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+--- Thread: Chaitow: Spiritual Alchemy in Byzantium, Revealed (/showthread.php?tid=2965)
Chaitow: Spiritual Alchemy in Byzantium, Revealed - Paul Ferguson - 02-12-2026
"An ageing Byzantine empress with flawless skin is an odd place to begin the history of “spiritual alchemy,” yet Zoe Porphyrogennētē’s perfume laboratory turns out to be a key to the Byzantine imagination. This essay invites readers into Zoe’s myrepseion, a perfume workshop glowing with braziers, rare resins from India and Egypt, and an icon that answers her questions by changing colour. Through Michael Psellos’ meticulous records, we watch a pious and politically sidelined woman build a private laboratory of scent, sacrifice, and divination in the heart of the imperial palace."
https://thyrathen.substack.com/p/spiritual-alchemy-in-byzantium-revealed