Greetings!

It's cool that you've brought this up, as I'm gearing up to make a new
batch of Abramelin Oil - and this will be the first time I've used the
full extraction process to do it.

In past (non-Abramelin) extractions, I have utilized a very simple
"refluxer" made from a large stew-pot with a convex lid. You place a
jar in the pot to collect the extract (Sulfur/Mercury), and suspend
the prime matter (Salt) *above* the jar in a strainer. Then pour the
alcohol into the stew-pot. Place the convex lid on the stew-pot
*upside down*, so it is concave instead. Set the stew-pot on a low
heat. (It is also best to rotate ice packs in the concave lid, or use
a system to pump cold water into it continually.) The alcohol will
evaporate, condense on the cool lid, drip directly into the prime
matter and collect in the jar. It will then evaporate again to repeat
the process.

This will circulate the alcohol through the prime matter again and
again, extracting the Sulfur (and the Mercury with it), which collects
in the jar as an elixir. You can then reduce the elixir a bit more by
placing it into a Bath of Mary (double-boiler) to evaporate some of
the excess alcohol. If you then add the result to an oil carrier,
you've got an anointing Oil.

For the Abramelin Oil, I'm going to try mixing the dry ingredients
together and refluxing them in one batch.

LVX
Aaron


--- In solomonic@yahoogroups.com, "marsyas555" <marsyas555@...> wrote:
>
> Aaron,
> I was reading through this old post and I was wondering what sort of
equipment you are
> useing for your "Alchemical extraction (the "art of
> the apothecary")" of these oils? Do you have any links to such
apparatus?
>
> Please excuse me for being ignorant on these matters but it is
something I'm trying to
> educate myself about.
>
> --- In solomonic@yahoogroups.com, "Aaron" <Aaron@> wrote:
> >
> > Greetings!
> >
> > For clarification, let me list the recipes for the Abramelin Oil here:
> >
> > German Version:
> >
> > 1 pt Myrrh
> > 1 pt Calamus
> > 1 pt Cassia
> > 1/2 pt Cinnamon
> >
> > 1/4 total weight of the above in Olive Oil
> >
> > French Version:
> >
> > 2 pt Cinnamon
> > 1 pt Myrrh
> > 1/2 pt Calamus
> >
> > 1/2 total weight of the above in Olive Oil
> >
> > (Note: Cassia is a Cinnamon substitue. When you buy cinnamon in the
> > store, it is usually Cassia as real Cinnamon is more expensive. The
> > French author seems to have combined the Cassia and Cinnamon into a
> > single ingredient.)
> >
> > Now on to the issues at hand:
> >
> > --- In solomonic@yahoogroups.com, "Gotteri, Andrew R"
> > <andrew.gotteri@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Can anyone describe the smell of the oil to me? Is it quite subtle &
> > > subdued, rather than heavy and pungent?
> >
> > That's a good question. To date, I've been making the oil incorrectly
> > thanks to the obscurity of the instruction. I simply mixed the
> > ingrediencts as listed in the recipe, without employing the "art of
> > the apothecary." The result is a blood-like balm that smells heavily
> > of cinnamon and olive oil. ;)
> >
> > Applying the "art of the apothecary" was a problem. If we mix
> > essential oils according to the given measurements, we end up with a
> > *very* dangerous substance that can burn the skin and eyes. In a
> > mixture of essential oils, the Olive Oil should be the carrier, not
> > the ingredient of smallest amount.
> >
> > Yet, the recipe is based on one given in the Bible (Exodus 30), and
> > that oil was poured quite liberally over the heads of Priests. For
> > the whole argument, see the Wikipedia entry:
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abramelin_oil
> >
> > Wikipedia *almost* comes to a logical conclusion. The idea, they
> > suggest, is to pour the Olive Oil directly into the dry ingredients
> > (which I had done myself), let it macerate for a while and then decant
> > the oil. I had never taken that last step- but for good reason. The
> > amount of Olive Oil is *one-half* the weight of the dry ingredients.
> > Or, in the German version, a mere *one-fourth*! At those proportions,
> > there is no way to press the oil back out of the mixture.
> >
> > Apparently the same goes for the recipe in Exodus. According to
this guy:
> >
> > http://horusset.com/RIKB/abramelin.pdf
> >
> > the Talmud admits that the amount of Olive Oil required would not have
> > even wet all of the dry ingredients. So decanting is just out.
> >
> > At this point, I do believe that essential oils are ultimately
> > intended, with the Olive Oil as the carrier:
> >
> > The measurement for the Olive Oil is given by weight (rather than by
> > volume), so it seems likely the other ingredients are measured by
> > weight as well. I suggest combining the dry ingredients as listed in
> > the book, weigh the mixture, and then weigh out one quarter (or one
> > half) that much Olive Oil.
> >
> > Then, put the dry mixture through alchemical extraction (the "art of
> > the apothecary"), so that you end up with a single essential oil made
> > of cinnamon, cassia, calamus and myrrh. (You could extract them all
> > separately - but I feel that would just add unecessary steps to the
> > process. Plus, there could be important chemical reactions that take
> > place while the combined mixture is macerating.)
> >
> > This extracted oil will now weigh less than the Olive Oil. So now the
> > Olive Oil will serve as a proper (and safe!) carrier for the essential
> > oil.
> >
> > That's my take on the subject so far. :) Once I run the extraction
> > and produce a proper Holy Oil, I'll post my results.
> >
> > LVX
> > Aaron
> >
>