The Alchemists' Secret Herbal: Magic Plants, Recipes and the Secrets of Gold

About this book

Each plant comes with what it was believed to heal, how to prepare it, where it grows and when to gather it by the Moon and the month, plus the charms and prayers said while pulling it from the ground. Then the second half opens: recipes for "potable gold" (aurum potabile), for fixing quicksilver, for separating the four elements, for an "elixir of life", for ointments, eye waters, perfumes and remedies against the plague. Many carry the name of the person who gave the recipe. Download the PDF and read what they wrote.

Health, love, protection, gold and knowledge kept from ordinary readers: this is what the old herbal-makers wrote about. This edition shows it as they wrote it, and tells you honestly what science says today.

The "alchemical herbal" is a Northern Italian tradition of the 14th–15th centuries (the name comes from Aldrovandi's "Piante degli Alchimisti"). We bring together two sources: 82 plants from the Italian manuscript Wellcome Collection MS.261, London (mid-16th century, every manuscript page in colour), and 23 plants translated from the Latin text of Florence MS 106, with drawings from the University of Pennsylvania's LJS 419 or our own reconstruction from the text. For 66 plants you can compare the same plant as drawn in LJS 419 (c. 1400). Images: Wellcome Collection (Public Domain Mark) and Penn LJS 419 (public domain). The translation and notes are ours.

What is inside

• 105 plants, each with: what it was said to cure (wounds, childbirth, eyes, bites, fever, love, protection…), how to prepare it, where it grows, when to gather it, the charms and prayers for pulling it up, and the original Italian or Latin text.
• For every plant a section "What it treats and what it does not": which plant it may be today, what science says (with sources such as EMA, WHO and PubMed), what is only belief, and a ⚠ mark for poisonous plants.
• "The Secrets": 222 recipes from the second part of the manuscript — potable gold, hardening quicksilver, separating the four elements, the "elixir of life", Aristeas's letter on the elixir of air, ointments, plasters, eye waters, plague remedies, colours and perfumes.
• An introduction: what an alchemical herbal is, the manuscripts (Oxford, Florence, Paris, Pavia), the humours, hot and dry, and the link with the Voynich manuscript (a similar drawing style, about 97 plants against 98; but there is no proof that the Voynich script is the cipher of this text).
• Indexes: by ailment and wish, by plant name, by gathering month.
• PDF, A5 page size (148 × 210 mm), 483 pages, readable on phone, tablet and computer.

Who it is for

Readers of medieval history, alchemy and old herbals, herbalism and folk-remedy enthusiasts, Voynich fans, and anyone who wants to see what people once hoped a plant could do. A memorable gift for a fan of dark academia and old manuscripts.

This is a historical source, not medical advice. Do not try the recipes: many use quicksilver, arsenic, lead or poisonous plants. Digital PDF, delivered for download after payment.