“In the fiery operation of calcinatio, all moisture is burned away in the athanor until only the light ashes are left. In a psychological sense, this means that the wetness of our emotional life is burnt away so that the old parts of our selves are incinerated and new ones can be born. It is a process whereby the ego’s attachment to old patterns is lifted, and the Self is tested with humility. In herbal alchemy, calcinatio is a patience-demanding process of obtaining the salt by working alternately with fire from below and above. In this operation, the alchemist must first bring about the true blackness of the matter before it can be whitened. The black crow or raven is associated in alchemy with this fiery operation. When the material is charred, it looks as if black flakes are rising to the sky like the wings of a black bird. During the process, the ash from the fire is collected a number of times and crushed into a fine powder which is then burned again. When the true blackness is obtained, a gradual whitening of the ash occurs. The goal is to get as much white salt as possible. Of the black old flesh, only the white skeleton remains. In the metaphysical sense, the operation involves the purification of the alchemist by a fire that seems to come alternately from the spirit above and the hellfire below. Only that which is the truly incorruptible essence, which can resist and live in the fire, is then left – the salt of the material.” - Alchemy – the divine work
