Moderation isn’t just about drinking less—it’s about self discovery, asking deeper questions. What inner urge am I trying to satisfy? What am I really reaching for in that glass?
For many on a mindful drinking journey, it is about greater awareness, knowledge and intelligence through self enquiry. About freedom of choice. About realizing that alcohol—while socially accepted and even celebrated—has subtly shaped your identity and habits. Jungian psychology offers a powerful lens to explore this. What if your desire to moderate isn’t just a temporary lifestyle shift, but a soulful invitation to transform?
Carl Jung saw the ancient art of alchemy as a metaphor for inner change. Turning ‘lead’ into ‘gold’. The stages of alchemy—Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo—can mirror your journey with alcohol.
Nigredo, the blackening, begins when you become aware that your relationship with alcohol no longer aligns with your values or goals. It can feel like a disintegration of old conscious attitudes, chaos, disorientation, distress. This stage is a confrontation with the unconscious. But as surely as dawn follows night, it is the beginning of the journey towards clarity. It’s experiencing what is no longer working. There’s often discomfort here: guilt, fear, or even grief for the version of you that once found comfort in drinking. The absence of alcohol can feel like blackness.
Then comes Albedo, the whitening—a stage of emergence of awareness. This is a phase of achieving greater clarity and self-reflection. You begin to uncover the motivations behind your drinking: stress relief, social ease, escapism, self-soothing, loss of soul. This is deep listening.
As awareness develops into wisdom and you start the embodiment of the wisdom into everyday life, you enter Citrinitas, the ‘yellowing’. New values and one’s purpose become more clarified and the emergence of a personal, ethical stance towards life takes place. Moderation becomes less about control and more about conscious choice, value and personal conviction. You’re not just managing behavior—you’re evolving your relationship with yourself.
After 30 days, you will have learned that you are so much more capable than you ever gave yourself credit for. All you’ve got to do is get started. So why not head over to the app and explore more now?
Finally, Rubedo, the reddening, is integration. You’re no longer trying to be the person you were before alcohol felt necessary. You’re becoming someone new. Drinking, or choosing not to drink, becomes part of a larger, soulful process of reclaiming agency, purpose, and joy.
This is inner alchemy. It’s not about perfection. It’s about transformation. Whether you choose to drink less, take breaks, or go alcohol-free, the real shift happens within: when you move from unconscious habits to the conscious art of living.
Jung believed that the goal of life is individuation—becoming who you truly are.
Alcohol, in this light, isn’t just a substance. When used automatically and unconsciously, it can cloud the spirit. So wherever you are on your moderation journey, remember: this is not just about drinking less. This is about becoming more—more aware, more whole, more you.
And that transformation? That’s the real gold.