A hands-on guide to advanced spiritual transformation through the combined sacred arts of alchemy and shamanism
• Recasts the 7 stages of the alchemical "Great Work" as a transformative shamanic journey and initiatic experience
• Provides step-by-step instructions for 18 shamanic alchemy practices for inner transformation, including vibrational energy work, consciousness-altering techniques, the creation of mirrors of the mind, and sacred ceremonies tied to the four elements
• Explores the alchemical plant-medicine techniques of spagyrics, as well as recipes for basic tinctures and "plant-stones"
Offering a unique, hands-on guide to advanced self-transformation, James Endredy shows how traditional shamanic techniques offer a doorway into the sacred art of alchemy, the inner transformation of the soul.
Revealing the practical and intuitive connections between shamanism and alchemy, including not only Western alchemy but also alchemical practices from the East, Endredy recasts the 7 stages of the alchemical "Great Work" as a transformative shamanic journey and initiatic experience. He provides step-by-step instructions for 18 shamanic alchemy practices for inner transformation, including vibrational energy work, consciousness-altering techniques, the creation of mirrors of the mind, shamanic viewing, and sacred ceremonies tied to the four elements. Exploring the healing art of spagyrics, the author shows how this alchemical plant-medicine practice is receptive to the energetic work of traditional shamanic techniques. He details formulations for distilling shamanic spagyric remedies, as well as recipes for basic tinctures and "plant-stones." He also discusses the creation of sacred space, altars, and shamanic distillation lodges.
Comparing shamanic and alchemical cosmologies, the author explains how both shamanism and alchemy employ direct experience of the numinous and invisible worlds, also known as gnosis, to impart wisdom, invoke peace of mind, and increase creativity and vitality. Showing how the practical vibrational science of alchemy and the consciousness-transforming techniques of shamanism directly enhance and expand upon each other, Endredy also reveals how they have the same ultimate goals: to allow the practitioner to transmute spiritual lead into gold and to penetrate the deep secrets of life and of nature. James Endredy is a practicing shaman of Hungarian descent who learned his craft from formal initiations with the peyote shamans of Mexico and through 30 years of living with and learning from shamanic cultures in North and South America. He is actively involved in preserving historic alchemy texts as well as the world's indigenous cultures and sacred sites. The award-winning author of several books, including Advanced Shamanism, Teachings of the Peyote Shamans, Ecoshamanism, and Earthwalks for Body and Spirit, he lives in California. Part Three
The Seven Stages of Shamanic Alchemical Transformation--The Azoth of Basil Valentine
Chapter 8
Stage Three--Separation
The legendary alchemist Frater Basil Valentine is attested to have been a fifteenth-century Benedictine monk; however, historians tell us that Valentine's work was more probably written by several different alchemists of the time who wished to remain anonymous. In any event, alchemic works ascribed to Valentine have been used by alchemists for centuries, and the basis for many of Valentine's works comes directly from much older sources such as the Emerald Tablet, which could date back thousands of years.
In attempting to decipher the messages of the Emerald Tablet ancient alchemists came up with seven operations, steps, or stages to be performed on matter. In this sense matter can be conceived as physical, psychological, or spiritual in nature. These seven steps are a mainstay to alchemy even to this day and as such may be used as a guide to shamanic alchemy practices. Frater Valentine provides u
