Written in the shadow of the seventeenth century, The Open Entrance to the Closed Palace of the King is one of the most celebrated and readable guides to the Great Work ever composed. Under the pen name Eirenaeus Philalethes, the American alchemist George Starkey set down a clear, step-by-step account of the philosopher's stone — its hidden matter, its furnace and vessel, its twelve stages of color and fire from the blackening of Saturn to the perfect red of the Sun. Yet its true subject is transformation: a patient, humble, and reverent remaking of nature by art, mirrored in a soul's passage from darkness to illumination. This new edition renders Philalethes' classic in fresh, present-day English while remaining faithful to its meaning and spirit, restoring its rhythm, its warnings to the unworthy, and its words of encouragement to the sincere seeker. Notes, a glossary, and a guide to reading alchemical language open the work to modern readers. Part of The World Scriptures Library.