Nigredo — The Black Stone

Nigredo represents the primal stage of transformation in the alchemical journey — the embracing of darkness as the raw, undifferentiated material that contains the potential for profound change.

This stage marks a fundamental shift in perspective: the subjective self and its shadow are no longer opposed forces but recognized as a unified darkness that requires patient work and refinement.

The Black Stone symbolizes this raw material — chaotic, obscure, and fertile. It is through confronting and integrating this darkness that the alchemist begins the Great Work, laying the foundation for purification and rebirth.