Make Sure to Subscribe & Consider supporting Esoterica by becoming a monthly Patron - www.patreon.com/esotericachannel New Channel Goals & News ! Winter 2020 Seminar - This goal will allow me to host a 2020/1 winter seminar on a topic set by my patrons and enjoyed by you! My goal is to provide a reader, discussion group, and 1.5 hour long sessions over the course of 4-5 weeks deeply exploring a text or topic in Western Western Esotericism in addition to my weekly content. This will also support my longer term goal of teaching a university level Introduction to Western Esotericism course next summer! Next Summer Class - My goal here is to get enough support to teach a university level Introduction to Western Esotericism and Hermetic Philosophy course next summer spanning an entire academic semester starting in May and ending in August. We could meet twice a week for lectures and discussion. I would provide a pdf reader for the class along with discussions and office hours. It would be a fully online course with the sessions available to the public as well - a real attempt in totally open, crowdfunded education on one of the most difficult to find fields in academia.
@@TheEsotericaChannel oh my goodness, I'm honored - thank you for words on my music! The harp has very interesting arcane connections. Love your Chopin theme music key choice ;)
As a practice step back see how plants make sugar. Magnesium sulfate well that's crystal vegetable oil. The philosophical stone is you. Your urine baked in ashes of hardwood and pine. What's there? What makes the tree petrified? Silver is aluminum and potassium! Potassium and sand is red!! Yet nitrogen chromate is as well. Potassium and sand gives platinum with aluminum! Nitrochromate makes everything gold it's already silicate so no need for sand!! It's epi genetics.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of Alchemy to a modern day student is to serve as evidence of the legitimacy and actuality of the art. A kind of "Where There's Smoke There's Fire" analogy at least that has been my experience. The huge collection of unintelligible kaleidoscopes of confounding images form an aggregate that can speak to your soul and awaken it.
I'm an Autistic 50 year old cybersecurity analyst studying psychology part-time. I live the concept of alchemy for therapy. Side note. Your humour is perfect for said Autistic 50 year old student...take that for whatever...:)
Check out Let's Talk Religion and Robert Sepehr if you want a lot of comparative religion context to go along with it. Still a few good channels on here.
I'm really loving this channel so far, it's good to finally find academically rigorous yet casually watchable content on esoteric tradition. (plus, I enjoy the subtle goofs thrown in)
Hey, I'm just a homeless person barely out of my teen years, but I love that you do this, and ive been listening to your videos while trying to get my life together. I wanna study esotericism more when I get settled. I grew up in a very spiritual and superstition filled community and the philosophy of religion and belief in general is so interesting me. Anyway, thanks for doing what you do. Youre dropping like major wisdom so casually and I need it in my life rn.
How are you doing, Theo? The fact that you are reaching out for knowledge is strong and wise of you. I don't want to pry, but I have been where you are. Are you safe?
@@TheMurray1922 its how I was raised! Thank you for reaching out!! I am safe for now. Im in a hotel and we're really behind on the bill, but im hoping we can crowdfund to keep it through the holidays. My roomate and I are both very physically disabled, so we can't be on the streets, thats a death sentence. After, I should be able to get an apartment? My roomate is getting money from a relative that died, just enough to get through the fees and first months rent on a place. We just have to wait for the check and the processing once it arrives. Again, thank you so much for reaching out. It really means the world!!! I hate youve been in the same place, but the past tense there is a relief.
@@theob.6588 How are you doing now? I would like to talk with you about this stuff and I have a similar situation myself...but I feel I'm more like a witch living in the woods. 😉
What a beautiful, elegant, and practical foreshadowing of subatomic and statistical theory. There's a delightful method of philosophy demonstrated here, that can only illuminate a continued quest for greater knowledge. The continuum of historic acquisition and sharing among purveyors of wisdom is quite lovely to behold.
The alchemy playlist has been super helpful. Admittedly, non-academic, but I'm working on an alchemist persona for renaissance faire/SCA purposes, and I'm one to do my homework but with little time. Many thanks.
Theres a chemistry professor, principal, who does the alchemy stuff from pure chemistry perspective but keeps the traditional names to reproduce e the stuff early alchemists did. Very fascinating
Your the big homie for bring this heavily researched n academic element to the online archive in which the modern seekers rely. It's so barren and great to see your videos spanning the edges of topics many other find obscure to attempt, previously leaving one's own thoughts or the few Carl Jung or esoteric occult texts that tend to confuse more unless ones in the know. But just wanted to say thank you man "The Works" been waiting for ya!
Or maybe better put(as I dont want to downplay whatever the previous history of your influence may have been unbeknownst to me) the marriage of your knowledge and the online medium for your prescence to have the possibility reaching all interested, was bond by fate! Much love sir
Storyteller here, i've been intrigued by alchemy due to the use some stories make of it (specifically the interest was sparked in me by the game Elden Ring). What a fascinating practice humans concieved, and anyone who wants to learn about alchemy nowdays is real lucky channels like this exist, kudos!
I tripped really bad one night recently and figured out what the flames of madness felt like. Funnily enough Elden ring helped make the connections from the flame storyline to its deep connection with humanity, and the bible/spiritual journey
Respect due to this man. From my experience studying with him, the knowledge is always sound, better yet, cuts through the bullshit in an effective manner. Definitely wouldn’t be where I am today in the esoteric without this man. Grateful for his desire to share his knowledge with us. Good luck climbing the rings ya’ll.
Your channel rocks! I have been studying alchemy (primarily Hermeticism) for a while. I could speak to you for hours! Great job and thank you! I would totally take your course.
I stumbled upon your channel yesterday. I am watching this episode - on 11 February! Best regards from the Netherlands: Brill country. Happy World Alchemy Day!
What is this gem of a person?! I love history of medieval philosophy and esoteric tradition, but so often you have nutjobs on UA-cam taking it at face value. Thank you for this amazing perspective and awesome explanations!
Dr. Justin Sledge is gutsy and daring. He is the epitome of an academic and a paragon of scholarship. I am thankful that he has created this channel to share his knowledge with us.
