The Basics to Spagyrics
What is Spagyrics? Why choose Spagyrics? What are its benefits? Watch this quick video from one of our founders to learn the basics to the Spagyric extraction method.
Common Questions:
What is Spagyrics?
Spagyrics is a type of herbal alchemy. The word spagyrics means to separate and recombine because the compounds of the plant being extracted are quite literally separated and then recombined in a more concentrated form. It combines ancient alchemy and modern science to boost the bio-availability of the product and truly utilizes the full essence of the plant – creating an extremely effective herbal product.
Learn More In Our: What is Spagyrics? Post!
How do you pronounce Spagyrics?
Spa-jeer-iks
What is herbal alchemy?
Herbal alchemy is an ancient method of creating a plant remedy using the alchemical principles. What is so incredible about herbal alchemy is that it uses processes that are already naturally occurring in nature to transmute an herbal remedy to be more effective to us as the user or creator.
What are the three principles of alchemy?
Mineral Salts: Represents the Body. These come from the plant material after extraction.
Alcohol: Represents the Spirit. In traditional Spagyrics the alcohol was actually made from the plant being extracted.
Essential Oils: Represents the Soul. This is the medicinal oils that are extracted in the maceration.
- Don’t worry if this is a little confusing – it is for most people the first couple times explained. We are going to continue diving deeper and hopefully clear some things up!
Diving Deeper into the World Of Spagyrics:
Spagyric’s History
The word Spagyrics comes from ancient Greece and can be divided into two parts. “Spao” = I Collect, and “Agerio” = Recombine. As you can see this is where the “to separate and recombine” comes from.
Some evidence suggests that Spagyric remedies were being created more than 2,500 years ago. They were, and stilla are considered to be one of the most sacred and holistic ways of creating plant medicine. By separating the three basic principles (Oils, Alcohol and Mineral Salts) of a plant and then recombining them the end product is unlike any other tincture or extract.
Make your own line of Spagyric SupplementsThe Spagyrics Process
In alchemical philosophy, it is said that EVERYTHING in the universe can be separated into three basic principles. As seen below, in plants the physical aspects represent soul, spirit and body.
Essential Oils (Soul)
Alcohol (Spirit)
Mineral Salts (Body)
Spagyric Extraction Process:
1: Alcohol Extraction
In traditional Spagyrics, the alcohol used for the extraction was actually created from fermenting whatever herb or plant was to be extracted. In the modern day and age, however, alcohol is generally sourced elsewhere. There is no evidence to suggest any difference in effectiveness as long as the alcohol sourced is of high quality.
The first step begins as a maceration (soaking of herbs in alcohol). The traditional way of doing this can take up to six weeks! However, here at Vera, we have a machine called a Soxhlet which speeds up this process to a few hours. It uses minimal heat which maintains the integrity of the compounds being extracted.
Alcohol is considered to be one of the best solvents as it extracts both fat-soluble and water-soluble components. What does this matter? Well, it means it extracts a high amount of the medicinal properties which are in the herb. Alcohol is a solvent made of plants, for plants.
2: Mineral and Salt Extraction
In order to extract the minerals and salts that are trapped inside the plant fibers, the depleted plant material is taken out and burned. This process is known as calcination. The end result of the calcination is a sterilized ash where the water-soluble mineral salts have been released from its carbon bonds. This ash is then filtered through with distilled water. The water is then evaporated and only pure crystal minerals and salts are left.
3: Recombination
The crystal minerals and salts are then put back into the alcohol extraction. This completes the spagyric extraction process. The tincture now contains all the plants compounds maintained in the same structure and ratio as the original plant, but now in a more potent and purer form. Now that the three principles have been brought together, a natural chemical reaction occurs where the fat-soluble compounds are converted to water-soluble compounds – so you absorb almost all of what you put into your body.
So, Why Choose Spagyric Extraction?
Spagyric products are the only type which contain a full spectrum of all the plant compounds in the end product. What does this matter? Well these work synergistically with the human body to increase bioavailability (how much you absorb) and effectiveness. Here at Vera, we have even combined Spagyrics with some modern science to improve the flavor and potency.
Make your own line of Spagyric Supplements