Stone-17

BASIC ALCHEMY
FOR THE GOLDEN DAWN

by Samuel Scarborough

Alchemy is considered the Royal Art, that is to say the crowning art and science used within the Hermetic Tradition. Why would alchemy be considered the Royal Art? It incorporates all the various aspects of basic occult knowledge that are taught; Astrology, divination (tarot, geomantic, or astrological), invocation (and evocation in its higher forms and grades), talismanic work, planetary days and hours, and astral sight and visualization. These are the full course of skills that are taught in the Golden Dawn and the Inner Order. In addition to these skills, having practical knowledge about what plant is used when and for what, as well as what piece of laboratory equipment is to be used will be necessary to the alchemical experiments conducted later in this paper.

This paper is going to present an experiment that will utilize the very basics of Spagyric Alchemy or Practical Plant Alchemy, and which will also utilize many of the skills that you have been taught throughout the grades, especially basic divination (geomancy, astrology, and tarot), the use of the Planetary hours (a list of those will be in this paper), visualization, and invocation.

The basis of all Alchemy is a process of Separation and Reassembly—Solve et Coagula—and it is the means that all three of the traditional alchemical Principles of Salt, Mercury, and Sulfur are removed from the Matter and then recombined in a more perfected state. This is the very same process which is undergone during initiation, especially during the Neophyte Initiation.

The first thing that comes to mind is that you need a lab full of exotic equipment, which can be a terrifying prospect to the novice alchemist. The answer is that for this experiment you will not need a lot of laboratory equipment—just some basic material. In fact, to do the most basic of practical alchemical work there is no need to, and a list of basic equipment will be provided.

Read through the paper several times before starting this experiment.

List of Basic Equipment Needed

• 7–10½ oz. (200–300 grams) of dry Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• A mortar and pestle (used for grinding the Lemon Balm)—it is important that the plant matter is ground by hand and not with an electronic grinding device.

• Two glass funnels

• Absorbent cotton (like used in surgery—a cotton gauze)

• A ceramic dish with lid that can withstand high heat. This will be used for calcinations (Coors porcelain crucibles may be used).

• Cognac, Armagnac, Brandy, or any other wine alcohol (any alcohol which does not come from the wine is absolutely excluded from this experiment)—This is to be used as the Menstrum.

• 1 liter of distilled water

• Several droppers

• Several stirring rods (glass or stainless steel)

• Two 1000 ml (1-liter) Erlenmeyer flasks with rubber or cork stoppers. (If 1-liter Erlenmeyer flasks are unavailable, 1-quart canning jars will do, but be sure to put clear plastic wrap between the metal lid the macerating alcohol and plant matter.)

• A three-ring binder with paper for taking notes

• Labels and permanent ink pen (to label the flasks)

• Heat Source: gas heat is preferred over electric because the temperature can be better controlled. If you don’t have a Bunsen burner, a gas camping stove is adequate. Also a lab hot plate may be used if no gas is available.

• A pair of good quality, flame-proof gloves. Welder’s gloves are fine for this.

• A couple pair of tongs (Large kitchen tongs work well for now, though for other experiments crucible tongs will be needed.)

• Fire extinguisher. This is a precaution for the calcination phase.

The Operation

There are a couple of basic steps required to perform alchemy, even the most basic kind that is presented in this paper. You must have a substance to work with, this is your Matter. Here we are using Lemon Balm of Melissa officinalis, called Melissa for short by most alchemists. Any particular planetary plant matter can be used depending on the choice of planet you will work with.

Once the plant is chosen, then it must be dry and ground fine. You can grind the plant matter in a blender or coffee grinder, but this loses some of the energy placed into the plant matter from hand grinding in a mortar and pestle. Grind the matter as finely as you can or feel that you need to.

You will need a medium or menstrum to get the energy from the plant. In this case, we are using cognac as the alcohol menstrum. Pouring on the menstrum starts the process of maceration where the plant matter is broken down alchemically.

After maceration the plant matter is burnt to ash in a process known as calcination to obtain the plant Salts.

The Salts are recombined with the menstrum and then circulated or distilled—refining the menstrum to a tincture.

Grinding

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) corresponds with Jupiter, so you want to work with this plant on the day and hour of Jupiter, which is Thursday. You start out by grinding the plant matter with the mortar and pestle. The Melissa must be ground to a fine powdered state, starting with the leaves. Any of the stalks may have to be cut with a pair of clean scissors into 2–3 mm lengths to ease the grinding process. The size of your mortar will determine how much plant matter can be ground at one time. Working in small batches works well too.

Ideally, you will want to grind the Melissa on a Thursday with a waxing to full moon.

Try to concentrate on the Jovian aspects that you want the finished product to accomplish throughout the grinding process. Visualize a positive energy radiating from your hands to charge the Lemon Balm.

AVOID breathing the dust from the plant. You may have to wear a mask.

When you are done, place the ground plant matter in a jar that you can seal for storage.

For this operation you will only need 1.4 oz. (40 grams) of plant matter. You should have additional ground plant matter saved and stored in a jar; this will be used later in the experiment.

Beginning the Maceration Process

This is where you pour the alcohol or menstrum over the ground Melissa.

