The Arcane Formulas: Or Mental Alchemy

The Arcane Formulas: Or Mental Alchemy is a book by William Walker Atkinson, first published in 1909. It was written as a practical companion to The Arcane Teaching, presenting ten structured lessons and exercises designed to train the will, master the ego, and apply principles such as mental polarity, rhythm, visualization, affirmation, and transmutation.

The work reflects the New Thought and early occult currents that Atkinson helped to popularise, blending Hermetic ideas with elements drawn from Eastern philosophy and practical mind-power methods. Many of his related writings appeared under pseudonyms such as Yogi Ramacharaka, but all shared the same aim of teaching conscious control over thought and character.

By encouraging readers to separate the true “I” from mere personality and to direct their inner forces deliberately, Atkinson anticipated much of what later became modern self-help and mental science literature, influencing movements from motivational psychology to the Law of Attraction.