Nightmares & Nigredo [Monthly Theme + Workshop Registration]
Alchemy, dreamwork & the creative potential of psychic darkness
My earliest dream, which began around the tender age of four, was a recurring nightmare of being stalked by a vampiric figure. The dream haunted me for years, always lingering in the shadows without resolution. What I came to realize later was that this nightmare was a profound call to attend the gathering darkness in my psyche. Beneath the images of terror and hopelessness was a painful wound that festered — material that, once faced, became the very substance of strength, healing, and vitality.
We all carry dreams like this, those that terrify, pursue or reveal what consciousness has not yet learned to face. Within these painful images lies a spark of transformation, waiting to be witnessed and worked with.
November’s inner work theme and class guides you on this path, approaching nightmares as an alchemical process that begins in darkness and moves toward renewal. Blending Jungian dreamwork and alchemy’s rich symbolism, we’ll uncover the wisdom, purpose, and creative potential held within nightmares and psychic darkness.
Hope to see you there,
~Alyssa
In alchemy, nigredo (the blackening) marks the beginning of transformation, the first stage of dissolution and decay when old forms are reduced to their essential matter. Nightmares belong to this phase. They are the psyche’s imaginal experience of the nigredo made visible through dreams of breakdown, terror, and confrontation that arise when consciousness is compelled to face its own darkness and reconcile what has been repressed, ignored or abandoned. Beneath this horror lies an alchemical truth: destruction and hauntings are never the end, but the necessary prelude to renewal.
This month in The Artemisian, we enter the dark vessel of Nightmares & Nigredo, a blended inner work approach that explores the deeper meaning of nightmares through Jungian dreamwork and alchemical symbolism. We will learn to read the imagery of these dreams as alchemical processes, recognizing how fear and fragmentation conceal a deep creative intention.
**Please bring a nightmare or other dark element from your own personal dreams to work with in class**
Nightmares & Nigredo will support you in:
Engaging with nightmares through Jungian dreamwork, transforming fearful images into understanding and insight
Tracing archetypal patterns within recurring nightmares, uncovering how the psyche uses symbolic imagery to reveal what is seeking integration and wholeness
Developing skills in dream interpretation, strengthening your capacity to dialogue with the unconscious and discern its guidance
Deepening symbolic literacy and inner resilience, approaching nightmares as invitations to conscious participation in the psyche’s unfolding
Your inner work journey this month:
Receive guidance from The Oracle, a tarot and dreamwork divination I offer each month to open the archetypal field and guide inner work for the weeks ahead. It includes a spread of cards, reflections, and ways to engage your dreams and inner symbols in relation to the month’s theme. Look for it in your inbox next week!
Attend the live workshop on Nov 15th at 11:00 AM PST. This month’s class invites you into the alchemical depths of nightmare imagery. We’ll explore how Jungian dreamwork and alchemical symbolism can illuminate the creative potential within our darkest dream images. Classes are educationally rich yet accessible, blending lecture and exercises while providing practical inner work tools. If you can’t join live, the replay will be available next day.
Join the discussion thread and Q&A at the end of the month, a shared space to explore how your inner work has unfolded. You’re invited to share dreams, tarot spreads, general questions, or simply reflect on your experience, and receive interpretation support and guidance in community.
How to participate in Nightmares & Nigredo
Nightmares & Nigredo is included with your paid membership to The Artemisian. To receive the full experience, become a member today.
Click the Upgrade button below and choose the tier that fits your level of engagement. Registration for the workshop is below the paywall.