A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014

The Leaching of The Three Cardinals of The Tree
The Refinement Process: The Complex of the Tree
The Druidic Workshop

Leaching is the process of filtration that separates the now partly enhanced liquid cardinal essences from the solid plant material (the solid cardinals). The separated liquids and solids then go through the further, independent process of sublimation, as we shall see later.

Leaching: The Working

For this working you will need:

· The three jars containing the macerating cardinals of the tree.

· Glass funnel, to hold the filter paper through which the liquid will pass.

· Three filter papers, of a suitable grade (see here), one to filter each cardinal.

· Retort stand with rubber clamp, to secure the funnel above the receiver flask. Not essential but very useful.

· Three (100 ml) glass bottles with stoppers, to receive and store the liquids.

· Three sheets of 8½ x 11 paper, on which to dry the solid plant materials.

· Spatula, to stir the mixture, to help remove the solid plant material from the jar, and to assist the filtering process.

We need to leach all three cardinals separately. For the sake of simplicity I shall describe how to leach each of the cardinals in turn. In practice, of course, all three may be leached concurrently—assuming, of course, that you have three sets of each piece of equipment that is used. We will begin by leaching the macerated leaf cardinal.

Assemble the retort stand and clamp the funnel so that its outlet is about half an inch (1.5 cm) above the open mouth of the glass bottle. This will allow the filtered liquid to drip directly into the bottle without loss.

Fold the circular filter paper in half and then in half again so that it forms a quarter-circle. Now, by separating the edge of the first layer of paper from the remaining three, the paper will form a closed cone. Place this cone inside the funnel. It will fit the funnel shape perfectly and come about two-thirds up the funnel wall. This is your filtering funnel (see photograph).

Gently pour the macerated mixture into the filtering funnel until it reaches within a quarter inch (0.75 cm) of the top of the filter paper. Allow this first quantity of macerated mixture to filter into the glass bottle below before filling the filter funnel with the same amount of liquid again. Continue this process until all of the macerated mixture has been poured into the filter funnel. Use the spatula to ensure that every last piece of plant material is removed from the jar and placed into the filter funnel. Once the liquid stops dripping through the filter funnel of its own accord, use the back of the spatula to gently squeeze the remaining liquid from the plant material in the filter funnel. Allow the last of the liquid to pass through the filter paper into the glass bottle below.

Once you are certain that all the liquid has been leached from the solid leaf matter, remove the bottle from beneath the funnel and make the liquid in the bottle level up to 50 ml by adding more alcoholic spirit. Increasing the volume of liquid by adding more alcohol does not dilute the potency of the essence, as it contains the maximum amount of the plant’s energies and attributes yielded up by the plant material. If the bottles already contain this volume of liquid or more, simply seal the glass bottle, label it “Leached Cardinal Essence of the Leaf,” and place it to one side.

Remove the filter paper from the funnel, place it on the work surface, and open it out to reveal the remaining leaf material that was left inside the filter cone. Gently remove the leaf material from the filter paper and spread it onto the sheet of 8½ x 11 paper, where it will remain until it dries. Discard the filter paper; do not be tempted to reuse it, as it will contaminate any future workings.

Wash the glass funnel and replace it in the retort stand clamp. Renew the filter paper in the same way as before and repeat the whole process using the macerated wood cardinal mixture. On this occasion, label the storage bottle “Leached Cardinal Essence of the Wood” and set it aside with the other bottle.

Wash the glass funnel once more and replace it in the retort stand clamp. Renew the filter paper in the same way as before and repeat the whole process, this time using the macerated bark cardinal mixture. On this occasion label the storage bottle “Leached Cardinal Essence of the Bark” and set it aside with the other bottle.

At the end of this working you should have six products: the leached cardinal essence of the leaf, the leached cardinal essence of the wood, the leached cardinal essence of the bark, and the three dry solids, one for each of the cardinals mentioned above.

Store the three liquids in a cool, dark place until they are needed. Put the three completely dry solids into separate powder jars, label them, and seal them to await the next step in the refinement process, the sublimation by drying.

Three basic cardinal essences of the tree

Three dried solid cardinals of the tree