A separatory funnel is an essential piece of laboratory equipment used in liquid-liquid extractions, allowing alchemists to separate...

Decomposing horse manure is essential in the alchemical process of digestion. A flask of substances is buried in dung. As if by magic the...

Digestion is the alchemical process of applying steady heat to a substance in a flask or container. Digestion can last hours or days. The...

Flowers of sulfur, often termed flowers of brimstone, are crumbly pale yellow powders popular with chemists, botanists, and artisans....

Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601) is a Danish Renaissance astronomer and polymath. His observatory Uraniborg is a center of intellect and...

Nitric acid, called the Queen of Acids or aqua fortis (strong water) is a vital chemical compound with significant importance in fields...

Projection, according to experts of the Renaissance, is the final act of alchemical work once the Philosophers' Stone has been made. The...

Niter or saltpeter (KNO3) is the mineral form of potassium nitrate. A soft substance easy to grind, it creates colorless to white...

The kerotakis (Greek: κυροτακίς) is an ancient alchemical apparatus of multiple purposes, primarily heating substances and collecting...

Michael Sendivogius (1566 - 1636) is a Polish savant of alchemy, medicine and chemistry. He designs mines and furnaces, travels widely...

The Magnum Opus or Great Work is the goal of alchemists. From ancient Alexandria and the wisdom of Maria the Prophetess comes a color...

Sophie Brahe (1556 - 1643) is born into a noble Danish family. Sister of astronomer Tycho Brahe, Sophie is destined for greatness. She...

Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is the primary ingredient in alcoholic beverages. A clear, colorless liquid, it has a chemical formula of...

The Book of Comarius is a mysterious tome dedicated to Cleopatra the Divine, or Cleopatra the Alchemist of Alexandria. In it, Comarius, a...

Cleopatra the alchemist is active in Alexandria, Egypt c. 300 AD. She may be contemporary to Zosimos , who mentions her in his writings....

Red and white tartar are ingredients used by ancients and yet today. Alchemists have great interest in salts, waters, spirits and...

Preparation of a Golden Spirit of Wine, a medicinal potion, is a recipe from the writings of Dutch-German alchemist Johann Glauber . He's...

Lixiviation or leaching is an ancient process alchemy still used today in making tea, extracting dyes and ores. Lixivium is a general...

Spirit of wine, or spirits of wine, is a common alchemical ingredient in medical remedies and recipes of chemical transformation. This...

Carbuncle has many meanings. Today it most often describes a deep red almandine garnet gemstone cut with a smooth, convex face or...