Spagyric nothing but an intertwining of alchemy and herbal medicine. We discover what, and the technique of producing the quintessence
The term “alchemy” derives from the Arabic al-kimiyya, whose meaning is “the chemistry of God”, or from Al (which in Arabic is the article) and kemi (name of the ancient land of Egypt). The alchemist conceives the lack of health as a vibrational imbalance between the synapses of the brain and the physical body.
The term “spagiria” would seem to derive from the union of two Greek terms: σπαω-γειρο. The term “spao” means “extract”, “extract”, “pull out”; the term “geros”, which also makes up the word hieroglyphic, we translate it “divine glyph”. Thus the word “spagyria” could thus mean “extracting what is divine”. Spagyria put into practice is nothing but a pure and simple application of the alchemical laws in the iatrochemical or medical domain.
Spagyric remedies: philosophy
In the spagyric preparations it draws on the widely diffused and ancient knowledge of astrology, therefore the knowledge related to the zodiacal and planetary symbols is mixed, concentrating in earth the forces of the cosmic sky. The twenty-four hours of the day, divided into two groups of twelve between day and night, reflect the zodiacal cycle with its twelve constellations. Every hour corresponds to a constellation, and consequently a dominant planet. Collecting or working a certain plant at a given time rather than another implies enhancing, or not, certain characteristics which, in spagyria, are defined as archetypes.
For example, collecting rosemary in an hour governed by the planet Saturn will exalt its properties regarding the effect on concentration and the beneficial effects on the bone structure; collecting rosemary in an hour governed by Jupiter will enhance its liver and bile properties. Even modern science, however, recognizes how much the plants vary their metabolites during the passing of the hours as well as the days, the seasons, and that other factors such as location, sun exposure, proximity of other species or rocks can strongly affect plant metabolites.
Spagyric remedies as they prepare
For their preparation, spagyric remedies require numerous steps and attentions that make them unique and unrepeatable:
- from the collection of the botanical species to the finished product, the operator’s psychophysical condition together with the position of the stars and the zodiacal signs with respect to the hours, days of the week and seasons is an integral part of the Spagyric recipe. Since the astrological sky is never the same, the spagyric remedy will be on earth. The standardization of the products on the market is the result of the needs of the modern market, which could thus flatten their quality rather than enhance it;
- for the spagyric extracts only spontaneous herbs are selected, recognized as powerful because they are grown in the most suitable place for them, without any constraint, where nature has decided to be their place, the most favorable from a geographical, energy and balance point of view with the other surrounding plants. These plants must come from uncontaminated areas and be used when they fully express their power respecting the correlation that each plant has with the cosmos. In this way, the characteristics and energy qualities are enhanced, making the products rich in their virtues;
- in the preparation of spagyric remedies we try to extract not only its chemical constituents from the plant, but also the vital forces that generated the plant itself, the so-called “Archetypes”. After extraction, the various parts are purified and brought together in a harmonious product that preserves and enhances the material and energy forces present in the original plant. On the market there are various products prepared following the methods and principles of spagyria. There is also a reality in our province of Como, in the fascinating Larian Triangle, here you can find some of their spagyric remedies.
Spagyric remedies: Quintessence what it is and how it is produced
The Quintessence represents perhaps the most typical result of this pharmaceutical art, where in a hydro-alcoholic solution we find the mineral elements and the heavy and volatile organic metabolites of the original plant. The Spagyric Quintessence embodies the three philosophical alchemical principles, namely the Mercury (fluid and volatile principle; the spirit), the Sulfur (dense and fragrant principle; soul) and the Salt (consistent principle and soil; matter), philosophical principles and reals of the vegetable kingdom. From this we can deduce that the Quintessence will have a triple action in the organism, since we will have the three principles that will act on different levels. The three principles represent in alchemy, the bases of human existence useful for restoring the state of well-being in the individual. In this post we will try to explain the technique of preparing the spagyric quintessence, for example as regards essential plants. In the standard there are four operations:
1) extraction of essential oil and its purification. The extraction of essential oils can take place in steam current or by cold pressing. The squeezing method is very simple to understand; just squeeze the peel of a citrus fruit to see the aforementioned oil come out. Regarding the steam current method: you need to take a large container in which to put fresh source water up to about a third and with a stainless steel net distances the chosen plant from the water and from the bottom of the container. Proceed by closing at the top with a neck that can connect to a separator. Above the separator the refrigerants must be placed for the fall of the water and above all of the essential oils that will accumulate in the separator. Essential oils represent the “Sulfur” part of the plant. It is the aromatic part of the plant, it contains the perfume and the color as individual qualities. These essential oils however are not “pure” because the soul is governed by the spirit but attracted by the body, of which it still has memory. Thus the essential oil obtained must be repeatedly redistilled with spring water in order to leave the most terrestrial parts in the aforementioned water slowly in the various operations.
2) preparation of the spirit and its rectification: the residue of the plant, left in the container, is put into anaerobic fermentation to obtain the spirit it can produce. Starches gradually transform into sugars of various types and then into alcohol (Mercury). The result is a fermented wine as are wine, beer, etc. From all this the spirit can be obtained by distillation at controlled temperature. Modern chemistry tells us that alcohol, no matter where it comes from, is always the same but, despite the chemical structure confirms this hypothesis, for the attentive spagyrist every soul needs its spirit. The alcohol present in the quintessence is neither a vehicle nor a mere dilution of the essential oil but rather has its own individual effect mediated by the purity of its state.
3) salt extraction: this step involves the recovery of the residues of the plant after fermentation to place them in a cup and proceed with calcination. Thus the plant is reduced to ash which, proceeding with heat, produces a soluble salt and an insoluble residue. After mixing the ash obtained in a lot of distilled water (rain water), filtration and evaporation are carried out until the salts coagulate. Also this operation (calcination and lye) must be repeated several times until a very white salt is obtained.
4) circulation: this last step consists of the spagyric rejoining and dynamization. In general a “circulator” is used: the essential oil (Sulfur), the alcohol (Mercury) and the Salt are placed in the alembic still and, after having placed the capital tightly closed, it heats slightly; the vapors rise slowly from the boiler, expand in the capital to condense when they meet the capital’s walls. The vapor becomes liquid again and goes down along the walls or from a dripper collected from an eaves. This circulation, like others, strongly participates in the exaltation of the biochemical properties of the remedy.
Some scientific analysis
The high dosages present in active principle (verified for example between an essential oil of standard thyme and the spagyric essence of thyme, with NMR technique by a laboratory in Lugano, Switzerland) could be the result of an exaltation coming from the typology of typical treatment of spagyria, which allows the optimization of molecules by increasing the “vibrational” factor that characterizes them, with the result of a good pharmacodynamics.
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