I have been trying to learn Latin again with the goal of both Roman and later books about history, politics, etc. and also scientific works in Latin. You just gave me the first Latin scientific book that is perfect. I majored in Chemistry and Biochemistry. A book written clearly about a subject I understand. Perfect. Thanks.
As of January 2024, Newman's critical edition of the Summa Perfectionis is available in its entirety on the Internet archive in pdf (since July 2023). Grab it before Brill finds out and has it taken down.
Bought myself this on paperback, appreciated the recommendation, and I must say it was an excellent primer particularly for all of the symbolism I've run into in alchemical texts.
I remember looking at a Wikipedia article about it before and had no idea where to even begin, so I didn't even look. Been a few years and my interest was sparked again, and here I am! Thank you!
I got a copy from the R.A.M.S. library. If you have any experience with their books, what's your opinion on them? Because the grammar, so far, is abysmal.
The lvl of analysis of some alchemical texts is quite intense and deep, I've spent a month trying to analyze a paragraph and the internal transmutation that this entails
What a video, thank you! I have just recently finished The Silence of the Lambs, so your Lecter/Harris quote was quite the pleasant surprise! Best wishes and peak health to you, doctor!
Great video! Thank you! I would love to see a video on the Golden Chain of Homer. It is a text very close to my heart. And very unusual also. As one commentator wrote, "Instead it is an alchemical text of the absolute rarest kind ... a description of the alchemical machinery of reality. It describes how reality comes into existence, how it develops, how it is maintained, and how it folds back into the source. From this point of view the Golden Chain does something virtually no other alchemical text does, it marries allegorical qabalism with empirical alchemical science."
::Rough morning with focal aware seizures and such. Egresses to youtube for typical escapism and first thing I see is a 42min video on Alchemy and Hermeticism. Perfect.:: Thanks again Dr. S.
ESOTERICA : Life is good. Focal aware seizures just make me see scatomas, have Déjà Rêvé (common with TLE), synesthesia/ideathesia and such. This stuff sort of feels like a super power. The focal aware can make my personality change a bit at the drop of a hat. They are mainly just exhausting, due to the muscle spasms and severe anxiety to panic attacks because I am scared of how I will act and if it will lead to Tonic-clonic/Myoclonic/Atonic seizures that are the ones that really suck. I got slotted by fate to share an ailment that many famous occultist and philosophers, and even artist like Di Vinci had. Called ‘epileptic personality disorder’ also called (Gestaut)-Geschwind Syndrome is more common medical term however it not well liked. One of the symptoms is that I tend to be loquacious and extremely detailed. Thank you, especially if you have made it this far. However Geschwind Syndrome has so much to do with the subjects at hand if you are curious; it has its problems but I feel in love with my epilepsy. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschwind_syndrome Many benedictions.
@@TormodiR Thanks for helping me understand! I've often heard of folks that experience temporal lobe epilepsy (I think maybe of Dostoevsky?) also having profound mystical experiences. There is just so much about the world and our varied experiences of it - I am humbled to learn!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Herakleitos and a few others remarked that many of the greats like Empedokles had “falling sickness” which is often translated as “epilepsy”. There have been some arguments on the philology/etymology however with the way Empedokles prostituted himself with newly found revelations of godhood after a long absence, well he is a man after my own heart in a sense. He credited with giving us the four ριζώματα//roots or elements as the later came to be called after Latin Etymology. However Empedokles was said to travel and we know that Eastern Influences weren’t uncommon in his area of Asia minor. There are depiction of Indra in Greek fashion as an example. Empedokles’ work mirrors that of the Tattwas. Making me think the east vs west aspect is a bit more complicated than we generally accept. I have quite the inner world myself. I don’t want to come off as chauvinistic but I am a very strong personality to say the least. Epilepsy is a weird colorful and picturesque world for me. It helps me see pattens and gives me the ability to visualize things fairly well. I am an undergrad in cultural//linguistic anthropology. I am working on it but health, COVID and being a dad make it tough. Regardless I am also happy to be an independent as well, hey it’s more grandiloquent than “arm-chair scholar” lol.
This makes me wish I had gone beyond high school chemistry. You can see the path from the Summer Perfectionais to modern chemistry. Substances do have 3 states, in which their molecules (corpuscles?) are more or less dense: solid, liquid, gaseous. I wonder why they latched onto mercury as being so critical, though. Sulphuric compounds are so common and modernly used, sulfates and sulfides, etc. I feel like they were chasing the wrong tail by going after mercury. You have certainly given me a reason to exist that may stave off dementia as I get older. The pursuit of knowledge and art for its own sake, the quest for paths not taken, even to imagine a world in which Nature worked the way they thought it should…. It could be research that inform my future art or maybe even writings. And this is why I will end up selling my own work, so I can support your work, to inspire my work, to sell to fund your work which will inspire mine….
Mercury is vital in the production of gold. Mercury added to gold ore will form an amalgamation which then can be heated to vaporize the mercury and leave behind the gold. Subsequent heating would lead to a more pure metal. This is likely why they latched onto the idea as the transmutation of base metals into noble metals was a goal of the alchemic sciences. In the modern day the terms "base" and "noble" still exist in chemistry, but don't refer to the same concepts. Interestingly, of the 12 alchemical changes of state, 11 have been achieved by modern chemistry. This includes transmutation, lead to gold, by way of nuclear physics and particle accelerators. The final Magnum Opus, which is projection, eludes us, though there exist plenty of legends surrounding it. Hope that helps!
Mercury also just stands out while being fairly easily accessible. Like it defies our intuition by being a metal that is liquid at room temperature, that just doesn't feel like it should happen. It also looks like silver and is incredibly reflective. For all of those reasons it's easy to understand why people across cultures have latched on to it. But yeah it is very ironic that they ignored what ended up being one of the most useful chemicals, but of course alchemy has roots from long before gunpowder was created so no one had any idea what potential sulfur had. Also I'd just like to say that it's never too late to learn a science like chemistry and it's more accessible than it has ever been. There are a ton of great chemistry channels, I'd personally recommend NileRed if you want to see some cool examples of chemical synthesis like creating cherry soda from plastic gloves.
