Jennifer Hoskins

THE ALCHEMICAL DREAM
Rebirth of the Great Wor
By Terence McKenna
A Mystic Fire Production
by Sheldon Rochlin.
Released by Sacred Mysteries.

This Sacred Mysteries presentation brings us an unusual film that was started in the 1990s and not previously finished. Since the passing of Terence McKenna in 2000 and filmmaker Sheldon Rochlin in 2002, some of that footage was at risk of being lost forever. Taking the initiative, Rochlin's stepson Morgan Harris spent two years completing it. I think it has been worth the wait.

Born in 1946, Terence McKenna was a writer, philosopher and botanist with a passion for entheogens and their influence on human consciousness. He was an advocate of the use of psychedelics and plant-based hallucinogens, considering himself to be a shaman. He was much beloved of the counter-culture of the 1960s, although he did not consider himself part of it. Terence McKenna's life and ideas are generally fascinating, but would need to be the subject of an article. The film itself concerns the brilliant Elizabethan polymath and one of the instigators of the English Renaissance, Dr. John Dee. He lived at the time in which Alchemy was about to separate into the two separate fields of science and 'magick' of the Hermetic tradition. (Philosophical readers will already see that the imminent Cartesian division in science and philosophy at that time became the Western mindset for the next four hundred years.) Had Dr. Dee succeeded in his mission to the Europe of the late sixteenth century, the political and philosophical landscape of our world would be far different today. His mission was to institute alchemical reformation governments through the agency of the Electors Palatine, especially Frederick V and his queen, Elizabeth of Bohemia. It was a highly complex and secret undertaking. It sounds incredible, but in this film McKenna outlines the political, economic and alchemical history of Europe and the entire Hermetic tradition virtually from its inception to the seventeenth century.

In re-enactments, McKenna plays Dr. Dee, in costume, and gazes into the middle distance at gothic cathedrals and castles while ruminating over Alchemy. It has to be said that his voice is sonorous and compelling. He speaks slowly and clearly, but at no moment talks down to the viewer. Instead, like all skilled storytellers, he draws the viewer along with him into a half-known world of intrigue, espionage and mystery. The background scenery is gorgeous and the film is stunning in its cinematography. This is a feature of most Mystic Fire films. They are always beautiful, visual feasts. Many historical buildings and locations in Prague were used, some of which may have even been places where Dr. Dee walked. With this film the viewer gets more than expected. Firstly there is a glimpse into the history of late Middle Ages England and the beginning of the English Renaissance. Secondly the reader will get a first-rate survey of the Western mystery tradition in the form of Hermetic operant Alchemy and magic. Thirdly there is a glimpse into the life and times of one the most mysterious and brilliant minds of the sixteenth century. There are many people who still draw attention through their mystery or accomplishments from the reign of Elizabeth I. Notable are Sir Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, John Donne, Edmund Spenser, John Milton, and so many more. But the most mysterious and fascinating of all was Dr. John Dee, who was either revered or hated.

As a final point, the viewer gets a glimpse of Terence McKenna's ideas, who was clearly 'sympatico' with Dr. Dee. It is easy to see that for him the concept and making of this film was a labour of love. That the film has been completed is a minor miracle for which those who seek knowledge should be ever grateful. It is truly a legacy for modern mankind from both the creative minds of Terence McKenna, Stephen Rochlin and the perseverance of Morgan Harris. -- Jennifer Hoskins (Published in New Dawn No 111, November-December 2008)