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Who we are and what we're doing
We are a green-living company working with government, businesses, and educators to reduce the impact we as a race have on our precious planet Earth while promoting awareness to the beauty and the usefulness of nature. Our inter-dependence with nature has been clearly demonstrated and our survival will ultimately depend on how well we take care of this planet we call home.
Our products are designed to demonstrate the usefulness (herbal & compost products) and beauty (art & jewelry) of Nature and, in the case of our vermiposting products, to assist others to play a more active role in conservation, recycling, and education. Money raised through the sale of our products will help us to bring the message of conservation and stewardship to more people. We, and all the plants & animals who share our Earth, THANK YOU for supporting our mission and our planet.
Peace & Harmony,
The members of Spagyric Arts, LLC
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A Short History of Spagyrics
Phillip von Hohenheim was born November or December 1493 in Einsiedeln Switzerland. Following in his father's footsteps, Phillip studied medicine at the University of Basel starting at the age of 16 and received his doctorate degree from the University of Ferrara. He later took up the name Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim, and still later took the title Paracelsus, meaning "equal to or greater than Celsus", a Roman encyclopedist from the first century known for his tract on medicine. It is by his title Paracelsus that we now know his works.
Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. He used the name "zink" for the element zinc in about 1526, based on the sharp pointed appearance of its crystals after smelting and the old German word "zinke" for pointed. He used experimentation in learning about the human body. His hermetical views were that sickness and health in the body relied on the harmony of man, the microcosm, and Nature, the macrocosm. He took an approach different from those before him, using this analogy not in the manner of soul-purification but in the manner that humans must have certain balances of minerals in their bodies, and that certain illnesses of the body had chemical remedies that could cure them. (Debus & Multhauf, p.6-12) He challenged the widely accepted four-humours theory of the time put forth by Galen, by stating that illness was the result of the body being attacked by outside agents.
In summarizing his own views Paracelsus states: "Many have said of Alchemy, that it is for the making of gold and silver. For me such is not the aim, but to consider only what virtue and power may lie in medicines." (Edwardes, p.47) (also in: Holmyard, Eric John. Alchemy. p. 170) During his research and work to find cures (in which he was successful many times over then traditional methods), Paracelsus coined the term Spagyria by combining the Greek words 'spao' (separate) and 'agerio' (combine) to describe how he made his medicines. The more recent term Spagyric, derived from spagyria, is often referred to as 'Herbal Alchemy'.
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