A long time ago I spent years reading through the works of C. G. Jung. I was in awe of his depth of scholarship focused on philosophical alchemy. I would particularly point to his works such as "Alchemical Studies" and "Mysterium Coniunctionis". I am not a scholar in this field (I am a mathematician) so I would ask Dr. Sledge how is Jung's scholarship in the mid-20th century on the subject of psychological alchemy viewed by contemporary experts in this field?
It's basically viewed as a sustained mis-reading of historical alchemical texts. Now, that doesn't take away from Jung's approach being interesting for other reasons but his take does fundamentally misunderstand historical alchemical theory and practice - same with Atwood.
By ingesting Monoatic gold the dreams becomes awesomly more clear, so I think Jung is on to something big. My teeth also healed up. I think the stories about transforming led to gold is totally misleading propaganda. These aparatus are for extracting herbals for medicines the alchemical way, to get the whole spirit of the plant.
@@djribz I would be extremely careful about that since the only way to dissolve gold is with an extremely strong acid and those products do not say anything about what chemicals they contain. Gold on it's own does seem to be mostly harmless to ingest but you have no idea what it may be bonded do and it could possibly mess with your nerve cells given that it's a metal.
Piqued my interest again, so i just started reading the SP. Found a PDF of it in Latin (1542 publishing). The history is a wonderful insight into the science and natural philosophy of the times, and definitely helps show a progression towards the modern age.
Thanks, I love how it isn’t even technical, it’s just Genesis and is as simple as gardening. It just requires Mercury which is water from the rise and fall outside (Mer - Cury) and sulphur which is the light and heat from the sun which changes the conditions of the water (sol fire) and this makes a lovely silica, or a salt of the earth. This makes a lovely guhr, or Golden Fleece. After preparation all you need is a firmament or container which adheres to the golden ratio whether an egg or pyramid shape….a house of the poulet as ‘Flamel’ wrote.
Welcome, friend. And yes, alchemy is very confusing; especially if you dont know where to start. When you are at the point in your journey, you will see, that this is all necessary for it especially relating to its history; as well as its character as a tradition; also these symbols are not only significant themselves; but how they related to the other symbols with it; as well as juxtaposition.
i'm not here to transmute run into gold- However i'm here to learn deeper into chemistry and natural laws so I can learn to deeper purify water ❤ If I can patent a physical means of such and find myself very wealthy in the currency of the world, i'll hella remember. I appreciate you sharing a piece of what you know and not getting into all that strange comedic side of UA-cam. Your time is deeply appreciated 😘
Water purification has already been invented, we've even invented like hundreds of different ways to do it with everything from tablets to straws and of course on a large city level scale, so you're a bit late to the party. I mean maybe there is some undiscovered and much better way out there but if your goal is to get rich this is probably a bad area to look into.
Justin Sledge has a great style and delivery. What a jewel of a channel. Glad I found it! I dig these deep dives into antiquated alchemical texts. I think I picked up an interest in Lovecraft when I was about 14. He must've been inspired by some of these same books. Especially the Egyptian stuff. Lovecraft and to a much greater extent, Alister Crowley. The philosopher's stone. Heh heh. Yeah, that stuff has always interested me.
It’s refreshing to get the facts , not what people wished that it said say it’s a shame that so much of this has been distorted by of people making up their own content, and is it is made so hard for everyone to do their study’s , if it wasn’t come with them I’ve become them and us, but on the flipside since I have learnt a lot about all the different religions, I will say I can understand why it may have been me safer to hide some of that from the world. But that’s just my opinion which everyone is entitled to their own.❤
I came here out of curiosity and for fantasy world building information. Do I understand alchemy now? Not at all. But I'm afraid I might be realizing just how massive of an undertaking it would be to even scratch the surface. Thanks for the info, I'm going to massage my brain now.
...and the secret of the secret's secrets whose secrets only the most secret secret away...I greatly admire how you find balance in such a hyper arcane subject. To my mind this bespeaks mastery itself. Thank, sir, for this wonderful presentation.
I love this channel. It's truly educational, inspirational, and responsible in the information being conveyed. Also, am I the only one who finds the doc hilarious? He cracks me up sometimes. I love it
I found this channel after getting Jung’s ”Mysterium coniunctionis” which is pretty hard to decipher and I’m only at the beginning of the book. However, it’s good to understand historically speaking what we now understand what the alchemists did and what they were trying to convey with their texts, so that I can separate out where the alchemists intention and what Jung projected onto that. Which is not to say Jung’s writings would not contain useful information on processes of the psyche, you just have to put them into the right perspective.
I always took alchemy and its components to be a parable for inner body work, how one can perfect his existence through purification of character, meditation etc. Following the as above so below rule. Also this corpuscle theory reminds me of leibnizian monadology. All in all great video I had never heard of summa perfectionis before!
Alchemy was not a pseudo practice. The modern day interpretation of it being a metaphor is not what it actually is. As you transmute lower metals it is a deep connection and you go through the levels of the physical and spiritual awakenings because your tapping into another form of evolution of consciousness.
