Sylvia Rose
Alchemy: Circulation & the Pelican Phantasy
Circulation is one of many processes of alchemy. The purification of a substance is achieved through circular distillation in a pelican...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 95 min read
Roman Inquisition: Power, Prayer & Politics
The Italian or Roman Inquisition is established 1542 by Pope Paul III, largely as a response to the Protestant Reformation. Reformers...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 96 min read
Catholic Inquisitions: Chronology & Overview
The Catholic Inquisition is an institution in Christianity from the 12th to 19th century. Its purpose is to identify and eliminate heresy...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 54 min read
Michael Sendivogius: Adventures in Alchemy
Michael Sendivogius (1566 - 1636) is a Polish savant of alchemy, medicine and chemistry. He designs mines and furnaces, travels widely...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 305 min read
Carbuncle: Red Stone of Magic & Medicine
Carbuncle has many meanings. Today it most often describes a deep red almandine garnet gemstone cut with a smooth, convex face or...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 264 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 125 min read
Living Metals & Genders in Ancient Alchemy
The Alexandrian alchemists, as philosophers of nature steeped in Greco-Egyptian thinking, define the properties of metals as living...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 54 min read
Baphomet, the Goat of Mendes in History
Baphomet is a unity of opposites. The mysterious figure emerges from the mythology, esotericism, and dramatic history of medieval Europe....
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 293 min read
Aqua Regia: The Green Lyon of Alchemy
Aqua regia, Latin for “royal water,” is a powerful acidic solution known to dissolve noble metals like gold and platinum. It's used in...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 235 min read
Medieval Alchemy: Jean de Roquetaillade
Jean de Roquetaillade (1310 - 1370 AD) or John of Rupescissa is a prominent figure in medieval France. A fiery Franciscan friar,...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 214 min read
Tellurium: Bright Gold & Dark Matter
Tellurium is the Latin word for earth. A brittle, non-malleable silvery white metalloid, tellurium (Te) is a rare element having both...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 205 min read
Alchemy: Metallurgy, Myths & Magic
Alchemy has a lifelong relationship with the magic of metals and their multiple manifestations. Metal workers and later blacksmiths...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 156 min read
Birds and Bird Symbolism in Alchemy
The Raven, Swan, Dove, Pelican, Peacock and Phoenix are among the symbolic birds of alchemy . Raven may be interchangeable with Crow,...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 154 min read
Gnosticism: Five Essential Gnostic Principles
Gnosticism and Gnostic principles emerge in the first century AD, though they're believed to have deeper roots. Many different shades of...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 17 min read
Edward Kelley: Alchemy & the Angels
Edward Kelley (1555 - 1597) often wears a cap, because he has no ears. Cropping of the ears is a common punishment in Tudor England when...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 305 min read
John Dee - Talking to Angels
John Dee (1527 - 1609), an influential figure in Elizabethan England, is a scholar in the cryptic and occult lore of his time. Recognized...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 293 min read
Alchemy, Demons & the Roman Inquisition
During the late sixteenth century, the Roman Inquisition is influential in shaping perspectives on different forms of divination and...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 204 min read
Sublime Vision of Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus is in deep contemplation, wandering over rugged and lonely terrain. By the secret guidelines of the Temple, he...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 166 min read
Anima Mundi: Soul of the World
The anima mundi, world soul or soul of the world is an analogy used to explain the interconnectedness of all things. This idea suggests a...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 164 min read
Alchemy: Mercurius & the Dragon
The Dragon is a powerful symbol in alchemy. Dragon is one of many names for the prima materia or Philosopher's Stone in the West. In...
21 views
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