Sylvia Rose
Hematite: Iron Oxide Red Earth Pigment
"Hematite" comes from the ancient Greek for blood. The stone creates red dust when cut and polished. The red color isn't always visible...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 173 min read
Ge Hong: Teachings Alchemy Medicine
Ge Hong (葛洪; Gě Hóng , 283 - 364 AD), or Zhichuan (稚川) is a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, alchemist and writer during the...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 154 min read
Gnosticism: Gnostic Ways of Thought
Gnosticism emerges in the 1st century AD as a philosophical and religious movement seeking a unique perspective on spiritual...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 106 min read
Argyropoeia: Silver Making of Ancients
Argyropoeia is the process of making silver from another metal, such as copper. Although gold-making or chrysopoeia is better known,...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 243 min read
Alchemy & Astrology: Cosmic Connections
Alchemy and astrology have a long history as related spiritual disciplines. Alchemy, arising from metallurgy and ancient medicine, is the...
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Sylvia Rose
Jul 213 min read
Stephanus of Alexandria: the Last Intellectual
Stephanus of Alexandria (c. 580 - 640 AD) is a Christian philosopher bringing Alexandrian thought to Byzantine society. Despite moving to...
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Sylvia Rose
Jun 215 min read
Colors of Alchemy: Rubedo Magnum Opus
Four color stages are required to reach the Magnum Opus, the Great Work or the Philosopher's Stone of the alchemist. These are nigredo...
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Sylvia Rose
Jun 215 min read
Chrysopoeia - Turning Lead into Gold
Chrysopoeia is Greek for "goldsmithing." It's the alchemical process or action of turning a base metal such as lead into the noble metal...
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Sylvia Rose
Jun 35 min read
Wolfsbane (Aconitum) Ancient Poisons
Wolfsbane, monk's hood (Aconitum) delivers a lethal dose of poison. In the ancient world, poison plays a vital part, from death by elixir...
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Sylvia Rose
May 316 min read
Vermilion - Scarlet Pigment of Death
Vermilion (vermillion) is a brilliant red, orange-red or scarlet pigment obtained by grinding cinnabar (HgS), a sulfur and mercury ore. A...
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Sylvia Rose
May 286 min read
Quest for Immortality - Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shihuang (Qin Shi Huang) is China's first Emperor. He ascends to the throne as King at age 13 in 246 BCE. Twenty five years later he...
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Sylvia Rose
May 257 min read
Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus
The mining industry of Cyprus dates back to c. 4000 BCE, primarily focused on copper extraction. Cyprus derives its name from Kúpros, the...
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Sylvia Rose
May 237 min read
Dniester River Neolithic Civilization
The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture is a Neolithic and Copper Age archaeological group (c. 5500 - 2750 BCE) of SE Europe. From the Carpathians...
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Sylvia Rose
May 208 min read
Thrace - Warfare, Slavery & Music
Thrace is an ancient region of Bulgaria bordering the Black Sea. In Neolithic and Chalcolithic times the seaport Varna and salt center...
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Sylvia Rose
May 196 min read
Vistula River: Early Tribes & Trade
The Vistula River is among the most important rivers of Europe. From its source in the Carpathian Mountains, the river travels north to...
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Sylvia Rose
May 185 min read
Solnitsata - Neolithic Salt Trade Town
Solnitsata is the oldest known town in Europe, dating to the Chalcolithic Age in the 5th millennium BCE. A major center of the Neolithic...
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Sylvia Rose
May 174 min read
Baltic Aetsi & the Roman Amber Texts
The Aetsi are a north Germanic-Baltic group described by Roman Tacitus in 98 CE. With strong connections to the trade of coveted amber,...
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Sylvia Rose
May 123 min read
Ugarit Royal Palace: Romancing the Ruins
Ugarit is an ancient coastal city-state of northern Syria. In the amiable climate of the East Mediterranean, Bronze Age Ugarit grows a...
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Sylvia Rose
May 64 min read
Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods
Viadrus is the name of the Roman god of the Oder (Odra) River, and of the river itself. The god gazes north toward the Baltic Sea,...
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Sylvia Rose
May 55 min read
Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy
Astragalomancy is divination using astragali or ankle bones (talus) of animals as dice. Bones of sheep and goats are popular in the near...
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