Alchemical processes
1. Ablation The separation of a component by removing the upper part, sometimes by skimming it off the surface or by wicking it up using a feather or cloth.
2. Albification The making of the matter in the alchemical work become white.
3. Ablution The purification of a substance by successive washings with a liquid.
4. Amalgamation Formation of an amalgam, or alloy, of a metal with mercury. This term is sometimes extended to mean any union of metals.
5. Ascension When the active or subtle part rises up in the flask, usually by heating.
6. Assation The reduction of a substance to a dry ash by roasting.
7. Calcination The breaking down of a substance by fierce heating and burning usually in an open crucible.
8. Cementation Acting upon a substance by mixing it in layers with a powdered (often corrosive) material, such as lime. This mixture is then be made to react and weld together by heating to a high temperature in a cementing furnace.
9. Ceration The making of a substance to soften and appear like wax. This is often accomplished by continually adding a liquid and heating.
9a. Cibation The feeding of the substance being acted upon in a flask, with some reagent, usually a liquid.
10. Cineration The reduction of a substance to ashes by heating.
11. Circulation The purification of a substance by a circular distillation in a pelican or closed distillation apparatus. Through heating the liquid component separates, is condensed and descends again to the substance in the flask.
12. Coadunation Another term for coagulation.
13. Coagulation The conversion of a thin liquid into a solid mixture through some inner change, as with the curdling of milk. This can be accomplished by a variety of means - by the addition of a substance, by heating or cooling.
14. Coction The cooking or heating of a substance at a moderate heat for an extended period.
15. Cohobation The frequent removal of the moist component of a substance by heating. Often the moist component (or some other liquid) is added and the process continued.
16. Colliquation The conjuction or melting together of two fusible substances.
17. Coloration Tinging a substance by adding a dye or coloured tincture. Colouring can by either by tinging the whole body or by producing a surface coating.
18. Combustion The burning of a substance in the open air.
19. Comminution The reduction of a substance into a powder, either by grinding, pulverising, or forcing it through a sieve.
19a. Commixion or Commixtion The mixing together of two or more components.
20. Composition The joining together of two different substances.
21. Conception The marriage or union of the male and female aspects of substances.
22. Concoction The cooking or heating of a mixture of substances at a moderate heat for an extended period.
23. Congelation The conversion of a thin flowing liquid into a congealed thick substance, often by heating.
24. Conglutination The conversion of a substance into a gluey mass, often by a putrefaction.
25. Conjunction The joining of two opposite components, often seen as the union of the male and female, the subtle and gross, or even the elements.
26. Contrition The reduction of a substance into powder only by means of fire.
27. Copulation A conjunction, or joining of two opposite components, seen through the metaphor of the union of the male and female, or the union of the fixed and the volatile.
28. Corrosion The eating up of a substance by an acid, alkali or corrosive material.
29. Cribation The reduction of a substance to a powder by forcing through a sieve or mesh.
30. Crystallization The formation of crystals out of a solution of the substance usually in water, either by their gradual formation from the liquid, or by evaporation of the liquid.
31. Dealbation The making of the black substance of the alchemical process become brilliant white.
32. Decoction The digestion of a substance in the flask without the addition of any other material.
33. Decrepitation The crackling and splitting apart of substances, for example common salt, on heating.
34. Deliquium The reduction of a solid placed in a damp place to a liquid by its absorbing water from the air.
35. Descension When the subtle or active part of a substance is made to go down to the bottom of a flask, rather than ascend as a vapour.
36. Dessication The drying or removal of all the moisture in a substance.
37. Detonation The explosive burning of substances on heating, for example substances mixed with nitre.
38. Digestion The slow modification of a substance by means of a gentle heat.
39. Disintegration The breaking down or dissociation of a substance into different parts.
40. Dispoliaration The dissolving or transforming of a dead substance into a liquid.
41. Dissociation The breaking down or disintegration of a substance into different parts.
42. Dissolution The dissolving or transforming of a substance into a liquid.
43. 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.
44. Divapouration An exhalation of dry vapours from a substance, which can occur at different degrees of heat.
45. Division The separation of a substance into its elements.
46. Ebullition An effervescence produced through fermentation.
47. Edulceration The washing of a salty substance till all the salts are removed.
48. Elaboration The general term for the process of separating the pure from the impure, and leading a substance towards perfection, which can be done through a variety of means and processes.
49. Elevation The raising of the subtle parts of a substance upwards, away from the bodily residues, into the upper parts of the vessel.
50. Elixeration The conversion of a substance into an elixir.
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 of removing the grosser parts of a substance by passing through a strainer, filter or cloth.
58. Fixation To make a volatile subject fixed or solid, so that it remains permanently unaffected by fire.
59. Foliation To make 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 substance 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 or 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.
105a. Tincture To tincture is to tinge or colour a substance, or introduce a colour change.
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 by 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.
110. Volatilisation To make a fixed or solid substance volatile.
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