The Alchemy web site on Levity.com

Alchemical texts

Texts in English
Texts primarily dealing with physical alchemy: Texts primarily dealing with allegorical, philosophical and spiritual alchemy:
16th Century and earlier:
A Chymicall treatise of Arnoldus de Nova Villa ,  The Secret Book of Artephius ,  Everburning Lights of Trithemius ,  English translation of the Rosarium philosophorum ,  Geber's Discovery of Secrets ,  Pretiossissime Donum Dei ,  The Crowning of Nature ,  Roger Bacon Tract on the Tincture and Oil of Antimony ,  Coelum philosophorum of Paracelsus ,  Paracelsus - The Treasure of Treasures for Alchemists ,  A Work of Saturn by Johann Isaac Hollandus

17th Century:
Athanasius Kircher's Table of alchemical equipment and operations ,  The three alchemical flasks of Oldfield ,  Colours to be observed in the Operation of the Great Work ,  The Six Keys of Eudoxus ,  Phantom alchemical plants of Quersitanus ,  Basil Valentine's Triumphal Chariot of Antimony ,  The Aphorisms of Urbigerus ,  Circulatum Minus of Urbigerus ,  Frontispiece to Urbigerus ,  John French The Art of Distillation ,  Francis Bacon - Experiments touching Sulphur and Mercury ,  Francis Bacon - The Making of Gold ,  Joannes Agricola A Treatise on Gold ,  Concerning the Material of the Stone - Ms. l'Arsenal 3027

18th Century:
The Golden Chain of Homer ,  Rosicrucian Aphorisms and Process - Bacstrom

16th Century and earlier:
The words of Father Aristeus to his son ,  Simon Forman - Of the Division of Chaos ,  An Alchemical Mass ,  Alchemy in the English State Papers ,  The Golden Tractate of Hermes ,  Alchemical Catechism of Baron Tschoudy ,  The Mirror of Alchemy - Roger Bacon ,  Bloomfield's Blossoms ,  The practise of Mary the Prophetess in the Alchymicall Art ,  An Alchemical poem by Thomas Rawlin ,  Summary of the Rosary of Arnold de Villa Nova ,  Pontanus - Epistle on the mineral fire ,  The Ripley Scroll ,  The Turba philosophorum ,  Marsilio Ficino on the alchemical art ,  Pontanus - The Secret Fire ,  Paracelsus - The Book Concerning the Tincture of the Philosophers ,  Paracelsus - The Aurora of the philosophers ,  Petrus Bonus A form and method of perfecting base metals

17th Century:
Aula lucis, or, The House of Light by Thomas Vaughan ,  Steganographick Collection from Le Tableau des Riches Inventions ,  Oswald Croll Preface of Signatures ,  Extract from Glauber's Short Book of Dialogues ,  Khunrath's Natural Symbolum or short confession ,  The names of the Philosophers' Stone by William Gratacolle ,  Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens ,  Extract from Alchymie et le Songe Verde ,  A 17th century allegorical alchemical poem by Edmund Dickinson ,  153 Chymical aphorisms of F.M. van Helmont. ,  157 Phylosophick Canons ,  The Book of Lambspring ,  Edward Kelly's Theatre of Terrestrial Astronomy ,  Edward Kelly's The Stone of the Philosophers ,  The Light coming out of darkness - Crasselame ,  Everard's translation of the Corpus Hermeticum ,  Verse on the Threefold Sophic Fire ,  The Tomb of Semiramis ,  On the Philosophers' Stone ,  Valentine Weigel - Astrology Theologized ,  Thomas Vaughan - Coelum Terrae ,  Aesch-Mezareph ,  The Iconologia of Cesare Ripa ,  Introduction to the Iconologia of Cesare Ripa ,  The War of the Knights ,  Robert Fludd's Mosaical Philosophy [extract] ,  The Hermetic Triumph ,  An anonymous treatise on the Philosophers' stone ,  Jean Albert Belin - The Adventures of an Unknown Philosopher ,  Ruland - On the Prima Materia ,  The letter of a philosopher concerning the secret of the great work ,  The Natural round Physick or Philosophy of the Alchymical Cabalistical Vision ,  An hundred aphorisms containing the whole body of magic from Ms. Sloane 1321 ,  Certain Verses of an Unknown Writer,  from Benedict Figulus ,  A Short Enquiry concerning the Hermetic Art ,  The Hermetic Arcanum ,  Limojon Saint-Didier's Letter to the True Disciples of Hermes ,  The Glory of Light ,  Place in Space

18th Century and later:
Two prayers for alchemists by Eckartshausen ,  Freher's Process in the Philosophical Work ,   R.W. Councell Apollogia Alchymiae ,  The Philadelphian Gold ,  The Hermaphrodite child of the Son and Moon

  • English alchemical verse from the Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum (20 items)
  • Various pieces on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes (8 items)
  • The works of Sir George Ripley (11 items)
  • Some pieces of Nicolas Flammel (3 items)
  • Some works of Sendivogius (4 items)
  • Alchemical allegories (19 items)
  • Rosicrucian texts (10 items)
  • Literary works influenced by alchemy (5 items)
  • Texts from the Musaeum Hermeticum (12 items)

    Texts in other languages

  • Alchemical texts in Spanish (25 items)
  • Alchemical texts in German (8 items)
  • Alchemical texts in French (12 items)
  • Alchemical texts in Russian (5 items)
  • Alchemical texts in Italian (5 items)
    If you have problems understanding these alchemical texts, Adam McLean now provides a study course entitled How to read alchemical texts : a guide for the perplexed.
  • Alchemical texts


    16th Century
    Practical alchemy
    Philosophical alchemy

    17th Century
    Practical alchemy
    Philosophical alchemy

    18th Century
    Practical alchemy
    Philosophical alchemy

    Alchemical poetry

    Alchemical allegories

    Works of Nicolas Flamel
    Works of George Ripley
    Works of Sendivogius
    Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
    Emerald tablet of Hermes
    Rosicrucian texts
    Literary works
    Texts from Musaeum Hermeticum

    Spanish alchemical texts
    German alchemical texts
    French alchemical texts
    Russian alchemical texts
    Italian alchemical texts