Alchemy in Appalachia: Elevated Essentials

Join us for an unforgettable 5-day immersion deep in Appalachia where you will discover the Art and Science of Distillation- helping you to elevate your skills in Alchemy and Spagyria as you learn to craft both a Spagyric Essence per Destillatio and a Philosophic Spagyric Essence. 

**Everyone who attends this immersion also gets access to our online course: Spagyria 1010  for FREE = $1,500 value** When you register, Rebecca the office manager will email you access to the course.

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When: 

August 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 + Optional extra "Phoenix 40th Birthday Celebration Day" on August 17th (more info below).  Time of class is from 10-7pm each day with breakfast being served at 9am.

Where:

Held at the Anderson Center within Holly River State Park located in the small town of Hacker Valley, West Virginia.

Watch the tour of the training facilities and community campgrounds at Holly River State Park in this youtube video.

For Whom:  

This experience is crafted for those ready to live the Art they study, to Transform as they learn, and to root Spiritual and Psychological development into their lab practice.

Cost: 

Early Bird pricing through June 30th: $1500 per attendee 

After June 30th the regular price is: $1750 per attendee 

*We do offer a spouse, friend, or relative discount as well: add your friend, spouse, or partner to the immersion for only $1,200 at any point

*In order to register for 2 people and receive the discount, please email Rebecca at support@phoenixaurelius.org and she will send you a custom invoice that you can pay in order to be registered. 

Class Size: 

Participation is limited to 20 Students {first come first serve}

Class Description: 

This unique 5-day opportunity invites you into a living Alchemical Immersion where Plant Alchemy and Personal Transformation converge. Join Phoenix Aurelius and a small group of like-minded learners in a magical temperate rainforest as we learn the Art and Science of Alchemy, where every distillation is a dialogue with Consciousness and where we get to experience the Quantum Nature of Reality in real-time.  

This immersion provides students with solid, repeatable Alchemical and Spagyric techniques while simultaneously decrypting their Spiritual and Psychological reflections. Each process in the labratory represents not only a physical step, but also contains within it potent Spiritual, Psychological, and Energetic lessons that students will come to intrinsically understand by the time the 5 days is up. 

The Alchemical Laboratory is a sacred space where Nature is subjected to the processes of transformation in order that we may observe and learn the dynamics of Transformation itself while simultaneously exalting Nature. With awareness and the correct Alchemical framework, you can use these very processes not only to make Spagyric Essences but also unlock the hidden aspects of your Psyche, transform stagnant patterns into healthy Disciplines, and ultimately cultivate a life for yourself that aligns your Outer Actions with your Inner Truth. Though everyone gets out of Alchemical work what they put into it, this 5-day curriculum will help students form a deeper coherence between their Lab practices and their Spiritual and Psychological frameworks. Not only will students be able to explore the Tria Prima as both Philosophic Essentials in the Lab and Archetypal Essentials within the Self, they will be learning how to make potent items of Spagyric Pharmacopoeia that can be used to help address multi-dimensional imbalances.

This immersion study opportunity will focus on various styles of distillation and methods of extracting and working with both Fixed and Volatile Sulfur as well as learning to safely and expertly distill essential oils and tinctures. Students will learn the dynamics of various styles of distillation that ultimately build a foundation for more advanced Alchemical and Spagyric work.

Within the flow of the curriculum, we will be making two different items of Aurelian Spagyric Pharmacopoeia in just 5 days: an Essence per Destillatio and a Philosophic Spagyric Essence. Students will learn what each item of Pharmacopoeia is used for and why we would make one over the other and when we would use one over the other. 

