top of page
Sylvia Rose
Aug 29, 20243 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...
32 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 29, 20243 min read
How to Make Copperas Ferrous Sulfate: Process
Copperas, known chemically as ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄), has been a vital compound across various industries for centuries. Although...
33 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 27, 20247 min read
Renaissance Wars: Venice vs. Ottoman
The Ottoman-Venetian Wars are seven major conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice from the late 14th to the 18th...
14 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 27, 20244 min read
Venice Italy: Jewel of the Renaissance
Venice during the Renaissance emerges as a vibrant center of art, culture and commerce, influencing the broader European scope. The...
16 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 27, 20243 min read
Alchemy & Renaissance Glass: Antonio Neri
Antonio Neri is a Renaissance Florentine priest, well known for contributions to alchemy and glassmaking. As a youth Neri is drawn to the...
16 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 23, 20244 min read
Religious Wars Catholics & Protestants France
The 16th and 17th centuries mark a tumultuous period in European history, defined by a series of religious wars with cataclysmic effects...
23 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 21, 20244 min read
Urine in Medieval Alchemy & Medicine
In the medieval world, urine is a surprisingly versatile body fluid with a wide range of applications beyond the obvious disposal...
16 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 21, 20246 min read
Phosphorus, Uroscopy & Power of Pee
Urine has medical and practical applications though history. Renaissance alchemist Hennig Brand discovers phosphorus by boiling his...
26 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 21, 20244 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...
6 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 20, 20244 min read
Magic Metals, Gold, Smiths & Alchemists
In Eastern and Western alchemy, the transformation of metals into gold (Au) symbolizes a process of maturation for metal and alchemist....
23 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 20, 20244 min read
Smelting Metals: Metalwork & Alchemy
In alchemy an essential piece of equipment is the hearth or forge. Smelting metal applies heat and a reducing agent to separate one or...
15 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 19, 20246 min read
Elixir Vitae: Giambattista della Porta
In the European alchemical tradition, the elixir vitae or elixir of life is associated with the philosopher's stone. Legend has it...
32 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 19, 20245 min read
Guelphs & Ghibellines: Blood of the Renaissance
The Guelphs and Ghibellines are feuding factions during the Italian Renaissance. Warfare and bloodshed between the two throw regions of...
11 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 18, 20246 min read
Renaissance Astrology: Power of Stars & Planets
Astrology prospers in the East after the 476 AD fall of the Roman Empire. Indian, Persian, and Islamic writers prolifically translate...
10 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 17, 20243 min read
Sweet Wormwood: Malaria Miracle Cure
Artemisia annua or sweet wormwood appears in traditional Chinese medicine texts of Ge Hong ( 283 - 364 AD) as an early remedy to treat...
12 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 17, 20245 min read
Malaria: Roman Fever & Renaissance Plague
The malaria parasite P. falciparum has existed for up to100,000 years. Its numbers rise c. 8000 BCE with the Neolithic Revolution....
30 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 16, 20245 min read
Lapis Lazuli: Creating Ultramarine
Lapis lazuli or "blue stone" is prized for its depth and brilliance in paint as the color ultramarine. Before the 1800s, ultramarine...
20 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 16, 20244 min read
Cosimo de' Medici & the Italian Renaissance
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, also known as Cosimo the Elder, is a leading figure in the rise of Florence as the Italian Renaissance...
16 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 15, 20246 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,...
27 views
Sylvia Rose
Aug 15, 20246 min read
Poison Pigments of Painters: Renaissance
During the Western Renaissance, new exciting artists' pigments appear in brilliant colors, vibrant scarlet red, deep rich blue,...
43 views
bottom of page