
According to the Alchemy this process consists in 4 stages:
Nigredo:
putrefaction or decomposition - all alchemical ingredients have to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter.
Albedo:
"whiteness". Following the chaos or massa confusa of the nigredo stage, the alchemist undertakes a purification in albedo – the washing away of impurities.
Citrinitas:
"yellowness" - the transmutation of silver into gold
Rubedo:
"redness" - the fourth and final major stage--the alchemical success, and the end of the great work. Rubedo can be interpreted as achieving enlightened consciousness and the total fusion of spirit and matter.