The determining planet in vegetable alchemy is the Moon. We should consider the moon here as being like the sun of classical astrology, with, however, a few modifications, because of the differing phases of the two planets.

--From new moon to full moon, the planet is called positive; from full moon to new moon, it is called negative.

-A positive moon is propitious for enriching a vital element and for accomplishing the following operations: the last cohobations before the digestion, or a distillation with cohobation or circulation.

-The negative moon is propitious for operations such as distillation, separation or purification, or the separation of the pure from the impure.

Whenever possible, it is preferable to complete a menstruum around the time of a full moon.
During its cycle, the moon passes through all the 12 signs. This determines another aspect: if the moon is in Sagittarius, it is positive for all the plants under the rule of Jupiter, for example, lemonbalm. When in Pisces, it will be negative for the same plants. (See the figure on Chemical Sky).

The latter influence is certainly less powerful than the influence of the moon phases, but there is an obvious advantage of combining these two effects properly. However, because of the rotation of the earth around the sun, a shift occurs with the moon in relation to the signs. Consequently, the maximum positive or negative combination of the two effects doesn't happen with every moon cycle. The full moon occurs in the sign when the sun is in the opposite sign and the new moon occurs when the sun is in the same sign as the moon.

You can find out which sign the moon is in by consulting specialized astrological papers but you can also find it- approximately- by the following method: knowing the date of the new moon, find out in which sign the sun was on that day. The moon was in the same sign and in the same position as the sun. Then calculate the number of signs the moon went through, considering it goes through a sign in 2 1/4 days (approximately). Therefore, 9 days after a new moon, the moon has already passed through 4 signs. Note that during a complete moon cycle, the moon goes through almost 13 signs (12.97). This method is not absolutely accurate, because of the irregular course of the moon; thus, if you operate around the beginning or the end of a sign, it is better to refer to a chart of lunar positions.(Check Moon Phases Online)




J.Dubuis