Book excerpt: THE GREAT ALCHEMICAL WORK is an important contribution to the study of alchemy. In the first English language edition of this 'little work, ' Portuguese alchemist Rubellus Petrinus presents a sincere and invaluable guide to the operative laboratory tradition that gave birth to the Art of Hermes and its vast literature. Taking as his starting point the classic works of three well-known Adepts - Eirenaeus Philalethes, Nicholas Flamel and Basil Valentine - Rubellus offers aspirants a clear explanation of these highly cryptic, often deliberately misleading, texts. According to Frater Parush (A.H.S.), in his preface, "... the interested student will find herein one of the best publications now available of the accurate and proper understanding of some important pieces of classic alchemical cypher. Rubellus removes a good portion of the veil from over the works of Flamel, Valentine and Philalethes concerning the Great Work, and thereby opens the door to a wider understanding of other related literature." Drawing upon his more than thirty years of discipline and experience, Rubellus generously shares his knowledge that has had "all that is superficial removed from it," and daringly exposes the facts of the secret processes of the Art. THE GREAT ALCHEMICAL WORK features full colour plates with photographs of alchemical processes, products and equipment, along with rare reproductions of early woodcut versions of Basil Valentine's famous Keys.