Sylvia Rose
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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 283 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 285 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 273 min read
Steam Distilling Floral & Herbal Essential Oils
Distilling essential oil can be used for aromatherapy, in cuisine, beauty, healing or to set a mood. Here's the methodology to capture...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 254 min read
Arcanum Joviale: Alchemy of Sudorific Sweat
Arcanum Joviale is an alchemy medicine made of metal salts, taken to induce sweating. While the term sudorific is introduced in 1626,...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 246 min read
Platinum (Pt): Junk Metal to Pure Treasure
Platinum (Pt) is one of the most treasured metals in the world. Known for its durability, rarity and luster, platinum is a symbol of...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 233 min read
What is Alum? Origins, Production & Use
Alum has a multi-toned nature. Alum denotes a group of chemical compounds characterized by double sulfate salts. Alums are used across...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 234 min read
Aluminum(III) Oxide: Secrets of Precious Gemstones
Aluminum oxide or alumina (Al2O3) is the secret to the composition and allure of precious gems such as sapphire and ruby. This white,...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 234 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 234 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 236 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 224 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 223 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 213 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 215 min read
10 Wise Plants & Herbs for the Elixir of Life
The Elixir of Life manifests as potion, tea, powder, water, oil or soluble salts. This mystical creation is said to bestow immortality or...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 204 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 204 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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Sylvia Rose
Sep 194 min read
Steam Distillation in Ancient & Medieval Alchemy
Steam distillation develops from simple and fractional distillation techniques, and is first known to be documented among the Islamic...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 192 min read
Fractional Distillation: Ancient & Medieval Alchemy Processes
Fractional distillation is a technique to separate components of a mixture based on their various boiling points. In this process, a...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 195 min read
Science of Alchemy: Simple Distillation Process
Simple distillation is a technique of ancient and medieval alchemists. It can be a process on its own or part of a larger work, involving...
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