Corpuscular theory has nothing to do with Leibniz’ monadology. you can see Leibniz’s disparaging thoughts of corpuscular theories in response to Locke in the new essays Leibniz’ monads also have nothing to do with these monads in the video. There are different theories of what a monad is
Robert Shrewsbury Feb. 2021 I wrote this in such a way that one does not have to be a Scientist (with a degree) in order to understand it. Metallurgy and Alchemy Brief. What might be said about where element-particles come from, how they are made and if they can be altered? From the internet...“The entire variety of the elements and isotopes found in today's universe were created by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, stellar nucleosynthesis, supernova nucleosynthesis, and by nucleosynthesis in exotic events such as neutron star collisions.” An Alchemy definition, from the internet: “The medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir. (Includes) occult sciences, such as alchemy and astrology." These statements I found on the web under “Nucleosynthesis” and it made me think a bit on them. After my years of researching and experiments, I’d agree The “Big Bang” belief has some merit to it, however the amount of heat, pressure and radiation, I found works with far less than what is postulated or theorized and I have done tests to evidence this many times. Observing a natural form, a Volcano, exploding with heat and pressure, also produces a little radiation. The seeds of future metals, etc. are created in the pressure and heat. Sometimes, when it comes from deep enough in the Earth (where Potassium 40 is), it has even more radiation, because Potassium-40 is radioactive. Other times, there is Uranium or Thorium in the Earth where a Volcano explodes and this further ensures Nucleosynthesis from the combined materials, heat and pressure. In that type then, so many, many elements are spontaneously created, like platinum group metals, copper, zinc, silver, gold, rare-earth metals, etc. In short, Nucleosynthesis is Nature’s form of Alchemy on earth. This Nucleosynthesis can also be produced artificially in a Laboratory, a form of Alchemy and I have done this at least a hundred times with success and no failures. A mini-explosion produces radiation as well as a rifle or cannon shot out of the barrel of a weapon, but it is minor. However (powdered) Metal, even Iron placed in a container with the Proper Chemicals and a lid on it (like a bomb) and then heated to its ignition or flash-point, will spontaneously (explode). A mini “Big Bang”, it then changes the isotope configuration and creates multiple stable elements, including P.G.M’s, Au and Ag. This is Alchemy and nothing mystic about it. During WW2 the Germans were working on this in a similar way as I did. These tests have to be done with caution, sensibility and knowledge so that no one gets injured or other problems created. Cordially, Robert Shrewsbury robertshrewsbury13@gmail.com
most excellent sir what a great bunch of dialogue you have spewed out to us I find it entertaining and perfectly serving the purpose of keeping me interested on a subject that I like and not deterred. .... now I finally had to focus on capacity inconsistency of routine to read.... that big book looks amazing. .. may your student loans and debt vanish what's the gross and Ascension of your being.
Okay. So the “looks around for what you can sell to buy a new piece of scholarship” we all recognize. 😂😂 that is gold in the mix of study for where we can study transmute base metals into gold. Love it. Thank you for your work.
This is the first time I’ve watched this video and as always it is so intriguing and educational. Your content is amazing and I have no regrets subscribing. Now that studying alchemy is finally starting, when I do convert lead into gold, I will remember you Dr. Sledge. Student loans can be a burden. This may just help me pay off mine. Awesome as always
I am so grateful and I really appreciate your effort for not using this valuable information as a secret tool belonging to a particular society if you don't belong to them u may not have it, even if interested party wants to explore. God continue blessing you for bringing peace into the world. My only question is that, if this is the only foundation of achlemy then where did he get this ideal of inspiration to gather this fact and through his ideas we are advancing every blessed day.
Insightful, well-made video. For many Islamic histories "Geber" does indeed refer to Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Hayyān, an alchemist and a father of modern chemistry, but also a student of Imam Jaffir al-Sadiq (AS), viewed as the 6th Infallible Holy Guide/Leader for many Shi'a Muslim communities.
Make Sure to Subscribe & Consider supporting Esoterica by
becoming a monthly Patron - www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
New Channel Goals & News !
Winter 2020 Seminar - This goal will allow me to host a 2020/1 winter seminar on a topic set by my patrons and enjoyed by you! My goal is to provide a reader, discussion group, and 1.5 hour long sessions over the course of 4-5 weeks deeply exploring a text or topic in Western Western Esotericism in addition to my weekly content. This will also support my longer term goal of teaching a university level Introduction to Western Esotericism course next summer!
Next Summer Class - My goal here is to get enough support to teach a university level Introduction to Western Esotericism and Hermetic Philosophy course next summer spanning an entire academic semester starting in May and ending in August. We could meet twice a week for lectures and discussion. I would provide a pdf reader for the class along with discussions and office hours. It would be a fully online course with the sessions available to the public as well - a real attempt in totally open, crowdfunded education on one of the most difficult to find fields in academia.
Thank you for this opportunity to study with you!
@@DianaRowanBrightWay and many thanks for your support and kind words - and your lovely music!
@@TheEsotericaChannel oh my goodness, I'm honored - thank you for words on my music! The harp has very interesting arcane connections. Love your Chopin theme music key choice ;)
As a practice step back see how plants make sugar.
Magnesium sulfate well that's crystal vegetable oil.
The philosophical stone is you.
Your urine baked in ashes of hardwood and pine.
What's there?
What makes the tree petrified?
Silver is aluminum and potassium!
Potassium and sand is red!!
Yet nitrogen chromate is as well.
Potassium and sand gives platinum with aluminum!
Nitrochromate makes everything gold it's already silicate so no need for sand!!
It's epi genetics.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of Alchemy to a modern day student is to serve as evidence of the legitimacy and actuality of the art. A kind of "Where There's Smoke There's Fire" analogy at least that has been my experience. The huge collection of unintelligible kaleidoscopes of confounding images form an aggregate that can speak to your soul and awaken it.
We are so lucky that a channel like this exist, it is so hard to learn about this stuff from people who aren't infected by woo. Thank you so much!
Woo?
@@marshallmcluhan33 Nonsense.
@@pinkimietz3243 Thanks 🙏
Specifically new age, rambling, incoherent superstition
Exactly what I was thinking as well.
I'm an Autistic 50 year old cybersecurity analyst studying psychology part-time. I live the concept of alchemy for therapy. Side note. Your humour is perfect for said Autistic 50 year old student...take that for whatever...:)
@@bryanmccaffrey4385 I would like to learn a bit more, how does alchemy achieve therapy
@@LondonMoneyCashEnterprise turning a leaden mindset into golden.
i'm an autistic 26 year old psychologist wanting to study cybersecurity part-time. interesting parallel with you. hi!
don't forget to mention you're autistic
@@elizabeth3675😄
This channel is why I haven't deleted UA-cam yet. Thank you!
Wow - glad you are sticking around!
"Deleting UA-cam" would be quite an undertaking! :)
Check out Let's Talk Religion and Robert Sepehr if you want a lot of comparative religion context to go along with it. Still a few good channels on here.
UA-cam can be deleted???????? I thought it was in build
@@sentientcardboarddumpster7900 I vouch for both.
I'm just writing so that the algorithm understands that this stuff is epic quality and that I and others want to see more of it.
It finally worked
#facts
lol same!
I'm really loving this channel so far, it's good to finally find academically rigorous yet casually watchable content on esoteric tradition. (plus, I enjoy the subtle goofs thrown in)
Thanks - no reason why we can't have fun as well! Glad you like the content!
