Mummy...
Daddy...
The day is full of birds
Sounds like they’re saying words...
Alchemy endeavours to produce noble metals, precious stones, the panacea, and above all the Philosopher's Stone. On the one hand, it seeks to do this by finding the right mixture (Eukrasia) of natural substances according to the ancient doctrine of elements and qualities. Alternatively, it adds the Philosopher's Stone, usually a powder or elixir prepared from an unknown substance, to the base metal. But first of all this unknown substance must be reduced to the prima materia (first matter). This occurs in the alchemical process, the "Great Work" (opus magnum) which passes through various stages. According to the colours that appear, these are called nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow), rubedo (red) among others. This change of coloration may be observed when an amalgam of copper and mercury is heated. According to the amount of evaporating mercury, white, yellow, red, gray and black colors are seen, described by alchemists as the cauda pavonis ("Peacock's Tail").
The color booklet accompanying AERIAL shows the 'soundwave of blackbird song' (?) in several colors: gray, black, white, sun-yellow, and maroon-red.
So could the gray, black, white, sun-yellow, and maroon-red soundwave colors represent ALCHEMICAL WORK? Nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow), rubedo (red) among others?
'Kate and Peacock' (?) chose the maroon 'soundwave of blackbird song' to compliment the Luciferean lightbearing yellow, sun-drenched album cover (Lucifer means "Light Bearer")...
And Rubedo (redness) represents the marriage of sol and luna...
I will come home again, but not until
The sun and the moon meet on yon hill...
Nigredo, or blackness, in alchemy means putrefaction or decomposition. The alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter. In psychology Carl Jung interpreted nigredo as a moment of maximum despair, that is a prerequisite to personal development. Nigredo is sometimes called ‘blacker than the blackest black’.
"Help this blackbird!"
"She's a witch!"
"There's a stone around my leg"
"Uh! Damn you, woman!"
"Help this blackbird!
There's a stone around my leg"
Psychologically, nigredo is a process of directing oneself to find self-knowledge. A problem is given full attention and reduced to its core. This is not done so much in an intellectual way, but especially by feeling the emotions. By really going into it, one causes putrefaction, the decomposition of that in which one had been stuck.
Split me open
With devotion
You put your hands in
And rip my heart out
Eat the music...
All emotion
And with devotion
You put your hands in
What ya thinking?
What am I singing?
A song of seeds
The food of love
Eat the music...
The confrontation with the inner reality is often painful, and can lead to depression. But once in the depth of the darkness, with the discovery of the seed of the problem, the seed in the ‘prima materia’, the white light is born (=albedo, whiteness, the next phase). A state of rest arises. Insight into the problem has been gained, it has been worked out emotionally, and knowledge arises on how to handle it in a more positive way and to build a more pure attitude.
"Tiefer, tiefer
Irgendwo in der Tiefe
Gibt es ein licht"
Being deep in nigredo, a white light appears. We have arrived at the second stage of the Great Work: albedo, or whiteness. The alchemist has discovered within himself the source from which his life comes forth. The source is one: male and female are united. When man descended into the physical world his body entered a world of duality. On the bodily level this is expressed by the sexes. But his spirit is still androgen, it contains duality in unity. When male and female are united again, one will experience his true self. Conscious and unconscious are totally united.
Albedo happens when the Sun rises at midnight. It is a symbolic expression for the rising of the light at the depth of darkness. It is the birth of Christ in the middle of the winter. In the depth of a psychological crises, a positive change happens, ‘the hour of gold’.
"Come here with me now"
Albedo is also symbolized by the morning star Venus/Aphrodite. Venus has a special place in the Great Work. Aphrodite was born from the foam that arose when the genitals of Uranus (cut of by Chronos, out of hate and jealousy) fell into the sea. The cutting of the genitals represents repressed and tormented love. The sea, symbol of the soul, however will bring forth the love goddess. Liberation will happen when we become conscious again of the contents of the soul. As Aphrodite is born from the sea, she is the guide through the fearful world of the unconscious (the sea, or the underworld). The alchemist descends into these depths to find the ‘prima materia’, also called the ‘green lion’. The color green refers to the primal life forces. Venus also has the green color. An important characteristic of Aphrodite is that she helps us in our human shortcomings. She gives ideals and dreams to fulfill. But she also gives frightening images in order to make man aware of his lower nature. Liberation can only happen by becoming conscious of the lower nature and how we transmute it.
It's wonderful
Everywhere, so white...
There are many other symbols in alchemy for the second phase, or albedo: the white swan, the rose, the white queen, the white dove, and so on. As lead is the metal of nigredo, silver is the metal of albedo, transmuted from lead. As silver is the metal of the moon, the moon was also a symbol for albedo. Alchemists also talk about the white stone or white tincture.
Being born again
Into the sweet morning fog
D'you know what?
I love you better now...
The further steps of the alchemical opus are citrinitas (yellowness) and rubedo (redness)...
The AERIAL cover is full of yellowness and redness... citrinitas and rubedo?
