Until recently, alchemy was regarded either as proto-chemistry, i.e., an embryonic, naive, or prescientific discipline, or conversely as a mass of superstitious rubbish that was culturally irrelevant. The first historians of science investigated alchemical texts for the possible chemical observations and discoveries they might have contained. But such an evaluation was tantamount to judging--and classifying--great poetic creations on the basis of their historical accuracy, their moral teachings, or their philosophical implications. That the alchemists did contribute to the progress of the natural sciences is certainly true. But they did this indirectly and only as a consequence of their concern with mineral substances and living matter. For they were "experimenters"--not abstract thinkers or erudite scholastics.... The alchemists' experiments with mineral or vegetal substances pursued a more ambitious goal: namely, to change the alchemist's own mode of being. --from "The Myth of Alchemy" by Mircea Eliade

ARTICLES
THE MYTH OF ALCHEMY  Mircea Eliade
The foremost scholar of comparative religion explores the ancient art which aims at the radical transformation of the human condition.

ALCHEMY AND CRAFT D. M. Dooling
The perfecting of matter and man through craft, with a commentary on the craftsman's experience by Harry Remde.

THE TWO SCIENCES OF MEDICINE Jacob Needleman
An inquiry into the meaning of health and the fundamental assumptions of both ancient and modern medicine.

ARCS: BURNING WATER, LIQUID FIRE
Essences of alchemical wisdom.

THE RETRIEVAL OF ALCHEMY Elmv©ire Zolla
A proposal for a program of spiritual archaeology.

TANGENTS: Reviews
ICE AGE ART AND SCIENCE Bart Jordan
A surprising commentary on the exhibition of Ice Age Art at New York's Museum of Natural History.

AWAKENING TO OUR DREAMS Faye Ginsburg
An appreciation of The Theater of the Open Eye.

EPICYCLES: Traditional Stories from around the World
RUMPELSTILTSKIN European

THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA Buddhist
Retold by Paul Jordan-Smith

THE BEGINNING OF DREAMS Towakoni
Retold by L. D. Clark