Item #58853 The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series ). ANONIMUS the Cabalist, Edited and, a, Adam McLean, Edited.
The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series )

The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series )

Scotland: Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks, 1984. Limited edition. Hardcover. Octavo. 138pp. Hand bound in brown faux-leather, b&w illustrations. Edition limited to 250 numbered copies. Signed by Adam McLean. Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series No. 3. "One of the most enigmatic of all alchemical works, The Crowning of Nature is a detailed description of the alchemical process, through a series of 67 stages which are pictured as taking place in retorts. The Crowning of Nature, which was well known in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, was never published as a printed book, but was widely circulated in manuscript form. For this first edition of the work, Adam McLean has consulted seven manuscript versions, and includes an English text that accompanies some versions. The Crowning of Nature provides a link between the soul development of Alchemy and the work of the physical process, as these illustrations are descriptive of both of these realms. The set of basic symbols undergoes a metamorphosis of form and colour, through a series of cycles, that unfolds in the 67 illustrations. An Introduction surveys the history and assesses the importance of the work against the background of the alchemical tradition. Adam McLean provides a commentary on the process pictured in the series of illustrations and suggests some ways in which we can approach the spiritual ideas woven into the patterns of symbolism." Various states of this book exist, printed on different paper stocks, bound in different materials, some with the illustrations hand-coloured, a few with a set of loose facsimiles of the plates. This volume is in the mottled browned binding typical of the earlier issue states of works in the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series. It is printed on a white paper, has light brown endpapers, and has neither the hand-coloured plates nor the separate loose plates. Covers lightly rubbed, dark coloured endpages are only very slightly affected by glue offset (as was typical of the earlier issues of McLean's publications. OVerall a tight, clean VG+ copy. Item #58853

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