Solve et Coagula
Dissolve and recombine — the fundamental alchemical operation of breaking down and reconstituting in purified form.
The alchemical motto 'solve et coagula' describes the two essential operations: first dissolve the existing form (solve), then recombine the elements in a new, purified configuration (coagula). This applies to both laboratory alchemy and psychological transformation. The ego must be dissolved before it can be reconstituted around a deeper center. In film, this pattern appears whenever a character's identity is shattered and then reformed: the protagonist must lose who they were before they can become who they're meant to be.