Agree 👍👍
Sameeeee😂❤
Talk about coincidence, here I was thinking of where to start my alchemical journey and then I found this video.
Glad it worked out!
It’s not a coincidence it’s called algorithm 😉
Well, once you further your understanding of alchemy and more specifically Hermeticism, you will realize there is no such thing as coincidence.
Sameee
synchronicity
Hey, I'm just a homeless person barely out of my teen years, but I love that you do this, and ive been listening to your videos while trying to get my life together. I wanna study esotericism more when I get settled. I grew up in a very spiritual and superstition filled community and the philosophy of religion and belief in general is so interesting me. Anyway, thanks for doing what you do. Youre dropping like major wisdom so casually and I need it in my life rn.
How are you doing, Theo? The fact that you are reaching out for knowledge is strong and wise of you. I don't want to pry, but I have been where you are. Are you safe?
@@TheMurray1922 its how I was raised! Thank you for reaching out!! I am safe for now. Im in a hotel and we're really behind on the bill, but im hoping we can crowdfund to keep it through the holidays. My roomate and I are both very physically disabled, so we can't be on the streets, thats a death sentence. After, I should be able to get an apartment? My roomate is getting money from a relative that died, just enough to get through the fees and first months rent on a place. We just have to wait for the check and the processing once it arrives. Again, thank you so much for reaching out. It really means the world!!! I hate youve been in the same place, but the past tense there is a relief.
@@theob.6588 Hopefully you are still doing well
@@kamcat2901 I am making it! My partner is sick and the situation for us hasn't changed, but we are getting through.
@@theob.6588 How are you doing now? I would like to talk with you about this stuff and I have a similar situation myself...but I feel I'm more like a witch living in the woods. 😉
I dig your alchemy day idea. We'll see what we can do about that.
What a beautiful, elegant, and practical foreshadowing of subatomic and statistical theory. There's a delightful method of philosophy demonstrated here, that can only illuminate a continued quest for greater knowledge. The continuum of historic acquisition and sharing among purveyors of wisdom is quite lovely to behold.
quite eligant yourself -_-. we should chat sometime.
Lmao nerd
This reads like chatgpt wrote it ☠️
The alchemy playlist has been super helpful. Admittedly, non-academic, but I'm working on an alchemist persona for renaissance faire/SCA purposes, and I'm one to do my homework but with little time. Many thanks.
The best place to start studying alchemy is this channel, no doubt 👌🏼
What amazing about this channel, is the number of people who are interested in this subject.
very few channels are concise like this, thank you
Glad you think so!
Theres a chemistry professor, principal, who does the alchemy stuff from pure chemistry perspective but keeps the traditional names to reproduce e the stuff early alchemists did.
Very fascinating
Your knowledge and sense of humor are an absolute blessing. Thank you for making such incredible videos.
Your the big homie for bring this heavily researched n academic element to the online archive in which the modern seekers rely. It's so barren and great to see your videos spanning the edges of topics many other find obscure to attempt, previously leaving one's own thoughts or the few Carl Jung or esoteric occult texts that tend to confuse more unless ones in the know. But just wanted to say thank you man "The Works" been waiting for ya!
Or maybe better put(as I dont want to downplay whatever the previous history of your influence may have been unbeknownst to me) the marriage of your knowledge and the online medium for your prescence to have the possibility reaching all interested, was bond by fate! Much love sir
Storyteller here, i've been intrigued by alchemy due to the use some stories make of it (specifically the interest was sparked in me by the game Elden Ring). What a fascinating practice humans concieved, and anyone who wants to learn about alchemy nowdays is real lucky channels like this exist, kudos!
I tripped really bad one night recently and figured out what the flames of madness felt like. Funnily enough Elden ring helped make the connections from the flame storyline to its deep connection with humanity, and the bible/spiritual journey
@@childpeanut5095 Well that's a hell of an experience lol, hope that didn't affect you too negatively in the long term.
Respect due to this man. From my experience studying with him, the knowledge is always sound, better yet, cuts through the bullshit in an effective manner. Definitely wouldn’t be where I am today in the esoteric without this man. Grateful for his desire to share his knowledge with us. Good luck climbing the rings ya’ll.
Your channel rocks! I have been studying alchemy (primarily Hermeticism) for a while. I could speak to you for hours! Great job and thank you! I would totally take your course.
I stumbled upon your channel yesterday. I am watching this episode - on 11 February! Best regards from the Netherlands: Brill country. Happy World Alchemy Day!
What a dazzling mind as well as a talent for research. Thank you!
What is this gem of a person?! I love history of medieval philosophy and esoteric tradition, but so often you have nutjobs on UA-cam taking it at face value. Thank you for this amazing perspective and awesome explanations!
Dr. Justin Sledge is gutsy and daring. He is the epitome of an academic and a paragon of scholarship. I am thankful that he has created this channel to share his knowledge with us.
Thank you for the alchemy videos! Love them.
This channel is exactly what I want to listen to while I am gardening! I'm so happy you popped up in my feed.
I have been trying to learn Latin again with the goal of both Roman and later books about history, politics, etc. and also scientific works in Latin. You just gave me the first Latin scientific book that is perfect. I majored in Chemistry and Biochemistry. A book written clearly about a subject I understand. Perfect. Thanks.
if you do transmute gold :) remember me. made me smile
Justin you are absolutely awesome man! Not only do I love your intros and your theme music and visuals, but your delivery is priceless.
As of January 2024, Newman's critical edition of the Summa Perfectionis is available in its entirety on the Internet archive in pdf (since July 2023). Grab it before Brill finds out and has it taken down.
Thank you! I was wondering if there was a pdf floating around.
Thanks
Water to my soul,these videos are. So much so I'm watching them twice. In fact,they're great reference. That you once again!
When I strike it rich, Esoterica, Mystery History, and Praveen Mohan are getting their dues for so many hours of fascinating content I've consumed
Thanks!
Engaging and concise ... you summarised the essentials of the text wonderfully well...
You're awesome. Very intelligent, articulate and you crack me up. Thank you! Keep doing what you do!
This guy is awesome. A key into the world of alchemy. Thank you brother
Bought myself this on paperback, appreciated the recommendation, and I must say it was an excellent primer particularly for all of the symbolism I've run into in alchemical texts.
