April 3rd 2016 - 6:00pm
Today it was about time, to proove Hannah that I'm quite capable as an aspiring alchemist and show her the basics of spagyric.
My "laboratory" consists of a black table with an array of differently sized Erlenmeyer flasks, a gas-driven Bunsen burner, and some metal holdings for the tubes and beakers. Aside from that, there was my mortar, a variety of ceramic containers and evaporating dishes as well as dried herbs like rosemary and lemon balm. Understandably, whoever sees this setup for the first time usually believes it to be some kind of meth-lab.
»Wow, we can really work with this«, said Hannah, somewhat suprised. »And everything else we might need equipment-wise is in my luggage«
She instantly noticed some books on my shelf: works of Paracelsus, Agricola and Hochmeier - even some that are not even printed anymore. Yes, I'm very proud of my little home library, that even contains a reprint of the Voynich manuscript. And right next to it is a copy of the Koran, the holy Bible and the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important hinduistic writings.
»You are reading the bible, Meg?«, Hannah asked.
»Of course«, I replied. You wouldn't believe how many secrets are hidden in old religious teachings, once you learned how to read them...«
Hannah brought her luggage into the room and I helped her unpack her equipment. In the course of not even an hour, our lab became quite impressive.
While we set everything up, I introduced Hannah to some of the underlying principles behind alchemy: How every plant contained a Sulfur, a Merkur and a Sal, and how the full healing potential of natural ingredients could only be unlocked by spagyrically extracting the three components and processing them into an elixir.
Every plant contains an essential oil (Sulfur), their own aklohol (Merkur) and a special salt (Sal). With a series of alchemic processes, one can get those three elements out of the organic material.
I went on with my explanations in great detail for quite a while. I talked about how everywhere in life, and in every culture, one could find this three principles. Sulfur, Merkur and Sal. Soul, Mind and Body. The father, the son and the holy spirit, and multiple other examples. The vast majority of it, however, seemed to be way to esotheric for Hannah, and she quickly lost interest in my prolonged explanations.
»Thanks again for coming«, I finally said, when we finished the setup. »I think I should show you the practical application instead of cramming another boring lecture into you«
I briefly left the room and came back carrying cardboard box filled with roses, that I bought while Hannah was out sight seeing in the city today.
»What are those for?«, Hannah asked.
»I'm planning to spread the petals on your bed tonight, in order to seduce you«
»And what are they really for?«
»We're going to distill. Makin' perfume«
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Meg Out