Overview

Transmission of Alchemy is a new literal Arabic to English translation from two versions of an ancient source-work known as The Epistle of Morienus, the Wise Monk, to Prince Khālid bin Yazīd. The expression of alchemy preserved in these wonderful manuscripts was foundational to both Islamic and European alchemical traditions. The Epistle of Morienus is considered a primary historical eyewitness account of the momentous occasion when the torch of Byzantine alchemy was transmitted to the Islamic Empire. From there, it would evolve into its dynamic new, experimental and medicinal form as Islamic al-Kīmyāʼ. Not only is it a record of alchemy's transmission to the rich Islamic culture of the Umayyad Caliphate during the 7th century, but also Islamic alchemy's transmission into Europe. The original Arabic form of The Epistle of Morienus is considered by many researchers to be one of the first - if not the first - of many initial alchemical texts translated into Latin during the 11th and 12th centuries. The dialogue between Morienus and Prince Khālid holds the key to realizing alchemy as a model for mystic insight, be it framed in terms of Greek philosophical principles, Alexandrian Chrysopoeia or Christian mysticism - all of which Morienus harmonizes and wonderfully expresses with a startling wholeness. Somewhat Hermetic or Gnostic in tone, Morienus draws on these as well as Persian, Greek, Jewish and Egyptian sources of wisdom accurately and from memory in his dialogue with Prince Khālid. Morienus' alchemical expression reflects several Alexandrian Chrysopoeian precedents, yet is surprisingly unique in its own right. The work also reveals itself as seamlessly marrying operative and mystic foundational theory with practical work in both alchemy and transcendent wisdom. Transmission of Alchemy will delight professionals and enthusiasts alike who share interest in alchemy, history, spirituality and mysticism. Bonus Material: Originally scheduled as a separate book on its own, a new literal Latin-English translation of Cabala Mineralis, by Aaron Butler MA, MAR, is included in the Transmission of Alchemy. Aaron arduously examined every single word and word combination in his painstaking efforts to provide an incredibly accurate and new literal translation of the Cabala Mineralis. In addition, he included exhaustive and detailed footnotes explaining each translation. His efforts are sure to reveal nuances heretofore unavailable to most researchers, which will allow for a fresh new appreciation for the Cabala Mineralis. Researchers interested in the Cabala Mineralis will be delighted to find Aaron's translation and extensive footnotes incredibly insightful and revealing.

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Reviews

The present work, Transmission of Alchemy, is an exemplary discussion of alchemy that is sensitive to weigh alchemy's relevance within the context of an historically extant worldview, which is mediated by the prevailing philosophical and theological wisdom of its day, a wisdom which remains ever fresh and relevant for today. Indeed, herein, the author, J. Erik LaPort, lays bare many subtleties that may otherwise have remained opaque to those who would be interested in the history and philosophy of chemistry from an integrated perspective. - Aaron Butler MA, MAR The day that I opened Transmission of Alchemy I found myself in a totally different world: an ancient past that still lives and reaches out to us today asking us to embrace some of its most elegant technologies, spiritual insights, and principles to live by. Transcending the opposing forces of belief, religion, and status, Morienus and Khalid engage in a wonderful and most graceful interaction that is meant, not only to inspire others who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear , but also to teach a message that reaches far beyond making the Stone. This message is one of unity, togetherness, and oneness. There is a great sense of love that comes across time and space that is so strong; one finds it quite the challenge to steady the emotions. ... It is my hope that many more researchers out there benefit from the research that Erik has done and so graciously shared with us in his writings. - Charles Dragoo Erik LaPort has written in this wonderful treatise, The Transmission of Alchemy, the following: Thus confecting the Stone served as a vehicle of initiation, yet once the philosopher had arrived at the end of his journey--meaning that he had undergone the transformative process resulting in gnosis and redemption--the vehicle was no longer necessary. To Synesius, Stephanos and Morienus, this was the true value of confecting the Stone as a spiritual, rather than physical, act. To ignore this redemptive principle was to miss the point. This fundamental teaching was preserved and transmitted by Stephanos' direct disciple and inheritor of his wisdom, Morienus. This is so very well said and reveals Erik LaPort's most wonderful understanding of the alchemical process. ... It is always so wonderful for a persevering alchemist to attain the inward transposition of such alchemical symbolism and receive, therefrom, the potential of the metaphysical energies and the vital currents they contain and hold on a psychic level. - Steve Kalec

Author Information

The transformational fire burning within Erik for many years has been a passion for substances and processes integral to ancient technologies, along with their applications towards health and well-being, social evolution, and psycho-spiritual reconnection. This ultimately led to a profession as a researcher ... and to the collateral study of alchemy, visionary plants and the hidden history of humanity as personal interests. Some have labeled him an alchemist, mystic, shaman, researcher, writer ( ... plus a few things inappropriate for a public forum ), but mostly Erik is just passionately fascinated by life's unbounded multiplicity of expression.Erik is as comfortable in triple-canopy tropical rainforest or the high Himalayas as he is in the lab. He spends his time (between travels) at his home in the Indian Himalayas or on a tiny coconut island in the gulf of Thailand with his wife Sunisa and daughter Ayla. Darius M. Klein is an independent scholar and translator living in Seattle, Washington. He obtained an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington in 2015; his areas of research and study included Classical Arabic, Latin, Oral Literature and Manuscript Studies, and Native American languages. He also studied Arabic and Literary Translation at the post-graduate level at Indiana University, Bloomington. Although Aaron has lived in many places, he is originally from California. Growing up there, Aaron was exposed to a plethora of natural scenery: mountains, forests, deserts, lakes, rivers, and the Pacific Ocean; all of this filled him with wonder. Aaron spent a great deal of his time enjoying the natural beauty of his surroundings. As was true of many others before him, this evoked a spirit of contemplation and intense curiosity, which lead him inexorably to philosophy. Aaron, however, was not satisfied with academic philosophy as it is practiced today. So, whilst nevertheless learning a great deal from the academic study of philosophy, he turned his eye towards a broader and more ancient expression thereof; namely: philosophy as askesis. Philosophy understood this way was not just what one did at a university, as a writing professional, or the like, but what one was and how one lived. Wisdom, understanding, discernment, and knowledge were what Aaron sought to cultivate, but not as a mere form of social prestige, punditry, or simply to garner employment, as is so often, but not exhaustively, the focus of academic philosophy today. No. Aaron sought something finer, more subtle, puissant, and whose Brobdingnagian character is yet inviting but sublime.

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