Research on Alchemy work Primum Ens Melissa

By Frater MshoAT Revised Edition 1.1

Introduction :
This document has been created to serve as a summary and to share the information with you. This document focuses on the Primum Ens Melissa. This document has been published on www.alchemyprocesses.com

Requirements :
Lemon Balm Fresh Lemon Balm or dried Lemon Balm can be used. Both are tested. There were no differences noticeable in the effects. Lemon Balm is very easy to grow outdoors from spring until the end of the summer. (Consider 2-3 months for the plant to be fully grown) Potassium Carbonate You can get Potassium Carbonate by burning any vegetable material or you can buy it on eBay. Dew You can get dew by exposing your potassium carbonate to the air until it is dissolved. However a dehumidifier will extract the dew from the air at night, and to filter this dew with a water purifier. This proves to be much more efficient. (Depending on the type of dehumidifier it is possible to collect 500ml~2l dew in one night.) Alcohol If you are able to make your own wine, you can distill it to get absolute alcohol (100%). However in some countries it is forbidden to distill alcohol. Therefore it is recommended to buy alcohol from the supermarket. Alcohol with a higher percentage then 95% will work.

Recipe :
The recipe for making the Primum Ens Melissa has been given by Paracelsus. It can be found in the following book : A compendium of Alchemical Processes (page 100). "Take half a pound of pure carbonate of potash, and expose it to the air until it is dissolved (by attracting water from the atmosphere). Filter the fluid, and put as many fresh leaves of the plant Melissa into it as it will hold, so that the fluid will cover the leaves. Let it stand in a wellclosed glass in a moderately warm place for twenty-four hours. The fluid may then be

removed from the leaves, and the latter thrown away. On the top of this fluid absolute alcohol is poured, so that it will cover the former to the height of one or two inches, and it is left to remain for one or two days, or until the alcohol becomes of an intensely green colour. This alcohol is then to be taken away and preserved, and fresh alcohol is put upon the alkaline fluid, and the operation is repeated until all the colouring matter is absorbed by the alcohol. This alcoholic fluid is now to be distilled, and the alcohol evaporated until it becomes of the thickness of a syrup, which is the Primum Ens Melissae; but the alcohol that has been distilled away and the liquid potash may be used again. The liquid potash must be of great concentration and the alcohol of great strength, else they would become mixed, and the experiment would not succeed."

Step By Step :
The following will cover the process step by step with pictures to illustrate the process.

Collect dew
Dew is collected in the early morning. Set out the dehumidifier a few hours before dawn. Remember that a dehumidifier doesnt work when its freezing or when the temperatures are too low (it needs to have a minimum of 5 C). Based on relative humidity some days there will be more dew then others.

Collect Lemon Balm (dried)

The lemon balm needs to be macerated or mixed thoroughly. When the herb is dried in direct sunlight it is easy to macerate it with a mortar and pestle. Mix it together with the potassium carbonate and dew if you are using fresh Lemon Balm.

Prepare the tartar oil

If you have put the potassium carbonate outside during the night to attract the dew, you already have the tartar oil right there. If you used the dehumidifier to collect the dew you need to mix it with potassium carbonate to prepare the tartar oil. (you need 150g of potassium carbonate for every 100ml of dew). The amount of dew depends on the amount of herb. The more herb you have, the more dew youll need.

Mix herb with tartar oil and heat it for 24 hours

Mix the herb with the tartar oil and heat it for 24 hours. Filter out the plant matter with a sieve.

Pour alcohol on top and syphon it off

Carefully pour the alcohol on top of this solution. Be careful not to allow the alcohol to mix with the potassium carbonate. The alcohol will extract the Ens Melissa from the mixture. When the alcohol stops coloring it is time to syphon it off. Pour about 2 fingers of alcohol on it. It will take about 2 days to be saturated and ready to syphon off. Use a syringe to carefully add alcohol on top of it and to syphon it back off. Repeat this process until the alcohol stops coloring.

Distill/Evaporate the alcohol

The last step removes the alcohol from the Ens Melissa. The alcohol can be evaporated or can be distilled at a low temperature (Distill the alcohol if you want to save it and reuse it).