Fulcanelli: Master Alchemist: Le Mystere des Cathedrales, Esoteric Intrepretation of the

Hermetic Symbols of The Great Work

In !"# the fabled alchemist $%lcanelli left his remarkable man%script concernin& the Hermetic
St%dy of Gothic Cathedral Constr%ction 'ith a st%dent( He than disappeared( The book decodes
the symbolo&y fo%nd %pon and 'ithin the Gothic Cathedrals of E%rope 'hich ha)e openly
displayed the secrets of alchemy for *++ years(
Many years a&o, an artist friend of mine said ,I-m not interested in Gothic st%ff( Its been -done(- I
'ant to e.plore ne' thin&s( , Tr%e / not e)eryone thinks like that, b%t it does %nderscore a serio%s
ill%sion / that 'e kno' 'hat -Gothic- is / that 'e ha)e someho' 0%antified it( In tr%th, 'e ha)en-t(
Gothic cathedrals are as mysterio%s as the pyramids( We all kno' that a cathedral is a reli&io%s
centre or -seat(- 1%t the23emer&ence of &othic cathedrals / all o)er E%rope, 'ith their soarin&
architect%ral forms and rhythmns, 0%ite %nlike anythin& aro%nd them / enshrines a &reat and rich
mystery( This book e.plores somethin& of that mystery(
4ntil of late, an appreciation of $%lcanelli-s -The Mystery of the Cathredals- has been restricted to
a fe' estoric circles( $%lcanellihimself / remains somethin& of an eni&ma( 1orn 5aris, 6**,
$%lcanelli-s man%m op%s 'as first p%blished in !"# in a limited edition of 7++ copies( It has
attracted interest e)er since / e)en tho%&h )ie'ed askance by the more orthodo. interpreters of
Ch%rch history8architect%re( 1asically, $%lcanelli-s book celebrates the -hermetic- or -masonic-
mysteries enshrined in the &reat E%ropean cathedrals, the presence of a tr%ly -catholic- i(e(
%ni)ersal9and dynamic mystery tradition / at once concealed and re)ealed /'ithin the )ery facade
of -stone- orthodo.y(
$%lcanelli de)otes m%ch attention to the facade of the :otre ;ame de 5aris, b%t 'hat he had to
say is tr%e of all &reat E%ropean cathedrals, desi&ned and b%ilt by master/masons 'ho had
access to the hermetic tradition( This makes -;an 1ro'n- st%ff look tame and pro)incial( Look at
any &en%ine Gothic ch%rch architect%re / caref%lly, and yo% 'ill dis/co)er 'hat $%lcanelli 'as
hintin& at
<n alchemist Master, $%lcanelli, 'as a mysterio%s fi&%re of early "+th cent%ry( His name became
kno'n to the 'orld 'hen his first 'ork, ,Le Mystere des Cathedrales,, became p%blished in !"#,
only fe' years after $%lcanelli disappeared( This remarkable book re)ealed the p%rpose of
phonetic cabala 'ithin the alchemistic 'orks as 'ell as the process of the Great Work( It sho'ed
the alchemical tradition and techni0%es as hidden yet seen on the )ery 'alls of Cathedrals,
incl%din& the famo%s <%ch Cathedral( When one reads this book, one 'ill e.perience either a
stron& diffic%lty in %nderstandin& the 'ords or one 'ill find the &reatest secrets that lie 'ithin(
In the early !"+s, $%lcanelli embarked a task %pon his only disciple, E%&ene Canseliet, to
p%blish his three 'orks, ,Le Mystere des Cathedrales,, The ;'ellin&s of the 5hilosophers, and
,$inis Gloria M%ndi(, Ho'e)er, ,$inis Gloria M%ndi, 'as later 'ithdra'n by the Master d%e to its
%ntimely nat%re and millennialic content(
If one 'ishes to seek the tr%e identity of $%lcanelli himself, one 'o%ld only seek o%t the &ro%nd/
breakin& 'ork by 5atrick =i)iere, 'ho 'as the st%dent of E%&ene Canseliet, 'ho 'as a
mentioned disciple of $%lcanelli himself( =i)iere holds a stron& credence to his 'ork, 'hich is
$%lcanelli / His Tr%e Identity =e)ealed(
$inally, it 'o%ld be my honor to recommend ,Le Mystere des Cathedrales, to those 'ho heed the
callin& and to those 'ho are seekin& the hidden meanin&s, either in mystery or alchemy, that lie
'ithin the ancient stones of the cathedrals( E)en to those 'ho are >%st simply c%rio%s abo%t the
&othic 'orks( There is more to this book than meets the eye(