"The Treasure
hard to attain."

"The basis of the opus, the prima materia, is one of the most famous secrets in alchemy. Alchemy set itself the task of acquiring this 'treasure hard to attain', and of producing it in visible form, as the physical gold or the panacea or the transforming tincture."

— Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy

The science of Alchemy came to me via Carl Jung.
His work and writing around Alchemy fascinated me deeply. The strange images and mysterious symbolism were so completely abstract, yet still spoke to me in a certain way.

When I started to discover and explore Lion's Mane, it was the same time I discovered Alchemy via Jung — his book Psychology & Alchemy, to be exact. These two streams running almost in parallel.

It was this parallel discovery that resulted in many things you see today.
Prima Materia, the name, came directly from the book. A term that just grabbed my attention and I intuitively decided to use. Only to later realise that mushrooms could be seen as actual prima materia.

The other thing was the logo.
This symbol just immediately spoke to me, through many layers. I directly knew I wanted to use this very symbol. Only later to discover it represents completion — the ultimate balance between two opposites.

Here is the unexplainable workings of Alchemy for me: it seemed to be about the very mysterious, but equally the hyper practical. The esoteric intangible, yet the hyper practical and material side. And how these two work together in a way that leads to transformation.
The connection between the very opposites: light and dark, Sun and Moon, Chaos and Order, future and past, Pharmacy and Alchemy...

As I was going through my own personal transformation, so did the mushroom extraction.
Realising the essence of Alchemy: Solve et Coagula. Something that could happen on a spiritual level as well as a practical level.

It seemed to me, more and more, that the mushroom was growing and transforming with me.
Not just the mushroom itself, but my understanding of it — how to grow the mushroom and learning the art of extraction.

More and more it became clear why I chose Prima Materia as the name, chose the symbol as my logo.
How my personal transformation was directly reflected in the transformation of the mushroom and my workings and methods with her.

Hence going back to Jung's quote — Alchemy is about the treasure hard to obtain (but definitely to be found), producing "it" in a visible form, as the physical gold or the panacea or...

The transforming tincture.

I am still exploring and transforming to this day.
As so is the tincture, the extraction I craft, together with me.

The mushroom I will write about is the Lion's Mane.

This unfamiliar white fluffy ball, who came on my path and, quite honestly, changed my life quite a bit...
In first instance, it unexpectedly helped me deal with my brain fog, when I was suffering from a depression.

Besides helping me, she intrigued me.
How could such a funny, yet beautiful mushroom, be so effective?
Yet so completely unknown to everyone?

This inspired me a lot.
I bought a Lion's Mane grow kit, and all started to literally grow from there.
From buying more grow kits, to doing a mushroom cultivation course and starting to grow them myself in my home. Growing your own is truly something — to be able to grow your own supplement...

And growing she did, till the moment I realised I cannot do it myself anymore.
As I needed way more Lion's Mane to get my extraction to a level I wanted.

Luckily I met my friend Wout, aka the Professor, aka Mycophilia.
A Professor for a reason, as this man truly understands mushrooms on every level. His mushroom farm is deeply respected, providing mushrooms for most of the high-end restaurants in Amsterdam as well as making his own top-notch mushroom supplements, which he crafts for big players.

I am happy and honoured to say that Wout / Mycophilia grows and supplies Prima Materia with the highest grade Lion's Mane and Reishi for my extractions. And yes, this is as local and organic as it gets.

Many more experiences I have with the Lion's Mane.
Or Yamabushitake, as they name her in Japan... Which became a grand, full-circle adventure in itself — of me walking the Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan, which was directly inspired by the ascetic mountain warrior monks, the Yamabushi. Who named themselves after their beloved mushroom.

I could go on and on, but I'll save it for a next time...

Growing mushrooms is one thing...
but the craft that really made me fall in love: making the tincture.

The Art of Extractions makes my inner dork extremely happy.
Just give me the mushrooms, and I'll do the rest.
So this is exactly what happens :)

I could rave on and on about all the intrinsics, the nuances, the different techniques.
The key thing is, that after all these years, I am still exploring, still discovering and still learning.

My goal is not to create some generic recipe and sell some supplements.
My vision is something quite the opposite.

To embrace an ever evolving process.
As I transform, the extractions transform.
As I grow, the extractions grow.

Having that said, all my batches are hence unique.
They only follow one rule: I try to always improve.

Each new batch should be better than the previous one...
and so it evolves, step by step, batch by batch.

All the time I try to find new things. When I make a batch, new ideas flow to my mind.

However, I don't take this lightly. It's getting more sophisticated every time.
New machines, new ways of measurement, new research that inspires.

Currently, my batches undergo about 6 separate extraction techniques, blending these all together in the final product. I use different nuances per mushroom, as the Lion's Mane is way more sensitive than Reishi.

Maybe the 6 techniques will become 10?
Maybe they will become 4?

I don't know, time will tell...
But I do know it's done with intention and intuition.

Documenting all I do. Sharing all I do.
As I find something very important: transparency.

This should go without saying, but you deserve to know what you take.
My Instagram highlights show my entire progression, from all years to today.
All batches ever made. You can look it back and see how I made it.

The Spagyric phase became a full circle discovery, and a great example of how I miraculously still stumble upon new things, after many years.
A full circle stumble, as Spagyrics is a technique coming from Alchemy directly.

It is a forgotten science in itself, which is truly deep, and completely interconnected and attuned with Nature. Originating in the 16th century with Paracelsus — the Swiss physician-alchemist who insisted that Salt, Mercury, and Sulphur were the foundation of all medicine — Spagyrics laid the blueprint for modern pharmacology as we know it.

While I could argue against myself, that what I do is hardly Spagyrics.
As this would simply insult those who embrace its complexity and magic fully.

However, one element of Spagyrics stood out to me: the process of Calcination.
By filtering out the mushroom residue, burning this to a white ash and extracting it in distilled water, one is able to bring out the mushroom's own minerals. Or The Salts, as the Alchemist would say.

This makes the final tincture a truly full spectrum product.
And even one without any waste, making it fully circular.

To conclude, there is nothing more Alchemical to end things
with things that are fully circular... and thus never truly end ;)