Page 547
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2026 9:47 am
(a solar eclipse), or the earth casts a shadow on the moon (a lunar one), this illustrates
the moment when the two principles merge in the “closed house” (the alchemical retort
or vessel).
This is called coniunctio — the sacred marriage, which leads to the birth of
something new, hermaphroditic, perfect. Many treatises describe that the true
union occurs precisely “in the darkness,” when the light of one is “eclipsed”
by the other.
The eclipse and the Nigredo stage (blackening)
The closest connection is with the first stage of the Great Work: Nigredo (blackness,
putrefaction, decomposition). Here matter (or the soul) must fully “die” in the darkness,
in order to be reborn afterwards.
• The eclipse symbolizes Sol Niger — the Black Sun. This is not the ordinary sun, but
a dark, hidden one, which appears at the moment of a total eclipse. The alchemists
said: “If you see that your essence is turning black — rejoice, for this is the beginning
of the work.”
• In illustrations (for example, in the famous Splendor Solis of 1582), the Black Sun is
often depicted precisely as a solar eclipse — the disc of the sun, covered by darkness.
• This is the moment when rational consciousness (the sun) is “eclipsed” by
the unconscious (the moon or the shadow), and deep inner work begins: the
decomposition of the old “self,” the meeting with one’s own shadow (in the Jungian
sense, which drew heavily on alchemy).
Other mentions and symbols
• In some alchemical manuscripts (especially European ones of the 16th-17th
centuries), a lunar eclipse is shown as the moon submerging into a dark
sea, with a rainbow on either side — this is the transition to the Albedo stage
(whitening, purification).
• A solar eclipse was sometimes connected with the “peacock’s tail” (the stage of many
colors, Cauda Pavonis), which appears after the darkness.
• There are even special Unicode symbols in the alchemical block: 🜩 (eclipse)
and 🜪 (lunar eclipse) — they come straight from medieval texts.
the moment when the two principles merge in the “closed house” (the alchemical retort
or vessel).
This is called coniunctio — the sacred marriage, which leads to the birth of
something new, hermaphroditic, perfect. Many treatises describe that the true
union occurs precisely “in the darkness,” when the light of one is “eclipsed”
by the other.
The eclipse and the Nigredo stage (blackening)
The closest connection is with the first stage of the Great Work: Nigredo (blackness,
putrefaction, decomposition). Here matter (or the soul) must fully “die” in the darkness,
in order to be reborn afterwards.
• The eclipse symbolizes Sol Niger — the Black Sun. This is not the ordinary sun, but
a dark, hidden one, which appears at the moment of a total eclipse. The alchemists
said: “If you see that your essence is turning black — rejoice, for this is the beginning
of the work.”
• In illustrations (for example, in the famous Splendor Solis of 1582), the Black Sun is
often depicted precisely as a solar eclipse — the disc of the sun, covered by darkness.
• This is the moment when rational consciousness (the sun) is “eclipsed” by
the unconscious (the moon or the shadow), and deep inner work begins: the
decomposition of the old “self,” the meeting with one’s own shadow (in the Jungian
sense, which drew heavily on alchemy).
Other mentions and symbols
• In some alchemical manuscripts (especially European ones of the 16th-17th
centuries), a lunar eclipse is shown as the moon submerging into a dark
sea, with a rainbow on either side — this is the transition to the Albedo stage
(whitening, purification).
• A solar eclipse was sometimes connected with the “peacock’s tail” (the stage of many
colors, Cauda Pavonis), which appears after the darkness.
• There are even special Unicode symbols in the alchemical block: 🜩 (eclipse)
and 🜪 (lunar eclipse) — they come straight from medieval texts.