Essential Oil Distillation

First forays into plant alchemy.

Distillation is a very important procedure, used in this case to extract the “philosophical sulphur,” or essential oil, out of a plant. In the western alchemical tradition, this is viewed as the “soul” of a plant - a unique volatile compound that’s unique to each species. The “spirit” or “philosophical mercury” of the plant is that which is carried with its alcohol, a compound that can be mutually produced from all life through fermentation.

The “body” of the plant, or “philosophical salt,” is the mineral compound extracted through calcination and trituration. In plant alchemy, each aspect of a plant is extracted, purified, and recombined to form a spagyric tincture.

I’m still working my way through basic procedures, but looking forward to playing alchemist while experimenting with different operations.