Materia Prima: The Nature of the First Matter in the Esoteric and Scientific Traditions  (Click Cover to open)

Presented at the Hidden In Plain Sight Conference, Rosicrucian Order, San Jose, California, by Dennis William Hauck  

 

ABSTRACT: The alchemists believed that no transformation—whether in the laboratory, in the body, or in the soul—could succeed without the presence of a mysterious ingredient known as the Materia Prima (First Matter). Nothing was more important to alchemist’s work than this energetic essence, which they believed could be extracted from any substance and actually rendered tangible and visible. This paper examines the nature and properties of the elusive First Matter. We will look at how the alchemists exposed it, accumulated it, and worked with it to accomplish the regeneration of the substance at hand. We will explore how the concept of the First Matter evolved in both the scientific and esoteric traditions to become a fundamental, although often unrecognized, tenet of both modern Hermeticism and modern physics.

 

Hauck's The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Alchemy (Alpha 2008) is considered the best introduction to alchemy available. His bestselling The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation (Penguin 1999), presents startling new revelations about the mysterious artifact that inspired over 3,500 years of alchemy. His Sorcerer’s Stone: A Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy (Citadel 2004) is an entertaining introduction to practical and spiritual alchemy.  He is currently completing the first English translation of Die Alchemie by Dr. Gottlieb Latz, a nineteenth-century German alchemist, and is working on his latest book is First Matter: Autobiography of an Alchemist.

Hauck has contributed to numerous non-fiction works, such as Real Alchemy (Robert Bartlett, Weiser 2006), Way of the Crucible (Robert Bartlett, Weiser 2008), How to Write a Book Proposal (Michael Larsen, Writer's Digest 1997), The Power of Sacred Space (Carolyn Cobelo, Akasha 2000),  Alchemy: the Great Secret (Andrea Aromatico, Abrams 2001), Tarot Court Cards Archetypes (Kate Warwick-Smith, Inner Traditions 2003), and Alchemical Healing (Nicki Scully, Bear & Co. 2003). He has also consulted on a number of alchemically themed novels, such as A Hundred Ways to Sunday (Robin Rice, Bwyar Press 2001) and Unnatural Fire (Fidelis Morgan, HaperCollins 2000).

A dedicated explorer of consciousness, Hauck has done considerable research into "exceptional human experiences" -- a term he uses to describe a wide variety of mystical phenomena. His guidebooks to thousands of sacred energy sites and locations of paranormal activity, International Directory of Haunted Places (Penguin 2000) and Haunted Places: The National Directory (Athanor 1994, Penguin 1996, Penguin-Putnam 2002), have led hundreds of people to places where they have experienced such altered states of consciousness. His biography of William Shatner (Captain Quirk - Pinnacle 1995; Der Captain - Heyne 1997) chronicles the egocentric actor's personal transformation after a mystical experience in the Mojave Desert. Hauck made a movie with William Shatner entitled Mysteries of the Gods. Sorcerer's Stone: A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy (Citadel Press 2004) presents the operations and methods alchemists used in both their laboratory and spiritual work.

Hauck has contributed to several anthologies, such as Awaken to a Dream (Watermark 1991), The Practical Guide to Practically Everything (Random House 1995), Magic of Our Universe (Camelot 1999), The Internet Guide to Adventurous & Unusual Travel (Facts On Demand 2001), and Nine Windows to Wholeness: Jungian Sandplay (Sanity Press 2002).

Hauck has worked as editor for a half-dozen holistic and New Age publications. He is currently the publisher of the Alchemy Journal, for which he writes regular articles. He has written on a wide variety of topics for nearly fifty different magazines, including Harper's, Automated Home, Electronic House, Conscious Living, Sacramento Magazine, The City: San Francisco Magazine, Fate, and Writer's Digest. He is considered a pioneer in introducing transpersonal concepts to businesses and government agencies and worked seven years as a staff writer for Today's Supervisor, the official magazine of the 25,000-member California State Supervisor's Association. He also wrote regular columns for the Long Island Journal, New Age Retailer, Perceptions Magazine, and Whole Life Times.

Hauck’s books have been featured in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, Boston Globe, Seattle Times, Harper’s, Magical Blend, Lingua Franca, and hundreds of other periodicals. He has been interviewed on nearly four hundred radio and TV programs, including "NPR's Morning Edition," "A&E Unexplained," "Sally Jessy Raphael," "Geraldo," “The O’Reilly Factor,” "Extra," and "CNN Reports." He also served as a special consultant to a several leading film companies and a number of popular television programs. He wrote script and appeared in Mysteries of the Gods (Hemisphere 1976) and served as a consultant for other popular novels and movies ranging from alchemy documentaries to such popular films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Columbia 1977) to White Noise (Brightlight 2005).

Hauck is an instructor in the Alchemy Study Program ( www.AlchemyStudy.com ) and serves on the Steering Committee of the International Alchemy Guild (IAG) at www.AlchemyGuild.org. He is a professional member of the ASSC (Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness), the AMS (American Mathematical Society), the ASL (Association for Symbolic Logic), the ATP (Association for Transpersonal Psychology), the CRS (Center for Research in Science), and the ISSSEEM (International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine). He has been profiled in the International Authors and Writers Who’s Who, Who’s Who in California, and The Dictionary of International Biography.

Dennis William Hauck holds lectures and workshops throughout the world on the various aspects of practical, mental, and spiritual alchemy. He was a featured speaker at many important conferences, including the International Alchemy Conference annual event at www.AlchemyConference.net, the Conference On Mystical Egypt and Immortality in Cairo, conferences for the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and the International Society for Energetic Psychology, and many others.

Hauck's award-winning informational website Alchemy Lab at www.AlchemyLab.com is one of the largest resources for alchemy on the Internet. The London Times called it “one of the most stunning web archives ever.” He has also created a stunning collection of ancient and modern alchemical art at www.AlchemyGallery.com and has created and maintains a dozen other websites devoted to alchemy.