ZINES
New Zine
Alchemy, Memory, and the Architecture of Initiation.
Looks at the role of memory and space in spiritual practice with a focus on the Neoplatonic concept of the ascent of the soul.
In these practices, memory isn’t for data retrieval but a way for the text to work silently inwardly on the soul. And space, both imagined and real, is brought into play in these practices. The zine provides a description of the neuroscience of memory of both contemporary and Renaissance models, to better understand the ars memoria – the art of memory from antiquity that, in many ways, articulates the tools and methods used in these practices.
The zine looks at the spiritual practices developed in Hugh of St. Victor’s Noah’s Ark, Guilio Camillo’s Il Theatro Universale, Raymund Lull’s Ars combinatoria, and the works on image and memory of Giordano Bruno such as De umbris idearum and Ars memoriae.
Alchemy, Memory and the Architecture of Initiation also gives instructions on constructing a memory palace and the techniques used to develop this remarkable ability of memory.
In the practice of inner alchemy memory is critical as the ascent of the soul is grounded in remembrance. Alchemy, Memory and the Architecture of Initiation explores the elements involved in the art of memory in order to outline an integrated alchemical system akin to the Buddhist Kalachakra Tantra — itself a potential model for developing and working with the Microcosmic/Macrocosmic structures and practices of Neoplatonism.
36 Pages $10.00
The Hermetic and Alchemical Zines of Brian Cotnoir. Volume I
Boxed Set of the Zines
This is a “One of Many” edition, an unlimited edition of The Hermetic and Alchemical Zines of Brian Cotnoir, Vol. I., unsigned and unnumbered. It is a box set of all of Cotnoir’s 7 alchemical, theurgical zines plus the new zine On the Mystic Magick, Talismanic, Alchemical Practice of Zine Making, and an Introduction and Backstory available only with the set. Working from primary sources and new translations, the zines explore a variety of alchemical and esoteric topics such as: artificial life, dream, animation of statues, time, union of opposites, the golem, and talismans.
From the Introduction:
“Re-reading this collection I’m in thrall to its tactility and analogue affect. I get a palpable sense of Cotnoir handling an incredible range of texts, of his having a muscle memory of those texts’ enduring value as well as a haptic appreciation of their potentiality, of him scissoring extracts to remix and reconfigure, handwriting and drawing elements that augment his visionary archive. I’m drawn to the elements of cut-up chaos, outsider-art graphology, polylingual sampledelia. The book’s pages feel remind me of a New York that once flourished – noisy, sometimes illicit, heterogeneous – and that still looms large in my dreams. The books wears its deep learning lightly but it never talks down to readers; its bibliography will steer them in directions both intimidating and exciting.” Sukhdev Sandhu (New York University)
8.5″ x 5.5″ x 1.0″, Zines – Photocopy, Slipcase Offset Printed.
An unlimited edition marked “One of Many”
$80.00
On The Homunculus
The Homunculus (Latin: little man). An artificial, created “rational animal,” or human being that, according to Paracelsus, “has all the limbs and features of a child born of woman, except much smaller.” This ‘zine is a collection of excerpts from a range of texts and images, from Aristotle to the 17th century, dealing with the generation of life both natural and artificial. Included are translations from The Book of the Cow, and Jabir ibn Hayyan’s Book of the Concentration. This small work is more or less a little reader on the homunculus.
28pages $10.00
Dream: The Lunar Realm of Alchemy
Is a collection of quotes, primary sources, notes, and random comments regarding the role of dream and vision in alchemical practice. Alchemy, most broadly defined, is the art and science of bringing something to it’s final completion — completion in the sense of a finished work of art.
Included is my essay “…saying these things I went to sleep…” It first appeared in “Brooklyn Rail” June 2014.
24 pages $10.00
On the Animation of Statues
Is a collection of quotes, primary sources, notes and comments on the late-antiquity practice of “ensouling” statues in order to commune with the gods. Drawing from Iamblichus, Proclus, Greek Magical Papyri, Corpus Hermeticum, hymns, poetry and music, although the practice is never explicitly described, a hazy outline emerges. One thing, the composition of statues and talismans is, like alchemy, a hieratic art.
Included is a translation Michal Psellos’ Epistle 187 a text on the animation of statues.
34 pages $10.00
Alchemy and the Timing of Things
This zine is a meditation on time and its relation to alchemy and by extension any creative act. Through a collection of primary sources, quotes, etc, Kronos (linear chronological time) and Kairos (the “now” that opens onto eternity) are explored in light of practice. Several timing systems are presented and included is a centerfold Lord of the Hours Time Snail. A very useful tool for determining planetary hours.
26 Pages $10.00
The Alchemical Wedding The Alchemical Wedding, or the union of opposites, is the sought after moment, the turning point in the process to perfection. This is often depicted as a King and Queen in sexual union, or as a “Rebis,” a hermaphroditic being with two heads. This zine looks at this union in relation to ideas of perfection, the “place” of this union, and ideas of perfectibility through human action both on an inner personal level and in the social political sphere.
12 pages $10.00
The Golem and How He Came to Be
A golem is a man of clay brought to life through the power of the word – the written word. Of all the legends and stories of golems, perhaps the most famous is the story of Rabbi Loew and the Golem of Prague. Rabbi Loew, as the story goes, in the 16thcentury during the reign of Rudolph II, in Prague using secret practices from the kabbalah, brought to life a clay man to defend against anti-Semitic attacks. This story has resonated for generations and has been retold many times in a variety of media. What truths are there in this story, how did this Golem come to be? This zine looks into the mystical practices of Judaism that are at the heart of the legends and examines how this story evolved over time and was re-told in a variety of media, such as Paul Wegener’s silent film Der Golem, the play The Golem by Leivick and Julien Duvivier’s 1936 Le Golemfilmed in Prague and in the Altneu synagogue. Included in the zine are some of the earliest legends and stories of the golem. Most notably, translated here for the first time, is Franz Klutschak’s 1841 Der Golam Des Rabbi Löw, one of the earliest versions of the Rabbi Loew and Golem story.
24 pages $10.00
On the Hieratic Art: or the Alchemy of Talismans
The Hieratic Art, or Priestly Art, is the art of composition for affecting change in the world. The composition is of symbols. These may be material things, images, words, letters, or elements. The Hieratic Art is also concerned with the ascent of the soul to the one, the divine, as is alchemy. Starting from first principles this zine explores this non-discursive way of thinking, speaking, writing in affecting change. The aim of all art.
20 pages $10.00
On the Mystic, Magick, Talismanic, Alchemical Practice of Zine Making
This zine is a description of alchemical practice through the making of zines. Alchemy is the art and science of bringing something to its final perfection or completion. And, being perfected, can in turn perfect. It is about making change in the world for the betterment of the world and the soul. You know, like Marx said, “the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.”
12 pages $10.00
The Hermetic and Alchemical Zines of Brian Cotnoir. Volume II
The following two zines are the beginning of what will be Volume II of the Hermetic and Alchemical Zines. The additional planned titles are: Alchemy, Memory and the Architecture of Initiation, Alchemy and Myth, Alchemy and the Healing Arts, Displays of the Marvelous, Alchemy and Tantra, and Alchemy: A Philosophy of the In-Between.
