alchemy

The seven appears after the ace of clubs and not before. Presumably the idea is: first the Christian conception of God, and then the seven (stages). The seven stages symbolize the transformation (fig. 28) which begins with the symbolism of Cross and Trinity, and, judging by the earlier archaic allusions in dreams 7 and 13, culminates in the

The observed changes in the matter, brought about by various chemical operations, named in Latin (such as separatio, coniunctio, calcinatio, solutio, sublimatio, and coagulatio), were actually a reflection or projection of the inner workings of the human psyche.

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

The water that the mother, the unconscious, pours into the basin belonging to the anima is an excellent symbol for the living power of the psyche (cf. fig. 152). The old alchemists never tired of devising new and expressive synonyms for this water. They called it aqua nostra, mercurius vivus, argentum vivum, vinum ardens, aqua vitae, succus

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.

The flame and its heat play an essential role in a multitude of alchemical operations, such as distillation or calcinatio (drying). The police are also called “the heat.” A criminal who hasn’t been caught yet is always concerned about avoiding the heat. A criminal who has been detected wants to escape or outwit the heat.

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.