Image 1 of 14
Image 2 of 14
Image 3 of 14
Image 4 of 14
Image 5 of 14
Image 6 of 14
Image 7 of 14
Image 8 of 14
Image 9 of 14
Image 10 of 14
Image 11 of 14
Image 12 of 14
Image 13 of 14
Image 14 of 14
-
Rubedo Press
6 x 9 | B&W | Illustrated | 900 pages Auckland · Rubedo Press · 2025 -
Rubedo Press
6 x 9 | B&W | Illustrated | 900 pages Auckland · Rubedo Press · 2026
Contents
Preface
Part I: Cornerstones
Alchemy East and West
Introduction:
Circumambulating the Alchemical Mysterium
—Aaron Cheak
1. The Perfect Black: Egypt and Alchemy
—Aaron Cheak
2. Telestic Transformation and Philosophical Rebirth:
From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism
—Algis Uždavinys
3. Metallurgy and Demiurgy:
The Roots of Greek Alchemy in the Mythology of Hephaistos
(Discussions) —Rod Blackhirst
4. Taking from Water to Fill in Fire:
The History and Dynamics of Taoist Alchemy
—Aaron Cheak
5. Mercury and Immortality:
The Hindu Alchemical Tradition
—David Gordon White
6. Iatrochemistry, Metaphysiology, Gnōsis:
Tibetan Alchemy in the Kālacakra Tantra
—Kim Lai
7. The Secret of Creation:
Cosmogenesis and Heavenly Ascent in Islamicate Alchemy
—Aaron Cheak
PART II: Interzones
European Alchemies
8. The Alchemical Chiasmus:
Counter-Stretched Harmony and Divine Self-Perception
—Aaron Cheak & Sabrina Dalla Valle
9. Turris Philosophorum:
On the Alchemical Iconography of the Tower
—Christopher A. Plaisance
10. Altus’ Ominous Aphorism:
Reading as Alchemical Process
—Mirco A. Mannucci
11. Of Ether, Entheogens, and Colloidal Gold:
Heinrich Khunrath and the Making of a Philosophers’ Stone
—Hereward Tilton
12. Becoming an Angel:
The Mundus Imaginalis of Henry Corbin and the Platonic Path of Self-Knowledge
—Angela Voss
13. The Kiss of Death:
Amor, Corpus Resurrectionis, and the Alchemical Transfiguration of Eros
—Paul Scarpari
14. Agent of All Mutations:
Metallurgical, Biological, and Spiritual Evolution in the Alchemy of René Schwaller de Lubicz
—Aaron Cheak
15. Gnōsis of the Eternal Æon:
Jung and the Serpentine Path of the Soul
—Hereward Tilton
16. Take Two Emerald Tablets in the Morning:
Surrealism and the Alchemical Transubstantiation of the World
—Leon Marvell
17. Incredible Lunatic of the Future:
The Alchemical Horticulture of Alan Chadwick
—Rod Blackhirst
18. Alchemical Endgame:
‘Checkmate’ in Beckett and Eliot
—Dan Mellamphy
Illustration Credits
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index
Description
(Originally published in 2013, the new, revised edition of Alchemical Traditions is an expanded edition in every sense. Most notably, it features the addition of two substantial research chapters focusing on Islamic alchemy (integrating original translations from Henry Corbin’s work on ‘The Book of Seven Statues’) and Carl Jung (focusing on the deification experience at the root of his Red Book). The volume as a whole is richly illustrated with over sixty images from the alchemical canon, both ancient and modern.)
About the Editor
Dr. Cheak is a scholar of comparative religion, philosophy, and esotericism. Straddling the interstices between Hermetic and integral philosophy, he received his doctorate in 2011 for his thesis on René Schwaller de Lubicz, and served as president of the international Jean Gebser Society from 2013–2015. He has appeared in both academic and esoteric publications, including Light Broken through the Prism of Life (2011), Clavis (2014), Diaphany (2015), Octagon (2016), Lux in Tenebris (2017), The Leaf of Immortality (2017), and The Celestial Art (2018). As a translator of French, German, and Greek, he is also bringing a number of important projects to fruition through Rubedo Press. He currently lives in New Zealand, where he maintains an active interest in tea, wine, poetry, typography, and alchemy.
