Timothy HoganThe Alchemical Keys To Masonic Ritual

I enjoyed the premises throughout, but I confess, as the writer indicated within the book, I lost myself when the "you must know it to find it" aspects occurred within the pages. Still, what I could grasp was well laid out and comprehensible. Intriguing. I recommend it to anyone interested in alchemy or freemasonry, although ideally one would have a working grasp of both.

Alchemy is an occult science in most (if not all) masonic rituals, which is invisible for most rationalist and materialist 'candidates for the real initiation'. Particularly the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, worked by most regular Grand Lodges in Latin American countries (as it's very well indicated by Rodrigo of Antofagasta, Chile), contains various alchemical symbols which communicate that the freemason, someday, have to re-encounter with this sacred and occult science of Alchemy and, by this way, to become a real initiate.Speculative freemasonry have lost the ancient knowledge of this Real Art (Alchemy), which allow a real spiritual development (and not merely good intentions expressed by speechs).Alchemy knowledge have been in possession of various human beings (some of they religious like Alberto Magno and Tomas de Aquino, freemasons like Balsamo and Saint-Germain) across the time in both oriental and accidental cultures. But this sacred knowledge have been protected against unworhty and merely curious people.I congratulate the autor of this book because he is aware of Alchemy in masonic ritual, considering that Alchemy is a legacy for humankind which has been occult in symbols of most religious traditions. A book like this is neccesary for teaching labours aimed to 'candidates for real initiation', considering that most masonic authors (like O. Wirth) are/were ignorant in alchemy. I just want to stimulate Mr. Hogan to search for the 'verbum dismissum' (Solve et Coagula) to initiate the alchemical operations into his own atanor.You must know that since ancient times, the 'verbum dismissum' has been passed on by a 'secret chain', from mouth to ear (like it is symbolically represented in most masonic lodges); but today, for the first time in history, it's available in a book. "Buscad y encontrareis".Greetings from Chile.

4 stars, but... I am a mason and I appreciate everything that this book has in the text. Several concepts which I had not previously considered are covered, and I did indeed learn much from the author's observations. However the plates (reproductions of alchemical engravings and art) are far too small to be appreciated and properly studied. I am not certain why the author didn't place each piece on its own page to increase the size for better study. Alchemical art is symbolic and one cannot properly study the symbolism if one cannot properly see it. Also, for the price one would expect a better publication of the engraving's reproductions as references in this book since it's only 56 pages long. One should not have to use a magnifying glass to see them. One should also not have to spend the time researching the original art elsewhere or search for it in a different publication. But apparently, that's the author's intent? I would still recommend this book for Mason's who want to expand their knowledge of Alchemical symbolism and connections to ritual work. Just be aware that you are not going to get good visual aids in this book.

I highly recommend this book to any Mason. It reveals much about the alchemical aspects of the fraternity and why it was important.My only complaint about the book is there are too many typos. For a book with as vital and profound a topic there should have been much more time invested in ensuring the quality of the book was equal to the value of the information contained within. Especially considering how few pages the book has, endeavoring to ensure this would've been a small task.Also, as I mentioned, the book doesn't contain many pages. Not to say that I prefer books to require large chunks of my free time to complete, but there is a point in the book where Bro. Hogan says that the discussion of such topic is too big to delve into in this book. While he may be suggesting that he prefers to write an entire book on the subject, I was disappointed that there was not at least a few pages dedicated to give some information to satisfy the reader of what he might have been alluding to.

I gave the book 3 stars because I feel it did do what it said it would do: Give information about the alchemical keys to masonic ritual. I didn't like the book, and I was disturbed by the twisted theological insights. While I believe the author does believe what he's saying regarding the Bible, Jesus and Christian history, some of his references would be questionable. I found a lot of convoluted reasoning to make words mean what they want them to mean. For instance manna, salt and blood, all changed by bringing in other cultures in the area and words that were similar. I'm not going to harp on this, but you can see even today how some words sounding the same can mean different things, or even within cultures, groups or religions the same words have different meanings. If a person wants to truly know, he should check what's written here against the Bible. I believe the author believes what he's saying. I don't know if it's because he's been taught that, or decided for himself. Be that as it may, the author did show that the Freemasons are an organization based on the occultism , which we already knew, though some try to deny. I wish every mason would read this book, there is no excuse for ignorance about the organization you are pledged to.

It's more Alchemy than Masonic, but it does point out some very interesting facts, and asks some though provoking questions.Maybe we will never know the true origins of Masonic Ritual (Well until we master time travel) but this book has some strong and interesting theories.

Many thanks for a safe and easy deal.Will use this service again and againCheers for a nice job

Loved every page I just wish it was longer with more information.