Calcination

Dark Night of the Soul

Prepare for an ego death or shedding of your old self. Allow the ashes to fall away so that your true self remains.

This card represents the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s the spark of internal grief when your partner lies to you for the umpteenth time. Or the anger that comes from a snide remark from a toxic boss. You finally have had enough of the traffic heading downtown and now have the fierce motivation to move to a new city. Calcination in alchemy occurs when you finally have a reckoning with what no longer is in alignment with you.

This feels like an uncomfortable and intense dark night of the soul; your ego feels unsupported by your reality, and you must experience a metaphorical death to be reborn. You can relate this to the occult symbolism of the Phoenix. When this card pops up in a reading, t’s time for you to metaphorically burn it all down so that you can be reborn.

Calcination is the first step in the practice of alchemy, associated with the lead planet Saturn, where you start and work your way inward toward the gold of the sun. It invokes the Fire element linked with the divine masculine zodiac sign of Aries; it is the practice of burning and adding heat to material or a solution to strip it down to its original state. A difficult life event, challenge, or roadblock can trigger you to begin this sacred process of soul ascension. While this is the beginning of your alchemical journey, it’s an extremely necessary first step to progress to higher states of consciousness.

Calcination Phase Shadow Work: You can integrate the first step of calcination by identifying what should be purged in your life. Take a moment to journal your thoughts and emotions during this process.