I remember looking at a Wikipedia article about it before and had no idea where to even begin, so I didn't even look. Been a few years and my interest was sparked again, and here I am! Thank you!
I got a copy from the R.A.M.S. library. If you have any experience with their books, what's your opinion on them? Because the grammar, so far, is abysmal.
I was lead to this channel, i am so hungry for knowledge! And then one day this channel came flouting through my youtube. Now im addicted.
The lvl of analysis of some alchemical texts is quite intense and deep, I've spent a month trying to analyze a paragraph and the internal transmutation that this entails
What a video, thank you! I have just recently finished The Silence of the Lambs, so your Lecter/Harris quote was quite the pleasant surprise! Best wishes and peak health to you, doctor!
No one expects HANNIBAL LECTER!
also his random dune insert!! do random but so cool
The way you said his name, I figured Paul's text would have a lot of "you have to be very polite while changing lead into gold, eh."
I’m pretty sure the playfulness of your presentation is what has me hooked.
My duder! I thought learning alchemical processes would help me understand where my fingers went to while I was asleep. Boy, was I wrong!
are you okay
Cool that you've included Atwood's Suggestive Inquiry, one of my favs.
It just arrived from ILL sources. Thanks for all that you do!
Prior-posterior, infinitely exponentialized secret 🤣. Thanks for your work Dr Sledge; your discourses with Dr. Attrell enrich us all!
Excellent as always!! I'm deeply grateful that someone very educated on these fields can actually share his knowledge with the world!!😀😊
Thanks so much for your support!
@@TheEsotericaChannel You're welcome, Dr. Sledge :)
Your knowledge and humor is appreciated.
Great video! Thank you! I would love to see a video on the Golden Chain of Homer. It is a text very close to my heart. And very unusual also. As one commentator wrote, "Instead it is an alchemical text of the absolute rarest kind ... a description of the alchemical machinery of reality. It describes how reality comes into existence, how it develops, how it is maintained, and how it folds back into the source. From this point of view the Golden Chain does something virtually no other alchemical text does, it marries allegorical qabalism with empirical alchemical science."
THANK YOU!! this is all so helpful to beginning the journey of alchemy! God bless
Superbly lucid presentation - and a fine argument for the crucial relevance of this text. Many thanks. M.
❤
::Rough morning with focal aware seizures and such. Egresses to youtube for typical escapism and first thing I see is a 42min video on Alchemy and Hermeticism. Perfect.::
Thanks again Dr. S.
Glad the episode could help - hope you are well, friend!
ESOTERICA : Life is good. Focal aware seizures just make me see scatomas, have Déjà Rêvé (common with TLE), synesthesia/ideathesia and such. This stuff sort of feels like a super power. The focal aware can make my personality change a bit at the drop of a hat. They are mainly just exhausting, due to the muscle spasms and severe anxiety to panic attacks because I am scared of how
I will act and if it will lead to Tonic-clonic/Myoclonic/Atonic seizures that are the ones that really suck.
I got slotted by fate to share an ailment that many famous occultist and philosophers, and even artist like Di Vinci had. Called ‘epileptic personality disorder’ also called (Gestaut)-Geschwind Syndrome is more common medical term however it not well liked.
One of the symptoms is that I tend to be loquacious and extremely detailed.
Thank you, especially if you have made it this far.
However Geschwind Syndrome has so much to do with the subjects at hand if you are curious; it has its problems but I feel in love with my epilepsy.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschwind_syndrome
Many benedictions.
@@TormodiR Thanks for helping me understand! I've often heard of folks that experience temporal lobe epilepsy (I think maybe of Dostoevsky?) also having profound mystical experiences. There is just so much about the world and our varied experiences of it - I am humbled to learn!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Herakleitos and a few others remarked that many of the greats like Empedokles had “falling sickness” which is often translated as “epilepsy”. There have been some arguments on the philology/etymology however with the way Empedokles prostituted himself with newly found revelations of godhood after a long absence, well he is a man after my own heart in a sense. He credited with giving us the four ριζώματα//roots or elements as the later came to be called after Latin Etymology. However Empedokles was said to travel and we know that Eastern Influences weren’t uncommon in his area of Asia minor. There are depiction of Indra in Greek fashion as an example. Empedokles’ work mirrors that of the Tattwas. Making me think the east vs west aspect is a bit more complicated than we generally accept.
I have quite the inner world myself. I don’t want to come off as chauvinistic but I am a very strong personality to say the least. Epilepsy is a weird colorful and picturesque world for me. It helps me see pattens and gives me the ability to visualize things fairly well.
I am an undergrad in cultural//linguistic anthropology. I am working on it but health, COVID and being a dad make it tough. Regardless I am also happy to be an independent as well, hey it’s more
grandiloquent than “arm-chair scholar” lol.
The spice must flow...
I just watched Dune on YT yesterday with several other folks! Hype!
Changing of the waters of Death to Life
This makes me wish I had gone beyond high school chemistry. You can see the path from the Summer Perfectionais to modern chemistry.
Substances do have 3 states, in which their molecules (corpuscles?) are more or less dense: solid, liquid, gaseous.
I wonder why they latched onto mercury as being so critical, though. Sulphuric compounds are so common and modernly used, sulfates and sulfides, etc. I feel like they were chasing the wrong tail by going after mercury.
You have certainly given me a reason to exist that may stave off dementia as I get older. The pursuit of knowledge and art for its own sake, the quest for paths not taken, even to imagine a world in which Nature worked the way they thought it should…. It could be research that inform my future art or maybe even writings.
And this is why I will end up selling my own work, so I can support your work, to inspire my work, to sell to fund your work which will inspire mine….
Mercury is vital in the production of gold. Mercury added to gold ore will form an amalgamation which then can be heated to vaporize the mercury and leave behind the gold. Subsequent heating would lead to a more pure metal. This is likely why they latched onto the idea as the transmutation of base metals into noble metals was a goal of the alchemic sciences. In the modern day the terms "base" and "noble" still exist in chemistry, but don't refer to the same concepts. Interestingly, of the 12 alchemical changes of state, 11 have been achieved by modern chemistry. This includes transmutation, lead to gold, by way of nuclear physics and particle accelerators. The final Magnum Opus, which is projection, eludes us, though there exist plenty of legends surrounding it. Hope that helps!
