The Principle of Sulfur represents the Soul, or as we would say in Mvskoke, the Sacred Fire. There is a relation to the Fire Element and the Internal Flame being the core, essential nature of a being. Soul is our own unique embodiment of Creator. The Soul, or Sulfur, of a plant is the essential oils or, in some cases, the resin, which are all unique to the individual plant.

The Principle of Mercury represents the Mind. In Alchemy, this principle of psyche is called the Spirit. It is the One Spirit that moves through and animates all of Life, the bridge between Soul, our unique expression of Life, and the body. All plants yield ethyl alcohol or spirits when fermented, a process symbolic of death. Therefore, the universal Spirit, or Mercury, of a plant is the alcohol it either releases or is extracted within, as it contains the universal intelligence.

The final principle, the Principle of Salt, is often forgotten in Western Herbalism. This is the principle of materiality. This is the body of the plant, which is often discarded after the extraction process. In Spagyrics, the remains of the plant are purified and crystallized into mineral salts, and returned to the extracts, completing the alchemical process of Soul-Mind-Body purification.