Alchemy: An Introduction To The Symbolism And The

Psychology by Marie Louise Von Franz

A Review by David Edwards

Published in 1980, this book is based on a series of lectures given by Marie

Louise Von Franz in 1959. Von Franz (a contemporary of Carl Jung) gave the
lectures at the Jung Institute in Zurich.

Source: Websters Dictionary (1961 unabridged edition)

al-che-my 1 : the medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy

whose aims were the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the
discovery of a universal cure for diseases, and the discovery of a means of
indefinitely prolonging life. 2 : a great or magic power of
transmutation. synonym : see MAGIC.

Alchemy was the forefather of modern science, and the alchemists were
concerned with the breaking down of materials to their base components, and
composing new substances from these components through transmutation of
the residue. The common misconception was that upon dissolving metals in
acidic substances, the metal was consumed. The alchemists realised that the
metals had been transformed back to their original state in the form of atoms,
and that the original metal was still held in the solution in a different state. It is
worth noting here that Isaac Newton was a practitioner of alchemy,
or chymistry, and modern science owes a debt to his work as an
alchemist. An example of the kind of equipment used can be found here.

The Great work of alchemy was concerned with explaining the relationship
between the physical and material realms, and our part in that relationship.
The perfection of the Philosopher's Stone is an allegory for perfecting our
consciousness and being able to live beyond the material world. This is
achieved by the breaking down of matter into it's constituent parts, and
unifying the parts in balance and union of the opposing parts of duality to
bring about the whole.

The work at the Large Hadron Collider and it's search for the 'God Particle' is
an extension of the alchemical work in modern physics, as is the periodic
table of elements in modern chemistry. Without the work of the alchemists,
mans great inquiries into the nature of matter would not have been possible.

The work of the alchemists was not solely confined to the material world, it
was also an exploration into the spirit of matter. This form of spiritual science
left a very rich body of esoteric symbolism which can be decoded and utilised.

Jung first noticed the relevance of alchemical symbols from the analysis of his
patients dreams which they relayed to him. He discovered the link whilst
thumbing through old books on alchemy. The relevance of this esoteric
symbolism to psychoanalysis became apparent to him. These archetypal
images still pervade the unconscious psyche of the collective consciousness
of our species. The reason why he found such a profound connection to
alchemical symbolism, as opposed to more traditional forms of symbolism
such as mythology, fairytales or religious symbols, was due to his perception
that these forms had been moulded by tradition and dogmatic agendas. The
symbolism of the alchemists was perceived by him as an unadulterated
manifestation from the unconscious.

“...even when a dream crosses the threshold of consciousness,

consciousness in reporting it does something to it, amends it and makes it a
little more understandable. ...”

“...religious experiences are handed on in a living religious system, namely

that the personal immediate experience is usually purified, clarified and
revised ...”

“...The past has handed on some rare reports of individual experiences, but
on the whole, symbols of the unconscious reach us in amore traditional way,
due to the fact that normally mankind has not approached the unconscious
individually, but, with few exceptions, has related to it indirectly through
religious systems. ...”

The same processes the alchemists employed in contemplation of the

transmutation of metals can be used to bring union to the self. Jung noticed
that the language of alchemy was a good descriptor for the process of
individuation which the psyche must undergo to heal in the psychoanalytical
process. The end result of Jungian psychoanalysis is for the self to
individuate. This process can be entered into by using these archetypal
metaphors in three main stages; first is the nigredo (the black cloud of a
depression), second is the albedo (the process of enlightening by
identification of what is driving the depression as the prima materia, during
which the philosophers stone, or the sense of self is discovered), third is
the rubedo (the red state of heat, during which the identified drives are used
to cook the philosophers stone to bring about the union of the opposites in
a coniunctio). This Trinitarian approach in alchemy echoes the concept of the
Holy Trinity in the Christian faith, and as a side note it worth mentioning that
the perception of our three dimensional existence was a concept created by
physicists out of direct inspiration from the religious concept of the Holy
Trinity.

Once individuation has been achieved, and the nucleus of the philosopher’s
stone has been formed, heated and unified, autonomy from the herd mentality
of collective consciousness follows with unexpected creativity and
spontaneity.

“... It is the quality of genius to produce the unexpected: it is the surprising

thing which clicks and yet is not banal. You can never guess what a creative
person will produce for it is a new creation and there is no knowing what it will
be. From the mind come ideas and from the feeling side come reactions
which in such a person are absolutely unique. ...”
The individuated personality no longer looks outward for validation as its
strength now comes from within and the nucleus formed during the process of
balancing the conscious and the unconscious.

“... ultimately the individual is a unique and closed system, a unique thing
which centres round an unpredictable source of life. If that becomes real in
an individual then one feels the mystery of a unique personality. That has to
do with shutting the house, which means separation from collective
entanglements and contamination, not only outwardly, but inwardly,
separating within oneself from what is ordinary and not oneself. ...”

It is important to emphasise the self contained aspect to alchemy and

psychoanalysis, which is what the sealed lead coffin of Osiris from the
hermetic traditions alludes to. Von Franz asserts that just like the allegorical
story of Osiris transcending death (with the wheat grains growing from his
encased body) in his sarcophagus, it is often better when faced with a
depression to engage in the conflict between the unconscious and conscious
internally, rather than to avoid it. Frequently if one chooses to avoid or deny
the depression there is a danger of psychosis, in which the unconscious
drives can overwhelm consciousness.

In alchemy, this self contained aspect was usually represented by the

hermetically sealed vessel, in which the Prima Materia is heated by the red
sulphur; in psychoanalytical terms this is the ego being heated by the
unconscious drives of the conflict to progress the individuation of the
self. Another good example of this would be the ouroboros, or serpent
devouring its own tail.

“... one must remember the Ouroboros the tail eater, where the opposite are
one: the head is at one end and the tail at the other. They are one but have
an opposite aspect and when the head and the tail, the opposites meet, there
a flow is born, which is what the alchemists mean by the mystical or divine
water, which I described as the meaningful flux of life. With the helpof the
instinct of truth, life goes on as a meaningful flow, as a manifestation of the
Self. ...”

Alchemists were searching for the spiritual in the material, and the importance
of this is in psychoanalytical terms is the link between the conscious and the
unconscious.

“... we do not really know the difference between material reality and the
psyche. ...”

What this means is that our experience of order in the world comes through
our minds. In other words the human psyche decodes reality through its
perception, and alchemical symbolism can help to adjust the sense of self
when that perception becomes faulty due to the balance between conscious
and unconscious becoming unstable. Through active imagination and
personifying the drives of this conflict when it appears as animus/anima
archetypes, one can redress the balance and unify the opposites to bring
about a whole, individuated self.

Individuation and the alchemical process both initiate from a state of

conscious confusion, and by no means is either an easy process. Creation
comes from destruction, and symbolically when faced with a destructive
emotion or psychosis, an aspect of the psyche has to symbolically die in order
for the individuated self to emerge with the ego dominating and assimilating
the unconscious. Individuation is seen as the incarnation of the divine in
flesh, and the individuated personality becomes akin to a Son of God.

“... All outer events in life are in a way only similes; they are only parables of
an inner process, synchronistic symbolisations. You have to look at them
from that angle to understand and integrate them, that would be spiritualizing
the physical...”

“... you have again to solidify the spirit! You have to do both. ...”

“... The process needs both movements so as not to become destructive, and
that is so beautifully illustrated in alchemy. The body has to be spiritualized
and the spirit has to be incarnated, both things must take place. ...”

[...]