@@MrPSaun Good comment, thanks
Mercury also just stands out while being fairly easily accessible. Like it defies our intuition by being a metal that is liquid at room temperature, that just doesn't feel like it should happen. It also looks like silver and is incredibly reflective. For all of those reasons it's easy to understand why people across cultures have latched on to it.
But yeah it is very ironic that they ignored what ended up being one of the most useful chemicals, but of course alchemy has roots from long before gunpowder was created so no one had any idea what potential sulfur had.
Also I'd just like to say that it's never too late to learn a science like chemistry and it's more accessible than it has ever been. There are a ton of great chemistry channels, I'd personally recommend NileRed if you want to see some cool examples of chemical synthesis like creating cherry soda from plastic gloves.
Fantastic video. I've been following your work for the last year or so but I love going back and discovering gems from earlier on.
This is so clear, informative, orienting and hilarious 😂
A long time ago I spent years reading through the works of C. G. Jung. I was in awe of his depth of scholarship focused on philosophical alchemy. I would particularly point to his works such as "Alchemical Studies" and "Mysterium Coniunctionis". I am not a scholar in this field (I am a mathematician) so I would ask Dr. Sledge how is Jung's scholarship in the mid-20th century on the subject of psychological alchemy viewed by contemporary experts in this field?
It's basically viewed as a sustained mis-reading of historical alchemical texts. Now, that doesn't take away from Jung's approach being interesting for other reasons but his take does fundamentally misunderstand historical alchemical theory and practice - same with Atwood.
By ingesting Monoatic gold the dreams becomes awesomly more clear, so I think Jung is on to something big. My teeth also healed up. I think the stories about transforming led to gold is totally misleading propaganda.
These aparatus are for extracting herbals for medicines the alchemical way, to get the whole spirit of the plant.
@@djribz I would be extremely careful about that since the only way to dissolve gold is with an extremely strong acid and those products do not say anything about what chemicals they contain. Gold on it's own does seem to be mostly harmless to ingest but you have no idea what it may be bonded do and it could possibly mess with your nerve cells given that it's a metal.
Love your sense of humor so far
Dr Justin, I truly appreciate you and your practice. It’s refreshing to see a “heavy weight” like yourself on UA-cam. Sincere thanks.
I always loved esoteric stuff
Piqued my interest again, so i just started reading the SP. Found a PDF of it in Latin (1542 publishing). The history is a wonderful insight into the science and natural philosophy of the times, and definitely helps show a progression towards the modern age.
Thanks, I love how it isn’t even technical, it’s just Genesis and is as simple as gardening.
It just requires Mercury which is water from the rise and fall outside (Mer - Cury) and sulphur which is the light and heat from the sun which changes the conditions of the water (sol fire) and this makes a lovely silica, or a salt of the earth.
This makes a lovely guhr, or Golden Fleece.
After preparation all you need is a firmament or container which adheres to the golden ratio whether an egg or pyramid shape….a house of the poulet as ‘Flamel’ wrote.
I find alchemy very confusing and intriguing. I am going to watch the rest of the videos in your series on the subject. great stuff.
Welcome, friend.
And yes, alchemy is very confusing; especially if you dont know where to start.
When you are at the point in your journey, you will see, that this is all necessary for it especially relating to its history; as well as its character as a tradition; also these symbols are not only significant themselves; but how they related to the other symbols with it; as well as juxtaposition.
I learned a lot with this one. The argument of human vs nature and who is greater in art opened my eyes .
this channel is a treasure
i'm not here to transmute run into gold- However i'm here to learn deeper into chemistry and natural laws so I can learn to deeper purify water ❤ If I can patent a physical means of such and find myself very wealthy in the currency of the world, i'll hella remember. I appreciate you sharing a piece of what you know and not getting into all that strange comedic side of UA-cam. Your time is deeply appreciated 😘
Love it, too? Look at the the Japanese guy with the water crystals and with symmetry and cymatics too music in 432hz, etc.?
Water purification has already been invented, we've even invented like hundreds of different ways to do it with everything from tablets to straws and of course on a large city level scale, so you're a bit late to the party. I mean maybe there is some undiscovered and much better way out there but if your goal is to get rich this is probably a bad area to look into.
Crazy how he can remember all this information. Smart guy!
Justin Sledge has a great style and delivery. What a jewel of a channel. Glad I found it! I dig these deep dives into antiquated alchemical texts. I think I picked up an interest in Lovecraft when I was about 14. He must've been inspired by some of these same books. Especially the Egyptian stuff. Lovecraft and to a much greater extent, Alister Crowley. The philosopher's stone. Heh heh. Yeah, that stuff has always interested me.
It’s refreshing to get the facts , not what people wished that it said say it’s a shame that so much of this has been distorted by of people making up their own content, and is it is made so hard for everyone to do their study’s , if it wasn’t come with them I’ve become them and us, but on the flipside since I have learnt a lot about all the different religions, I will say I can understand why it may have been me safer to hide some of that from the world. But that’s just my opinion which everyone is entitled to their own.❤
I came here out of curiosity and for fantasy world building information. Do I understand alchemy now? Not at all. But I'm afraid I might be realizing just how massive of an undertaking it would be to even scratch the surface.
Thanks for the info, I'm going to massage my brain now.
...and the secret of the secret's secrets whose secrets only the most secret secret away...I greatly admire how you find balance in such a hyper arcane subject. To my mind this bespeaks mastery itself. Thank, sir, for this wonderful presentation.
Theres only one secret
I love this channel. It's truly educational, inspirational, and responsible in the information being conveyed. Also, am I the only one who finds the doc hilarious? He cracks me up sometimes. I love it
Your channel is great! Thanks for the work.
Thank you three times! I've always wanted access to this type of material and was told I would go mad!
I found this channel after getting Jung’s ”Mysterium coniunctionis” which is pretty hard to decipher and I’m only at the beginning of the book. However, it’s good to understand historically speaking what we now understand what the alchemists did and what they were trying to convey with their texts, so that I can separate out where the alchemists intention and what Jung projected onto that. Which is not to say Jung’s writings would not contain useful information on processes of the psyche, you just have to put them into the right perspective.
