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

Practical Processes
Workings of Alchemical Preparations
Alchemy: Its Relationship to the Druidic Tradition

Unlike Druidic plant lore, alchemical practice allows for the use of fresh or dried plants. Whichever form is used, the first stage as we have seen above is the separation of the extract. This may be achieved in any of three ways.

· Maceration. The fresh or dried herb is steeped in liquid for an extended period.

· Circulation. The fresh or dried herb is percolated in a fashion similar to coffee percolation.

· Extraction. The fresh or dried herb is placed in a specialized extraction system such as a Soxhlet Extractor, a specialized piece of laboratory equipment used mainly in the process of extracting essential oils.

Any of these methods may be used to obtain the extract, but for the sake of simplicity we shall adopt the maceration method for our example.

The appropriate herb is first ground to a fine consistency, either with a mortar and pestle or by rubbing it firmly between the hands. The ground herb is then placed in a suitable glass vessel, one with a tight lid, and covered with the maceration liquid, or menstruum, which will extract the essence. The most common menstruum is any form of strong alcohol (40 percent or more by volume), usually brandy (called “spirits of wine” by alchemists). The vessel is now sealed and set aside in a warm place to allow the menstruum to do its work.

After two or three weeks the menstruum will have taken on the greenish hue of the herb, showing that it has achieved the extraction of the essence. The clear liquid is then poured off into another vessel for later use. This is the herb’s essence, containing its properties of mercury and sulfur.

The remaining herbal matter, containing the salts of the herb, is placed in a flameproof dish and ignited. As it has been steeped in alcohol, it will burn readily and quickly reduce to black ashes. These black ashes are then repeatedly heated and ground until they become a light-colored powder. This is the process of calcination.

The calcinated powder is then recombined with the essence (the salts are recombined with the mercury and sulfur) by placing the calcinated powder into the vessel containing the essence and tightly sealing the vessel to prevent the escape of any vapors. The vessel is then set aside in a warm place for about two weeks to allow the liquid essence to “digest” the salts of the calcinated ashes. This process is called digestion. This completes the manufacturing procedure, and the herbal elixir and medication are ready for use.

By using this method of preparation, spagyric practitioners maintain that the elixir produced is more potent and efficacious than any other form of herbal medicine.

Now, how do the history, theory, and practical processes of alchemy relate to the ancient and contemporary Druidic tradition, and what may we learn from alchemy that will enrich our understanding of Druidic practices?