Reddit reviews The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation

Personally, I am quite fond of Sorcerer's Stone: A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Alchemy, and The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation by Dennis William Hauck. Great substance for the beginner, by an author with solid credentials on the subject.

Hauck is an instructor in the Alchemy Study Program and serves on the Steering Committee of the International Alchemy Guild. He also serves as project curator for the Alchemy Museum, opening in 2016 at Rosicrucian Park in San Jose.

I don't entirely know what his references are either, but Googling some terms, you may wish to start with The Emerald Tablet of Hermes.

Specifically, the "five-spiked crown" reference occurs in this book about the Emerald Tablet, The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation.

From my own experience: "the occult" is a very broad category. It can easily be a distraction or draw you toward the idea that the answers are all outside of you. Remember that anything that resonates does so because it is reflecting knowledge within you.

Thanks! Since you'll be following hermeticism, may I recommend a book? I'm assuming you've already read/will read the Kybalion (which really every single person in the world should read), but this is a great book on Hermeticism/alchemy I read last year http://www.amazon.com/The-Emerald-Tablet-Personal-Transformation/dp/0140195718

EDIT: This podcast is also great, just remembered it exists! http://www.podfeed.net/episodes.asp?id=16286&ct=1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Emerald-Tablet-Personal-Transformation/dp/0140195718