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Alchemical Studies Cg Jung THE COLLECTED WORKS OF C. G. JUNG VOLUME 13 EDITORS SIR HERBERT READ MICHAEL FORDHAM, M.D., M.R.C.P. GERHARD ADLER, PH.D. W i l l i a m m c g u ir e , Executive Editor T h e spiritus mercurialis and his transformations represented as a monstrous dragon. It is a quaternity, in which the fourth is at the same time the unity of the three, the unity being symbolized by the mystagoguc Hermes. The three (above) are (left to right): Luna, Sol, and coniunctio Solis et Lunae in Taurus, the House of Venus. Together they form 9 = Mercurius. Illuminated drawing in a German alchemical ms., r. 1600 ALCHEMICAL STUDIES C. G. JUNG TRANSLATED BY R . F. C. HÜLL 54 ILLUSTRATIONS Ö Routledge Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK FIRST PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND BY ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN P AUL, LTD. THIS EDITION PUBLISHED 2014 BY ROUTLEDGE 27 CHURCH ROAD, HOVE, EAST SUSSEX BN3 2FA 711 THIRD AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business ISBN 978-0-7100-6189-8 (hbk) THIS EDITION IS BEING PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND BY ROUTLEDGE, AND IN THE UNITED ST ATES OF AMERICA FOR BOLLINGEN FOUNDA TION BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS. THE PRESENT VOLUME IS NUMBER 13 OF THE COLLECTED WORKS, AND IS THE FIFTEENTH TO APPEAR. © Bollingen Foundation, New York, 1967 EDITORIAL NOTE When we compare the essays in the present volume with Jung’s monumental Mysterium Coniunctionis> with Psychology and Alchemy and to a lesser extent Aion, we realize their special value as an introduction to his researches into alchemy. The three longer works, published earlier in this edition, have an im- pact which to the uninitiated is well-nigh overwhelming. After them these shorter and more manageable works will be turned to, i£ not for relaxation— their erudition forbids that— at least with a feeling of lively interest, as preliminary studies for the weightier volumes which they now appear to summarize. Much of the symbolic matter has been referred to in other earlier publi- cations: the visions of Zosimos in “Transformation Symbolism in the Mass,” and Mercurius in all the above-mentioned works but more especially in “The Psychology of the Transference,” while “The Philosophical Tree” develops the theme of the tree symbol discussed sporadically in Symbols of Transformation. The “Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower” is of considerable historical interest. Jung says in Memories, Dreams, Reflections (ch. 7): “Light on the nature of alchemy began to come to me only after I had read the text of the Golden Flower, that specimen of Chinese alchemy which Richard Wil­ helm sent me in 1928. I was stirred by the desire to become more closely acquainted with the alchemical texts.” “Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon” stands out as a separate study with a powerful appeal, perhaps because Jung could identify himself rather closely and sympathetically with that dynamic and explo­ sive personage, his own countryman. Because of its emphasis öri alchemical sources, it is included in the present volume rather than in Volume 15 with two shorter essays on Paracelsus as ä personality and physician. v EDITORIAL NOTE The Editors and the translator are greatly indebted to the late Mr. A. S. B. Glover for the translation of the Latin, Greek, and French passages in the text, as well as for his tireless work in checking the references and bibliographical data, which contin- ued until shortly before his death in January 1966. For assistance in explicating Noel Pierre’s poem, grateful acknowledgment is made to Comte Pierre Crapon de Caprona (Noel Pierre), to Miss Paula Deitz, and to Mr. Jackson Mathews. For help and co-operation in obtaining the photographs for the plates in this volume the Editors are much indebted to the late Mrs. Marianne Niehus-Jung, who made materials available from Professor Jung’s collection; to Dr. Jolande Jacobi and Dr. Rudolf Michel, in charge of the picture collection at the C. G. Jung Institute, Zürich; and to Mr. Hellmut Wieser, of Rascher Verlag, Zürich. The frontispiece, an almost exact col- oured replica of a woodcut published by the author in Para- celsica, was discovered fortuitously in a manuscript in the Mellon Collection of the Alchemical and Occult. It is repro- duced by courtesy of Mr. Paul Mellon and the Yale University Library. The Editors are indebted also to Mr. Laurence Witten for his advice and assistance in regard to it. TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORIAL NOTE V LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XÜ i I Commentary on “The Secret of the Golden Flower” 1 Translated from the “Europäischer Kommentar” to Das Geheimnis der goldenen Blüte: Ein