About the Author

Catherine MacCoun is a literary collaborator by profession and has written five published volumes of nonfiction. Her novel, Beyond the Abbey Gates, was originally published as The Age of Miracles, in 1990, and reissued as a Trumpeter book in 2006. She has won numerous grants and awards for her writing, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in prose.

Reviews

“What MacCoun gives us in her book is a great telling of the workability of magic complete with history, principles, and procedures. She believes that we all have the ability to perform magic, to transform our lives and our world for the better.”—Evolve! Magazine

“A richly gratifying exploration of alchemy. MacCoun represents this ancient art as a kind of spiritual graduate school.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“An enchanting, engaging, and insightful work that investigates the power of our creativity and our relationship to the laws of the universe.”—Caroline Myss, author of Entering the Castle and Anatomy of the Spirit

“Catherine MacCoun is a great communicator, and she knows her stuff from the inside too. Blows a bright and refreshing breeze through the musty halls of hermetic and magical symbolism, and lays it all on the line. Highly recommended.”—Gareth Knight, author of Magic and the Western Mind

“A true alchemist, Catherine MacCoun has transformed profound ideas into a gold standard of what a book on magic should be. Excellently written with prose that sparkles with clarity and wit, this book can serve novice and advanced practitioner alike with equal grace and insight.”—David Spangler, author of Blessing and Everyday Miracles

“Many discussions of alchemy are hopelessly dense and opaque; this one is full of light and life. With admirable clarity, MacCoun shows how alchemy can benefit one’s life here and now. This is uncluttered, everyday wisdom; the most accessible discussion of the psychospiritual dimensions of alchemy to appear in years.”―Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things

"What MacCoun gives us in her book is a great telling of the workability of magic complete with history, principles, and procedures. She believes that we all have the ability to perform magic, to transform our lives and our world for the better."-Evolve! Magazine

"A richly gratifying exploration of alchemy. MacCoun represents this ancient art as a kind of spiritual graduate school."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An enchanting, engaging, and insightful work that investigates the power of our creativity and our relationship to the laws of the universe."-Caroline Myss, author of Entering the Castle and Anatomy of the Spirit

"Catherine MacCoun is a great communicator, and she knows her stuff from the inside too. Blows a bright and refreshing breeze through the musty halls of hermetic and magical symbolism, and lays it all on the line. Highly recommended."-Gareth Knight, author of Magic and the Western Mind

"A true alchemist, Catherine MacCoun has transformed profound ideas into a gold standard of what a book on magic should be. Excellently written with prose that sparkles with clarity and wit, this book can serve novice and advanced practitioner alike with equal grace and insight."-David Spangler, author of Blessing and Everyday Miracles

"Many discussions of alchemy are hopelessly dense and opaque; this one is full of light and life. With admirable clarity, MacCoun shows how alchemy can benefit one's life here and now. This is uncluttered, everyday wisdom; the most accessible discussion of the psychospiritual dimensions of alchemy to appear in years." Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things