Differences between Alchemy and Spagyrics

Indeed, very deep. The term “spagyric” can often be found in the ancient treatises of iatrochemistry, such as Glaser, Nicolas Lefebvre, and even Paracelsus. But I can assure you there is no trace of what we are currently used to knowing as spagyric proceedings in those books, that’s to say, the processes of separation and purification typical of modern spagyrics. In the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries, ancient chemists, or spagyrists as they sometimes defined themselves, never separated substances to gather them again but used them to volatilize salts, as alchemists did. Even they deeply understood the supreme principle of spiritus mundi/secret fire to be extracted from the raw matter. In conclusion, the term “spagyric” initially was just a neologism meaning “obtained with laboratory methods“, not indicating the process of separation and purification accepted in modern spagyrics.

To extract their first matter, alchemists disperse and destroy the raw matter till salts remain and then work hard to volatilize and open them, as the Spiritus Mundi/Secret Fire dwells in the most salts. Spagyric work ultimately is to obtain three states of matter, generally volatile liquid, viscous liquid, and fine salts, which they call Mercurius-Sulphur-Salt (which do not have the same meaning as in Alchemy), and then put all three together.

Separation in alchemy means setting aside our Mercurius, which should then be divided into parts. Separation in spagyrics means setting aside the matter in different states, generally volatile liquid, viscous liquid, and fine salts, which they namely call Mercurius-Sulphur-Salt (and which do not have the same meaning as in Alchemy). Unification in Alchemy roughly means pouring one part of Mercurius on another to make sulfur and a body. Unification in spagyrics means remaking the initial material in a purified form. And that‘s although the alchemical dry metallurgic path does involve a previous metal purification.

In alchemy, “to dissolve” means bringing a raw matter back to Mercurius because the alchemical dissolution is done by means of Mercurius. In spagyrics, a liquid solvent dissolves a solid matter to make a spagyric tincture.

Alchemy doesn’t have any chemical liquid solvent but disperses and volatilizes liquids with which they open and volatilize salts. The alchemical universal dissolvent for antonomasia is Alkahest, which is the result of salt volatilization; then it is Mercurius and the first matter of the entire opera. And it can also be in powdery form. In spagyrics, they extract what they call Mercurius-solvent from the raw matter and set it aside to re-unify with the purified salts-body. Spagyrists distill them in liquid solvents to purify, not destroy and volatilize.

In alchemy, although there can be many flowing substances in the humid way’s first-preliminary work to disperse and/or lift solid matters, the name menstruum is only given to the universal dissolvent Alkahest/Mercurius, which represents the end of the preparatory work. And its dissolutions take place in closed conditions, for no fume should be lost—the alchemical dissolution results in another Mercurius or returns to prima materia. A menstruum is like any other ancient chemistry dissolvents in spagyrics: it dissolves a solid raw matter to get a powder. Fumes are generally lost as waste.

Because according to alchemists, once fumes and vapors are gone, the matter is deprived of life. According to spagyrists, it is eventually liberated from wastes/feces. Additionally, according to Alchemy, Spiritus Mundi is also said to have a nature of air besides that of fire, and consequently, it is attracted by fumes and smoke. We will see why fluid mechanics should also be considered in Alchemy.

They can share crucibles and pelicans, but alchemists use distillatory devices rather differently. They need unique big heads with larger gathering pipes to perform salt volatilization successfully. Ultimately, spagyrists don’t have the clog and desiccation problems of alchemists.

Also, the oven to cook the philosophical egg is peculiar only to alchemy.

In fact, this is another difference. In Alchemy, it is not uncommon to use rectified vinegar and/or alcoholic substances to help dissolve and volatilize the salts obtained.

Indeed, the Philosophers Stone is strictly personal. You can’t do it for others because it is an unrepeatable physical phenomenon of limited duration. It’s not a drug. It was called a drug by the ancients in a symbolic way (1).

If you intend to make spagyric products, that’s a whole other matter, but you can’t call them alchemical. You can call it spagyric, vegetable, or mineral stone, but not alchemical or philosophical. And then, in accordance with the regulations in force in each state, you have to assume your products’ “medical” risks.

1. The origin of the adoption of this term could be the distortion of the Greek term pharmakos ( φαρμακός sacrificial victim) with pharmacon (φάρμακον healing plant, poison).

As mentioned above, modern spagyrics separates, purifies and then reunites substances separated sequentially from the same starting matter. Ancient iatrochemistry volatilized the heavier salts of a matter with the help of dissolving and volatile substances extracted from heterogeneous substances. Iatrochemistry was not so different from Alchemy, it just stopped earlier (usually after the first volatilization). See Concordances and Differences between Alchemy and Ancient Ordinary Chemistry.