4-week online class
Dates: Wednesdays, Febraury 22, March 1, 8, 15
Time: 7-9 pm Eastern (NYC) time
Admission: $125 Patreon members / $145 general admission

Taught via Zoom by Brian Cotnoir
PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time

Alchemy and Music: Matter, Geometry, and the Ascent of the Soul is an exploration of these ideas through alchemical practice and worldview. Alchemy is the art and science of bringing something to its final perfection, this “something” may be matter such as lead, or it may be spiritual such as the soul. In all cases it is about transformation through engaging the world.

This course is an exploration of an alchemical approach in working with music as the prima materia in the process of ascent. We will examine music and harmonic concepts and practices through the lens of alchemical theory and practice.

Class 1 – Matter, Geometry, and the Cosmos

• Introduction – overview, scope, and limitations of the course

• Cosmology, Alchemy, Harmonics - Theories and World-view

• Pythagoras – Monochord

• Music of the Spheres I

• Quintillianus – Three Books On Music

Class 2 – Ascent of the Soul

• Neo-Platonic and Hermetic ideas of ascent

• Music of the Spheres II

• Janus and Hekate and the Orphic Hymns

• Alchemy as ascent through descent

Class 3 – Planets, Pitch, and Vowels

• Planets and Pitch – Systems of Designation

• Pitch and Vowels – The Correspondences

• Vowel Signing and Barbaric Words

• Marsilio Ficino – Music, Singing, Movement, and Alchemy

• Trance and Ecstasy

• Music/Sound as a Material Force

Class 4 – Performance and Some Speculations

• Atalanta Fugiens – Music, Text, and Meaning in alchemical discourse

• Claudio Monteverdi – Music as Emblem/Symbol

• Speculations on possibilities, production, and performance

Brian Cotnoir is an alchemist, artist, and award-winning filmmaker. A contributor to Frater Albertus’ Parachemy, he is also the author of a series of Alchemy Zines. His books include Alchemy: The Poetry of Matter (2017), Practical Alchemy: A Guide to the Great Work, Alchemical Meditations, On the Quintessence of Wine, and the Emerald Tablet, his translations of and commentary on, the earliest Arabic and Latin versions of this seminal text. His Emerald Tablet was part of the Language of the Birds: Occult and Art show in 2016 in New York City.He occasionally gives talks and has presented workshops and seminars around the world on various aspects of alchemical theory and practice based on his research.His film work has been screened at Museum of Modern Art, Sundance Film Festival, HBO, PBS and other international venues.

Khepri Press, launched in 2014 with the publication of the Emerald Tablet, is the vehicle and portal for his alchemical work.