A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography pharmacopœia, meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society.Descriptions of preparations are called monographs. In a broader sense it is a reference work for pharmaceutical drug specifications. Etymology The term derives from Ancient Greek: φαρμακοποιία, romanized: pharmakopoiia "making of (healing) medicine, drug-making", a compound of “medicine, drug, poison” (Ancient Greek: φάρμακον, romanized: pharmakon), with the verb "to make" (Ancient Greek: ποιεῖν, romanized: poiein...

A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitioner's desired outcome. History The use of symbols for magical or cultic purposes has been widespread since at least the Neolithic era. The term sigil derives from the Latin sigillum (pl. sigilla or sigils), meaning "seal."In medieval magic, the term sigil was commonly used to refer to occult signs which represented various angels and demons which the practitioner might summon. The magical training books called grimoires often listed pages of such sigils. A particularly well-known list is in The Lesser Key of Solomon, in which the sigils of the 72 princes of the hierarchy of hell are given for the magician's use. Such sigils are considered by some to be the equivalent of the true name of the spirit and thus granted the magician a measure of control over the beings. A common method of creating the sigils of certain spirits was...

The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London. Daniel Defoe commented: "the Distillers have found out a way to hit the palate of the Poor, by their new fashion'd compound Waters called Geneva, so that the common People seem not to value the French-brandy as usual, and even not to desire it".Parliament passed five major Acts, in 1729, 1736, 1743, 1747 and 1751, designed to control the consumption of gin. Though many similar drinks were available and alcohol consumption was considerable at all levels of society, gin caused the greatest public concern. Although it is commonly thought gin or Jenever was the singular drink, "gin" was a blanket statement for all grain-based alcohols at the time. Increased consumption of gin Gin was popularised in England following the accession of William of Orange in 1688. Gin provided an alternative to French brandy at a time of both political and religious conflict between Britain and France. Between 1689 and 1697, the Government passed a range of legislation aimed at...