Finding the Philosopher's Stone: A Celebration of Alchemical Imagination

Finding the Philosopher's Stone: A Celebration of the Alchemical Imagination with Eliza Swann

What is the Philosopher’s Stone, and why has its pursuit endured for millennia? Join this special talk, celebrating the release of The Alchemical Imagination, to explore this enduring mystery.
The Alchemical Imagination, published by Weiser/Red Wheel, expands on a class of the same name taught by Eliza Swann, offering a contemporary approach to alchemy as both a creative and philosophical practice. Structured around George Ripley’s twelve stages for making the Philosopher’s Stone, the book reinterprets this historical framework through the lens of contemporary art, inviting readers to engage the “great work” as an ongoing process of transformation.
This talk traces the architecture of alchemy—its symbolic systems, material experiments and metaphysical ambitions—following a lineage from the Hellenistic world to contemporary practice. We will encounter a constellation of figures who illuminate the search for the Stone across time from early modern alchemists such as Hennig Brand and John Dee, to the visionary and materially engaged practices of contemporary artists like Forrest Bess and Diane di Prima. Along the way, we’ll consider the many meanings the Philosopher’s Stone has taken: a substance, a process, a state of consciousness, an artistic achievement. We’ll look closely at the strange methods alchemists devised in their attempts to realize it—from body modification, to the drawing of sigils and encoded diagrams, to the use of fermented substances believed to harbor latent vital forces. Seen together, these practices reveal alchemy as a hybrid field where experimentation, imagination and devotion converge. The Philosopher’s Stone hovers at the edge of impossibility, and it is precisely this condition that opens a space for radical creativity.
This talk is both an introduction and an invitation: into The Alchemical Imagination, and into an ongoing, unfinishable pursuit—one that transforms the seeker as much as the sought, and suggests that the true “great work” may lie in our capacity to engage the impossible. Open to anyone with any level of interest or experience with alchemy.

Eliza Swann, also known as Emerald, is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and alchemist whose work explores mysticism and its relationship to contemporary art practice. In 2014, they founded Golden Dome, a nonprofit art school for mystics dedicated to experimental creative education. Eliza received a BA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Central Saint Martins in London. Swann is the author of The Anatomy of the Aura (St. Martin's, 2020), Green Mary (Cosmic Dog House Press, 2024), and The Alchemical Imagination (Weiser/Red Wheel). Their writing has appeared in BOMB, Momus, Contemporary Art Review LA, Perfect Wave, and numerous anthologies. They serve on the faculty of Pratt Institute, where they teach alchemy.

Ticket price: $20 (in-person event only).

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The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed within exhibited works are solely those of their creators and may not represent those of the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), its affiliates, or any individuals associated with PRS. Screenings are intended for educational and entertainment purposes.

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