Spagyrics

Spagyric Tinctures

All tinctures are not created alike. Simple herbal tinctures (pretty much all tinctures on the market are simple tinctures unless otherwise specified) are made by soaking plant material in alcohol and letting it sit for a few weeks before straining. The alcohol extracts many of the medicinal compounds into the liquid. The resulting liquid is the tincture, and the leftover plant material is disposed of. Basic tinctures contain only the water and alcohol soluble compounds.

Spagyric tinctures go through an extra step in processing and use the leftover plant material to extract and incorporate the mineral aspects of the plant into the tincture. This creates a more potent and holistic medicine.

Wild Medicinals exclusively uses spagyric tinctures in our clinical formulas and tincture based products, most of which we make ourselves. We look forward to sharing these incredible medicines with you.

Benefits of Spagyric Tinctures

Increased Bioavailability

When the mineral salts are added back into the tincture, chemical reactions occur which begin the process of activating the medicinal compounds. When this process is kick started BEFORE the tincture enters the body it makes it easier to assimilate. Some reactions take place, like esterification, hydrolysis and saponification; and decarboxylation, which don't occur in simple tinctures, unlocking potent medicinal qualities that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Higher Potency

With increased bioavailability, we naturally increase the potency of the medicine. Spagyrics are considered to be at least twice as potent as simple tinctures and other herbal preparations and therefore a lower dose is used. This means we are able to use less material to create more medicine, reducing our consumption and lessening our environmental impact.

Neutral pH

Simple herbal tinctures can have a pH as low as 3.5. This is very acidic and can be uncomfortable to take. Spagyric tinctures are generally neutral, with pH around 7 and are easier for the body to assimilate.

Energetics

Our spagyric preparations are made in accordance with astrological timing, using the art and science of astrology to create our medicines at the most energetically appropriate time. This potentiates the energetics of the plant, an important and often overlooked aspect of plant medicine.

Truly Holistic

In simple tincture making large amounts of organic material are disposed of. Spagyric tinctures utilize this otherwise waste product by extracting the mineral component of the plant. This mineral component is a vital aspect of the plants profile. If we neglect to include this we are missing out not only on the benefits listed above, but we are missing an opportunity to work with the intelligence of nature. The makeup and ratios of the components of the plants are in divine proportion. By picking and choosing only some of these components, we lose access to the true range of potential from our plant allies, and miss out on entourage effects that increase medicinal action within the body. By processing and incorporating the extracted plant material into the final product we are utilizing all of the plant; only a small amount of ash gets filtered out and discarded. This means less waste, and a truly holistic preparation.

Spagyric and Alchemical Philosophy

The term Spagyric was coined by the 16th century physician and Alchemist, Paracelsus, and refers to the practical laboratory processes based on Alchemical philosophy. Alchemy is both practical and philosophical, and conceptually explains the nature of the universe and all that is expressed within it. It is an understanding of the esoteric relationships which create the structure and experience of reality.

Practical Alchemy, often referred to as Spagyrics, is an experiential laboratory practice by which the philosophy is systematically applied to preparing plants and minerals with the goal of refining the substance to it’s essence. “Spagyrics” has it’s linguistic roots in the Greek language, and translates roughly to “To draw out, awaken and recombine”. Through these practices, we separate the materials into their three essential components, refine them, and recombine the components to form the alchemically prepared expression of the plant or mineral. These processes, when done correctly, yield products which appear both to the eye, and often times, chemically, very different from the source material. They are safe for consumption allowing us access to the otherwise untapped potential and healing compounds along with the unique energies of these materials.

Alchemical concepts are present in many of the ancient systems of medicine including Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani Tibb Medicine, Ancient Egyptian Medicine and Ayurveda, with evidence of alchemy being practiced as far back as history goes.

If you are interested in learning more about Alchemy, Spagyrics and the relationship between Herbalism and Astrology, check out our reading list below.

‘Traditional Western Herbal Medicine’, Elisabeth Brooke

‘Medical Astrology’, Judith Hill

‘Spagyrics’, Manfred Junius

‘Real Alchemy, A Primer of Practical Alchemy’, Robert Allen Bartlett

‘The Kybalion’, The Three Initiates

‘Evolutionary Herbalism’, Sajah Popham

As above, so below,

as within, so without.