Workshop Information
This course explores the roots of science and alchemy as an early way of understanding nature and its transformation into modern scientific thought. Beginning with the historical relationship between animism, natural philosophy, and the development of chemistry, toxicology and Jungian psychology we will examine how humans have interpreted the processes of the Earth and their place within them. Particular attention will be given to the biogeochemical cycles that move elements through soil, water, air, plants, and living bodies, and how early medicine-making emerged from observing and working with these natural transformations.
From this ecological perspective, the class will explore how traditional alchemical practices emerged as attempts to work consciously with these natural cycles. We will touch on Hermetic philosophy and astrology in the lens of astronomy as frameworks that once helped people interpret relationships between the cosmos, the Earth and the body.
The second half of the course will focus on various spagyric extracts as a form of plant extraction. Students will learn how these preparations differ from conventional tinctures and the skeleton outline of what occurs during the process from a phytochemical standpoint. By the end of the class, students will have a clearer understanding of how traditional alchemical ideas intersect with ecology, plant chemistry, and contemporary herbal practice.
*PRC diploma students will receive 0.5 WHS academic credit for this workshop.
Workshop Instructor
Maureen Judith is a self-led spagyrist, herbalist, and educator whose expertise has been cultivated through years of immersive global study under practicing herbalists worldwide, ongoing independent scholarship in alchemy and plant medicine. She is recognized across the North American herbal community as a leading voice in spagyric extraction, biogeochemistry, and relational plant medicine. Her work bridges the empirical and the philosophical, rooted in chemistry, earth systems, and animist tradition.
She is the founder and operator of Aura La Voura, an earth-centered spagyric apothecary based in Flagstaff, Arizona, producing small-batch triple-extracted spagyric tinctures, hydrosols, metallic and mineral oils, and salves, available under her own brand and through white-label commercial supply. A portion of profits are donated to environmental reforestation every year.
Workshop Prerequisites
None
Workshop Dates
Saturday, August 15, 2026, 9:00am-5:00pm PT
Workshop Format
On Campus
Workshop Tuition
Regular – $165 (Early Bird – $150, until May 4)
Students – $150 (Early Bird – $140, until May 4)
PRC Alumni – $155 (Early Bird – $145, until May 4)
Withdrawal Policy
For workshop withdrawals submitted in writing 30 days or more before the start of the workshop, registrants will receive a full tuition refund less a $40 non-refundable registration fee. For workshop withdrawals submitted in writing more than 14 days but less than 30 days before the start of the workshop, registrants will receive a 50% tuition refund. Without exception, no refunds will be given for withdrawals less than 14 days before the start of the workshop.