The popular misconception has it that alchemy is the art of turning base metal into gold. Much more than that, alchemy is a system of cosmic symbolism which can be understood as a means of achieving one-ness with the world.

The alchemist learns how to create within a sealed vessel a model of the universe or of human consciousness, in which the opposing forces symbolized by Male and Female, Sulphur and Mercury, Earth and Air, Fire and Water, attain the perfect synthesis of which gold is the emblem.

Includes colour plates, documentary illustrations and commentaries.