to follow at times. I’ve followed Farrell’s works and have read some of his books, but many of his discussions seemed to belabor the point.
PROS OF THE BOOK
While his discussions belabored the point, they also seemed to prove the point. His arguments are most thorough.
Further, his rhetorical skill has few equals. He can draw out the implications of a concept or line of argument better than most. While his discussions on theoretical physics are dizzying because most people aren’t familiar with post-Einsteinian physics, he does a good job of explaining the points.
April 23, 2013
If you’re unfamiliar with the work of Joseph P. Farrell, then shame on you! I’ve had the good fortune of hearing him speak on George Noory’s Coast-to-Coast program on a few occasions, and, despite the fact that I may not be able to keep up with everything he discusses, I’ve always been captivated by the man’s ability to grasp a huge command of facts while synthesizing it down to the fine points. He’s explored such controversial subjects from history as the pyramids, high finance, fringe science, and the Nazi Party. While most readers might be quick to dismiss these topics as already vastly understood and question what might be gained from continued exploration, it takes a truly wise mind to see through the various half-truths, misconceptions, and obvious canards that have been presented and accepted as fact throughout the ages. I’d encourage you to pick up any single one of Farrell’s book and not find the conventional suitable challenged. Who knows? He might even convince you all on his own to look further.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary for the discussion of plot and character. If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last paragraph for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
Now, I’m going to admit right up front that there are far better schooled minds than mine capable of providing Farrell’s book, THE PHILSOPHERS’ STONE, with a solid review. The truth is I’m no science junkie. Granted, I’ve kinda/sorta tinkered off-and-on over the years with some fascination with physics and the like, so much so that I’ve picked up a basic understanding of the greater world-at-large. But the more I read the more I realize I don’t know – and, much worse, how much more genuinely escapes mankind’s collective understanding. Farrell’s books (this is my third) have a way of demonstrating this repeatedly as he peels back the layers of what we’ve been told to (hopefully) bring us closer and closer to what may’ve been misplaced or forgotten from history.
A topic as innocuous as alchemy – one often dismissed as a flight of fancy – is, perhaps, the perfect example. By recounting what we know about legitimate scientific investigation into alchemy, Farrell encounters freakishly frightening similarities hidden in other realms of exploration … so much so that it becomes statistically impossible to dismiss them as mere coincidences. (And who of us hasn’t been told that there’s no such thing as coincidences?) What I found increasingly surprising in the book’s first section was just how much research – much of it dated – had been done into matter transformation; and I’m not talking about recently. Farrell cites references to show that kings and priests of old were fascinated with what appears to have been lost to the ages … or maybe not so much lost as it has been misdirected.
STONE is, essentially, divided into thirds (though the author crafts it as four parts): the first part explores the distant past and some of the heavier concepts relating to alchemy’s association to physics; the second part (and the most fascinating to me) detailed the experiences of a contemporary Arizona ‘farmer’ who stumbles across modern day scientific anomalies that look an awful lot like what we all thought was ‘fantasy’ might be authentic; and the last part ventures into some German and Soviet experiments that most likely had much more to do with securing exotic matter than anything else. (For the record, I’ve just started one of the works heavily referenced by Farrell – Hitler’s Uranium Club – and, while that author and Farrell’s interpretation of the facts might be different, they certainly both demonstrate that the Nazis were ‘up to something’ that indeed could’ve changed the outcome of World War II had they gone far enough in application.)
As I said, this is my third Farrell book, and, to his detriment, I’ll say that the man doesn’t always relate his subject matter in terms for the lay mind (thinking of my own here). That’s not a huge fault, though it is one that does present certain obstacles in my enjoying his work more personally. One of the great unrecognized talents of some writers is their innate ability to take a very complicated topic but display it in terms all of us can understand; that’s an area I’d encourage Mr. Farrell to continue getting better at. I’m not asking that he ‘dumb anything down’; rather, I’m encouraging him to help pull the rest of us up so that we can appreciate what he brings to the table with even more earnestness.
It’s a fascinating read. Yes, much of it was over my head (such is life when it comes to science), but there’s a fair amount in here that I fully grasped. What I did understand certainly challenged me to think about my world a bit differently, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you found it much the same.
