Ceration

Ceration is a chemical process

Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...

, a common practice in alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

. Pseudo-Geber's Summa Perfectionis tells us ceration is "the mollification of an hard thing, not fusible unto liquefaction" and stresses the importance of correct humidity in the process. Ceration is performed by continuously adding a liquid

Liquid

Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...

 by imbibition

Imbibition

'Imbibition' is defined as the displacement of one fluid by another immiscible fluid. This process is controlled and affected by a variety of factors...

 to a hard, dry substance while it is heated. This typically results in making the substance softer, becoming like molten wax

Wax

thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...

.

Pernety's 1787 Mytho-Hermetic dictionary defines it somewhat differently as the time when matter passes from black to gray and then to white. This is accomplished by continuous cooking. Ceration may be synonymous with similar terms for alchemical burning processes. Incineration

Incineration

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and...

, for example is listed by Manly P. Hall. (Also see Calcination

Calcination

Calcination is a thermal treatment process applied to ores and other solid materials to bring about a thermal decomposition, phase transition, or removal of a volatile fraction. The calcination process normally takes place at temperatures below the melting point of the product materials...

.)