The malaria parasite P. falciparum has existed for up to100,000 years. Its numbers rise c. 8000 BCE with the Neolithic Revolution....

Lapis lazuli or "blue stone" is prized for its depth and brilliance in paint as the color ultramarine. Before the 1800s, ultramarine...

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

Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician, has a deep interest in the occult. He writes of chronology, biblical interpretation...

Alchemy has origins in ancient medicine, metallurgy and gemology. As metallurgy evolves to coloring metals the goal is to make base...

Rosaceum or rosaceum oil is used in alchemical recipes for coloring gold or gems, and also has medicinal properties found in texts such...

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...

Vitriols are among the most important alchemical ingredients. Green vitriol is the archaic term for all vitriols and now means ferrous...

Tin purification is important to various alchemical practices, and a fundamental step in many recipes and formulas. In alchemy purified...

Asem is a stock metal mix in alchemy , usually prepared in quantity ahead of time and added to alchemical recipes as needed. Asem is...

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

Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, is a symbol of heat, fire, and fever. The appearance of Sirius heralds the hottest days of the...

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

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...

Glass production is known before the Bronze Age. Early glassmakers in Egypt and the ancient Near East produce colored beads and later...

Alchemy is a popular pursuit in the vibrant atmosphere of ancient Alexandria , Egypt. Early alchemists are natural philosophers working...

Alexandria is on the Mediterranean coast at the Egyptian settlement Rhacotis, later the Egyptian quarter of the city. Due to its vast...

Plague, war, famine and pervading doom lurk beneath the genius and enlightenment of the western Renaissance. The Rosicrucian movement...

Writing inside eggs is invented by Naples polymath Giambattista della Porta. In the 16th century he uses this method to smuggle messages...