Along the way, students will learn:

• Aurelian Theory Concerning these Items of Pharmacopoeia

• What Each of These Items of Pharmacopoeia is Used For
  

• Lab Safety
  

• Discussions Concerning Preferred Equipment 
  

• The Ins and Outs of Essential Oil Distillation for Alchemy + Spagyria
  

• Distillations via Retort vs Distillations via Alembic
  

• Isolating Fixed Sulfur
  

• Salt of Sulfur Works
  

• Rarefying the Fixed Sulfur
  

• Using these skills to make various items of Pharmacopoeia
  

• Reaction of Salts and Characteristic Changes

Students can volunteer to perform various processes throughout the 5 days so each attendee can have the opportunity to get some hands-on experience but this particular offering is not a full hands-on experience due to time and safety limitations.

It is highly recommended to bring a notebook as well as your phones, audio recorders, cameras, and any accompanying file storage devices you might want (like additional Micro SD cards, USB Drives, etc). You are encouraged to take photos, videos, and audio recordings so you can reference the equipment, processes, special techniques, etc. We request that you don’t share the information without our written consent, though sharing clips of your day on Social Media Platforms is just fine as long as you tag us in your post. 

Students will each walk away with a 5-15mL bottle (depending on attendance and batch size) of each of the Spagyric Products that we make during the immersion. More importantly, students will walk away with skills to make a wide variety of items of Spagyric Pharmacopoeia, each with their own applications. Though we won’t be making them during this immersion, the work here also opens up pathways for the Archaeus of Water, Cohobated Spagyric Tinctures, Rarefied Spagyric Tinctures, Magisteries, and more, which are all covered in later courses!

Meal Info:

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages will be provided for the duration of your immersion. All meals will be prepped and served on site. The ingredients used for all meals will be as organic as possible, (likely around 90-95% organic), and all meats served will be pastured, organic, and high quality. 

Meals will be whole foods based, delicious, and keep your mind/body sharp for full days of learning. If you have particular dietary needs we will do our best to accommodate you and details will be discussed via email after you have registered. Due to the remote location of our venue, there is no where to get any remotely healthy food within an hour each direction of the venue. If you need particular snacks or specialty items, be sure to bring them for your own convenience. 

A big part of the overall experience is being able to share in healthy yummy meals with other students while staying on site. This helps breed a wonderful comradery between students and keeps the flow of the education strong! 

Breakfast Served at 9am each day

Lunch Served at 1pm each day

Dinner Served at 7pm each day

*Optional Additional Day On August 17th

If you so choose to spend an extra day after the immersion ends, we invite you to stick around for a leisurely birthday celebration in honor of Phoenix's big 40. 

The schedule will loosely look like this:

9am: Breakfast served at Anderson Center

10-1pm: Tear down facilities, pack up, and clean up

2pm: Meet at Upper Falls on Pickens Grade Rd (Part of the state park) weather permitting and have a group hangout/ light picnic/ snacks at the waterfalls 

Afternoon and evening to be spontaneous and in flow- We can decide to hang out at the group camp, at Phoenix's property, or possibly the Quinn house for a lovely festive hang out to enjoy one anothers company, celebrate the end of the immersion, and of course Phoenix's 40th birthday (actual birthday is Aug. 18th)! 

About Our Venue:

Classes will be held at the Anderson Activity Center in Holly River State Park. With 8,101 acres of dense broadleaf forest, Holly River is West Virginia’s second largest state park. Located in a narrow valley in the Mountain Lakes region, the park is surrounded by heavily forested mountains, some reaching more than 2,800 feet in height.

There are some outstanding hikes throughout the Park and it is a great idea to plan for a little extra time on the front or backend of your trip to be able to enjoy the lush natural scenery and magic of this pocket of the world. 

Please keep in mind that by attending this immersion study, you will be deep in central Appalachia. This entails the presence of biting insects including but not limited to: wood ticks, deer ticks, at least four different species of no-see-ums/biting midges, and mosquitos. The nymph deer ticks are the ones that are most commonly associated with Lyme and other diseases and they are usually the size of a speck of cracked black peppercorn. They are very small and you should thoroughly search yourself at the beginning and end of each day using a mirror. Pay special attention to sock lines, underwear lines, hat lines, etc. If a tick has latched on to you, let one of our staff know and we’ll make sure we get it off. Usually a person has between 24 and 36 hours after latching before diseases are transmitted, which is more than enough time to find it and let our staff know. We will also have IDF solutions broadcasting on-site during class to prevent all insect-borne diseases if the need arises. It is not a huge deal, but something to be aware of if this is your first time in this area of the world. 

