Understanding The First Stage of Alchemy — Nigredo Part I

Today, I am getting started with my next series of articles. This time, I am taking a deep look at the first stage of Alchemy, Nigredo, the blackening. Some call it a spiritual crisis. Some call it ego death.

Whatever you call it — Nigredo comes not to kill you; it comes to transmute you. You may hate it. Of course, you will hate it. I am yet to meet a soul who will say — I love Nigredo. And if anyone does say it, they are probably not going through the real blackening. The dark night of the soul is not a romantic journey. It does not make you fall in love with the pain because Nigredo pain can be gut-wrenching. Most of the time it is. But every Alchemist, every Mentalist must go through this stage to become.

Become what? Frankly, no one can tell you for sure.

Hi, I am Anasua, a writer of darkness, a coach, a mentor, specializing in Alchemical stages and 7 Hermetic Principles. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

The First Stage of Alchemy — The Ego Death

First, let me tell you ego is not what people think it is. Ego death is not the death of pride. You don’t become humble overnight. The objective of Nigredo is not to mellow you down. Ego death is the death of the illusion, Maya. Ego death is the death of the victim. Ego death is the death of the one who waits to be rescued.

Nigredo takes everything false. The dark night of the soul is not simple depression. Frankly, it is not depression at all. You will feel heavy — all the time. It will seem that a weight is constantly sitting on your chest. You will carry it with you all the time.

And one day, you will stop noticing. That is when Nigredo releases you.

No one, and I repeat no one, walks out of Nigredo with the same belief, same faith, and same spirituality. Even though Nigredo shatters spiritual belief, it is a spiritual process of rebirth. You are being broken apart, so The Divine can forge you into your true self.

It is The Tower that shakes everything that is no longer serving you. If you expect God to cuddle you and protect you, Nigredo will shatter that belief. Your ego will die when you finally realize that your whole world is rotting and no one is coming to rescue you. It is painful. But it is a necessary process to find your true self.

Fearing Nigredo is understandable. But sitting in the portal and waiting for it to end is the biggest mistake one can make.

The First Stage of Alchemy — The Transmutation of Lead

Those who have read The Kybalion will not find the 3 stages of Alchemy in the book. It is actually 4 stages. But often Citrinitas comes as a cusp portal, and it becomes truly difficult to distinguish it from late Albedo. Therefore, I like to focus on the primary 3 stages only.

The 1st Hermetic Principle, The Mentalism, says — The Universe is Mental. THE ALL is Mind. To simplify this — we can say that whatever we see around ourselves, meaning our Universe, is a creation of our mind. And we create our Universe by aligning with THE ALL, the living mind.

Now, understand this: without Nigredo, when you are still in the state of illusion, you will not be able to build a lasting empire. For anything to last, the foundation must be strong. Nigredo burns the illusions to give this foundation.

Transmutation of lead into gold is a symbolic concept. To an Alchemist, the base metal is the false human self. Alchemy is the transmutation of the false self into the true one. It is finding the gold inside.

The First Stage of Alchemy — Saturn’s Portal

Yes, Nigredo is Saturn-heavy. It brings obstacles, delays, rot, divine silence, and heavy depressing monologues. But without Saturn, there is no Sun. To shine, you must first pass through the darkest corridor of your soul. Only then your inner light will reflect outside.

Lastly,

The dark night of the soul does not last. It does not come to ruin you. It comes to reveal you. However, I don’t want to give you a toxic motivational speech. I am not going to tell you to endure because it is a form of divine grace. That Saturn is forging you. All I am going to tell you is — I lived it. I endured it. And I survived it. So, I know what you are going through.

With this, I am wrapping up today. I will continue with the first stage of alchemy series for now because Nigredo is vast and painful. And everyone needs the words from a soul who has been through it.