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[NIGREDO]

Nigredo (Latin Nigredo, literally — "blackness") is an alchemical term denoting complete decomposition or the first stage of the Great Work (creation of the Philosopher's stone)
Just as darkness contains the possibility of light, so in this mass lies the possibility of obtaining an elixir.

Blackening. (Subject to the elements of the Earth). It is consonant with the word "melancholy". Therefore, melancholy is a symbol of Nigredo. In addition, nigredo symbolizes crows and everything related to death and decay. As a rule, it is symbolized by an animal (wolf, dog, ox, fox).
At the stage of nigredo, as a result of the severe experience of the deepest depression, KNOWLEDGE is GAINED, the existence of which the neophyte does not yet suspect, but it is already in him and will be used in the future to compare and analyze the subsequent stages of Doing with nigredo.
The lowest stage, the state of the Profane, is the Ouroboros (dragon), or green Lion.

Nigredo often draws a person to the aesthetics of death, to blackness, suffering, thoughts of suicide.

Chemical operations, marks and correspondences:

Moon – Dissolution – Latin – Solvere. Treatment of gray lead with a universal solvent – mercury.

Jupiter – Sublimation – Latin. Sublimo – I exalt (not to be confused with liquid sublimation). Sublimation is the transition of a solid substance to a dry (airy) state without intermediate transformation into a liquid.

The liquid state is not acceptable, since in this case the silver will melt and boil, which will lead to an explosion of the atom and poisoning of the neophyte with mercury vapor. Therefore, sublimation is carried out very carefully to prevent the conversion of low–melting silver into a melting liquid. Due to sublimation, gray lead turns into white tin, the heavy, earthy gray of lead is expelled from it and remains at the bottom of the flask. Obtaining in the process of Alchemical washing of white airy tin (tin Sn, from stannum – an alloy of lead and silver), bleached (washed) lead.