White Swan (Cygnus)

## White Swan (Cygnus) White Swan (Cygnus)

**The White Swan** is the symbol of the albedo stage, the whitening that follows the nigredo and represents purification, the emergence from darkness, and the first perfection of the Stone. The swan appears in alchemical emblems as a pure white bird, often associated with the moon, with silver, and with the White Queen. The appearance of whiteness in the matter, after the blackness of the nigredo, was taken as a sign that the putrefaction had been successful and that the matter was now purified and ready for the final stage of the work.

The White Swan represents the transition from death to life, from corruption to purity, from blackness to whiteness. After the matter has been blackened and putrefied, it is washed (ablution) or sublimed, and the blackness is replaced by whiteness. This whitening represents the purification of the matter, the removal of impurities, and the emergence of the purified philosophical mercury. The White Swan is associated with the white Stone, the lunar tincture capable of transmuting base metals to silver. Some alchemists considered the white Stone to be a complete work in itself, while others saw it as a stage on the way to the red Stone.

In alchemical symbolism, the White Swan represents purity, resurrection, and the lunar principle. The transformation from the Black Crow to the White Swan symbolizes the fundamental alchemical mystery of death and resurrection, the emergence of new life from death. The swan's whiteness represents the albedo, the second major stage of the work. The swan is often associated with the moon, with silver, with the feminine principle, and with the White Queen. The White Swan thus represents both the albedo stage of the work and the principle of purification and resurrection, the emergence of the pure from the corrupt.

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