alchemy
For Jung, alchemy had a dual face. He saw it as both a quest to literally transform matter in the laboratory as well as a spiritual quest aimed at the transformation of the soul and thus as a religious philosophy.
Stanton Marlan • Jung’s Alchemical Philosophy: Psyche and the Mercurial Play of Image and Idea (ISSN)
Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul
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The Lion Will Become Man: Alchemy and the Dark Spirit in Nature—A Personal Encounter
Keiron Le Grice • 2 highlights
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Considered from the wider perspective of the history of the human spirit, alchemy and its goal appeared not only as physical processes leading to chemistry, but also as a religious discipline whose goal was the transformation of earthly man into an illuminated philosopher.
Stanton Marlan • Jung’s Alchemical Philosophy: Psyche and the Mercurial Play of Image and Idea (ISSN)
One could say that they are like different interpretations and portrayals of the same story or play, taking place in anything from three to five discernible acts or phases, named after colors: nigredo (blackening), albedo (whitening), citrinas (yellowing), and rubedo (reddening). (In later alchemical texts, from the fifteenth century, citrinas was
... See moreKeiron Le Grice • The Lion Will Become Man: Alchemy and the Dark Spirit in Nature—A Personal Encounter
The ouroboros is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's skin-sloughing symbolises the transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol.[9]