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Alchemy Art & Science
From: Leigh@alexandria.com (Leigh Daniels)
Subject: Re: a question about alchemy...
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1993 21:54:11 -0400
Peggy Brown writes:
When doing chemistry my understanding is that people just follow a recipe and add X, Y, and Z then STIR, HEAT, SHAKE for 2 minutes and SERVE on a CHILLED plate - exactly according to directions.
Now is alchemy the same way or must the mage also make a wish that chemicals will mix and/or behave in a way different than ordinary?
Alchemy seems to be governed by a macrocosmic uncertainty principle. You can follow the recipe (assuming you have decoded it correctly in the first place) and still not get the result. It depends a lot on your inner state. Also, some substances can be affected by the presence of people other than the alchemist in the laboratory.
It also seems that proportions are different for different people, so you can only use someone else's recipe as a starting point.
Wishing (or visualisation and invocation) can sometimes be effective, but again it is hit-or-miss. The slow pace seems to be an essential part of how it develops you spiritually.
One could ask how much is art and how much is science, but that leaves too much room for obfuscating under the bed as alchemists are prone to do, so please answer according to the intent of how I asked it.
I think it needs both art and science. The science provides the technical foundations that let you work efficiently and safely. The art provides the spiritual dimension, the macrocosmic uncertainty effect of the alchemist on what is being created.
**Leigh
Book Of Shadows Blessing 
Often a Book of Shadows begins with a book blessing.
This poem is adapted from Silver Ravenwolf's "To Stir a Magick Cauldron"
reminds us of who we are and why we keep this book.I will serve the Great Goddess
And give reverence to the Great God
I am a Pagan Witch
A stone in the ancient circle
Standing firmly
Balanced on the earth
Yet open to the winds of heaven
And enduring through time
May the old gods witness my words
Blessed be.
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