08-10-2021, 02:07 AM
The Magnum Opus in esoteric alchemy has several stages. The most common list I found is that of four stages: 1) blackening, 2) whitening, 3) yellowing and 4) reddening.
I have been puzzled about why the fourth stage is the reddening stage. Shouldn't the last stage be whitening, as in white light with the full spectrum? And sometimes the whitening stage is listed last, but the common listing is with the reddening stage last it seems.
One possible interpretation is that the color red represents kundalini energy and the reddening stage represents the kundalini energy fully released from the veil. Like how Shiva has a snake outside of him instead of still trapped within him, and how the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt have snakes coming out of their foreheads indicating the beginning of the reddening stage in alchemy.
Now that I have made my own interpretation here is what Wikipedia says about the reddening stage (I wanted to come up with my own interpretation first to have something to compare and validate with):
I think that's fairly consistent with my view. And a new insight from the Wikipedia article is that the reddening stage takes time to complete which makes sense since too abrupt outflow of kundalini energy would cause imbalances.
I have been puzzled about why the fourth stage is the reddening stage. Shouldn't the last stage be whitening, as in white light with the full spectrum? And sometimes the whitening stage is listed last, but the common listing is with the reddening stage last it seems.
One possible interpretation is that the color red represents kundalini energy and the reddening stage represents the kundalini energy fully released from the veil. Like how Shiva has a snake outside of him instead of still trapped within him, and how the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt have snakes coming out of their foreheads indicating the beginning of the reddening stage in alchemy.
Now that I have made my own interpretation here is what Wikipedia says about the reddening stage (I wanted to come up with my own interpretation first to have something to compare and validate with):
Quote:"The three alchemical stages preceding rubedo were nigredo (blackness) which represented putrefaction and spiritual death, albedo (whiteness) which represented purification, and citrinitas (yellowness); the solar dawn or awakening.[3] Some sources describe the alchemical process as three-phased with citrinitas serving as mere extension and takes place between albedo and rubedo.[4] The rubedo stage entails the attempt of the alchemist to integrate the psychospiritual outcomes of the process into a coherent sense of self before its re-entry to the world.[5] The stage can take some time or years to complete due to the required synthesis and substantiation of insights and experiences.[5]
The symbols used in alchemical writing and art to represent this red stage can include blood, a phoenix, a rose, a crowned king, or a figure wearing red clothes. Countless sources mention a reddening process; the seventeenth dictum of the 12th century Turba Philosophorum is one example:
O Turba of Philosophers and disciples, now hast thou spoken about making into white, but it yet remains to treat concerning the reddening! Know, all ye seekers after this Art, that unless ye whiten, ye cannot make red, because the two natures are nothing other than red and white. Whiten, therefore, the red, and redden the white![6]" - Wikipedia
I think that's fairly consistent with my view. And a new insight from the Wikipedia article is that the reddening stage takes time to complete which makes sense since too abrupt outflow of kundalini energy would cause imbalances.