I really like your videos. Found one and now I want to watch them all. Binging Esoterica rn.
You’re very sophisticated and articulate! I appreciate it thank you. ❤
I always took alchemy and its components to be a parable for inner body work, how one can perfect his existence through purification of character, meditation etc. Following the as above so below rule. Also this corpuscle theory reminds me of leibnizian monadology. All in all great video I had never heard of summa perfectionis before!
Ive come to understand its both, as you can do the same thing purifying chemicals
Alchemy was not a pseudo practice. The modern day interpretation of it being a metaphor is not what it actually is. As you transmute lower metals it is a deep connection and you go through the levels of the physical and spiritual awakenings because your tapping into another form of evolution of consciousness.
Corpuscular theory has nothing to do with Leibniz’ monadology. you can see Leibniz’s disparaging thoughts of corpuscular theories in response to Locke in the new essays
Leibniz’ monads also have nothing to do with these monads in the video. There are different theories of what a monad is
If you're mostly interested in internal Alchemy you might be interested in Chinese meditation internal elixir practices, aka Neidan.
How lucky are we to have your channel?!°°❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you Dr Sledge 🙏 !
I've Subscribed
Thank you very much Philadelphia USA 🇺🇸
Amazing video as usual! Thank you for the wealth of information you provide for the world
Thanks for watching!
Robert Shrewsbury Feb. 2021
I wrote this in such a way that one does not have to be a Scientist (with a degree) in order to understand it.
Metallurgy and Alchemy Brief.
What might be said about where element-particles come from, how they are made and if they can be altered? From the internet...“The entire variety of the elements and isotopes found in today's universe were created by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, stellar nucleosynthesis, supernova nucleosynthesis, and by nucleosynthesis in exotic events such as neutron star collisions.”
An Alchemy definition, from the internet: “The medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir. (Includes) occult sciences, such as alchemy and astrology."
These statements I found on the web under “Nucleosynthesis” and it made me think a bit on them. After my years of researching and experiments, I’d agree The “Big Bang” belief has some merit to it, however the amount of heat, pressure and radiation, I found works with far less than what is postulated or theorized and I have done tests to evidence this many times. Observing a natural form, a Volcano, exploding with heat and pressure, also produces a little radiation. The seeds of future metals, etc. are created in the pressure and heat. Sometimes, when it comes from deep enough in the Earth (where Potassium 40 is), it has even more radiation, because Potassium-40 is radioactive. Other times, there is Uranium or Thorium in the Earth where a Volcano explodes and this further ensures Nucleosynthesis from the combined materials, heat and pressure. In that type then, so many, many elements are spontaneously created, like platinum group metals, copper, zinc, silver, gold, rare-earth metals, etc. In short, Nucleosynthesis is Nature’s form of Alchemy on earth.
This Nucleosynthesis can also be produced artificially in a Laboratory, a form of Alchemy and I have done this at least a hundred times with success and no failures. A mini-explosion produces radiation as well as a rifle or cannon shot out of the barrel of a weapon, but it is minor. However (powdered) Metal, even Iron placed in a container with the Proper Chemicals and a lid on it (like a bomb) and then heated to its ignition or flash-point, will spontaneously (explode). A mini “Big Bang”, it then changes the isotope configuration and creates multiple stable elements, including P.G.M’s, Au and Ag. This is Alchemy and nothing mystic about it. During WW2 the Germans were working on this in a similar way as I did.
These tests have to be done with caution, sensibility and knowledge so that no one gets injured or other problems created.
Cordially, Robert Shrewsbury
robertshrewsbury13@gmail.com
Beautiful intro and aesthetic 💕
most excellent sir what a great bunch of dialogue you have spewed out to us I find it entertaining and perfectly serving the purpose of keeping me interested on a subject that I like and not deterred.
.... now I finally had to focus on capacity inconsistency of routine to read.... that big book looks amazing.
.. may your student loans and debt vanish what's the gross and Ascension of your being.
I always feel at home when I listen to esoteric wisdom.
Okay. So the “looks around for what you can sell to buy a new piece of scholarship” we all recognize. 😂😂 that is gold in the mix of study for where we can study transmute base metals into gold. Love it. Thank you for your work.
Hey, I know both Arabic and Hebrew! Could you point me in the direction of some of the untranslated Arabic books you mentioned?
you should do videos on them too, for those of us who don't read either!
The picatrix
I neeeed more of this research in my life!!
Thank you for this very wise and detailed synopsis of how to begin the Great Work.
Love your channel. Please keep the content coming.
Every video is amazing I see this man's face and I know it will be interesting and a good watch ❤
You are very knowledgeable Rabbi
Thank you for the sources, I’m going to get a copy of that sum of perfection. You gained a sub good sir.
Alchemy is of energy. Stay gold .💛
Just ordered this one. Thanks for the heads up.
This is the first time I’ve watched this video and as always it is so intriguing and educational. Your content is amazing and I have no regrets subscribing. Now that studying alchemy is finally starting, when I do convert lead into gold, I will remember you Dr. Sledge. Student loans can be a burden. This may just help me pay off mine. Awesome as always
I am so grateful and I really appreciate your effort for not using this valuable information as a secret tool belonging to a particular society if you don't belong to them u may not have it, even if interested party wants to explore. God continue blessing you for bringing peace into the world.
My only question is that, if this is the only foundation of achlemy then where did he get this ideal of inspiration to gather this fact and through his ideas we are advancing every blessed day.
I wish I could meet you or see more of your work. You sound b@tshit crazy :)
Fantastic Dr.
I am so grateful to you and your channel. Just found you. ! Yeaaaa!
Insightful, well-made video.
For many Islamic histories "Geber" does indeed refer to Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Hayyān, an alchemist and a father of modern chemistry, but also a student of Imam Jaffir al-Sadiq (AS), viewed as the 6th Infallible Holy Guide/Leader for many Shi'a Muslim communities.
Yep, there is just a ton of academic debate about just who he who he was or if he existed - at this point that debate seems still pretty early on.
Thank you so much for putting out this content. You are delightful.