On these long winter nights, we enter what the ancients called the Halcyon days…the seven days before and seven days after Winter Solstice when the winds are said to calm so a small sea‑bird (the kingfisher) can safely brood her eggs near the waters. In alchemical terms, this is a moment of stillness between cycles: the spirit of plants withdrawing to the roots, preparing for its rebirth in spring. It is also an ideal window for quiet works that bridge the plant realm into the mineral; like calling down angel water from the night air.
For those of you working with plant alchemy and feeling ready to begin that bridge into the mineral works, this is a beautiful time to prepare your Angel Water via deliquescence. You can work with potassium carbonate you’ve made from calcined plant salts or with a purchased K₂CO₃; in both cases, you are inviting this thirsty salt to drink the atmospheric moisture that carries the subtle Niter of the season. (This water is highly caustic, so please treat it with respect: gloves, eye protection, and tools you dedicate to this work only. It will etch glass; so I dedicate a Pyrex dish just for this work.)
The liquid produced from this process is called by several names in alchemy. You will see it referenced as angel water, oil of tartar (because it has an oily or soapy consistency) and also one of the secret fires. Because it is caustic is causes a chemical heat rather than needing an actual heat source.
The basic process: spread a thin layer of potassium carbonate on a glass, thick plastic or porcelain dish and expose it to the cold, damp night air; away from direct rain and harsh light, ideally where the Moon can touch it. The salt will first go pasty, then liquefy as it deliquesces; you can also hang it in a mesh cloth over a jar to catch the dripping angel water below. As the liquid forms, pour it off, then seal it in an airtight jar and tuck it away in the cool and dark. This can be used in the spring and early summer to create an Ens, “The first nature of a plant”. (You can also make Oil of Tartar without deliquescing. I’ll talk about that in the spring.)
I will post more about Ens in the spring, but for now this is a gentle introduction. If you are feeling called to deepen into mineral alchemy, the Halcyon nights are an exquisite time to begin this relationship with angel water.