One question we get all the time is what the difference is between our Spagyric Tinctures and Spagyric Essences. There’s a few different ways of looking at these differences, one is the way in which they are prepared and the other is the result of that preparation in terms of how it functions when you ingest it. Let’s take a look at both.
Preparation Differences
As mentioned in other articles, the core of alchemical philosophy and practical spagyrics is the concept of the Three Philosophical Principles: Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt, which are represented in plants by the essential oil, alcohol/water soluble constituents, and alkali minerals, respectively. The whole work of spagyrics is to separate, purify, and recombine these three principles in various ways to make different preparations.
Spagyric Tinctures are the most simple of these. They are started by digesting the plants in an adequate mixture of alcohol and water that suits its biochemical profile for approximately 40 days and nights. This digestion process effectively extracts the Sulfur and Mercury principles. The marc is then pressed from the menstruum, dried, and incinerated into ash. From here the alkali minerals are extracted and purified, preserving the Salt principle, which is then recombined with the tincture.
Spagyric Essences are much more involved in their preparation, and some practitioners consider them to more of a “true” spagyric, because they involve a full separation of the three principles in the plant. This begins with distillation of the essential oils, which separates the Sulfur. The plant is then fermented to separate the Mercury, which is then further purified. From there, two different salts are extracted, the “Salt of Sulfur” which comes from the fermentation residue, and the “Salt of Salt” which, like the tinctures, is derived from the physical plant marc. The Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt are then recombined back together to complete the Spagyric Essence.
Differences in Effect
To the non-medicine maker, that all might have gone a bit over your head, but this is explained because in alchemy, the process a preparation goes through is highly indicative of its effects on the end user.
The Spagyric Tincture could be considered a “fixed liquid” form of remedy. This means that it is more suitable to attending to physical health conditions and has a stronger affinity for the organs, systems, and tissues of the body. This is because the preparation process does not involve any distillation, or volatilization of the principles. They are all, philosophically speaking, kept “Earth-bound,” and thus their healing focus is more on the Salt level of being, or the body.
Therefore, for attending to physical maladies and the health of the body, we generally recommend working with single Spagyric Tinctures or with one of our Spagyric Formulas, which are compounds made from Spagyric Tinctures. Because their concentration is less than Essences, their dosage typically ranges from mid to high, usually starting at 15 drops or ½ ml. Depending on the remedy this can increase to 5 ml, but please read the instructions on your bottle and consult a qualified physician before taking your remedy at this high of a dose!
Our Spagyric Essences have a stronger orientation towards the Sulfur and Mercury levels of being, because the preparation is more “volatile” in nature, due to the processes of distillation and purification. In this way they will have a stronger affinity for the psychological, emotional, and soul levels, helping to heal past traumas, overcome habituated patterns of thinking and feeling that are considered less than virtuous or healthy. This is typically determined by deciphering the core archetypal force behind the pattern needing to be addressed, commonly done with the seven planetary powers. For more information on this, check out our article on Transformational Healing: The Therapeutic Goal of Spagyrics.
Due to their concentration, Spagyric Essences are worked with at much lower doses than Spagyric Tinctures, typically in the range of 1-3 drops. With all of our remedies, we also generally recommend taking at least 5 minutes to simply sit and be present when you take them, paying attention to their physical, psychological, and emotional effects, and “meeting them halfway” with intention, prayer, meditation, and focus. To learn more about how to work with our spagyrics, read this article.
