“Since the white phase primarily concerns the processes of the soul, and the soul is a mediator between spirit and matter, we can see how emblems containing opposite forces, such as spirit and matter, demonstrate the alchemical work of spiritualising the material and materialising the spiritual through solve & coagula. This resembles a simmering, low boil whereby that which is below is made like that which is above and that which is above is made like that which is below. The spiritual guide or our holy guardian angel often appears during the white phase in any form it may choose to take. We can also be inspired by others who have realised the white phase, such as saints. Experiencing the hermaphrodite is an essential step in the work, regardless of the realm in which it is realised. The philosophical sulphur and mercury are self-sufficient in themselves when united by a seed of salt. When the I-sulphur and the Self-mercury are united in a hermaphroditic body – the seed of salt – they procreate and are nourished by their own dynamic power. In the same way, the human-sulphur and the angel-mercury can be united in a body through citrinitas while the angelic-human-sulphur and the deity-mercury can be united in a body through rubedo so that a self-sufficient cosmos arises through the different colours and phases of the alchemical wedding. All these are different levels of associations between soror mystica & frater mysticus.” - Alchemy – the divine work