Tag Archives: alchemy

Rose Red: Symbolism of Blood

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1.“White and red combined are the colour of the mysterious rose, the whiteness of milk and the redness of blood, the white of light and the redness of fire.” Eliphas Levi, “The Book of Splendors” 2.“Blood is the first incarnation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blood | Tagged alchemy, bleeding, blood, body, Carl Gustav Jung, color, Dark goddess, dark moon, depth psychology, family, fate, flesh, goddess, Kali, menstruation, passion, red, rose, rubedo, Sekhmet, symbolism, symbols, ties, whore of Babylon | 17 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (4): Prima Materia – The One, Who Art All

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Symbol Reader

In this vignette found in Michael’s Maier’s Tripus Aureus Jung saw “the double face of alchemy.“ On the right hand side, a man is busy at a furnace, engaged full on in the physical and transformative experience, while in the library three … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy | Tagged alchemy, anima mundi, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Dark goddess, dragon, earth, isis, materia prima, Mercurius, stars, symbolism, symbols, water, Yliaster | 28 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (3): Meditation and Imagination

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Symbol Reader

Alchemy speaks a secret language, which, provided there is a basic soul readiness, can be learnt through a slow and arduous process, yet abounding in moments of rapture and revelation. Its method of explanation was best summarized by a Latin … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, hermeneutics, images, imagination, meditation, psychology, Psychology and Alchemy, symbolism, symbols, vessel | 28 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (2): The Mandala

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls. They will practice Indian yoga and all its exercises, observe a strict regimen or diet, learn theosophy by heart, or mechanically repeat mystic texts from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, The Mandala | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Buddhism, C.G. Jung, centre, Chaos, circle, depth psychology, four, individuation, jewel, lotus, mandala, order, Padma, quaternity, Soul, symbolism, symbols, womb, Womb World mandala | 31 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (1): The Moist and Earthly Foundation

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Symbol Reader

My upcoming series of posts is going to be based on three works of C.G. Jung: 1) Psychology and Alchemy, volume 12 of the Collected Works 2) Alchemical Studies, volume 13 of the Collected Works 3) Mysterium Coniunctionis, volume 14 of the Collected … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Carl Jung, change, coarse wood debris, death, depth psychology, growth, Psychology and Alchemy, rebirth, regeneration, symbolism, symbols, the unconscious, transformation, water of life | 21 Comments

Peacock’s Cry of Soul’s Splendour

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Symbol Reader

I.“A Sufi legend, likely of Persian origin, suggests that god created spirit in the form of a peacock. Shown its own divine image in a mirror, the peacock was seized with awe and drops of sweat fell from which all … Continue reading →

Posted in The Peacock | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Carl Gustav Jung, cauda pavonis, depth psychology, peacock, peacock's cry, peacock’s tail, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Venus, Wallace Stevens | 42 Comments

The Divine Furor of the Soul: On Marsilio Ficino

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“The soul is the greatest of all miracles in nature. All other things beneath God are always one single being, but the soul is all things together…Therefore it may rightly be called the centre of nature, the middle term of … Continue reading →

Posted in Genius, Marsilio Ficino, Psyche | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, depth psychology, Genius, Marsilio Ficino, Mercurius, psyche, Soul, spirit, symbolism, symbols | 23 Comments

The Phoenix

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Symbol Reader

1.“When I comprehended my darkness, a truly magnificent night came over me and my dream plunged me into the depths of the millennia, and from it my phoenix ascended.” C.G. Jung, “The Red Book” 2.”At the beginning there was only … Continue reading →

Posted in The Phoenix | Tagged alchemy, androgyne, archetypes, benu, bird goddess, birth, blood, Carol Heffeman, conception, creation myth, depth psychology, Egyptian myth, fountain, goddess, Heliopolis, initiation rites, isis, Lactantius, Marija Gimbutas, menstruation, Mircea Eliade, phoenix, purificaton, rebirth, regeneration, Sirius, Sothis, symbolism, symbols | 25 Comments

“Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines” by Dylan Thomas

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Light breaks where no sun shines; Where no sea runs, the waters of the heart Push in their tides; And, broken ghosts with glow-worms in their heads, The things of light File through the flesh where no flesh decks the … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, blood, body, darkness, death, Dylan Thomas, life, light, Light breaks where no sun shines, poetry, rebirth, symbolism, symbols | 16 Comments

Black Blacker than Black

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Illustration of a black angel found in Aurora consurgens Black: The History of a Color, by Michel Pastoureau is one of the most fascinating books I have read in recent months. There are moments in life when the need of … Continue reading →