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Real Sorcery

Sorcery is about the manipulation of energy.
Sorcery is not about power or manipulation of people.
Sorcery is a neutral concept.
However, each sorcerer has his or her own ideas, own beliefs,
and own philosophies that will differ slightly.

Sorcery affects the material plane (or the macrocosm)
and will change anything that is in its path- whether for the good or bad.

Sorcery cares not what it changes.... it simply changes.
This does not mean the sorcerer him/herself has no concern
for other persons or things-
it means this magick is potent and will create change,
regardless of incident or intent.

Many sorcerers are very concerned with balance and polarity.
Sorcery is often considered a dark art, however,
a sorcerer is generally not concerned with negative, or black arts only.

A sorcerer is concerned with balance and with bettering his/her own life.....
this may, at times, call for defensive magick.
This may, at times, call for offensive magick.
Magick for the "good of all" may be created,
and magick for the "good of self" may be created.
Sorcery is balance.




Pagan and Occult Bookstores

The seven artes magicae or artes prohibitae,
arts prohibited by canon law,
as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456,
their sevenfold partition reflecting that
of the artes liberales and artes mechanicae, were:

1. nigromancy ("black magic", "demonology",
linked by popular etymology with necromancy)
2. geomancy
3. hydromancy
4. aeromancy
5. pyromancy
6. chiromancy
7. scapulimancy

Both bourgeoisie and nobility in the 15th and 16th century
showed great fascination with these arts,
which exerted an exotic charm by their ascription to
Arabic, Jewish, Gypsy and Egyptian sources.

There was great uncertainty in
distinguishing practices of vain superstition, blasphemous occultism,
and perfectly sound scholarly knowledge or pious ritual.

Alchemy

Alchemy is a part of the Occult Tradition,
is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving
ultimate wisdom as well as immortality,
involving the improvement of the alchemist
as well as the making of several substances described
as possessing unusual properties.

The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics
of modern inorganic chemistry,
namely concerning procedures,
equipment and the identification and use of many current substances.

The fundamental ideas of alchemy are said to have arisen in the ancient Persian Empire.
Alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia (today's Iran),
India, China, Japan, and Korea in Classical Greece and Rome,
in the Muslim civilizations, and then in Europe up to the 20th century—
in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.

The Alchemy Website
Alchemy is a complex subject with many different interconnected aspects.
Many people still only think of the quest of the philosophers' stone
to change base metals into gold.
On this web site you will be able to explore the riches of alchemical texts,
some of which are wonderful works of allegorical literature,
delve into its amazing, beautiful and enigmatic symbolism,
and ponder its underlying hermetic philosophy,
which holds a picture of the interconnection of the
Macrocosm and Microcosm.

Nature and Significance
That both astrology and alchemy may be regarded as fundamental aspects
of thought is indicated by their apparent universality.
It is notable, however, that the evidence is not equally substantial in all times and places.
Evidence from ancient Middle America (Aztecs, Mayans)
is still almost nonexistent; evidence from India is tenuous
and from ancient China, Greece, and Islamic lands is only relatively more plentiful.

A single manuscript of some 80,000 words is the principal source for the history of Greek alchemy.
Chinese alchemy is largely recorded in about 100 "books" that are part of the Taoist canon.

Flamel College Alchemical Texts

* Alchemy Texts
* Gnostic Texts
* Hermetic Philosophy
* Kabbalah Texts
* Magical Texts & Grimories
* Meditation & Mysticism
* Sacred Science & Mathematics
* Taoist & Tantric Texts

Flamel College is the largest Hermetic education portal on the Internet
and is open to anyone seeking instruction and certification in
the Hermetic Sciences and Esoteric Arts.
Founded in 1968 in Vienna, Austria,
the college began as regular meetings of European alchemists
studying in the tradition of Nicolas Flamel.
Those informal meetings gradually grew into an international college
with students and instructors in over twenty-five countries.
The college has been offering correspondence courses since 1994.

THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY LIBRARY
Alchemical Writings
Over 90 megabytes online of information on alchemy in all its facets.
Divided into over 1300 sections and providing
tens of thousands of pages of text,
over 2000 images,
over 200 complete alchemical texts,
extensive bibliographical material on the printed books and manuscripts,
numerous articles, introductory and general reference material on alchemy.

The Internet Sacred Text Archive
Although the alchemists' fundamental goal of elemental transmutation was flawed,
on a deeper level the work of alchemy (cloaked in allegorical images)
also represented the transformation of the soul.

Modern science has accomplished the transmutation of elements
using means that the alchemists never dreamed of.
And there is still a small group of occult researchers
who persist in trying to continue the work.
The documents of alchemy make fascinating reading
for historians of science and the esoteric.

The Golden Elixir: Taoism and Chinese Alchemy
An introduction to some facets of the history and doctrines of Chinese alchemy,
including essays, short notes, translations, illustrations, a bibliography, and other materials.

Taoism and the Taoist Canon

The fish trap exists because of the fish;
once you've gotten the fish, you can forget the trap.

The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit;
once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare.

Words exist because of meaning;
once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words
so I can have a word with him?
Zhuangzi, chapter 26; trans. Burton Watson,
The Complete Works of Chuang-tzu, 302

In the most general way,
Taoism may be defined as a traditional form of thought and religion,
based on some central notions, cults, and practices
but never subject to systematization as a whole,
and syncretic but at the same time self-contained--
in the sense that it integrates many elements from other traditions,
but frequently emphasizes its distinction from them.
These basic features underlie different formulations of doctrinal notions
and a large variety of practices, ranging from self-cultivation to communal rituals.

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