chinesisches Lebensbuch, 5th edn. (Zürich: Rascher, 1957). Foreword to the Second German Edition 3 1. Difficulties Encountered by a European in Trying to Understand the East 6 2. Modern Psychology Offers a Possibility of Understand- in g 11 3. The Fundamental Concepts 20 A. TAO 20 B. THE CIRCULAR MOVEMENT AND THE CENTRE 21 4. Phenomena of the Way 29 A. THE DISINTEGRATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS 29 B. ANIMUS AND ANIMA 38 5. The Detachment of Consciousness from the Object 44 6. The Fulfilment 49 7. Conclusion 55 Examples of European Mandalas 56 vii CONTENTS II The Visions of Zosimos 57 Translated from “Die Visionen des Zosimos,” Von den Wurzeln des Bewusstseins (Zürich: Rascher, 1954). I. The Texts 59 II. Commentary 66 1. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE INTERPRETATION 66 2. THE SACRIFICIAL ACT 70 3. THE PERSONIFICATIONS 90 4. THE STONE SYMBOLISM 9 4 5. THE WATER SYMBOLISM IOI 6. THE ORIGIN OF THE VISION IO5 III Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon 109 Translated from “Paracelsus als geistige Erscheinung,” Paracelsica: Zwei Vorlesungen über den Arzt und Philosophen Theophrastus (Zürich: Rascher, 1942). Foreword to Paracelsica 110 1. The Two Sources of Knowledge: The Light of Nature and the Light of Revelation 111 a . m a g ic 116 B. ALCHEMY 122 C. THE ARGANE TEACHING 1 2 4 D. THE PRIMORDIAL MAN 1 2 9 2. “De vita longa” : An Exposition of the Secret Doctrine 133 A. THE ILIASTER 134 B. THE AQUASTEFL 137 C. ARES 1 4 0 D. MELUSINA 142 E. THE FILIUS REGIUS AS THE ARCANE SUBSTANCE (MICHAEL MAIER) 145 CONTENTS F. THE PRODUCTION OF THE ONE, OR CENTRE, BY DIS- TILLATION 148 G. THE CONIUNCTIO IN THE SPRING 152 3. The Natural Transformation Mystery 157 A. THE LIGHT OF THE DARKNESS l6o B. THE UNION OF MAN’S TWO NATURES 163 C. THE QUATERNITY OF THE HOMO MAXIMUS 167 D. THE RAPPROCHEMENT WITH THE UNCONSCIOUS 170 4. The Commentary of Gerard Dorn 173 A. MELUSINA AND THE PROCESS OF INDIVIDUATION 176 B. THE HIEROSGAMOS OF THE EVERLASTING MAN l8o C. SPIRIT AND NATURE 183 D. THE ECCLESIASTICAL SACRAMENT AND THE OPUS ALCHYMICUM 185 5. Epilogue 189 IV The Spirit Mercurius 191 Translated from “Der Geist Mercurius,” Symbolik des Geistes (Zü­ rich: Rascher, 1948). Part I 1. The Spirit in the Bottle 193 2. The Connection between Spirit and Tree 199 3. The Problem of Freeing Mercurius 202 Part II 1. Introductory 204 2. Mercurius as Quicksilver and/or Water 207 3. Mercurius as Fire 209 CONTENTS 4. Mercurius as Spirit and Soul 211 A. MERCURIUS AS AN AERIAL SPIRIT 2 1 2 B. MERCURIUS AS SOUL 2 1 3 C. MERCURIUS AS SPIRIT IN THE INCORPOREAL, META- PHYSICAL SENSE 2 1 5 5. The Dual Nature of Mercurius 217 6. The Unity and Trinity of Mercurius 221 7. The Relation of Mercurius to Astrology and the Doc- trine of the Archons 225 8. Mercurius and Hermes 230 9. Mercurius as the Arcane Substance 235 10. Summary 237 V The Philosophical Tree 251 Translated from “Der philosophische Baum,” Von den Wurzeln des Bewusstseins (Zürich: Rascher, 1954). I. Individual Representations of the Tree Symbol 253 11. On the History and Interpretation of the Tree Symbol 272 1. THE TREE AS AN ARCHETYPAL IMAGE 2 7 2 2. THE TREE IN THE TREATISE OF JODOCUS GREVERUS 2 7 4 3. THE TETRASOMIA 278 4. THE IMAGE OF WHOLENESS 283 5. THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL TREE 286 6. DORN'S INTERPRETATION OF THE TREE 289 7. THE ROSE-COLOURED BLOOD AND THE ROSE 292 8. THE ALCHEMICAL MIND 2 9 7 9. VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE TREE 3 0 2 10. THE HABITAT OF THE TREE 3°$ 11. THE INVERTED TREE 3 11 12. BIRD AND SNAKE 3 15 CONTENTS 13. THE FEMININE TREE-NUMEN 317 14. THE TREE AS THE LAPIS 319 15. THE DANGERS OF THE ART 322 16. UNDERSTANDING AS A MEANS OF DEFENCE 327 17. THE MOTIF OF TORTURE 328 18. THE RELATION OF SUFFERING TO THECONIUNCTIO 334 ig . THE TREE AS MAN 337 2 0 . THE INTERPRETATION AND INTEGRATION OF THE UNCONSCIOUS 341 BIBLIOGRAPHY 351 INDEX 381 This page intentionally left blank LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS For “Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower” Four stages of meditation 30-33 Drawings from the Hui Ming Ching, as reproduced in the original Swiss edition of Das Geheimnis der goldenen Blüte (1929)- Ai—Aio. Examples of European mandalas Drawings or paintings by patients in analysis. Author’s collec- tion, except A4: C. G. Jung Institute, all following page g ß For “Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon,, T h e spiritus mercurialis represented as a monstrous dragon frontispiece Illuminated drawing from a German alchemical ms., c. 1600, in the collection of Paul Mellon (now in the Yale University Li­ brary). It replaces an almost identical woodcut from Nazari, Deila tramutatione metallica sogni tre (Brescia, 1599), repro­ duced in Paracelsica.
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