Jennifer Gerrity & David Bacco

Lecture & Workshop Host

LECTURE: The Occult & Alchemical Significance of The Grape: Vitis Vinifera

A broad overview of the Grape through occult related history as well as the fundamental source matter in laboratory alchemy. The significance of this plant is so great that it is singularly responsible for a major current of ritual and alchemical practice. The presentation will cover the history of ancient cultures use of the wild grape. Grapes’ introduction into cultivation and the development of wine and wine making. Deities associated with grapes, wine and ritual customs involving their worship. The Alchemical significance of the grape in the distillation of spirit for spagyric use, the working of grape stone for tartar path and the Mercurial use as an alkahest in extracting mineral and metal substances with tartar, vinegar and acetate all rendered from the Vine.

WORKSHOP: Alchemical use of the Grape in Practical Laboratory Alchemy
3 HOUR INTENSIVE– space is limited to 20 participants

An overview will be given with physical samples to smell taste and touch of Spirit from grape juice, Vinegar, a Wine stone, Tartar – potassium bitartrate, Grape rendered alkahest, Stinking red oil, Glacial acetic acid – its preparation from homemade grape vinegar and Grape skin salts. Along with a laboratory demonstration will be given with glassware of the destructive distillation of tartar to create an alkahest to pull potable oil from metals. This lengthy process will be summed up with pre prepared critical steps where active distillation will be viewed. Attendees will walk away with a comprehensive understand of how laboratory alchemy is dependent of the Grape and an approachable way to work with this plant on the mineral path.

$65 workshop add on fee
$0 materials fee

BIO: Jennifer Gerrity holds a 20-year career in medicinal and aromatic plants, specializing in the procurement of botanicals for the organic herbal industry on a global scale.
Farming, botany, and conservation through cultivation are lifelong pursuits of Jennifer’s who serves on the Board of Directors of United Plant Savers Center for Medicinal Plant Conservation. In her personal life, she manages an artesian grape vineyard in the Willamette Valley, pruning, harvest and crushing annually for farmhouse style wines and handmade vinegar for use in the Alchemical laboratory. This work has brought Jennifer to study and visit vineyards globally with a propensity for the old, scarce, and unusual. Alumni at the School of Spagyric and Alchemical Arts and practicing in the tradition of Paracelsus, Jean Dubois and the Philosophers of Nature. Jennifer is an esoteric arts practitioner and dealer in antiquities of an occult , vintner, and botanical origin.

BIO: David Bacco is artist & owner of Aurora Alchemical Arts creates spagyrics and alchemical living concentrated essences of the plant, animal, mineral &metal kingdoms for healing, daily living, dream exploration, and soulful inner work. David’s goal is to help each person connect to Mother Nature’s essence from her offerings, to unlock the key that resonates within each one of us, as taught by the ancient masters. A chocolatier by trade, David has worked with the finest substances on earth . He has trained in the Alchemical Arts vegetable, mineral and metal path . He resides in Eugene where he is dedicated to working his Arte philosophically in the laboratory and vineyard.

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