For almost all of the known history of traditional (laboratory) alchemy the details of the discipline have been preserved and passed on in a one-on-one relationship between teacher and pupil. The most outstanding exception to this general rule is the 17th century Rosicrucian schools which it would seem taught alchemy in classes.

In modern times we find class work, solo attempts at wrestling the secrets from books, and one-on-one tuition all revolving around each other in an endless merry-go-round. So, as with other esoteric disciplines the student picks whichever method he feels best suits him at any point in time and struggles along as best he can. Whatever the case may be it does not take the average aspirant, seeking after laboratory knowledge, long to discover that it's hard to get the expected results, even in the basic techniques, without some kind of outside help.

Sooner rather than later the novice decides it would be better if he had some kind of tutor. Since he is a novice, or has worked outside of the alchemical community, he will probably have to try many hit and miss attempts at getting reliable information before he finds someone that is willing to help and can actually help. So I thought I would grease the path a bit by offering some pointers about looking for tuition in the present alchemical climate.

There are a number of ways to go when looking for reliable help with lab work.. The easiest would have to be simply reading the right material. There are three or four good English language books on the 'prima' or herbal work (the conventional place to begin), that provide similar information, with varying degrees of detail:

• Frater Albertus - The Alchemist's Handbook

• Manfred Junius - Plant Alchemy

• John Reid III - A course on spagyrics

• Anon - A short tract on the herbal work from Collecteana Chemica

If the novice reads and compares all these works he is sure to get a good idea as to what the conventional and traditional practice is in the fundamental work. 

However, if he decides to move beyond the herbal work, into the animal or mineral, he will find almost no published material of any help at all. This is not to suggest that there is no published material on animal and mineral processes, on the contrary. Nevertheless, what there is, in the main, is virtually impossible to understand without an initiated education.

The next ste, or second approach, is to look for instruction from an alchemical school. Unfortunately at the time of writing this no international schools exist, as the last one (The Philosophers of Nature) closed down over the Christmas of 1999-2000. So this leaves small workshops and seminars, which pop up at various time and in different countries. Such seminars are of limited value depending on your degree of understanding and experience. At the very least, though, for a novice, they are a welcome resource for finding equipment, supplies and making helpful contacts. This latter aid, that of finding helpful contacts, should never be overlooked. In almost every age alchemists have survived and maintained a steady progress almost solely because of the beneficial covert relationships they form with other aspirants.

The problem with workshops is that the more of them the tutor does, the less likely he will be to provide follow up help on a personal basis. So you get the basics, you see the equipment and processes, maybe play hands-on, but when you get home you have to struggle on from memory and/or notes. I have talked on occasion with people that have attended workshops and they seem to be collectively confused about even the most simple matters. Workshops lack depth and often detail. But they can be helpful to the complete novice who has never handed glassware before, and, of course, they are better than simply relying on reading material. 

My main argument against workshops is their cost. Money is no substitute for intelligent instruction. Often workshops don't tell you much more than you can get from reading carefully, but you will be expected to pay hundreds of dollars to attend them, money which, it will likely later be found, is better spent on lab equipment than paying someone to tell you something you can get from a thirty dollar book and careful contemplation of its instruction.

Half way between workshops and reading we could probably stick email lists (forums). But after having spent three years talking on and watching some of the more well known alchemical e-lists, where well known figures in the world of alchemy are subscribers, I can honesty say that they do not prove to be a good or reliable source of help, even for novices. They should be, but the reality is those who know anything tend to say nothing ... in public at least, and those who are confused and ignorant tend to speak regularly and as if they have authority.

In a similar vein to e-lists comes online chat. The benefit of chat over e-lists is that it is more personal. E-lists tend to be quite individualistic and impersonal, whereas friendships between people and groups tend to grow through chat networks. Chat also often has the added benefit of instant data transfer where graphics and text files of all kinds can be exchanged in a real-time environment.

Lastly, the ideal situation, face to face tuition. This is probably one of the most difficult situations to get into. Many novices will cry "there are no alchemists living anywhere near me!" As if alchemists hang shingles outside their homes to advertise their activities! But how likely is it that an alchemist lives within a reasonable car drive from your home? In the ten or so years leading up to PON's closure they claimed to have taught alchemy to over 10,000 people from their USA home base. I have no idea how many LPN France trained but it is likely to be at least a few hundred. Before both of these groups, up until the late 1970's, the Paracelsus Research Society (Paracelsus College) taught alchemy to literally hundreds of people during the 1960s and 70s.

It is taken for granted that most of these people probably never brought lab equipment and worked from home. We also know a good chunk of the early PRS students have died or are now very old. But we also know many of the practical workers that came out of these mainstream groups have taught students themselves, or influenced other people to get started in their own labs.

Besides this there are the many independent students who have learned largely from other solo alchemists. This group must number into the several dozens of serious students and at least as many followers.

All of this being taken into consideration it is very likely, I suggest, that if you live in Europe, America, Australia or the UK you live within an hour or two drive of someone who has the equipment (and some degree of knowledge) and either has used it, or is still using it.

So how do you find such a person? I suggest that the best way is to pin a notice up in your local occult bookshop. Alchemists generally have a rare taste in esoteric literature and spend some good deal of time looking over the shelves in occult bookshops, and ordering special reading materials. The next best place is inside esoteric fraternities. The best fraternities (or rather most well known hardcore mainstream ones) have alchemists as members. I have found from experience, though, that one or two large fraternities excepted, most esoteric schools will only have one or two practicing lab alchemists on their books and often they won't even know it.

Some advice though. If it is a face to face tuition that you seek, or even just some regular advice, in most cases a serious alchemist will not share his knowledge with someone who is not working in the lab, or who is obviously prepared to, already. This will usually mean buying the proper equipment first, and trying to work things out on your own, before you go hunting for a teacher. Otherwise you will find the first question you are asked is "how much lab work have you done?" If the answer is none ... then you are likely to be told to come back when you have something to discuss pertaining to actual practice.

In the 12 years I have been tutoring individuals in lab work the most common exclamation I hear from a new student is "I am in the process of setting up a lab now," or something similar. Within a month or so it becomes glaringly obvious that they actually have no intention at all in obtaining even the cheapest most easy to procure equipment and materials necessary for the work. I know that this behaviour is not peculiar to me, as other tutors I have talked to have experienced the same thing. This kind of approach is not only annoying but it is a waste of a tutors valuable time.

At the end of the day ... with lab alchemy ... the fact remains ... it is an experiential discipline designed to educate the student as he works. Without the equipment and a place to work ... there is no tuition.