Phase Three: Separation

Sacred Fires of Alchemy – 

Phase Three: Separation

Element: Air
Chakra: Solar Plexus

Alchemical Stage:  Albedo — The Whitening

Theme: Discernment, Observation, Clarification, Inner Power, Sorting true from false

The Wind That Clarifies

-  In Phase One, Calcination, fire stripped away the false self — burning through masks, illusions, and identity roles.
-  In Phase Two, Dissolution, water softened the raw remains — flooding us with long-held emotion, memory, and grief.

This phase marks our entry into the Albedo — the whitening phase of alchemy. After the disintegration of the Nigredo, something begins to clarify.

Separation is not more destruction — it is refinement. Like a shaft of white light piercing through fog, we begin to see with new eyes. We gently sort what is truly ours to carry… and what never was.

Here, we purify not through force, but through recognition. Truth becomes lighter. Soul whispers become clearer. The Self begins to reclaim its sacred shape.

Now, in Separation, we meet the air.  A breath.  A pause.  A moment of clarity within the unraveling.  This is the phase of discernment — where we begin to see ourselves clearly, apart from the storm. The emotional tides begin to settle. And in their place, the mind sharpens, the gaze steadies, and the Observer within awakens.

Here, you begin to say:   This is mine. This is not.   This is a pattern. This is a truth.

You are not yet rebuilding — but you are beginning to choose.

The Symbol of Air: The Sacred Breath of Clarity

Air is the element of perception — of mind, thought, voice, and inner vision. If water asked us to feel, air asks us to see — with precision, presence, and perspective.

This is the phase where we meet the inner narrator — the one who names, interprets, assigns meaning. And for many of us, she has gone unchecked. Her words may sound like truth, but often they are echoes: family beliefs, societal scripts, fear-based logic, or old survival patterns that kept us small.

In Separation, we are not asked to silence the mind — but to witness it.  To watch it spin stories and say, “Ah. There it is.”  To catch a belief and ask, “Is this true? Is this mine?”

The air element brings the gift of discernment — the clarity that comes when we step back from identification. We begin to notice how our thoughts affect our feelings… how our inner language shapes our choices… how the stories we repeat become cages or keys.

This is the cognitive field of our being — and here, we are learning to fly above the fog.  To name a thought is to free it.  To witness without judgment is to reclaim power.  To breathe space into a story is to begin the alchemy of the mind.

Air is not cold detachment. It is compassionate clarity.  It says: You are not your thoughts. You are the one who sees them.

When we turn on the inner Observer, we begin to separate truth from programming — insight from illusion — soul voice from static.  This is how we begin to remember who we actually are — not by what we feel or what we’ve lost, but by what we now see with clear, sacred eyes.

This wasn’t about perfection.  It was about presence.  And the quiet strength that rises when we stop abandoning ourselves.

What We Experience in Separation

• The skill of witness consciousness begins to emerge

• We begin to see suffering as a story — not our essence

• We catch our projections and start reclaiming our energy

• The Divine Feminine awakens through self-respect and clarity

• Will, sovereignty, and presence begin to return

This is not the end of discomfort — but it is the end of blind reaction.
The wind of this phase clears the fog, and we begin to see with soul-eyes.

A Glimpse from My Journey

For me, Separation came like wind through tall grass — quiet but undeniable.

• I began to witness the looping thoughts tied to worth, control, and fear of rejection

• I saw how much I projected onto others in my longing to belong

• I practiced staying present — even when my instincts screamed to run, fix, or please

• I noticed how many of my beliefs and words were a kind of parroting — inherited ways of seeing the world

• I began to observe my thoughts from a place of curiosity: “The story I’m telling myself is…” became a new way of pausing and seeing

• I realized that perception is not fact — and that I get to choose how I show up

• The interpretation of truth began to soften — I realized it’s often filtered through unexamined perceptions, and that someone confidently claiming “truth” may not have questioned their own beliefs

• I started to deepen trust in my own perception — not as the truth, but as my truth, rooted in self-awareness rather than inherited certainty

Ritual: The Mirror of the Mind

Sit in stillness. Light a candle. Hold a mirror before you.  Let your eyes meet your own. Gently. Softly.  As thoughts or emotions rise, speak them aloud:

     “I see fear.”
    “I see longing.”
    “I see the old pattern surfacing.”

Return to your breath. Let your gaze remain steady.  Ask yourself:

     What is true beneath what I see?

Then speak:

     “I witness myself with love and clarity.”

Let the mirror reflect not only your face — but your freedom.

Prompts for Reflection

• What inner patterns or projections am I beginning to see more clearly?

• Where am I learning to observe, pause and respond, rather than react?

• What truths are arising that I no longer need to judge?

• How does it feel to reclaim my inner authority — and choose differently?

• Where am I catching myself repeating a belief or thought that was a parroting response from my upbringing — and not truly my truth?

Alchemical Wisdom

“Discernment arises as we learn to separate the voice of ego from the whisper of the soul. This is where awareness is born.”

This is the sacred gift of air —
The breath between stories.
The wind that clears the way.
You are not what you feel.
You are the one who feels.