THE ALCHEMICAL WORK
Mummy... Daddy... The day is full of birds Sounds like they’re saying words...
Alchemy endeavours to produce noble metals, precious stones, the panacea, and above all the Philosopher's Stone. On the one hand, it seeks to do this by finding the right mixture (Eukrasia) of natural substances according to the ancient doctrine of elements and qualities. Alternatively, it adds the Philosopher's Stone, usually a powder or elixir prepared from an unknown substance, to the base metal. But first of all this unknown substance must be reduced to the prima materia (first matter). This occurs in the alchemical process, the "Great Work" (opus magnum) which passes through various stages. According to the colours that appear, these are called nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow), rubedo (red) among others. This change of coloration may be observed when an amalgam of copper and mercury is heated. According to the amount of evaporating mercury, white, yellow, red, gray and black colors are seen, described by alchemists as the cauda pavonis ("Peacock's Tail").
The color booklet accompanying AERIAL shows the 'soundwave of blackbird song' (?) in several colors: gray, black, white, sun-yellow, and maroon-red.
So could the gray, black, white, sun-yellow, and maroon-red soundwave colors represent ALCHEMICAL WORK? Nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow), rubedo (red) among others?
'Kate and Peacock' (?) chose the maroon 'soundwave of blackbird song' to compliment the Luciferean lightbearing yellow, sun-drenched album cover (Lucifer means "Light Bearer")...
And Rubedo (redness) represents the marriage of sol and luna...
I will come home again, but not until The sun and the moon meet on yon hill...
Nigredo, or blackness, in alchemy means putrefaction or decomposition. The alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter. In psychology Carl Jung interpreted nigredo as a moment of maximum despair, that is a prerequisite to personal development. Nigredo is sometimes called ‘blacker than the blackest black’.
"Help this blackbird!" "She's a witch!" "There's a stone around my leg" "Uh! Damn you, woman!" "Help this blackbird! There's a stone around my leg"
Psychologically, nigredo is a process of directing oneself to find self-knowledge. A problem is given full attention and reduced to its core. This is not done so much in an intellectual way, but especially by feeling the emotions. By really going into it, one causes putrefaction, the decomposition of that in which one had been stuck.
Split me open With devotion You put your hands in And rip my heart out Eat the music... All emotion And with devotion You put your hands in What ya thinking? What am I singing? A song of seeds The food of love Eat the music...
The confrontation with the inner reality is often painful, and can lead to depression. But once in the depth of the darkness, with the discovery of the seed of the problem, the seed in the ‘prima materia’, the white light is born (=albedo, whiteness, the next phase). A state of rest arises. Insight into the problem has been gained, it has been worked out emotionally, and knowledge arises on how to handle it in a more positive way and to build a more pure attitude.
"Tiefer, tiefer Irgendwo in der Tiefe Gibt es ein licht"
Being deep in nigredo, a white light appears. We have arrived at the second stage of the Great Work: albedo, or whiteness. The alchemist has discovered within himself the source from which his life comes forth. The source is one: male and female are united. When man descended into the physical world his body entered a world of duality. On the bodily level this is expressed by the sexes. But his spirit is still androgen, it contains duality in unity. When male and female are united again, one will experience his true self. Conscious and unconscious are totally united.
Albedo happens when the Sun rises at midnight. It is a symbolic expression for the rising of the light at the depth of darkness. It is the birth of Christ in the middle of the winter. In the depth of a psychological crises, a positive change happens, ‘the hour of gold’.
"Come here with me now"
Albedo is also symbolized by the morning star Venus/Aphrodite. Venus has a special place in the Great Work. Aphrodite was born from the foam that arose when the genitals of Uranus (cut of by Chronos, out of hate and jealousy) fell into the sea. The cutting of the genitals represents repressed and tormented love. The sea, symbol of the soul, however will bring forth the love goddess. Liberation will happen when we become conscious again of the contents of the soul. As Aphrodite is born from the sea, she is the guide through the fearful world of the unconscious (the sea, or the underworld). The alchemist descends into these depths to find the ‘prima materia’, also called the ‘green lion’. The color green refers to the primal life forces. Venus also has the green color. An important characteristic of Aphrodite is that she helps us in our human shortcomings. She gives ideals and dreams to fulfill. But she also gives frightening images in order to make man aware of his lower nature. Liberation can only happen by becoming conscious of the lower nature and how we transmute it.
It's wonderful Everywhere, so white...
There are many other symbols in alchemy for the second phase, or albedo: the white swan, the rose, the white queen, the white dove, and so on. As lead is the metal of nigredo, silver is the metal of albedo, transmuted from lead. As silver is the metal of the moon, the moon was also a symbol for albedo. Alchemists also talk about the white stone or white tincture.
Being born again Into the sweet morning fog D'you know what? I love you better now...
The further steps of the alchemical opus are citrinitas (yellowness) and rubedo (redness)...
The AERIAL cover is full of yellowness and redness... citrinitas and rubedo?