THE PHILOSOPHERS’ STONE: ALCHEMY AND THE SECRET RESEARCH FOR EXOTIC MATTER is written by Joseph P. Farrell. The book is published by Feral House. It’s a relatively meaty 300+ pages complete with the author’s research citations and bibliography. The book bears the cover price of $17.95, a bargain for all of the insight in contains.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. So long as the reader can wade through the science-heavy first section, the remaining two-thirds of THE PHILOSOPHERS’ STONE delivers on the premise of examining some secret and some not-so-secret searches for ‘exotic matter’ or, much simpler, the practical ability to transform one substance (say, lead) into another (say, gold). I live with no doubts regarding author Farrell’s sheer genius to comprehend all of this data, though I’ll be the first to admit that his delivery isn’t necessarily targeted toward the commoner (a mind like my own). Still, it’s a great read – at times riveting – and I’d encourage others to explore the subject.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary for the discussion of plot and character. If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last paragraph for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
Now, I’m going to admit right up front that there are far better schooled minds than mine capable of providing Farrell’s book, THE PHILSOPHERS’ STONE, with a solid review. The truth is I’m no science junkie. Granted, I’ve kinda/sorta tinkered off-and-on over the years with some fascination with physics and the like, so much so that I’ve picked up a basic understanding of the greater world-at-large. But the more I read the more I realize I don’t know – and, much worse, how much more genuinely escapes mankind’s collective understanding. Farrell’s books (this is my third) have a way of demonstrating this repeatedly as he peels back the layers of what we’ve been told to (hopefully) bring us closer and closer to what may’ve been misplaced or forgotten from history.
A topic as innocuous as alchemy – one often dismissed as a flight of fancy – is, perhaps, the perfect example. By recounting what we know about legitimate scientific investigation into alchemy, Farrell encounters freakishly frightening similarities hidden in other realms of exploration … so much so that it becomes statistically impossible to dismiss them as mere coincidences. (And who of us hasn’t been told that there’s no such thing as coincidences?) What I found increasingly surprising in the book’s first section was just how much research – much of it dated – had been done into matter transformation; and I’m not talking about recently. Farrell cites references to show that kings and priests of old were fascinated with what appears to have been lost to the ages … or maybe not so much lost as it has been misdirected.
STONE is, essentially, divided into thirds (though the author crafts it as four parts): the first part explores the distant past and some of the heavier concepts relating to alchemy’s association to physics; the second part (and the most fascinating to me) detailed the experiences of a contemporary Arizona ‘farmer’ who stumbles across modern day scientific anomalies that look an awful lot like what we all thought was ‘fantasy’ might be authentic; and the last part ventures into some German and Soviet experiments that most likely had much more to do with securing exotic matter than anything else. (For the record, I’ve just started one of the works heavily referenced by Farrell – Hitler’s Uranium Club – and, while that author and Farrell’s interpretation of the facts might be different, they certainly both demonstrate that the Nazis were ‘up to something’ that indeed could’ve changed the outcome of World War II had they gone far enough in application.)
As I said, this is my third Farrell book, and, to his detriment, I’ll say that the man doesn’t always relate his subject matter in terms for the lay mind (thinking of my own here). That’s not a huge fault, though it is one that does present certain obstacles in my enjoying his work more personally. One of the great unrecognized talents of some writers is their innate ability to take a very complicated topic but display it in terms all of us can understand; that’s an area I’d encourage Mr. Farrell to continue getting better at. I’m not asking that he ‘dumb anything down’; rather, I’m encouraging him to help pull the rest of us up so that we can appreciate what he brings to the table with even more earnestness.
It’s a fascinating read. Yes, much of it was over my head (such is life when it comes to science), but there’s a fair amount in here that I fully grasped. What I did understand certainly challenged me to think about my world a bit differently, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you found it much the same.
THE PHILOSOPHERS’ STONE: ALCHEMY AND THE SECRET RESEARCH FOR EXOTIC MATTER is written by Joseph P. Farrell. The book is published by Feral House. It’s a relatively meaty 300+ pages complete with the author’s research citations and bibliography. The book bears the cover price of $17.95, a bargain for all of the insight in contains.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. So long as the reader can wade through the science-heavy first section, the remaining two-thirds of THE PHILOSOPHERS’ STONE delivers on the premise of examining some secret and some not-so-secret searches for ‘exotic matter’ or, much simpler, the practical ability to transform one substance (say, lead) into another (say, gold). I live with no doubts regarding author Farrell’s sheer genius to comprehend all of this data, though I’ll be the first to admit that his delivery isn’t necessarily targeted toward the commoner (a mind like my own). Still, it’s a great read – at times riveting – and I’d encourage others to explore the subject.
August 13, 2025
Excellent and well researched.
Read
June 13, 2009 Joseph P. Farrel's book was one of those I picked up on a whim, having some interest in the philosophies that collected under the term "alchemy" that later led to the protosciences that went underground in the secret societies of the 17th and 18th Centuries and emerged as the modern sciences of chemistry and physics. Farrel asserts that some of these alchemical quests have persisted into more modern scientific efforts, especially in the Soviet Union's experiments with nonscalar time and the Nazi experiments with nuclear physics and weapons. Among his more disturbing speculations are that the Nazis may have been further along toward the creation of the bomb than has been generally thought. Much of this information became the property of both the U.S. and U.S.S.R., both of whom worked over this research during the cold war. It does make you wonder what sorts of thinks our own government may be playing round with. And whether they should.
