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How to get started with Alchemy

by TheGuerrillaAlchemist on March 27, 2014

Table of Contents

How to get started with Alchemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: How to get started with Alchemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 4: In conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/
 Author:TheGuerrillaAlchemist
I am a humble alchemist that would like to share the basics of Alchemy and how to perform basic alchemical processes for near cheap. I am still a beginning
apprentice but as soon as I learn to make my first elixir then I will hopefully make an instructable on it. Hit me up if you have any questions on Alchemy ^_^
toodles!

Intro: How to get started with Alchemy

I am making this Instructable not so much as a how-to but more of a guide.

I have received a huge influx of emails and messages asking how to start alchemy and telling me about your endeavors in the art. Some of them were more promising
than others and I wish I could respond to every single one of them.

However, as a standing guide for beginners, I want to make this to cut down on the amount of emails asking the same question, so that way I can get to more emails.

Step 1: Books
Reading is essential. Books are one of the most valuable materials to mankind, and thus Alchemy. There are many books that I have read but the main ones I think are
important are

Robert Allen Bartlett

-Real Alchemy

-The Way of the Crucible

Frater Albertus

-The Alchemist's Handbook

These books are the books that inspired the way that I live now. I suggest you read any of these to start.

*Note on The Way of the Crucible, it's a successor to Real Alchemy and contains more advanced teachings and concepts. Out of the two I would start with Real Alchemy.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/
Step 2: Schools
There are in fact schools specifically made for alchemical practices.

There are many teachers that have studied and practiced alchemy for years, including Robert Allen Bartlett himself, that will teach you to live the alchemical life. I suggest
you check it out.

Step 3: FAQs
Now here are some FAQs that I get A LOT.

Q) How do you start in Alchemy?

A) You read this Instructable

Q) Is this anything like Fullmetal Alchemist?

A) Absolutely not. In fact, this question is the most insulting to me. The show is absolutely nothing like real alchemy. No, you cannot animate inanimate objects. No,
making "Alchemy Circles" is not how we do our work. No no no no NO! Please never contact me with this question again. Comparing the complex and vast knowledge of
Alchemy to a TV show insults me, my art, my intelligence, and the thousands of alchemists who have given up their lives to add to the pool of knowledge.

Not a question but still something I hear a lot) You don't need the spirituality to perform Alchemy.

A) Wrong. That statement is completely and utterly false. Without the spirituality of the Art, you have science. You cannot have true alchemy without spirituality. It simply
is not true and that is final.

A) Why do you not update more often?

Q) I don't update often because I don't have much time. I am torn between work, school and other obligations that I can't keep up with this site.

Another reason is that I am fully aware that anyone can access this site. Including minors. So I have a responsibility to provide as much information as I can without
making it unsafe for minors. I also have a responsibility to not divulge too much. Many alchemists and my colleagues are frankly angry with me that I even put a tutorial of
how to make a Spagyrical Elixir. If I divulge too much, I might even put myself at risk. So I think long and hard about what I put on this site, and think about the unintended
dangers I may put my readers in.

Q) I'm X years old and wanna learn achemy.

A) If you're under 21 years old, you shouldn't be attempting alchemy. I myself an under that threshold but I understand all the dangers that are associated with these
practices. I'm sorry to say, but if you are less than 16 you should abandon the idea of alchemy for a few years. It's something harsh to say, but you need to truly
understand what you are about to enter.

Q) Do you know how to make the Philosopher's Stone?

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/
A) I can neither confirm nor deny knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone

Q) So is the Philosopher's Stone the end goal of Alchemy?

A) No. The end goal of Alchemy is to evolve yourself and evolve nature.

Step 4: In conclusion
I hope that this has answered many questions and concerns about alchemy. I understand that this won't necessarily help the problem, but I hope it makes an impact.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/
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Comments
18 comments Add Comment

Johnny J says: Apr 6, 2014. 11:35 AM REPLY

A question: Would you consider yourself more wilfully stupid, or merely misled?

TheGuerrillaAlchemist says: Apr 6, 2014. 8:08 PM REPLY

I'm not sure if you took notice but there is a "be nice" policy in place on instructables. Rude comments should best be left to reddit.

Johnny J says: Apr 7, 2014. 2:43 AM REPLY

I WAS being nice.

TheGuerrillaAlchemist says: Apr 7, 2014. 5:25 AM REPLY

Since when has calling someone stupid ever been considered nice? If you doubt my art then so be it. But calling me stupid is a complete slap in
the face to what I've spent my life on.

Kiteman says: Apr 7, 2014. 9:09 AM REPLY

1. He didn't call you stupid. Read what he actually wrote.

2. "Spent your life on"?? You're a teenager (seriously, I have t-shirts older than you!), and you said elsewhere that you are just a beginner,
just beginning your first pition. When seeing insult where there is none, you lose even more credibility when your indignation does not even
have an honest foundation!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/
 TheGuerrillaAlchemist says: Apr 7, 2014. 11:09 AM REPLY
After further review I found what he meant to say was "willfull ignorance" and not "willfully stupid" which both imply two things. When you
mention that I am a beginner, that was written two years ago. In that two years I have learned more about the way nature works than I
could ever read in a book. In that year, I experimented several times and failed twice that in trying to make an elixir. If you notice, I wrote
my instructable on the creation of said elixir a year later when I actually did it correctly.

