How to study Inner Alchemy
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Of all the subjects in western esoteric tradition Alchemy seems the most obscure. Since there are some suggestions that T.O.T. works with inner alchemy, I would like to ask what books I should be reading to get a better perspective on the subject.
(Last time I got some really good suggestions from you guys in the matter of psycology so I am going to try asking again )
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The only work I know that actually goes into this in depth isn't available to the general public. It's the Paul Foster Case one-year course, "The Great Work," that BOTA Associate Builders get after about 5 years of preliminary courses (most of which are aimed at making the GW course optimally effective). - Everything else I know is unpublished / private.
For purely psychological alchemy (which is a subset of the above), much of Jung's work is on-target.
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After throwing a bunch of books across the room in frustration, I finally landed on Case's Hermetic Alchemy: Science and Practice and all the pieces started to finally make sense. It might not be exactly what's in The Great Work course but, as it's written by the same guy, I'd have to assume that the core principles are there.
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The Great Work course is the B.O.T.A. version of the earlier Hermetic Alchemy that Case wrote for the School of Ageless Wisdom. Content is pretty much identical though Case chose to be a bit more cryptic in the B.O.TA. course because he believed "he gave out the Alchemical instruction too easily" in the earlier course...
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Thanks for the clarification Tony. And, thanks for the book as well. It's been a massive help.
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Jim, when you said that this work is not available does it means that it is under oath?
I’ve been studying Anne Atwood for the magnetism perspective, Eliphas Levi for the magical one (Brazilians from the 90’s really love Eliphas), Regardie and Jung for psychology. Case seems more holistic embracing all the perspectives. Evola also does that but he seems to keep making alchemy fits in to his preconception.
In the end, it all seems like **theoria **while I am searcing for praxis.