February 22, 2013
Some very interesting elements in this book. Mr. Farrell refers to some of his previous works in this book and I feel like I would have understood more of the subtleties and implications of his work if I had not started here. I appreciate his enthusiastic blending of knowledge from multiple disciplines. I will return to this book again after laying more groundwork for my own understanding.
My best analogy for the experience of reading this the first time is of listening in on a conversation that tantalizes you with interest but you are unable to hear enough of it to repeat it.
So that just leaves me wondering where to start with Mr. Farrell's prolific bibliography?
My best analogy for the experience of reading this the first time is of listening in on a conversation that tantalizes you with interest but you are unable to hear enough of it to repeat it.
So that just leaves me wondering where to start with Mr. Farrell's prolific bibliography?
August 24, 2014
I am not quite sure what I think of this book. I did find some things in it interesting. However, I also keep looking at it with the word "pseudoscience" in my mind. I need some corroborating sources that are more mainstream I think before I get too excited about what is discussed in this book. Having said that I find some of the arguments/possibilities very interesting and actually kind of fun to think about. I would welcome further input by Goodreads people regarding this book or others by Farrell. I give it an average rating simply because of some of the fringe history and science issues.
June 8, 2014
A good attempt to link theoretical physics with alchemy, The Philosophers Stone connects the dots of red mercury and the Nazi Bell to their possible theoretical origins in alchemy.
December 25, 2024
I have read The Philosopher’s Stone: Alchemy and the Secret Research for Exotic Matter by Joseph P. Farrell twice. Not because I failed to understand it, but because it is so intellectually stimulating and provocative that it leaves me with 100 questions rather than 100 answers. There are few books, as regular readers of my reviews will know, that I can describe in this way.
Farrell’s work is deliberately open-ended, inviting inquiry and contemplation, and I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to pose some of these questions to the author himself someday. Moreover, his writing style reveals a systematic approach—perhaps even a mathematical algorithm—that intrigues me deeply and hints at a structured methodology underlying his exploration of complex topics.
I tip my hat to you, Mr. Farrell, for crafting such a masterful and enigmatic work. It stands as a unique contribution to intellectual and esoteric literature, deserving of profound respect and deeper examination.
Farrell’s work is deliberately open-ended, inviting inquiry and contemplation, and I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to pose some of these questions to the author himself someday. Moreover, his writing style reveals a systematic approach—perhaps even a mathematical algorithm—that intrigues me deeply and hints at a structured methodology underlying his exploration of complex topics.
I tip my hat to you, Mr. Farrell, for crafting such a masterful and enigmatic work. It stands as a unique contribution to intellectual and esoteric literature, deserving of profound respect and deeper examination.
February 18, 2021
I've been reading Farrell's books ever since I picked up The SS Brotherhood of the Bell from the Tattered Cover in Denver and read most of it while waiting in the Amtrak station. Ever since then, I've been following his discovery of an alternative physics developed in Nazi Germany.
Nazi scientists rejected the idea of Relativity and other "Jewish" sciences, and went back to theories involving the luminiferous aether. (These aether theories seem to get under physicists' skins. They try to deny it so badly that there has to be something psychological happening here.) Now Farrell adds alchemy to the mix.
And the story continues ...
Nazi scientists rejected the idea of Relativity and other "Jewish" sciences, and went back to theories involving the luminiferous aether. (These aether theories seem to get under physicists' skins. They try to deny it so badly that there has to be something psychological happening here.) Now Farrell adds alchemy to the mix.
And the story continues ...
January 9, 2026
Of the utmost journalistic integrity - well cited. Obviously it is a speculative book that should get you to ask questions. Written for the liberal artsy journalistic sort of person who takes a historical approach to understanding anything, including scientific/technological matters.
I walked away from this not with a clear story, but only suspicions. These suspicions actually motivated me to up the ante in my own investigations and actually go back to school.
I walked away from this not with a clear story, but only suspicions. These suspicions actually motivated me to up the ante in my own investigations and actually go back to school.
March 4, 2024
This is a most interesting book, linking esoteric and alchemic ideas with scientific and hidden projects, loads of data, and very strange situations, this book displays abundant ideas and very exotic ideas. Really worth checking, it is in fact a very interesting book.
October 12, 2020
Some very interesting stuff in here
April 3, 2025
Interesting takes on various theory that find a unified underlying story and reason in this book.
I really enjoyed it!
I really enjoyed it!
August 16, 2022
Re-reading this book after almost 10 years was mind-blowing. What it told me is that, at the very least, some groups must have developed anti-gravity craft here on Earth. The physics was well-enough fleshed out as long ago as the end of World War 2. The sad part is that this physics could provide the world with endless power, allowing us to get rid of oil, gas and coal as energy sources.
April 28, 2010
An unreadable book on what could have been an intriguing subject.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews