Tag: Alchemy

The nigredo, a Latin term meaning black or darkness, refers in alchemy to the phase of black (calcination) in the Magnum Opus, which is the initial step in the creation of the philosopher’s stone. It involves putrefaction and decomposition.

The black also contains a reference to the etymology of the term Alchemy itself as an ancient Egyptian priestly science, one interpretation being “black earth” (al-kimiya) like the one flooded by the Nile.

Characteristics of Nigredo

The nigredo represents the phase in which the matter must be decomposed to return to its primitive state, back to the condition of the original chaos from which the entire original narrative arose. It is necessary to destroy the elements so that they can be later recomposed in a higher synthesis.

Solve et Coagula (Dissolve and Coagulate) is precisely the alchemists’ motto, indicating the operations to be performed, of which dissolution and decomposition are necessarily the first essential steps. Indeed, liquefaction allows reducing matter to its undifferentiated essence, identified with the philosophical mercury. This can also be achieved through cleavage, meaning subdivision into its components, or calcination, reducing it to ashes over the fire.

At the macrocosmic level, the nigredo is governed by Saturn, a planet whose heaviness and gravity are associated with dark and mournful colors and, among metals, with lead. In Christian alchemy, it involves the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, where the body is destroyed, and the blood is scattered. Golgotha (a former pilgrimage site), which properly means “place of the skull,” has become a recurring image to describe the alchemical nigredo.

In the Divine Comedy, the nigredo phase corresponds to Dante and Virgil’s passage through Hell. In the theory of humors, it is linked to melancholy, hence to black bile, placing it in winter among the four seasons and in old age among the stages of life.

In the initiation rite of Freemasonry, it is customary to confine the profane in a Reflection Chamber (the initiation room in Freemasonry) where they are left alone with a skull, in analogy with the alchemical operation of nigredo.

Nigredo in Psychology

Within the framework of Carl Jung’s analytical psychology, the phrase has taken on a metaphorical meaning, representing the inside struggle to face one’s Shadow. As Jung put it, “the rediscovery of alchemical principles has become an important part of my pioneering work in psychology.” While studying alchemy, he and his fellow students “compared the ‘black work’ of the alchemists (the nigredo) with the often very critical involvement experienced by the ego until it accepts the new balance brought by the creation of the self.” The nigredo has two primary psychological meanings, according to Jungians.

The first sense stands for a subject’s initial condition of undifferentiated apathy. According to the author, “the first nigredo, that of the unio naturalis, is an objective state, visible only from the outside… an unconscious state of undifferentiation between self and object, consciousness and unconsciousness” (i.e., the subject is oblivious to the unconscious, as in the link with instincts).

According to the second interpretation, “the nigredo of the individuation process is, on the other hand, a subjectively experienced process, triggered by the painful and growing awareness of the subject of its shadow aspects.” A period of profound depression is necessary for growth as an individual.

Throughout individuation, “the confrontation with the shadow initially produces a dead balance, a stop that hinders moral decisions and renders convictions ineffective or even impossible… nigredo, tenebrositas, chaos, melancholy.

The painful and growing awareness by the subject of its shadow aspects, usually described as a moment of extreme melancholy, is, for Jung, a prerequisite for personal development on the path of individuation. The confrontation with the Shadow initially generates a standstill, disillusionment, and a retreat that slows action and reveals the ineffectiveness of one’s beliefs. Only later does what is called in philosophy “enantiodromia” occur, that is, the reversal into the opposite: the nigredo gives way to the albedo, and the ever-deeper descent into the unconscious suddenly transforms into an illumination from above.

Images like the albedo (whiteness), citrinitas (yellowing), and rubedo (redness) are part of the Magnum Opus at other levels. Along with many other alchemical ideas, Jung discovered psychological counterparts for analytical activity, which he compared to an opus, the analytical connection to a container, and the purpose of analysis as the union or combination of opposing components.

Cultural References to Nigredo

1. Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial: In the alchemical literary discourse “Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial” (1658), the meditative stage of nigredo is described as being lost in the uncomfortable night of nothingness by the physician-philosopher Thomas Browne.
2. Sonnets: The symbolisms in the Sonnets (Shakespeare) are filled with allusions to nigredo and the “phantom night.”
3. William Butler Yeats: In his alchemical narratives, William Butler Yeats introduces the reader to the nigredo phase with the words: “to wrestle with the shadow, as in an ancient night.”
4. The Abyss: “The Abyss” is a historical novel from 1968 by Marguerite Yourcenar, whose title refers to the alchemical phase of the same name in the Magnum Opus.
5. Overlord: In the Japanese light novel and animation series Overlord, there is a character named Nigredo. His two sisters are named Albedo and Rubedo, all three named after parts of the Magnum Opus.

The albedo, a Latin term meaning whiteness, is in alchemy one of the phases of the Magnum Opus, following the nigredo phase. Symbolized by a white swan, it is called “whiteness,” or alternatively ablutio, purificatio, mundificatio, or fissatio. It involves the purification of the formless mass produced by nigredo, washing away impurities to prepare it for the subsequent rubedo. In chemical terms, it corresponds to distillation and metaphorically represents the liberation of the soul from the bonds of corporeality.

