Mother: The next alchemical stage is fermentation.
Baby: Mama… fermentation sounds strange.
Why does something have to rot?
Mother: Because not everything that survives purification is truly alive.
Capricorn rules structure, endurance, and long-term integrity.
In alchemy, putrefaction means controlled decay.
The old form breaks down completely so a new principle can emerge.
Baby: Like compost?
Mother: Exactly. Decay feeds new life.
Baby: And Beryllium?
Mother: Beryllium is extremely stable and resistant to corrosion.
It does not easily decay.
Baby: So what does that mean symbolically?
Mother: It means the structures we build can become so rigid, so preserved, that they stop evolving.
We need to know if a structure is truly alive, or just preserved.
Baby: That feels intense.
Mother: It is honest.
Fermentation in psychology looks like:
• Identity dissolving
• Old ambitions losing meaning
• Structures you relied on no longer feeling aligned
• Ego roles quietly dying
Baby: I don’t like thinking of decaying yet. I was just born!
Mother: Yes this process can feel like a dark winter.
But this is not destruction — it is re-seeding.
In fermentation, microorganisms break material down into something more potent.
Wine. Bread. Yogurt. All require breakdown before refinement.
Baby: How do we know what needs to fall away and what needs to be held onto?
Mother: Living structures adapt, while dead ones defend.
Baby: I hope I can adapt. This step seems hard.
Together:
We allow what is finished to end.
We trust decay to generate life.
We build again — but this time from truth.