Venomous creatures are not many in number, though in this area of West Virginia, we have copperheads, Eastern timber rattlesnakes, Eastern massasauga snakes, 2 varieties of black widows, and brown recluse spiders. Encounters with venomous creatures are not very common at all, yet we share this as a heads up. Please know that the nearest hospital is at least 40 min away in Webster Springs, WV (although 911 is accessible and paramedics do arrive onsite for emergencies). 

Holly River State Park and surrounding areas are home to white tailed deer, wild turkeys, about 30 varieties of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, opossums, and black bears (which are usually skittish and afraid of people out here because they get ran by hounds all season long and hunted in the winter). 

And, as is true of all of Appalachia, there are known to be a host of Cryptids and Otherfolk roaming the woods at night. We STRONGLY suggest staying inside or very near to your lodging facilities from nightfall until sunrise. The woods are ominous at best at night, and there are many things you don’t want to encounter out there. {In particular, we strongly suggest that guests do not look up in the trees after nightfall and it is important to note that whistling or singing in the woods after nightfall can make you a target to these Cryptids.} We take the safety of our guests very seriously and we will ask everyone who attends our immersion study to adhere to certain safety precautions during their stay. With that being said, fear not, as camping in the campgrounds is generally quite safe, just employ common sense. 

Though there are hundreds of botanicals and fungi that grow in the park, attendees and students are not permitted to harvest anything without a permit. If you are interested in either coming early or staying afterwards and doing some harvesting, you can apply for a harvest permit. Contact us and let us know what you are looking for and we can help direct you to the organization you need.

A side view of the Anderson Center where class will be held

Main section of Anderson Center

Will be the dining room once tables are set up

A view of the Men's bathroom inside the Anderson Center

The foot bridge leading over the river on the side of the Anderson Center

Lodging Options:

We have reserved the entire group camping area at Holly River State Park which will accommodate up to 15 tents. On-site camping is FREE for up to 15 tents. First come first serve. We don’t care how many people are in the tents themselves, but we can only have 15 tents total in the group camping area. Please note that students are responsible for furnishing their own tents, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, etc. For those who choose to camp onsite, there is a dumping station and four-centralized bathhouses available as well as two coin-operated washers and dryers. The group camp is reserved August 11th- 18th (check out morning of 18th around 11 am), so if you do decide to camp, know you have 2 extra nights at the group camp after the immersion to be able to explore the area if you so choose. 

First group tent area

Group fire place and pavilion at the group camp site

For Those That Want Housing:

We also have reserved the Quinn House (scroll down to bottom to see it) through August 11-18th, which is a 5 bedroom rental home about 2.5 miles from the entrance of Holly River State Park. Students may choose to reserve one of these rooms and there are options to either bunk with someone or to bunk alone. The cost of this house is $200 a night and will be split between whoever ends up staying at the Quinn House, so the more people stay, the less everyone pays! In order to reserve your spot at the Quinn House please email support@phoenixaurelius.org directly so Rebecca can reserve your room.  

The Quinn House

For those who would like to stay in Holly River State Park, but do not want to camp, several on-site cabins are usually available for rent, though they are first come, first serve and may already be booked out by others staying in the Park.  Please check cabin availability using the following link: https://wvstateparks.com/places-to-stay/cabins/holly-river-cabins/. Alternatively, those with motorhomes, fifth wheels, travel trailers, truck and camper or other similar situation will find that the Park also offers multiple campground spaces with electrical hookups.

