Jung and the Alchemical Imagination (Jung on the Hudson Book Series)
Jeffrey Raff
Language: English
Pages: 288
ISBN: 0892540451
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Jung and the Alchemical Imagination illustrates the spiritual nature of Jungian psychology and the debt it owes to the tradition of esoteric religion. Unlike other books on Jung and alchemy which contain a psychological interpretation of alchemical material, this work uses alchemy to understand the three cornerstones of Jungian spirituality--the self, the transcendent function, and active imagination. Through the interpretation of alchemical imagery, Raff explains the nature of these three concepts and illustrates how together they form a new model of contemporary Western spirituality. This book is also unique in selecting alchemical texts for analysis that are relatively unknown and which, for the most part, have never been interpreted. In addition, he presents two new concepts--the ally and the psychoid realm. Through the addition of these ideas, and the new understanding that they offer, it is possible to apply alchemical imagery to transpsychic experience; that is, to a world of spirits which may not be reduced to psychological concepts. By including this realm in the study of alchemy and Jungian thought, it is possible to gain insights into the nature of visionary and ecstatic experiences that form part of the path of individuation--the road to completion.
or even a physical sensation. The ego, having focused its attention on the unconscious, must give up all critical thinking and simply open to whatever the unconscious presents. In this state of receptivity, it must wait for the unconscious to manifest. Once it has seen, heard, or felt something, the ego then elaborates on the image it perceives, or on the voice it hears, and expresses it as fully as possible. For example, the ego may have a fleeting image of a waterfall. It may then paint that
it. I have discovered over the years that the best way to do this is for the ego to have a particular image in mind, or at least a particular question it wishes to address. Simply opening to the unconscious often produces a plethora of confusing and conflicting images. If, however, the ego has in mind a particular inner figure that it wishes to contact, or returns to a particular dream scene or encounter, this intentionality serves to focus the unconscious in a definite way. One may safely ignore
dreamer over the sea and the depths of the unconscious. As a man-made thing it has the significance of 1 1. See "The Hisrorica1 Signifi ca nce of rhe Fish," in C. G. Jung, CW 9ii. 93 }UNG and the ALC HEMICAL IMAGIN AT ION a system or method .. ." 12 The ego is in the ship m the center of our picture, which is its theoria. In addition, vessels in dreams (ships, cars, trains, and buses) often symbolize the ego, itself The size of the vessel can reflect the strength of the ego. I had a dream
a11d the ALCHEMICAL IMAGINATI ON stands outside the complex, and has the power to influence the mental state of the ego, as well as the condition of the psyche as a whole. The self also has this power, multiplied greatly. The self can penetrate and alter the current state of the ego. If the ego has encountered a complex, or an outer world situation that is depressing, it can turn to the self to have its mood lifted, and to gain information about how to handle the situation. Its partner is always
substance-the philosopher's stone. Alchemy proceeded by separation and reunification, solve et coagule, a procedure that might be repeated many times. There were a number of processes alchemists used to effect these changes. Although there were dozens of alchemical processes, there were five that occur most frequently in alchemical texts. The nigredo was the reduction of the substance to its primal condition and was effected by one of XXI JUNG and the ALCHEMICAL IMAGINATION the other main