Also known as "essence", "finest" and "most precious", "spiritus" can mean a number of different things in the alchemical tradition: it could mean good smelling oils which were distilled from certain plants (specifically an "essence" aspect), or the best and most effective/most potent part of a substance. In the case of wine, for example, this "potent part" would be alcohol.

For a comparable symbol, see 'Essence (alchemy)'.