Leading on from parts one and two…
Hasler intends to open his exploration of existing ‘repertoires’ of speculative music with alchemy, before progressing to astrology and then cabala. Whether unconsciously intended or not, this scheme recalls Agrippa’s division of both the universe and his magnum opus into three realms: natural, celestial/mathematical and divine/intellectual.
However, Hasler quickly runs into a problem with considering alchemy as a single discipline: it cannot be divorced from the symbolism and practice of astrology. Alchemy is, as John Dee called it, astronomia inferior, of which “celestial astronomy is the source and guide.” Or to put it in terms of a well-worn Hermetic rubric: “As above, so below.”

An engraving of “The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus”, cornerstone of alchemical and Hermetic philosophy.