FAQ
-
Spagyric is a term coined by the Swiss chemist, physician, and alchemist, Paracelsus. It literally means to separate and re-combine, from the greek Spao- To Separate and Agiero- To Recombine/Reawaken.
The main difference between a standard tincture and a spagyric tincture is the addition of the purified mineral salts from the material being tinctured into the final product.
Beyond that there is a cosmology in how we take the material apart and piece it back together.
-
We are proud to say that we work closely with mushroom farmers and foragers in the Pacific Northwest to attain most of the mushrooms we work with.
The only mushroom we don't get from the Pacific Northwest is our Chaga which we get from foragers between the Midwest and Alaska.
All of our mushrooms are sourced in North America ensuring the highest quality and whole system sustainable models.
-
Firstly, all of our tinctures are dual extracted from the fruiting body of mushrooms (all sourced in North America) so that they contain a higher concentration of the primary and secondary metabolites that are more concentrated in the mushrooms. These metabolites come in the form of polysaccharides, terpenes, sterols, and phenols from the mushroom, which contribute to the efficacy of our product.
Secondly, each tincture is imbibed with the purified mineral salts extracted from the mushroom material that we have extracted from for the tincture. These mineral salts philosophically stand as the body of the mushroom and physiologically are a complex of trace minerals.
Thirdly, the extraction apparatus used in our process lets us capture all of the subtle volatiles that escape in the steam during an open extraction process. Yes, that wonderful smell while you are making tea is the smell of volatiles being driven off. This process contributes to creating full bodied and dynamic tinctures.
Finally, the extraction method we use allows us to perform both extractions under a gentle heat which helps to obtain a full constituency from the mushrooms we are extracting from. This, along with each of the aforementioned steps, leads to a tincture you can taste and feel the difference in. -
Jason, our founder, started down the path of studying and learning about Alchemy almost a decade ago. He stumbled across Alchemy and Ayurveda early in his journey through the realm of medicinal herbs and mushrooms.
Jason went on to study practical laboratory Alchemy with Robert Allen Bartlett out of Marysville, WA where he learned the foundation of the alchemical works and the spagyric method. Elucidating on those processes he developed what he termed AlcheMycology, which was looking at specifically how the mushrooms fit into an alchemical framework and cosmology.
While studying with Robert throughout the years, Jason went on to study in person with Sajah and Whitney Popham at The School of Evolutionary Herbalism to deepen in his relationships with looking at and understanding plants through a holistic framework of Herbalism. Through that study Jason began working at Organic Unity, producing Spagyrics and Spagyric Tinctures with Sajah and Whitney.
Jason has also spent time working with and studying under Todd Caldecott in the art and study of Ayurveda, and joined him in Nepal in 2017 to study directly under Vaidya Madhu Bajracharya in the Ayurvedic tradition of Rasa Shastra, from clinic to medicine making. The Rasa Shastra tradition, while not producing Spagyrics, has much in common with the tradition of Western Alchemy; and can be found in traditions that have never been broken.
Jason maintains close relationships with all of the aforementioned teachers and mentors. -
Traditionally different plants are associated with different planets and worked with accordingly - however it is difficult to find any literature on the subject relating to mushrooms.
Jason Scott has spent years working with the planetary archetypes and the specific fungi to make associations and correspondences based on morphology, actions and energetics in the mushrooms as they relate to the planets.
This is a framework that he has worked and taught with as the philosophical concepts and practical applications of AlcheMycology, and stand as one potential of working with specific fungi, but there are many other ways to see and use the fungi as they correspond to planets.
His work through AlcheMycology lays a framework for people to make their own associations and to work with them accordingly.