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ALCHEMY ARTICLE V

Alchemical Processes (Part II)


51. Evaporation
The removal of the watery part of a substance by gentle heating, or being left a long time in a dry place.

52. Exaltation
An operation by which a substance is raised into a purer and more perfect nature.

53. Exhalation
The release of a gas or air from a substance.

54. Expression
Extraction of juices by means of a press.

55. Extraction
The preparation of the subtler and purer parts of a substance, usually by macerating it in alcohol. The extract can then be separated from the residue.

56. Fermentation
The rotting of a substance, usually of an organic nature, often accompanied by the release of gas bubbles.

57. Filtration
The process or removing the grosser parts of a substance by passing through a strainer, filter or cloth.

58. Fixation
The make a volatile subject fixed or solid, so that it remains permanently unaffected by fire.

59. Foliation
The making some substances puff up in layers, like leaves lying on top of one another, usually undertaken by heating.

60. Fulmination
The preparation of a fulminate or explosively unstable form of a metal. Sometimes applied to any process in which a sudden eruptive event occurs.

61. Fumigation
The alteration of a substance by exposing it to a corroding smoke.

62. Fusion
The joining of powdered substances together, or the conversion of a substance into a new form, by means of an extremely high degree of heat, sometimes using a flux.

63. Glutination
Turning a substance into a gluey, glutinous mass.

64. Gradation
The gradual purification of a substance, often through a series of stages.

65. Granulation
The reduction of a substance to grains or powder. There are various means of doing this - pounding, grinding, using thermal shock by heating and rapid cooling, and many others.

66. Grinding
The reduction of substances to a powder, usually through the use of a mortar and pestle.

67. Humectation
A process by which humidity is given to the substance, usually not by the direct additon of liquid, but by a gradual process of absorbing moisture.

68. Ignition
The self-calcination of a substance by it burning itself in a crucible.

69. Imbibition
The feeding of a process by the gradual and continuing addition of some substance.

70. Impastation
When the matter undergoing putrefaction thickens or congeals into the consistency of molten black pitch.

71. Impregnation
The alchemical process is sometimes paralleled with the gestation of a child. Thus impregnation follows from the union or copulation of the male and female, and leads to the generation of a new substance.

72. Inceration
The making of a substance into a soft waxy consistency, usually by combining it with water.

73. Incineration
The conversion of a substance to ashes by means of a powerful fire.

74. Incorporation
The mingling of mixed bodies into a conglomerate mass.

75. Ingression
This occurs when substances combine in such a manner that they cannot afterwards be separated.

76. Inhumation
To bury under the earth, sometimes used to mean any process that buries the active substance in a dark earthy material. Also applied to placing a flask in the warm heat of a dung bath.

77. Liquefaction
The turning of a solid material into a liquid, either by melting or dissolving.

78. Lixiviation
The oxidation of sulphide ores by exposing them to air and water. This forms vitriols.

79. Luting
The sealing of a flask or other apparatus through the use of a lute, or resinous paste which once applied sets hard and produces an airtight seal.

80. Maturation
A general term applied to identify the appearance of a degree of perfection in the work.

81. Melting
The reduction of a metal or substance to a liquid through heating.

82. Mortification
Here the substance undergoes a kind of death, usually through a putrefaction, and seems to have been destroyed and its active power lost, but eventually is revived.

83. Multiplication
The operation by which the powder of projection has its power multiplied.

84. Precipitation
The descent of a substance out of a solution. The precipitate descends to the bottom of the flask.

85. Preparation
The process by which superfluous substances are removed from the matter and that which is wanting is added to it.

86. Projection
The throwing of a ferment or tincture onto a substance in order to effect a transformation of the substance.

87. Prolectation
The separation of a substance into a subtle and more coarse part by the thinning or rarefaction of the subtler parts of the substance, rather than the coarsening of the earthy part.

88. Pulverisation
The breaking down of a substance to smaller fragments through being repeatedly struck with a blunt instrument, such as a hammer, or mallet.

89. Purgation
The purging or purifying of a sustance by it casting forth a gross part.

90. Putrefaction
The rotting of a substance, often under a prolonged gentle moist heat. Usually the matter becomes black.

91. Quinta Essentia
The making of a quintessence, or highly elevated form of a substance.

92. Rarefaction
The making of a substance extremely subtle or thin and airy.

93. Rectification
The purification of the matter by means of repeated distillations, the distillate being again distilled.

94. Reiteration
The repetition of a process, particularly applied to circular distillation, in which the distillate is returned to the vessel, and the process continued for many cycles.

95. Resolution
This occurs when substances which are mixed together become violently separated by being placed into a solution. Thus milk is in this sense resolved by vinegar. This process is similar to coagulation.

96. Restinction
Here a substance at white heat is brought to perfection by being quenched in an exalting liquid.

97. Reverberation
An ignition or calcination at a high temperature, in a reverberating furnace.

98. Revivification
The bringing of a mortified matter back to life, or reactivating it.

99. Rubification
The making of the matter in the alchemical process from white to red.

100. Segregation
The separation of a composite substance into its parts.

101. Separation
The making of two opposite components separate from each other. Often alternated with the conjunction process.

102. Stratification
An operation which produces layers in the substance in the flask.

103. Subduction
The separation of abstraction downward of the subtle part, as in filtration.

104. Sublimation
This occurs when a solid is heated and gives off a vapour which condenses on the cool upper parts of the vessel as a solid, not going through a liquid phase. An example is sal ammoniac.

105. Subtilation
The separation of the subtle part of a substance from the gross.

106. Transudation
This occurs if the essence appears to sweat out in drops during a descending distillation.

107. Trituration
The reduction of a substance to a powder, not necessarily by the use of grinding, but by the application of heat.

108. Vitrification
The making of a substance into a glass but strong heating and sometimes the addition of lime.

109. Vitriolification
The making of a vitriol. Most often from a metal by the direct action of oil of vitriol, but sometimes by a more indirect route.