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Sylvia Rose
Jun 19, 20245 min read
Golden Ages of Alchemy: Renaissance
Alchemy goes through cycles of prevalence for hundreds of years. In the Renaissance, a time of exploration and discovery, alchemy enjoys...
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Sylvia Rose
Jun 17, 20245 min read
Prima Materia: Elements of Alchemy
The prima materia, materia prima or first matter of alchemy and philosophy is the omnipresent substance needed to create the...
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Sylvia Rose
May 30, 20246 min read
Cinnabar (Mercury Sulfide) Red Death
Cinnabar or mercury sulfide (HgS) is a rock composed of mercury (Hg) and sulfur (S). Historically it's used to make vermillion or scarlet...
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Sylvia Rose
May 29, 20244 min read
Emerald Tablet - Sacred Alchemy Text
The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Table or the Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. The Tablet is of...
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Sylvia Rose
May 17, 20244 min read
Baltic Aetsi & the Roman Amber Texts
The Aetsi are a north Germanic-Baltic group described by Roman Tacitus in 98 CE. With strong connections to the trade of coveted amber,...
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Sylvia Rose
May 16, 20247 min read
Aetsi: Boars, Snakes & Baltic Amber
The Aesti (Aestii, Astui, Aests) appear at a time when European cultures mingle, and trade routes connect north to south. Neither Germans...
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Sylvia Rose
May 16, 20246 min read
Vistula Lagoon Baltic Nature & History
The Vistula Lagoon (Zalew Wiślany) is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea 90 km (56 mi) long, 10 to 19 km (6 to 15 mi) wide, and up...
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Sylvia Rose
May 15, 202411 min read
Old Prussians of the Baltic Coast
The Old Prussians are hardy fishers, hunters, farmers, and cattle breeders. They occupy the Baltic coast between the lower Vistula and...
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Sylvia Rose
May 10, 20247 min read
Baltic Ancient Mythology & Folklore
Baltic mythology has a faraway ancestor in Proto-Indo-European mythology. Lore of the Baltic region has deep roots, reflecting the fierce...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 29, 20244 min read
Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia
Honey mead is likened to ambrosia , nectar of the Greek Gods, with qualities of immortality and divine transcendence, beloved by bears...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 25, 20243 min read
Noisy Spirits of German Mythology
Noisy spirits of Germanic mythology are any who scream, moan, wail, knock or rumble. They include Klagefrau the wailing woman;...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 15, 20244 min read
Alum: Tanning, Dye & Beauty Salts
Alum is an ingredient in processes such as dyeing fabric, tanning hides and water purification. Alum is ubiquitous in ancient and...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 14, 20244 min read
Tanning Hides - Ancient Techniques
Tanning hides is practiced in the ancient world since c. 7000 BCE, in the Indus Valley site of Mehgarh. By 2500 BCE, Sumerians of...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 8, 20246 min read
Sträggele: Witch Hag of the Wild Hunt
Sträggele is the wife of the Dread Huntsman, der Türst of Lucerne canton in Switzerland. In Lucerne the huntsman, Sträggele and their...
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Sylvia Rose
Mar 23, 20246 min read
Yarrow (Achillea) Magic & Medicine
Yarrow is an herb of magic and medicine. A flowering plant native to the northern hemisphere yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is commonly...
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Sylvia Rose
Mar 1, 20244 min read
Woad, the People's Blue: Ancient Pigments
Woad ( Isatis tinctoria ) is a plant yielding a blue pigment used in dyes, paint and medicine. A member of the mustard family, it's also...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 20, 20234 min read
Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia
Cinnamon birds appear in folklore of Eurasia shortly after Arab merchants begin trading with ancient lands to the north. Cinnamon enjoys...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 19, 20235 min read
Cinnamon - Spice Trade of Ancients
Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum ) is the oldest known spice in the world. The fragrant bark comes into popular use by c. 2000 BCE, when Egyptians...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 17, 20235 min read
Lucifer, Venus & Anti-Gods of Mythology
Lucifer is Latin for bringer of light, or the morning star, symbolic of the return of light each day. In Greco-Roman myth Aurora, Goddess...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 27, 20234 min read
Spiritual Alchemy: Touching the Divine
Spiritual alchemy uses the power of nature, psychology and metaphysical processes of alchemy to transcend the limitations of the mortal...
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