Wednesday 17 August 2011

Terence McKenna: Hermeticism & Alchemy (1991)

Art: Remedios Varo 'Creation of the Birds' (1957)



Terence Mckenna workshop given in New York 1991

Exploring The Hermetic Tradition: (1hr 31min)

These 2 parts are the pre-talk anicdotes before the workshop, Alchemy & The Hermetic Tradition.




Image: 14th Century Plague Doctors Mask


Alchemy & The Hermetic Tradition: (4hr 38min)

"History itself is a kind of alchemical process. ... History is the catalyst of nature."

"If we could raise to consciousness our alchemical heritage, and our heritage in the shamanism of the archaic, then we could actually see that the purpose of technology is to liberate, not to enslave, and somehow we've lost the thread."


MP3


The Alchemical Dream: Rebirth Of The Great Work

In the mid-1990's Terence McKenna and Mystic Fire's Sheldon Rocklin teamed up to make this rich and exciting film. Little did they know that this would be their last film. Originally titled Coincidencia Oppositorum: The Unity of Opposites and filmed in Prague with Terence portraying his usual erudite rendition of the Irish Bard, this filmed classic takes us on a journey into the alchemical renaissance of King Frederick V and his wife Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia. Playing the role of John Dee, court magician for Queen Elizabeth of England, Terence McKenna shows us how the promise of a return to the tradition of alchemy was almost instituted in Europe. He also shows us that this early attempt at the creation of an alchemical kingdom actually lead to the European Renaissance and the institution of Cartesian science and the beginnings of rationalism within the western mindset.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! Great blog! I love the topic of Hermeticism. Could you reup the second link? Thank you friend.