Distillation transforms substances through heating, cooling, and separating liquids from solids. It's for brewing spirits, and is an...

Aqua Vitae literally means Water of Life in Latin. It's also called Elixir Vitae or Elixir of Life. Alchemists from ancient Alexandria...

Salts are ubiquitous in nature and play critical roles in sciences from biology to medicine. In alchemy, salts are standard ingredients....

The alchemy of elixirs goes back to early mankind, when plants with known healing properties are combined, boiled or mashed. The mortar...

Lady Isabella Cortese is born in the 16th century into a wealthy family in Italy. In Venice, she transcends conventional norms to shine...

Renaissance herbal recipes focus on health and medicine, but can also include dyeing, coloring and pigment making. Botanical knowledge...

A vibrant golden spice, turmeric captivates kingdoms, heals the sick and rules the routes of the spice trade. The humble root has a long...

What exactly causes onions to make a person cry? The answer involves a combination of chemistry and enzymes. The trigger behind the tears...

Salt is important from ancient to Renaissance alchemy, and still used today in alchemical projects, dyeing, cuisine and medicine. In...

Among the showy flowering plants, perennial Asphodelus is an elegant and adaptable beauty. A genus of the Asphodelaceae or aloe family,...

Herbal remedies are ubiquitous in medieval alchemy, a practice combining elements of science, spirituality, and mysticism. Recipes are...

Myrtle, Rose, Scammory and Flowers of Brass are four infused wines used medicinally in the ancient world. Infused wine in medicine often...

Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40 - 90 AD) is a Greek physician known as the father of pharmacognosy. Pharmacologist, botanist and prolific...

Writing inside eggs is invented by Naples polymath Giambattista della Porta. In the 16th century he uses this method to smuggle messages...

Making a proper theriac takes months. The recipe calls for plants collected in season, and the distillation or fermentation of herbs,...

Innovative Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus is strongly influenced by the 7 principles of Hermeticism and a holistic approach to...

Alkahest is a divine panacea or healing substance and solvent. During the Renaissance, alchemists are intrigued by the healing concepts...

Salt in alchemy is an independent mineral as well as one of the tria prima , or Three Primes, a medieval concept dominating Renaissance...

Spagyria is the alchemy of plants. In the quest for the Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life, alchemists work with the nature of...

Neolithic salt production in Europe centers around sites such as Solnitsata in today's Bulgaria, and Lunca (Poiana Slatinei), Romania....