At one point shortly after my release from prison I decided to try some very light alchemical work. I was staying in a massive labyrinth of a building in NYC, so I finally had plenty of room and had access to ingredients.

When I was in prison I’d fantasized and daydreamed about being able to try some of these procedures, and I always swore to myself that if I ever got out of there alive, I’d do it.

What you’re doing with an alchemical procedure is taking a natural substance, such as a plant, and transforming it into a much more potent, purified form. Even if you’re working with plants in this way, it’s still astrological energies that you’re focused on. In magick we use what are called correspondences. This is a way of categorizing by energy. This system goes back as long as human civilization does, but it’s perhaps more popular now than ever thanks to the internet. You can quickly do research on your computer and have immediate access to what plants correspond to which planetary energies. The chart of correspondences on page 239 also lists some safe-to-consume plants and their related planetary energies. What appealed to me about alchemy was the potential for creating immensely powerful, portable magick.

An example would be Venus. The planetary energy of Venus is associated with sensuality, luxury, beauty, and love. By taking a plant or herb that corresponds with Venus, you can reduce it down to its purest essence or “salt” while doing associated rituals. I have not gotten that far in the operation, but I know someone who has, and I’ve seen the end result. The “salt” looks kind of like tiny pink crystals.

The process of creating a salt is a little complicated and possibly hazardous, especially without proper equipment and ventilation. But you can get a taste of alchemy by creating your own plant tincture. When I first did this, I settled on St. John’s Wort. It corresponds with solar energy, which is associated with things like victory and success, so I figured I’d find lots of little practical reasons to use it and see what kind of results I experienced.

Along with the herb itself, I gathered a bottle of moonshine made at a distillery in Brooklyn. You can use any sort of pure alcohol that is 80-proof or better. You’ll also need a glass container big enough to hold both the herbs and the bottle of alcohol that can be sealed airtight. I took the extra step of using the kind of jar with a clamp-on lid and a rubber seal between the glass top and bottom, sometimes called a French canning jar. This assured the contents would never come into contact with any sort of metal.

• Once you have gathered your materials, pour the herbs into the jar, and then pour enough alcohol over them to completely submerge them. You don’t want any of the plant material sticking up out of the alcohol, or else bacteria can grow on it. And since you are going to be doing this for thirty days, you may have to add a little more alcohol as time goes on. It evaporates, and you want to make sure all the herbs stay completely submerged. The plants themselves will soak up some of the alcohol.
• Once you seal the top, keep the container somewhere that it will receive very little light but constant warmth. John Michael Greer’s book on natural magick offers a great idea: to put it in the closet, on top of a hot water heater.
• Once a day, take the jar out to perform a ritual to invoke the planetary energy associated with your plant over it. You do this just as you would charge a glass of water, but focus on the planet in question and draw energy specifically from it, sending that through your hands and into the tincture. This is a ritualistic way of putting more and more chi, or energy, into the concoction every day for a month, to enhance the plant’s own naturally inherent energy.
• Anytime you aren’t doing this ritual, the jar goes back on the hot water heater. Heat is a form of energy, so the constant warmth is another form of energy being received by the elixir in the jar.
• After the elixir has been allowed to sit for at least one month and strengthened by daily invocations, strain the plant material from the liquid. The alcohol will have turned a very dark green as it absorbed the plant’s essence. That liquid in and of itself is a potent tincture that holds at least thirty days’ worth of ritual work and intention. Store it in a bottle, and whenever you need to invoke the energy that corresponds with that particular planet, place a few drops of the tincture in a glass of water or directly under your tongue. It sends a little burst of that energy through your aura.
• If you’re trying to gain long-term benefits, use the tincture consistently. This allows the energy to accumulate within your aura. Say, for example, that you were trying to draw more love, sensuality, and pleasure into your life. Do your research to find a plant that both corresponds to Venus and isn’t poisonous or allergenic. After going through the process of making the tincture, use it twice a day for a month, once in the morning and once at night.
• Keep a daily journal so you can look back and see how your life gradually changed over the time period you were doing the work. Sometimes magick works in a subtle way that you don’t even realize until you look back in hindsight and see how the situation eventually ended up. A journal can help you to see things in hindsight that you may have missed at the time.