Alchemy/Practice

Distillation
The separation of a volatile component from a substance by heating so as to drive off the component as a vapour which is condensed and collected in a cooler part of the apparatus.

Coagulation
The conversion of a thin liquid into a solid mixture through some inner change, as with yogurt. This can be accomplished by a variety of means - by the addition of a substance, by heating or cooling.

Dissolution
The dissolving or transforming of a substance into a liquid.

Calcination
Forming of a liquid into a solid..

Deconstruction
to breakdown the animism of an object with matter

Reconstruction
to rebuild an object that was broken-down

The Animals
Since the beginning of human thought, animals have represented a number of things, from cunning to bravery to cowardliness. One needs only to look at literature from around the world to find stories about how Fox tricked Buffalo or how Mouse befriended Cat. (On a side note, one story we usually don't think of as such is the famous story of how Snake tricked Human, but that is a story for another book.)

Ouroboros
The ouroboros is a snake, serpent or dragon that has its tail in its teeth, forming a circle. It symbolizes the continuity of life; that idea that in every ending there is a beginning.

Phoenix
The phoenix can represent a number of things. It is courage, it is kindness, it is rebirth, it is Fire. It helps those in need, its tears heal and it is reborn from its own ashes when it dies.

Lion
The size, power, and bearing of the lion have captured the human imagination since biblical times. The lion's strength and courage have made him a symbol of power. The lion is mentioned many times in the bible such as "the lion of the tribe of Judah." Because of its noble character and lordly might, the lion is rightly called the "king of the beasts." Conversely, recent history has shown the lion to be "the beast of kings," namely Richard the Lion-hearted of England, William the Lion of Scotland, and Henry the Lion of Saxony and Bavaria. Heraldry is the science of decorating coats of arms. Animals and designs taken from nature were favorite heraldic devices. Excluding fabled monsters such as the dragon, the griffin, the wyvern, and the unicorn, the most popular of the more ordinary animals was the lion, which has also appeared as a part of the legendary Chimera as well as a number of other mythical amalgams. The second of the Plantagenets to rule England (1189–1199) was Richard I called Coeur de Lion, or Richard the Lion-hearted. He was the first English king known to bear a coat of arms. After Richard, many knights chose the lion, a symbol of courage, as their emblem (Lewed).

Mantis
"Don't come near me, or I'll bite your head off" Hermit, isolation, wisdom,

Monarch Butterfly
Transformation, freedom and company, work & play, joy which all can see and appreciate.

Honey Bee
Little freedom-solitude "Must Serve our Queen" So much honey-nectar that their masters enjoy a life of luxury.

Bumble Bee
completely free, solitude, some nectar-honey

Ant
Collective Consciousness, when ONE ant finds his way out of the maze, ALL ants know the way!

The Colors
Some modern alchemists whisper of the 'Second Opus' in which a new color is engaged. However this is not the time or place for credibility

Black
The black, Niger or nigredo corresponds to the primary earth matter of alchemy. In speculative and internal systems it is about the sealing of energy and the gestation of spiritual force. In many systems of the lowest being the most exalted, black represents the fana-il fana of the dervishes, the dark feminine principle of High Magik, the 'dark' Luciferic degrees of Masonry and so on.

The Planets
In alchemical systems, several astronomical bodies are considered to have influence on the results of one's investigations. These bodies are grouped together under the category of "planets", although the alchemical system includes both the sun and the moon, neither of which is a planet in astronomical science.

each "planet" has its own relation to metal

Sun
Gold, male

The Moon
silver, female

Mercury
A fluid metal it melts at - 38.9 °C. Mercury is the only common metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures. Mercury is sometimes called quicksilver. It is a heavy, silvery-white liquid metal. It is a rather poor conductor of heat if compared with other metals but it is a fair conductor of electricity. It alloys easily with many metals, such as gold, silver, and tin. These alloys are called amalgams.

The most important mercury salts are mercuric chloride HgCl2 (corrosive sublimate - a violent poison), mercuric chloride Hg2Cl2 (calomel, still used in medicine occasionally), mercury fulminate (Hg(ONC)2, a detonator used in explosives) and mercuric sulphide (HgS, vermillion, a high-grade paint pigment).

Venus
copper

Mars
iron

Jupiter
tin

Saturn
lead