Characteristics of Albedo

Albedo allows the transformation of lead into silver, acting in the phase following the dissolution of matter and recomposing it into a higher synthesis, following the alchemical motto solve et coagula. It represents dawn and rebirth, sometimes symbolized by a woman or a white rose.

It is also assimilated to the element of water for its purifying significance and because the ultimate goal of albedo is the creation of a fluid or vital liquid with regenerative virtues, akin to mercury or quicksilver, known as the elixir of long life.

On a macrocosmic level, the white of albedo is associated with the Moon, an image of purity and femininity, and among metals, with silver.

In Christian alchemy, the albedo specifically refers to the Resurrection of Jesus after the Passion and the sacrifice on the cross. Another allegorical episode of the albedo is the Baptism in Jordan, characterized by the descent of the white Dove. Venus, as the soul, is also an archetype of love, beauty, and creativity, serving as a bridge between the dark condition of the ego and the opening to higher dimensions of the spirit.

The alternation of white with black is often present on the entrance floor of Masonic temples, paved with white and black squares like chessboards, reminding us of the duality of light and darkness, spirit and matter, benevolent and malevolent powers. In the Divine Comedy, the albedo phase corresponds to the ascent through Dante and Virgil’s Purgatory. Alchemists attributed the phlegmatic humor to the albedo.

Analogies with the Psyche

In the realm of analytical psychology, Jung likens the albedo to the revelation of the archetype of the anima in men and the animus in women. According to Jung, the individual, after becoming aware of the negative aspects of their own Shadow, has learned not to project them outward but to constructively engage with them.

This involves moving away from unconscious identification with the undifferentiated collective psyche and consciously turning inward through reflection in the process of self-individuation. Ultimately, the albedo entails the distillation of the ego from the unconscious.

The Latin term “rubedo,” which can be translated as “redness,” signifies in alchemy the final phase of the Magnum Opus, the reddening, following the nigredo and the albedo: it is the ultimate completion of chemical transmutations, culminating in the creation of the philosopher’s stone and the transformation of base metals into gold. While the nigredo involved putrefaction and albedo distillation, the rubedo occurs through sublimation under the influence of fire, that is, the Spirit. It is symbolized by the phoenix or a pelican, an egg, a red rose, or a crowned king.

Characteristics of Rubedo

Since red is considered by alchemists as the intermediate color between white and black, between light and darkness, the rubedo represents the reunion of opposites, the closing of the circle, the union of spirit and matter, masculine and feminine, or Sun and Moon, ultimately the androgynous or rebis. After lead has been transmuted into silver, it marks the final transition to gold.

Similarly, just as the nigredo corresponded to the alchemist’s physical body, and the albedo to their soul, the rubedo now identifies their spirit, the highest part of the three constituent organs of the human being.

The alchemist’s ultimate task at such a stage of development is not only to rise above matter but also to reunite with it and redeem it after making it fertile and purified from coarse aspects. Their soul, having liberated itself from corporeality, must also die to make way for the descent of the spirit, achieving the fusion of the Self with the world.

This is akin to the initial stages of the Magnum Opus but now consciously, at a higher level of awareness, and as a result of their free will. The Self becomes an instrument of God, realizing that it is one with the world and reflecting in it—the microcosm has become the macrocosm. In Christian alchemy, the color red is equivalent to Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit to Earth in the form of tongues of fire.

On a planetary level, rubedo is associated with the Sun, symbolizing fire, and the Spirit, an astral body believed to govern gold, in which the Earth is destined to reunite in the future at the end of its evolution. The meaning of red, on the other hand, refers to blood, life, fertility, and sacrifice. It symbolizes sulfur reuniting with mercury, imparting its own dye—a term in alchemy that not only involves “painting” but specifically “transmuting.”

Red is also the attribute of the highest degrees of the Masonic hierarchy, and the color of the upholstery in lodges where its rituals take place. The prevalence of red is found in many national flags. For instance, Goethe considered red the quintessential color, a synthesis of opposites that “contains, in act or in potency, all other colors,” capable of giving an impression of both gravity and dignity, as well as clemency and grace.

In the Divine Comedy, rubedo corresponds to Dante and Beatrice’s entrance into Paradise. In the context of humor theory, the sanguine temperament is attributed to rubedo, or the choleric temperament.

Similarities Within a Psychoanalytic Framework

In the realm of analytical psychology developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, rubedo represents the archetype of the Self attained at the culmination of the individuation process. This is when the fusion between the ego and the Self occurs, symbolized by a red man and a white woman.

It signifies the union of opposites, the point at which the individual not only reclaims the unconscious material that had been deceptively projected outward but consciously reworks it at a higher level, opening up to love. In this way, one comes to discover their true nature, receiving the manifestation of the Self in its entirety.