Do this during the day and hour of Jupiter during a period that the moon is waxing or full. Energize yourself with the Jovian thoughts that you want the tincture to possess. Again visualize your hands radiating light as you pour the menstrum onto the plant matter. The most favorable time to do this step is the first Thursday of the waxing moon during the hour of Jupiter.

Pour the alcohol on slowly in small amounts so that the plant matter is thoroughly soaked. Stop pouring the alcohol as soon as it is above the plant matter by 1⁄4 to 3⁄8 inches (1⁄2 to 1 cm).

Hermetically seal the flask. If you are using an Erlenmeyer flask, seal it with a rubber or cork stopper. If you are using a mason jar, then remember to place a piece of plastic wrap between the jar and the metal lid. This is done so as to not cause a chemical reaction between the alcohol and the metal of the lid. (IMPORTANT—be sure that the flask and the seal—cork or rubber stopper—are clean and dry before placing the plant matter and menstrum in.)

From a spagyrical point of view, simply pouring on the alcohol can be considered the closest thing to the fecundation process of mineral alchemy.

The Maceration-Circulation Process

Wrap the flask so that light cannot ruin the process. The flask may simply be placed in a cardboard box. In winter, place it in a warm room with a constant heat source (close to the heat vent is fine or next to the hot water heater). A constant temperature of 66.2°F (19°C) should be maintained (this is the optimum temperature to use).

Let it macerate for two weeks (in some cases you can allow the maceration process to go on for an alchemic month, which is 40 days). Right now, you are just becoming familiar with the basic process of Maceration. To be more exact, this is a maceration-circulation process: therefore the flask should be higher than wide (about a 3:1 ratio) and only filled about one-third of its height.

Decanting

After the two-week period (or alchemical month if you choose that time), you will want to decant and separate the plant matter from the menstrum.

Place a funnel in a clean (and dry) flask. Place the cotton gauze in the bottom of the funnel to act as a filter.

Pour the macerate liquid into the funnel. As soon as all the liquid is through, carefully press the plant matter with a flat piece of wood to recover all possible liquid. The liquid of the menstrum should have taken on a green color by this point.

Once you are done decanting the liquid, quickly close the receiving flask. Remember to label the flask (use a good quality label and a permanent ink to prevent smudges).

Calcination

Before starting this step, be sure that you have a clear working area with nothing combustible or volatile in the work space.

Pour the solid plant matter into your crucible and place it on your gas burner, which is off. (Outside is preferable as there will be a great deal of smoke.) Mix the alcohol-soaked plant matter with the part of the plant that was not macerated. This non alcohol-soaked plant matter is the plant material that was saved from the grinding process.

Set the mixture on fire. The mixture of the flame and the residual alcohol starts the calcination process. When the alcohol is burnt up, then light the gas burner.

(IMPORTANT!!! DO NOT BREATHE THE SMOKE
FROM THIS PROCESS!!!)

When the plant matter starts turning black, stir it with the glass or iron rod. When all the matter is black, turn off the gas burner and let cool.

Grind the blackened matter to eliminate any big pieces.

Continue the calcination process until all the powder becomes grayish-white ash.

You now have the choice between the way of fire or the way of fire and water as a means to purify the Salts obtained from calcination.

The way of fire: calcine the grayish-white residue until it turns reddish-orange after it has cooled.

This is the easier of the two methods to use. The way of the fire and water will be covered below.

Important Note: When the calcination is beyond the point of obtaining the grayish-white color, continue the process, but with a lid on the crucible or another crucible inverted over the ash.

The way of fire and water: This is the second method to purify Salt. It uses water to leach out the Salt from the ash. The grayish-white ashes are placed in a flask and we then pour distilled water (preferably rain water, but demineralized water can be used) on them in a quantity of about 20:1 by volume. It takes a good hour and lots of shaking to get a good dissolution of the salts.

Filter (a coffee filter can be used, but is not the recommended method) the mixture through a cotton-stuffed funnel so that the liquid is decanted and the insoluble salts can be collected. Take the collected Salt and place it in a flask and an amount of water (about 20:1). Shake and dissolve the salts as previously described. Perform this process at least 3 times, so that all the soluble salts are completely dissolved.

All of the filtered water is recombined and evaporated through heating, but the water is not brought to a boil. Try to remain just below the boiling point. When the Salt is quite dry, place it in a crucible and calcine it.

Place the Salt again in a flask and dissolve it with distilled water; repeat the process. When the distilled water leaves no visible residue deposit on the filter, the purification is done and you can proceed to the next phase.

Note: If the Salt obtained from simple calcination reaches a yellowish, reddish or slightly orange color, there is no need to leach it.

Circulation

Place the Salt in a small flask, which is higher than it is wide (ratio of 3:1 approximately), and pour the maceration liquor over the Salt (12 times the volume of the Salt). If the flask is well chosen in terms of its capacity, it will be one third full.

Seal the flask hermetically and place it in a warm spot, for example near a heater during the winter or in the sun during summer. A circulation should then occur and you will begin to notice alcohol drops collecting on the glass, first close to the top of the flask, and then falling down into the maceration liquid.