There are other lodging options available within an hour’s drive of Holly River State Park. Within about 5-10 minutes drive from the State Park, Kickin’ Back In the Valley offers several cabins for rent. {As stated above, we have already reserved the entire Quinn House for students that would like to stay there.} Within just 10-15 minutes drive, there is the Wild, Wonderful Skoolies + Camping that have several converted school bus tiny houses and additional campgrounds. There is also a really cute Swiss immigrant town called Helvetia about 40 minutes from the Park which is home to the Beekeeper Inn Bed and Breakfast that has 3 rooms available. Along similar lines, and just a little closer than Helvetia, there is the The Bali Farm House which is an historic location that also boasts Swiss Immigrant History. Buckhannon, WV is about an hour North of the Park and has a number of Motels and Hotels. There are also various lodging options (usually cabins) available for rent in the areas between Hacker Valley and Webster Springs (45 minutes South) like this one about  30-45 min away on Airbnb. Please email norianna@phoenixaurelius.org if you’re having problems finding lodging or if you have special needs and accommodations as we would love to direct you to a location that will suit your needs. 

Travel Info:

This event will be held at the Anderson Center of Holly River State Park in Hacker Valley, West Virginia. To find it, simply go to the main entrance of Holly River state park and drive down the main road, you will see an Alchemy In Appalachia sign on the right that will direct you to the Anderson Center.

If you are flying, there are three airport options:

1: West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV. There are limited flights in and out of this location, so flights in here usually have layovers and connecting flights. The Airport is about a 2 hour drive from Holly River State Park.

2. Pittsburgh International Airport. There are lots of International and Domestic flights in and out of this location and this is the airport we suggest most attendees look into. The Airport is about a 3 hour drive from Holly River State Park. 

3. North Central West Virginia Airport (CKB) in Bridgeport is about an hour and a half away from Holly River State Park and has some domestic flights available.

If you want to rent a car and even extend your stay, we highly recommend taking some time out to explore this area of the world called "Almost Heaven" for a good reason. Unless you fly into Pittsburg International Airport, you will have to rent a car to get to Holly River State Park, or rely on a one way taxi fare, or coordinate with other students about ride shares in our immersion telegram group. 

It is ideal to coordinate ride shares with the other students if you are planning on flying into Pittsburg. We will have an option of picking up and dropping off about 4 students to and from the Pittsburg airport (3.5 hour drive one way). The student(s) will be responsible for paying for all gas cost for the ride, as it will be offered by another student/friend Caitlin who is staying in the area. 

If you do decide to fly into Charleston, WV, there are buses that go from there to Sutton, WV. From Sutton, students can hire a taxi to get to Holly River State park. Use the link below to learn more about the route: https://www.rome2rio.com/map/West-Virginia/Holly-River-State-Park#r/Bus-taxi

Last year due to the telegram group and the manner in which students arrived, we didn't have a problem with transportation to and from the immersion study. 

Additional Info and Help:

When you sign up, Rebecca (office manager) will be emailing you directly about your dietary needs, giving you access to the telegram group for 2026 Elevated Essentials (to meet other students, coordinate details, etc.), giving you access to the Spagyria1010 online course (usually a $1,500 value), and inquiring about your lodging/travel plans. Be sure to communicate with her so we can organize this event as flawlessly as possible. 

To protect our students as well as the Medicines we are making from any contamination, students may not wear scented toiletries, colognes, perfumes, or other heavily scented products, EVEN IF THE PRODUCTS ARE NATURAL. Please ensure that your clothes are not scented from the use of any of the aforementioned products or from commercial laundry detergents or fabric softeners. Students are not permitted to wear chemicals like DEET or other known toxic chemicals, though the use of Permethrin is fine as long as the product is not artificially scented. All of the aforementioned products contain endocrine disrupting chemicals; even some natural scents are distracting for students and are capable of altering the Limbic Brain and causing Neurological Dysfunction. Phoenix has a VERY sensitive sense of smell and usually multiple students in every group do as well; if your scent is disruptive to either Phoenix or the rest of the class, you will be asked to change your clothing. If the problem persists, you will be asked to leave. To prepare for the trip, please purchase unscented travel size deodorant and please also wash your clothes in unscented detergents before packing them up on the trip.