November 2025

One of the most important works on alchemy ever written is undoubtedly Atwood's monumental Suggestive Inquiry, which opened with the above quote.

It always reminds me that the ideas conveyed by the traditions we discuss in the Codex are virtually inexhaustible in terms of interpretability, and can be understood on multiple levels – alchemy being a prime example of this. Atwood’s work is viewed by many historians as being a definitive watershed in the history of a spiritual or psychological reading of the alchemical corpus, I encourage you to let this quote sink into your mind as you proceed with this month’s edition of the Codex.

“From remote Antiquity, and through successive intervals in the higher spheres of mind, the tradition of an Art has circulated; but so dark and enigmatical as to evade vulgar apprehension entirely and baffle the most acute.”

― Mary Anne Atwood, A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery (1850): p. v.

Each issue of the Codex contains a selection of articles written by our contributors, exploring the themes and traditions at the heart of the hermetic world.