Colors, Pigments, Dyes 4/8

Natural Iron Oxide Pigments: Extraction, Types & Colors

Sylvia Rose

Sep 29, 20243 min read

Natural Iron Oxide Pigments: Extraction, Types & Colors

Iron oxides create beautiful pigments in colors from warm yellow and orange to deep reds, brown, black and even green. Besides industry...

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Seven Precious Stones of the Ancient World

Sylvia Rose

Sep 29, 20249 min read

Seven Precious Stones of the Ancient World

Precious stones are made by economic supply and demand. First, however, they're formed by fire and pressure for millions of years. Prized...

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Litharge: Toxic Lead Mineral of Science & Art

Sylvia Rose

Sep 28, 20243 min read

Litharge: Toxic Lead Mineral of Science & Art

Litharge (PbO) is a lead oxide mineral with an alpha and beta structure. It's among the most prominent of the lead oxides known due to...

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Sylvia Rose

Sep 28, 20245 min read

12 Renaissance Medicines & Treatments

In the Renaissance new healing treatments come to light, many based on ancient medicine. In the 17th and 18th century these include...

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Angel of Violet Light: Magnum Opus Alchemy

Sylvia Rose

Sep 26, 20244 min read

Angel of Violet Light: Magnum Opus Alchemy

The Angel of Violet Light appears in the tomes of alchemy from the European medieval period onward. For many centuries the Angel drifts...

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Sylvia Rose

Sep 23, 20244 min read

Corundum: Secrets of Valuable Gemstones

Corundum is a mineral composed of aluminum oxide. Living deep within the Earth in an environment of intense heat and pressure, the...

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Making Sapphire & other Precious Gemstones

Sylvia Rose

Sep 23, 20244 min read

Making Sapphire & other Precious Gemstones

Synthetic sapphires and lab-grown gemstones mimic the brilliance and allure of natural gems while often surpassing them in quality and...

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Sapphire Gemstones: Colors, Myths, Origins & Gemology

Sylvia Rose

Sep 23, 20246 min read

Sapphire Gemstones: Colors, Myths, Origins & Gemology

Exquisite gems, sapphires are beautiful stones known for stunning colors and unique properties. Greeks wear sapphire for guidance when...

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Indigo: Extract Dye from Indigofera Tinctoria

Sylvia Rose

Sep 22, 20244 min read

Indigo: Extract Dye from Indigofera Tinctoria

Indigo, deep blue dye from the Indigofera tinctoria plant, often associated with blue denim, is one of humanity's oldest dyes. The...

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Alchemy: Ancient Mordant Recipes for Fabric & Stones

Sylvia Rose

Sep 22, 20243 min read

Alchemy: Ancient Mordant Recipes for Fabric & Stones

Alchemy of the ancients includes skills such as preparation of dyes, pigments and mordants for fabric and stone. Purple dyes are...

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Antimony (Stibnite, Kohl) Ancient Metal of Science & Beauty

Sylvia Rose

Sep 22, 20245 min read

Antimony (Stibnite, Kohl) Ancient Metal of Science & Beauty

Antimony (Sb) from the ore stibnite, is one of the elements known by the ancients, a primary source of black powder kajal or kohl. With...

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Mordants - Essential Ancient Dye Techniques

Sylvia Rose

Sep 21, 20243 min read

Mordants - Essential Ancient Dye Techniques

Mordants are part of the dyeing process and help achieve vibrant colors. Dyeing fabrics goes back to the Stone Age. Mordants are also...

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Natural Colors: How to Extract Plant Pigments

Sylvia Rose

Sep 20, 20244 min read

Natural Colors: How to Extract Plant Pigments

Artists and craftspeople have used plant pigments as a source of color for millennia. Works of art and textile dyes using vegetable...

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Earth of Chios: Ancient Alchemy, Cosmetics, & Medicine

Sylvia Rose

Sep 20, 20244 min read

Earth of Chios: Ancient Alchemy, Cosmetics, & Medicine

Earth of Chios is a white to gray powdery mineral soil or fine grained clay found on the Greek island of Chios. Earth of Chios or Chian...

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Diplosis: Gold Doubling & Multiplication in Alchemy

Sylvia Rose

Sep 14, 20244 min read

Diplosis: Gold Doubling & Multiplication in Alchemy

Displosis is the ancient practice of doubling gold. It's considered to be a skill of alchemists and early metal workers as well. If done...

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Sylvia Rose

Sep 14, 20243 min read

Ancient Greek Alchemy: ios and iosis

Iosis and ios relate to the final stage of the the alchemical process, or rubedo in Latin. It can be called the reddening or purpling....

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Zinc (Zn): Essential Metal in Alchemy & Medicine

Sylvia Rose

Sep 13, 20244 min read

Zinc (Zn): Essential Metal in Alchemy & Medicine

Zinc (Zn) is an essential metal of life and one of the four components in the Tetrasomia of Maria in alchemy. The 30th element on the...

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Galls & Gall Nuts: Black Ink, Dye, Medicine

Sylvia Rose

Sep 12, 20243 min read

Galls & Gall Nuts: Black Ink, Dye, Medicine

Galls and gall nuts are growths on plants, particularly oak trees, used for a number of purposes throughout history. They form due to...

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Gold-Making of Maria: Tetrasomia Four Metals

Sylvia Rose

Sep 12, 20244 min read

Gold-Making of Maria: Tetrasomia Four Metals

Known as the first true alchemist, Mary or Maria the Jewess is active in Alexandria c. 100 AD. Her work survives through commentaries...

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Alchemical Scientists: Secret Science of Alchemy

Sylvia Rose

Sep 10, 20248 min read

Alchemical Scientists: Secret Science of Alchemy

Alchemy reveals a world of penniless mystics, befuddled interpretation, arts of coloring metals and the quest for healing. Making gold...

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