Review from Living Traditions, April 2006

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Secrets of Alchemy:
The Great Cross and the End of Time.

Jay Weidner

The Secrets of Alchemy focuses on the work of Jay Weidner in relation to the nature of time and the evolution of consciousness. He ghives some background on Alchemy and related subject with an emphasis on Fulcanelli, but focuses on Fulcanelli's research on the Great Cross of Hendaye and its esoteric meaning. This research developed from a chapter that was included in Fulcanelli's Mystery of the Cathedrals when it was reprinted and not in the earlier editions. This chapter is fairly impentratable and seems to infer more mysteries than it solves. Weidner decided to explore this chapter and try and decipher its inner meaning. I am sure when his search began he did not know where it would lead.

Weidner begins with a basic overview of his work, alchemy, Fulcanelli and the nature of the mysticism that Fulcanelli saw embodied in the Gothic cathedrals. He then turns to the Great Cross of Hendaye and begins to explore its meaning. He examines its astrological, symbolic and Tarotic meanings. He explores the secret meanings of its inscription and this is where the investigation gets challenging. He decodes the inscriptions to give a location where mankind can survive the double apocalypse. This decoding is difficult to outline within a DVD presentation. You really need the book The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye:Alchemy and the End of Time to evaluate the many changes made to get the final result. His researches lead in two directions, firstly, the location of the refuge from the "apocalypse" and secondly, the nature of this double disaster.

The location of the refuge is Peru and even if we are a little unconvinced by the DVD presentation of the decoding (the book is far more detailed), when we get to Peru and see related documents, possible locations and other supporting evidence the case becomes a lot more solid. What is nice here is that this is not just a "talking" heads documentary, Weidner actually travels to France and Peru and we get to see the locations "first-hand".

Weidner then explores what a double apocalypse could mean and considers the four segments of the cross in relation to the Four Yugas of Hinduism and the great zodiacal cycle. He considers the unique work of Paul LaViolette and his research on the cycles of the universe and the galactic centre. By bringing these together Weidner is able to offer a full decoding of the Great Cross of Hendaye and explains what these two apocalypses will mean for mankind.

This is a well packed DVD, filled with fascinating explorations of esotericism, myth, hard science, history and archaeology. It is well presented with nice alchemical graphics used to make the presentation more interesting. My only misgiving is that I thought a slower pace of speech (or a professional narrator) may have helped, this is a complex subject and people need some time to digest !

This DVD will trigger lots of interest and you will be running to your bookstore as soon as it is finished to learn more about the Great Cross of Hendaye, Alchemy, the Peruvian Caves and Paul LaViolette !

Reviewer: Robert Burns
Living Traditions