The second stage of the alchemical magnum opus, albedo (“whitening”) follows the blackness of nigredo and precedes the reddening of rubedo. If nigredo represents putrefaction, dissolution, and descent into darkness, albedo marks the emergence of something purified - a lunar, silvery consciousness that has survived the death of former identities and begun to perceive with new clarity.
In Carl Jung’s psychological reading of alchemy, albedo corresponds to a phase of individuation in which the ego, having undergone the shattering encounter with shadow and unconscious contents, achieves initial integration. The turbulent waters settle; what was opaque becomes translucent. This stage is associated with Luna, the feminine, the reflective - a consciousness that receives and mirrors rather than grasps and conquers. The alchemists spoke of the albedo as washing, purification, the emergence of the white stone or white queen. Psychologically, it suggests a capacity for insight, detachment from compulsive identification, and the beginning of genuine self-knowledge.
Yet albedo is not the end. Its risk is a kind of spiritualized abstraction - clarity without vitality, understanding without embodiment. The alchemists warned against mistaking the white stone for the red; one may achieve lunar consciousness while remaining disconnected from blood, passion, and incarnate life. The work must continue toward rubedo, where insight marries instinct and the Self becomes not merely perceived but lived.
See also alchemical stages, coniunctio, silver symbolism, purification, Sol, Luna.