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fandomhigh2008-09-29 10:42 am
brandyforapples.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2008-09-29 10:42 am
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Basics of Alchemy - Period 5 - Monday, 9/29
Today, perhaps finally there was some minor lab equipment set up at the desks. Today, they were starting practical work, and Abby Irene herself couldn't be happier. The theory was all well and good, but you didn't really understand anything until you got your hands into it, deep down and dirty into it, got it under your fingernails and up in your hair.
There were no bad hair days like those experienced by alchemy students.
As the assembled made their way in, she smiled at them.
"Today, we start with the practical work."
"A Spagyric tincture will be our first lesson, and if you haven't smelled it already, you'll be working with peppermint today, as it is a Monday. If you look on the handout next to your equipment, you'll see a few species of herbs and their associated astrological bodies. It doesn't take much of a genius to figure out that Monday is the day of the Moon, but I've also included another handout with a chart for the astrological bodies and their associated days.
"Traditionally, we would try to start the work during the hour of the day associated with the planet that rules this plant, but we only have so many options with a class schedule, so the day will have to suffice. A quick prayer would not be amiss here, nor would an invocation of the plant but as these are more magical and personal than alchemical, I will leave them to your discretion.
"We then begin grinding the plant in the mortar and pestle provided in small quantities so as not to do a sloppy job, while concentrating on the work of bringing the plants qualities into fuller bloom. Alchemy is not an art where one might dawdle with the mind as the body works; true alchemy involves transformation in the physical, mental, and spiritual realms.
"When you've made a true powder of it, you would place it in the jars provided and start, very slowly, to pour in the grain alcohol. Only put so much as twice as it would take to cover all of the powder as room is needed for expansion as the contents heat during the maceration process. Place some of the plastic wrapping between the jar lip and the cover and close it tightly.
"This will take a couple of weeks, and so I will ask you all to take your jars home with you and tend to them once a day with a couple of shakes and perhaps a bit of contemplation. Your results will be all the better for the attention you give to this jar, and the respect you give to your own work."
[ocd up!]
There were no bad hair days like those experienced by alchemy students.
As the assembled made their way in, she smiled at them.
"Today, we start with the practical work."
"A Spagyric tincture will be our first lesson, and if you haven't smelled it already, you'll be working with peppermint today, as it is a Monday. If you look on the handout next to your equipment, you'll see a few species of herbs and their associated astrological bodies. It doesn't take much of a genius to figure out that Monday is the day of the Moon, but I've also included another handout with a chart for the astrological bodies and their associated days.
"Traditionally, we would try to start the work during the hour of the day associated with the planet that rules this plant, but we only have so many options with a class schedule, so the day will have to suffice. A quick prayer would not be amiss here, nor would an invocation of the plant but as these are more magical and personal than alchemical, I will leave them to your discretion.
"We then begin grinding the plant in the mortar and pestle provided in small quantities so as not to do a sloppy job, while concentrating on the work of bringing the plants qualities into fuller bloom. Alchemy is not an art where one might dawdle with the mind as the body works; true alchemy involves transformation in the physical, mental, and spiritual realms.
"When you've made a true powder of it, you would place it in the jars provided and start, very slowly, to pour in the grain alcohol. Only put so much as twice as it would take to cover all of the powder as room is needed for expansion as the contents heat during the maceration process. Place some of the plastic wrapping between the jar lip and the cover and close it tightly.
"This will take a couple of weeks, and so I will ask you all to take your jars home with you and tend to them once a day with a couple of shakes and perhaps a bit of contemplation. Your results will be all the better for the attention you give to this jar, and the respect you give to your own work."
[ocd up!]
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