To be an alchemist, traditionally one must gain access to the Philosophers' Garden - but to advance into the garden one must be an alchemist. ARS ALCHEMICA: Foundations of Practical Alchemy provides essential instruction to assist the student to gain ingress into this sacred realm. This work teaches the practical laboratory alchemy of the past masters and for the first time reveals many of their secrets, including the volatilization of the salts and the mysteries of the sal ammoniac salts. These are a major key to many operations of the arte without which the student fails in their operations. The author, Gary St. M. Nottingham, additionally explores various alchemical formulae, and shares for the first time clear and detailed instructions omitted in other modern alchemical works. This enables the student to perform both simple and complex operations of the arte. The correct mindset of the alchemist, often overlooked, is also considered. Alchemy deliberates that all life is one - as such the alchemist is influenced by the work as much as the work is influenced by the alchemist.