A botanical tincture and a spagyric tincture start with the same plant, but they extract completely different chemistries.

A botanical tincture is made by soaking plant material in alcohol and water. This pulls out alcohol-soluble and water-soluble compounds. After straining, the plant matter (called the marc) is discarded. Chemically, a tincture contains only what the alcohol and water can dissolve. The minerals, salts, and many bound nutrients remain locked inside the leftover plant fiber.

A spagyric tincture adds an entire additional phase of alchemical processing. After the initial tincture is strained, the spent plant material is burned to ash and heated until its minerals become water-soluble salts. This process, known as calcination, breaks open the rigid cell walls and releases minerals that normal tinctures never capture like potassium salts, calcium, magnesium, trace elements, and other inorganic constituents. These salts are then dissolved, purified, and reunited with the tincture.

From a chemistry standpoint, this creates a full-spectrum extract:

• Organic compounds (alcohol/water soluble)

• Volatile compounds (aromatics and essential oils)

• Inorganic mineral salts (made bioavailable through calcination)

In ecology and biochemistry, this mirrors what the Earth does through decomposition and mineral cycling—breaking down plant matter so its nutrients can re-enter living systems. Spagyrics mimic these same biogeochemical processes on a small scale.

Because the mineral salts change the tincture’s pH, conductivity, and molecular environment, many compounds become more bioavailable, meaning easier for the body to recognize and use. The presence of electrolytes and trace minerals can also subtly alter how the extract interacts with the nervous system and tissues, a phenomenon documented in traditional alchemical texts and increasingly supported by modern phytochemistry.

The result is a preparation that contains the body, soul, and spirit of the plant: its chemistry, its volatile essence, and its liberated mineral intelligence. In short:

A botanical tincture extracts what alcohol can reach.
A spagyric tincture extracts everything the plant contains.