On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician

MacCoun's prose is clear. Her ideas are expressed well and peppered with personal examples and stories. The few exercises are helpful. I recommend this to the novice alchemist that desires to enter the depths of his soul with further studies of traditional texts from beloved ancient sources.

The pseudo-science of Alchemy was centuries of ago viewed as a true science. However, in recent times, it is simply the stuff of legends and mythology, and by most, to call Alchemy a true science would be a joke. "On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician" disputes this widely held viewpoint, and offers real applications of the concept, transmuting the harmful into helpful and the useless into valuable. "On Becoming An Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician" will help aspiring Alchemists understand the basic principles of alchemy, navigate one's inner world with confidence and sense, discover the potential of any situation, among others. Written by an experienced alchemist in Catherine MacCoun, "On Becoming An Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician" is highly recommended for metaphysical studies shelves and any who would look deeper into the subject of Alchemy.

I've studied alchemy from the traditionalist viewpoints of Julias Evola and Titus Burckhardt. This book however offers a wonderful postmodern approach to the Royal Art that deals much more with the mentality of alchemy as well as the spirituality of the art. The author is obviously speaking from a broad range of prudence gained by studying and skeptical wisdom gained by experience. I have traversed some of the same realms as her, and my experience is more true, having seen her draw some of my own conclusions. Not only does this book offer what is to me a valid and true and even open approach to the Art, but also deals with Magic in the Western sense. This book should be sitting on anyone's shelf who thinks himself to be 'esoteric', 'magical', or 'alchemical.' A new classic, this.

I've actually been moved to tears a few times since beginning this book, out of gratitude. It has answered many questions and affirmed unspoken experiences. Using the principles of alchemy as her working basis, MacCoun names inner states and energetic patterns with breathtaking clarity and freshness. It's truly a thinking person's guide to magic, magic being the transformation of poison to medicine, of ignorance to clear seeing. The first half of the book delves into principles of magic. The second explains the 7 non-linear stages that comprise the process of magic. The names alone evoke tremendous curiosity: Calcination Dissolution Separation Conjunction Ferementation Sublimation Radiation MacCoun's writing and reasoning are wonderful--deadly sharp (not sure why previous reviewer found it muddled), deep, and also funny. (Love her dry sense of humor.) While describing deeply spiritual experience, she retains admirable distance from her readers, allowing us tremendous space to encounter the material on our own. This book is equal parts profundity and friendliness--not a common combination. Thank you Catherine MacCoun. You are giving me confidence and inspiration on my personal path. "On Becoming an Alchemist" is, as another reviewer described, a new classic.

I have often been disappointed by books on alchemy which descend into complex discussions of laboratory work, or reduce everything to Jungian psychology. Catherine MacCoun has given us a rare, clear, and genuinely wise treatment of alchemy from the perspective of spiritual development and inner service. My only significant quibble is that I would like to see an expansion of her treatment of polarity beyond those dynamics which can fit into the masculine/feminine (or active/passive) box. At many points through the book, I found myself wishing someone had told me these things twenty years ago. Don't miss it.