Solution and Separation

October 4, 2008
Say good bye to Corpus Mortuum - the dead remnants that get thrown away.

Calcination left me with black cinders that I ground into powder and burnt further until one would think that there was nothing left to burn. Alchemists see differently. In ashes lies the body of the plant (which alchemists refer to as salt).
To "separate the Earth from Fire, the subtle from the gross, gently and with great ingenuity," as the writing from the emerald tablet advises I pour 300ml of distilled water over the cool ashes and place it over the fire. Soon the mixture of ashes and water starts to boil. I am working outside again although there are no fumes and it would probably be safe to work inside as well. After 20 minutes I take the pot from the fire and let it cool. Once cold, I filter the mixture into a glass jar. What's left are the solution of salts desolved in the water and the insoluble ashes aka corpus mortuum which gets discarded into my compost pile.

The second Saturday of the Waxing Moon

September 9, 2008 5.30 a.m., the first Saturday of Waxing Moon. I am quite awake waiting for the sunrise, to begin maceration. (I missed the first Saturday of Waxing moon that glided over August 2nd, hence "the second" in the title; I felt unprepared and tired and decided to wait for another Saturday). Now I feel awake though slightly anxious as I rest my eyes on the soft contours of pulverized horsetail one more time. Once the top of my jar is removed my senses are immersed in the green landscape of smells. I inhale with gratitude for the last time before drowning the gentle valleys and hills in about 400 ml of brandy. (A lot more than was needed because I didn't pause often enough to allow the powder to absorb the alcohol. Naturally it was a little hard to tell when the brandy covered all powder by about 6mm (1/4 inch) - 70ml would be probably sufficient for my 61g of powdered horsetail. I make yet another mental note to myself: Don't be hasty)
I seal the jar again, making it air tight and let it macerate for 2 weeks wrapped in the black towel, hidden from the eyes of the sun in the warm corner of the dark closet. Alchemically, the spirit of wine (brandy) will separate the sulfur (soul) and mercury (spirit) of horsetail from it's body (salt).