Mystical, ephemeral and nearly lost to time, alchemy was a "magical theory of nature" widely held in pre-Enlightenment Europe. Author Terence McKenna portrays John Dee, court magician to Queen Elizabeth I, in this history of the discipline. McKenna discusses the role of the science as he travels to key sites in alchemic lore throughout Eastern Europe, including Heidelberg, home to the world's only contemporary alchemy lab.
Direction
Trippy visual collages match McKenna's hypnotic narration.
Production
Access to Heidelberg's functioning alchemy lab is genuinely rare.
Director
Maxine Rochlin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Terence McKenna recorded this narration while already ill with brain cancer; it was one of his final projects.
The Heidelberg alchemy lab featured was founded by a wealthy eccentric in 1987, deliberately reviving techniques from the 16th century.
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