Inner Alchemy: The Citrinitas (the yellowing).
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Yellow is the Threshold Between Shadow and Clarity~
As we journey through our Alchemy of Menopause workshops, we arrive at the citrinitas stage in the alchemical process. This feels just right given that we are only a few days away from the winter solstice and the gradual return of the longer days.
What wisdom lies in the darkness at the lowest point of the Sun before we ascend into the light half of the year. These few days in the lead up to the solstice are truly magical.
In the alchemical process, the citrinitas is the active masculine principle. It evokes a mystical relationship with the Sun, both the cosmic Sun and our inner sun.
We will be exploring the placement of the sun in our natal astrology charts and the sun/moon midpoint.
So often in astrological interpretations we focus on other planets and points and sometimes don’t give our sun the due attention it deserves. The sun is our creative life force, our vitality, our will to live and our conscious mind. Where and how it sits in the chart is of great importance. It seems obvious, we think we know our sun… but do we really know it?
In coming out of the darkness: the dark half of the year; the previous stages of alchemy including the Nigredo; the balsamic moon; the dark night of the soul; and the restrictions and depressions of menopause; careful attention is needed in the transition.
In the citrinitas the danger is that we come out too soon or set our sights on a false summit.
What we have learned in the dark must be respected and given time to be integrated. Is there something that we have overlooked and are subconsciously trying to leave behind?
Of course, not everything has to be integrated all at once, we have many cycles around the Sun, many deaths and many rebirths.
This stage is about finding ways to integrate who we are, our essence, and our experiences but with a new more objective outlook so that we are not constantly swimming in the swamp.
To find the “Philosopher’s Stone”, and achieve our “Great Work”, eventually all of us must be included in the final masterpiece. And like the beautiful Japanese art of Kintsugi, which means “golden journey”, we become more beautiful, more whole and unique for taking care of the cracks and breaks in our psyche and filling them with the light of consciousness.
Nothing needs to be hidden; it all becomes part of our beauty and greatness.
When leaving the forest, it is best to move slowly. When coming out of the cave it is wise to shield one’s eyes for a time.
There is so much more we can learn from this stage of the alchemical process by applying it to inner alchemy.
If you would like to join in on this rich and insightful odyssey, send a message. You are very welcome.
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beautiful