Picked up Arts & Academe recently. Absolutely love it. My compliments to the authors if they happen to be around. 
Anyway, I do have a question about the Formulae rules... How is someone supposed to produce a Level 15 or 20 Formulae? I just cannot concieve of how a character could get a Formulae lab total high enough to actually achieve these effects. Am I missing something?
No, you are not missing anything. These formulae are reserved for the utter specialist, who has an exceptional Intelligence, Affinities and Puissance in the appropriate Academic Art, a specialised laboratory, and appropriate Shape and Material bonuses. Take a look at Gilles de Corbeil in the Medicine chapter. He has a Medicine of 13+2, along with an Intelligence +2. It is conceivable he could find a +3 Shape and Material modifier for a healing herb, and achieve a Level 20 formula. With a good lab and a risk modifier from experimentation, he could maybe make a 25. True, he's 80 years old and probably the best physician of his day; who wouldn't expect him to be able to cure a Medium wound with no chance of failure, or restore a Tired Fatigue level, or cure a Serious disease.
Note that an alchemist can improve a material bonus. If he was working towards the Lesser Stone, for example, he could purify sulphur to increase the bonus he gets from it, before attempting the formula himself. So an alchemist could set himself up in business making ingredients for other alchemists, astrologers, and physicians.
Mark
OK, I'll buy that... kinda.
As a follow-up, what do you use for Form & Material bonuses for Astrological Inceptions? For alchemy and medicine, sure, comsuming odd materials as part of the formulae makes sense but not so for an astrological chart.
You can grind up material components into the ink, or scribe the inception on unusual materials. You could even use Ink of Hermes (TMRE). So Amber added to the ink gives you a +3 to asking questions about people, whereas one made with a snake's tongue is great for detecting lies.
Mark