The maceration menstrum should become discolored. When the discoloration stops, filter, and collect the Salts from the filter and calcine them. Always place a lid on the calcination crucible at this stage. Let it cool down and start the circulation process again with the liquor. This phase should be performed as long as the liquor gets discolored.

At each cycle the Salt is getting charged with the impurities which are discharged by the calcination, but it is also charged with the positive elements which are fixed by the calcination, and which consequently resist fire. At each cycle the force of the elixir increases until the Salt is saturated with positive elements. At this point, the circulation is no longer necessary.

Since our extraction liquor, our menstrum, is not sharpened, the discoloration will not be complete. The coloration of cognac due to vegetable elements in the oak will resist the Salt. The advice is to not continue each of the circulations beyond three days, and not circulate more than seven times in total.

Note: Be careful to not use all of your Salt during this experiment, and try to keep an amount of Salt equal to about one quarter of a thimble in a small waterproof flask. Also, keep 2-3 cm of your menstrum set aside. The Salt here is from the completion of the calcination stage when the Salt has acquired the appropriate color. The menstrum saved should be from the first decanting at the end of the maceration stage.

The Purpose and Use of the Tincture

According to the Alchemists, “Tinctures” prepared in the way described, are used to purify the physical body, mental functioning, and direct the spiritual aspirations of he who has prepared them. As these tinctures have not been created by Nature, but rather through the conscious, knowledgeable intervention of the Operator working with Alchemical Processes that produce a new creation from the purified alchemical substance, their ingestion will impart the refined planetary properties of those Planetary Rulers which rule the areas assigned to them. In short, he will become a more highly tuned organism, highly responsive to the positive qualities of the planetary rays governing these new creations.

You may consume the tincture over the course of a year, one teaspoon (about 5 ml) at a time on the given day and hour of the planet ruling the tincture. In the case of the Melissa tincture, that would be Thursday for Jupiter. This tincture can be taken straight—without mixing, or can be mixed with a wineglass full of water (distilled is best) or red wine.

Additional Preparatory Work

Divination:

It is always a great idea to make sure that it is the correct time to do an alchemical operation, and as a general rule before performing any form of magick. There are a couple of methods available to do such a divination, those being tarot, astrology, or geomancy. Use the divinatory system that you are most comfortable with and which gives you the most consistent results to make a determination as to whether to start the operation at a specific time.

Banishing and Meditation:

You can banish the work area before you start the grinding process. If the herb is present in your work area when you banish, remember to cover it with a black silk cloth to prevent the energies of the plant from being harmed by the banishing.

Once you have banished, sit down in a straight-backed chair, uncover the herb, and meditate on the properties you want that herb for. In the case of using Melissa officinalis, then Jovian energies and goals should be kept in mind.

As additional focus, you can use tarot Trump X—the Wheel of Fortune, or an image of the planetary glyph for Jupiter, which should be black and white, e.g. a black sigil or glyph on a white field. For the really ambitious, you can paint the latter in the appropriate flashing colors for Jupiter, violet ground with a yellow planetary glyph.

From here you can start the practical work of grinding the plant matter. Remember to keep the planetary energies in mind when you are grinding the matter. The planetary glyph used for the meditation process can also be used during the grinding of the plant matter. Just place the planetary symbol under that mortar while you are grinding the plant matter, being sure to keep the appropriate planetary thoughts in mind during the process.

The banishing and use of the planetary focus or symbol can be done with each stage of the process from maceration through calcination and circulation. If you banish at each of these stages, remember to cover your tincture flask with a black silk cloth. In the case of using the planetary symbol as a focal point, this is always placed underneath the working matter, the exception being during calcination, in which case it is placed under the heat source (if possible).

Conclusion

Just working with this one experiment will help a person better understand the process of alchemy, both from a practical point of view and from a spiritual point of view. The process given above can be used with any plant that is used in spagyrics or plant alchemy to create a basic alchemical tincture which can be used to raise the vibrational rate of the alchemist or magician. Coupling the practical aspects of grinding, macerating, and calcining with the spiritual aspects of meditation on the process will produce a tincture that is more aligned to the nature of the alchemist and which will have greater effect on the subtle body of the alchemist.

The process can be as complicated or as simple as a person wants to make it, but it will produce positive results. The process given in this paper is a good start to more advanced techniques of distillation, and can be a primer to plant alchemy. Many people will never move on to the more advanced techniques of spagyrics and that is fine, just do not be daunted by what has for centuries been seen as an extremely complex art within the arsenal of the magician.

Alchemy, like any other art that is available in the Hermetic tradition is something that should be practiced often with diligence. Not many of us had phenomenal success the first time we tried to learn a ritual or did a tarot divination—the same is true of Alchemy.

Planetary Hours of the Day
Hour	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
2	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
3	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars
4	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun
5	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
6	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
7	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon
8	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
9	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
10	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars
11	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun
12	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus

Planetary Hours of the Night
Hour	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
2	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon
3	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
4	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
5	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars
6	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun
7	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
8	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury
9	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon
10	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
11	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter
12	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn	Sun	Moon	Mars