You and I are both scientists yes? So we can agree that more tests can be conducted before a real conclusion can be shown. I can very
much record my experiments and post them here for you to view yourself. You also recognise the fact that alchemy has been preceeded
by chemistry right? Alchemy is just as much of a science as anything else. For example, if you were to look at essential oils, there have
been numerous studies showing that oils have an effect on the body. The chemicals change the way our internal chemistry behaves, just
as anything you put into your body. Chemistry has just found a way to synthesize or decompose the chemicals that directly affect our
bodies.

Frater Albertus doesn't say that alchemy is fake, far from it (seeing as he pioneered it into the modern era, logic would assume that he
himself believes what he is doing). When he mentions fake sciences, he references supposed sciences that aren't alchemy or chemistry.
Such as Scientology's E-meter or those "rare" magical berries that "scientists" have proven to reduce hair loss. It's not about alchemy at
all, but is about other sciences.

Kiteman says: Apr 7, 2014. 11:55 AM REPLY

No, you and I are not scientists. I am a scientist, you are a practitioner of an invented pseudo-religion draped in some historical
imagery to imply links to the original practice.

Frankly, I am finding trouble deciding whether the idea that what you have observed for the last couple of years is in any way similar to
what I have studied an disseminated for the last three and a half decades is just laughable, or outright insulting.

Yes, alchemy preceded modern chemistry, in much the same way as the exorcism of demons preceded modern psychiatry.

I didn't say that Riedel (let's use his real name) admitted that alchemy was fake. Why would he, such an admission would wreck his
income stream? He did invent it the modern version, though. The practise had no aspects of the occult or hermeticism until he wrote
his book and started his "research organisation" in 1960.

You admitted yourself that there is an enormous amount of secrecy within alchemical circles. That should ring enormous alarm bells;
you are only allowed to study alchemy if you first accept that it is all true is one of the primary signs of a dangerous cult. Science is the
opposite, thriving through openness and deliberate skepticism - every part of Science is open to testing by anybody. There is no age
limit, or ritualistic initiations that must be observed to allow access to The Truth. All that is required is a questioning mind, and anybody
can study the subject to the limits of their attention span or cognitive capacity.

Johnny J says: Apr 7, 2014. 7:25 AM REPLY

It's "nice" in the sense that it's considerably better than what I would have commented.... Much as being hit with a straw is "nicer" than being
hit with a cricket bat.

MonkiMan says: Apr 7, 2014. 4:49 AM REPLY

XD love that comment

Kiteman says: Apr 6, 2014. 11:50 AM REPLY

Alchemy is an ancient practice, and its original form is utterly extinct, having been superceded by modern chemistry.

There was a brief resurrection as a branch of the ocvult in the early 19th century, but the current practice of alchemy is a modern invention*, and bears little
semblance to the original form, in much the same way as modern Wicca has almost nothing in common with ancient druidic beliefs. It pretty well died out in
the late 1980s/early 1990s as other fake sciences that did not have the semi-religious overtones, such as homeopathy, came into fashion.

(*"Frater Albertus Spagyricus", real name Dr. Albert Richard Riedel, started it in 1960)

TheGuerrillaAlchemist says: Apr 6, 2014. 8:10 PM REPLY

I feel honored to have the prestigious Kiteman comment on something I posted. I am not quite sure what your comment's goal was though. Could you
elaborate?

Kiteman says: Apr 7, 2014. 12:07 AM REPLY

Just making sure that people understand the facts.

TheGuerrillaAlchemist says: Apr 7, 2014. 4:34 AM REPLY

I'll be sure to amend that to the FAQs section. Thanks.

Kiteman says: Apr 7, 2014. 5:13 AM REPLY

Including the bit about it being fake?

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/
 TheGuerrillaAlchemist says: Apr 7, 2014. 5:22 AM REPLY
It's not fake at all. I stand by my practices and believe them to be real. It may not be the original alchemy, but like any other science it
needs to evolve. I believe my science is just as real as your science and will defend it with my life.

Kiteman says: Apr 7, 2014. 5:36 AM REPLY

If it's "as real as [my*] Science" you won't need to die to defend it, just provide reliable evidence that it works.

Until then, we'll just file it under fiction, along with all the other semi-religious mumbo jumbo.

(*It's not "my" Science, it is the model that works.)

Johnny J says: Apr 7, 2014. 7:33 AM REPLY

It'a a shame rationality isn't contagious.

Kiteman says: Apr 7, 2014. 8:57 AM REPLY

LOL

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-get-started-with-Alchemy/