Searching for the soror mystica
Subtitle: the lives and science of women alchemists
By: Robin L. Gordon
Contributors: Orenstein, Gloria Feman, 1938-
Publisher: University Press of America
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Lanham, Md
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9780761860556
Subjects: Alchemists; Alchemy; Women chemists; Women in chemistry
Description: "Early scientists, or natural philosophers as they were known, did not seek knowledge in the disconnected way modern academics tend to do. They were interested in how the universe worked, which meant studying everything from astrology and physics to Jewish mysticism and the Christian Bible. They constructed connections that the modern thinker might overlook or even dismiss as preposterous. In this book, Robin L. Gordon explores the lives and alchemical practice of a number of remarkable women. Searching for the Soror Mystica touches upon the history of science, biography, classical Jungian psychology, women's studies, theology, and a dash of the occult sciences. Readers will encounter sixteenth to seventeenth century politics, religion, scientific inquiries, medical discoveries, and even the way love can result in some misguided choices."--
Notes: "Foreword by Gloria Feman Orenstein"--Cover.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [199]-208) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : who are the women alchemists?; title: Alchemy 101 : connecting an ancient tradition to modern thinking; title: The feminine presence in the magnum opus; title: Alchemy, daemons, and lovers; title: Healers extraordinaire : seventeenth century alchemical sisters and their recipe books; title: The natural philosophers; title: Alchemy, kabbalah and the apocalypse; title: Emerging themes from the work of the women alchemists.; title: Introduction: Who Are the Women Alchemists?; title: Alchemy 101: Connecting an Ancient Tradition to Modern Thinking; title: The Feminine Presence in the Magnum Opus. Maria Hebraea: Inventor ; Hypatia of Alexandria: Her Experience of Mortificatio; title: Alchemy, Daemons, and Lovers. Sophie Brahe: Carrier of Sulphur ; Anna Maria Zieglerin and Her Daemon ; Susanne Katharina von Klettenberg: Goethe's Teacher and Maggid; title: Healers Extraordinaire: Seventeenth Century Alchemical Sisters and Their Recipe Books. Marie Meurdrac: La Chymie ; Isabella Cortese and Her Secrets ; Alathea Talbot, Countess of Arundel: Natura Exentera ; Lady Katherine Jones née Boyle, Viscountess Ranelagh: A Force of Her Own ; Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent: Is it Alchemy or Not? ; Comparing the Women Alchemists' Recipe Books with More Traditional Examples of the Genre: Mappae Clavicula, Giambattista Della Porta, Hannah Wooley, Diana Astry, William Lovell, and Robert Boyle; title: The Natural Philosophers. Margaret and Anne Clifford: The Alchemist and the Diarist ; Biographical Notes about Mother and Daughter ; Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke: In the Sidney Circle ; Anne Conway: Prima Materia and Consciousness ; Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle: A Genuine Borderlander; title: Alchemy, Kabbalah and the Apocalypse. Dorothy Moore: Seventeenth Century Feminist ; Katherine Boyle, the Hartlib Circle, and the Royal Society ; The Millenarian Movement ; Placing the Millenarian Movement in a Depth Psychological Perspective; title: Emerging Themes from the Work of the Women Alchemists. One More Look at the Scientific Revolution and the Mind-Matter Split ; The Women Alchemists' Path Toward Separatio ; Mary Anne Atwood: In Between ; Closing the Circle: Coniunctio, Mystic Sisters and The Chrysopeia of Mary the Jewess ; Conclusion: Finis Coronat Opus.