Tellurium is the Latin word for earth. A brittle, non-malleable silvery white metalloid, tellurium (Te) is a rare element having both...

During the Western Renaissance, new exciting artists' pigments appear in brilliant colors, vibrant scarlet red, deep rich blue,...

Pedanius Dioscorides is a surgeon in the army of Emperor Nero . His knowledge of surgery and other medical skills suggests study in...

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

Argyropoeia is the process of making silver from another metal, such as copper. Although gold-making or chrysopoeia is better known,...

Albertus Magnus ( c.  1200 - 1280) is a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop, considered one of the greatest...

Celandine (Chelidonium majus) is a popular medicinal plant in the ancient world, also appearing in gold-making recipes of alchemists. Use...

Want to write in letters of gold? These ten alchemy recipes are from the Leyden Papyrus c. 250 AD. None are recommended unless there's a...

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

Agathodaemon (Agathodiamon) is an alchemist of ancient Alexandria. A snake god protector of the sparkling port city bears the same name....

Xanthosis means "yellowness" . In alchemy and Jungian psychology, citrinitas is the solar day, the brightening and joyful spirit. ...

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...

Chinese alchemy is already in practice in the early centuries BCE. Ancient texts like the Cantong qi explain the body is central to...

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

Mad Hatter Disease is also called erethism, erethismus mercurialis or mad hatter syndrome. Caused by progressive mercury poisoning it's a...

The Three Primes or tria prima of alchemy come from renegade Renaissance physician Paracelsus. The tria prima are salt , sulfur and...

Shennong is one of the Three Sovereigns of ancient Chinese lore. Also called the Divine Farmer, he's strongly associated with...

Serket is the ancient Egyptian goddess of healing relating to venomous stings of scorpions and bites of snakes. She often wears a...

Tiberius Claudius Narcissus plays a major role in the court of Roman Emperor Claudius (r. 41 - 54 AD). A former slave, he gains great...

Poppaea Sabina is a beautiful, ambitious woman embroiled in the plots and schemes of Imperial Rome. She manipulates her way to the bed of...