Sylvia Rose
Alchemy of Mystical Herbal Elixirs & Cures
The alchemy of elixirs goes back to early mankind, when plants with known healing properties are combined, boiled or mashed. The mortar...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 96 min read
Isabella Cortese: Renaissance Writer, Alchemist, Entrepreneur
Lady Isabella Cortese is born in the 16th century into a wealthy family in Italy. In Venice, she transcends conventional norms to shine...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 95 min read
Secrets of Renaissance Herbal Recipes
Renaissance herbal recipes focus on health and medicine, but can also include dyeing, coloring and pigment making. Botanical knowledge...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 63 min read
Turmeric (Curcuma longa): Ancient Uses & Medicine
A vibrant golden spice, turmeric captivates kingdoms, heals the sick and rules the routes of the spice trade. The humble root has a long...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 33 min read
Science of Onion Tears: Demystifying Acids
What exactly causes onions to make a person cry? The answer involves a combination of chemistry and enzymes. The trigger behind the tears...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 25 min read
Salt in Alchemy: Alchemical Uses & Lore
Salt is important from ancient to Renaissance alchemy, and still used today in alchemical projects, dyeing, cuisine and medicine. In...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 285 min read
Asphodel: Ancient Dye & Medicine Plants
Among the showy flowering plants, perennial Asphodelus is an elegant and adaptable beauty. A genus of the Asphodelaceae or aloe family,...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 246 min read
Herbal Remedies in Medieval Alchemy
Herbal remedies are ubiquitous in medieval alchemy, a practice combining elements of science, spirituality, and mysticism. Recipes are...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 245 min read
4 Infused Wines of Ancient Medicine
Myrtle, Rose, Scammory and Flowers of Brass are four infused wines used medicinally in the ancient world. Infused wine in medicine often...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 135 min read
Vinegar Cures of Physician Dioscorides
Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40 - 90 AD), a Greek physician. is known as the father of pharmacognosy. Pharmacologist, botanist and prolific...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 293 min read
Writing Inside Eggs Italian Renaissance
Writing inside eggs is invented by Naples polymath Giambattista della Porta. In the 16th century he uses this method to smuggle messages...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 294 min read
Theriac: Miracle Snake Venom Potion
Making a proper theriac takes months. The recipe calls for plants collected in season, and the distillation or fermentation of herbs,...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 205 min read
Natural Health: Paracelsus & Hermetic Principles
Innovative Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus is strongly influenced by the 7 principles of Hermeticism and a holistic approach to...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 203 min read
Alkahest: Alchemy Panacea & Solvent
Alkahest is a divine panacea or healing substance and solvent. During the Renaissance, alchemists are intrigued by the healing concepts...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 145 min read
Salt: Exalted Mineral of Alchemy
Salt in alchemy is an independent mineral as well as one of the tria prima , or Three Primes, a medieval concept dominating Renaissance...
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Sylvia Rose
Jun 293 min read
Spagyria: Botanical Science of Alchemy
Spagyria is the alchemy of plants. In the quest for the Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life, alchemists work with the nature of...
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Sylvia Rose
May 244 min read
Neolithic Salt & Brine Works Europe
Neolithic salt production in Europe centers around sites such as Solnitsata in today's Bulgaria, and Lunca (Poiana Slatinei), Romania....
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Sylvia Rose
May 185 min read
Solnitsata - Neolithic Salt Trade Town
Solnitsata is the oldest known town in Europe, dating to the Chalcolithic Age in the 5th millennium BCE. A major center of the Neolithic...
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Sylvia Rose
May 42 min read
Christmas Oranges & Yule Fruits
Sweet oranges in Europe and northern regions are a special treat at Christmas, going back to St Nicolas of Myra (270 - 343) in today's...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 298 min read
Honey Bees (Apidae): Nature & Myth
Honey bees create honey, beeswax and folklore. First domestication of the honeybee is c. 7800 BCE, in the Neolithic Age. At this time the...
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