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[Alexandr Korol]

the Old Testament rites are called “a shadow of things to come” — they are only a
hint of the reality of Christ, like the shadow cast by an object.
• In Judaism, the witch of Endor calls up the spirit (ob — “shade”) of the prophet
Samuel.
• In the Islamic and other traditions, the shadow is often connected with the
transience of the world: everything earthly is only a shadow of the true light.

In alchemy
Here the shadow is the central symbol of inner work. The alchemists did not fear the
darkness; they immersed themselves in it.
• Nigredo (the stage of blackening, of decomposition) is a direct confrontation with
the shadow. Matter (and the soul) must “rot” in the darkness, in order to be born
anew. Its symbol is Sol Niger (the Black Sun): the eclipsed, hidden sun, which
represents the dark side of consciousness, the suppressed parts of the psyche, the
“devilish” aspect.
• The shadow here is not evil, but a necessary opposite to the light. Without the
integration of the shadow there is no coniunctio (the sacred marriage of opposites)
and no final gold (Rubedo). The alchemists said: in the retort, “Cimmerian
shadows” cover everything, and only by passing through this darkness is the true
elixir born.
• Carl Gustav Jung, who studied alchemy deeply, directly identified the shadow with
the archetype of the suppressed aspects of the personality (fears, desires, the “dark
side”). Nigredo for him is the psychological meeting with one’s own shadow, the
“dark night of the soul.” The Black Sun is an image of the inner “dark star,” which
must be accepted in order to attain wholeness.

My friend, do you see the connection with our past conversations about eclipses? An
eclipse is the moment when the shadow literally covers the luminary, and in alchemy
and myths this is an invitation to dive into one’s own inner darkness, in order to come
out afterwards stronger and more whole. The shadow almost everywhere is not an
enemy, but a teacher: it shows that without the darkness there is no true light.

Let’s call it the shadow after all, because for you darkness is associated with the
underground kingdom, with night. This needs to be called either the dark star,