Terence McKenna was a Philosopher, Writer and Ethnobotanist who spent a lot of time thinking about hallucinogens. He was also known for his interest in Virtual Reality, Shamanism and Alchemy, kicked off at an early age through reading Aldous Huxley.
His library of rare books was destroyed in a fire on February, 2007. Lost in the fire were works including:
- A 1659 folio of Isaac Casaubon's A True and Faithful Relation of what passed between Dr. John Dee and some spirits.
- A copy of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Libri tres de occulta philosophia (Eng.: Three Books of Occult Philosophy).
- Ralph Horatio Woolnough Empson’s Cult of the Peacock Angel, a rare book on the Yazidi.
- A red leather-bound Theosophy library purchased in Republic of Seychelles.
Read the McKenna lectures on Alchemy here.
Alchemy plays a big part in Black Poplar and I'm doing a fair amount of research on the subject.