M. M. Junius-Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy.

Practical Handbook of

Plant

Alchemy

Manfred M

. Junius

Translated by Leone Muller

Contents

Preface

V11

1

Spagyria and Spagyrics2 Advice of Basilius Valentinus3 The Three Philosophical Principles and the Elements4 Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt in the Plant World5 The Extraction of the Three Philosophi al Principlesfrom Plants

1

2330

54

60

1

.

The Extraction

of

the Essential Oils, That Is, of theVolatile Sulfur61

A

. Distillation

by

Boiling

in

Water

62

B

. Distillation

by

Means

of

Steam

65

C

.

Distillation with an Oil Separator

66

2

.

Mercury

69

A

. Separation

70

B

. Purification

723

.

Fixed Sulfur and Its Salt86

4

.

Salt93

6 The Stars96

1

.

The Foundations

96

2

.

Stars and Medicinal Plants101

The

Sun

101

The Moon104

106109112

115119

Days, Hours, and Rhythms of the Planets

122

-

4

.

The Exact Horoscope as the Basis for the Works132

CONTENTS

vi

Pre ace

The renewed valuation of natural healing methods in our timehas led to a steadily growing interest in medicinal plants and theirclassical-and thus also the spagyric--methods of preparation. Thepractice of spagyrics consists in the application of alchemical, orparachemical, findings and methods to the preparation of tinctures,essences, and other products from the medicinal plants at ourdisposal. This book aims to give the reader an understanding ofthese methods

.

I have tried to present spagyrics holistically

. Without knowl-

edge of the conceptual world and background of spagyric thought,

a mere practical methodology would be incomplete

. The most

important methods of preparation are discussed separately, whilecorresponding important textual passages are quoted

in

the origi-nal

.

At the same time, as an experimental manual, this work will, itis hoped, stimulate the practice of spagyrics. By the very nature ofour field, such a book can never be complete. Moreover, a certaininconsistency is hard to avoid. The vast field of spagyrics presentsitself rather like a mosaic that is only slowly completed by thecollaboration of the reader

.

The lively response to the original Italian version induced meto enlarge this work in the German language, on which the presentEnglish translation is based. The bibliography contains the titles offurther works that may later be consulted for advanced studies

.

It is assumed that the reader has a fundamental knowledge ofbotanic medicine, or that he or she is willing to acquire it. For that7 Preparation of Spagyric Tinctures and Essences138

1

Tinctures

138

A

.

Spagyric Tinctures through Cold-Maceration

140

B

. Spagyric Tinctures by Soxhlet Extraction

1432

.

Essences146