"Kunkin was so impressed that he decided to pack up and move to Salt Lake City permanently, when he received a phone call from some students at the society warning that Frater Albertus was not a genuine adept. Far from being a spiritual master, said these disillusioned devotees, Albertus was a fraud and 'the Devil.' But Kunkin was determined to learn alchemy; he replied that if Albertus was the devil then he would 'go to study with the Devil.'

"Although he found no Satan, Kunkin learned the hard way that Frater Albertus was stingy with his knowledge. 'Frater's nature was to teach up to a certain point,' recalled Kunkin, 'then he would freeze up and nothing more would be forthcoming.' Albertus's secrecy and egotism eventually drove Kunkin back to California. The Paracelsus Society appears to have perished with the death of Frater Albertus in 1984, although some of his followers went on to other alchemical pursuits...."

(A CORRECTIVE NOTE ADDED HERE BY ART KUNKIN TO THIS EXCERPT FROM THE TIME-LIFE BOOK) I am obviously one of those students of Albertus who continued research into alchemy and, twenty-some years later after leaving PRS, was fortunate enough to make the very important discoveries I write about in my book. I am very, very grateful to Frater Albertus for starting me on this path.

In my "Alchemy Secrets of Life Extension" book I say far more about the alchemical course of studies at the Paracelsus Research Society (PRS) and Albertus than given above. For now I only want to make one major correction to the Time/Life excerpt above.

The basic course of studies at PRS involved seven years of classes plus some additional advanced classes. A student would come to Salt Lake City for a two week class and then be given enough "homework" to last until he or she would return for the next class. (Albertus also taught classes in Australia and Europe almost every year). However, the Time/Life excerpt is incorrect in stating that the classes taught by Albertus and his assistants were primarily devoted to the herbal work with plants. Only the first "Prima Class" was mostly devoted to preparing tinctures from plants.

As I relate in my book, the succeeding classes were also devoted to working with minerals and metals such as antimony and lead plus subjects such as astrology, kabbalah, iridology, the oil of egg, etc. Therefore, the Time/Life book is entirely in error in stating that PRS and Albertus only focused on the herbal work, the Small Work of alchemy.

Not so incidentally, I completed all the seven years of classes and the additional advanced studies in the four years that I lived in Salt Lake City. I was privileged to complete the curriculum so rapidly because these were years in which I also edited the international journal of the society, Esentia, and thus had an office next door to that of Albertus. As editor of the magazine I was also fortunate to be in touch with the work being done by alchemical students in many countries.

I want to conclude this note by saying again that I am very, very grateful and indebted to Albertus (and his students) for teaching me the abc's of alchemy and permitting me access to his priceless collection of alchemical books. Now, through my book and my own classes and lectures, I intend to freely share this heritage with the world. Art Kunkin