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aker:collected_works:cw9i [2016/01/31 04:27] – [Part V] januscollected_works:cw9i [2017/02/14 05:08] (current) – ↷ Links adapted because of a move operation janus
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 §5 "The term "représentations collectives," used by Lévy-Bruhl to denote the symbolic figures in the primitive view of the world, could easily be applied to unconscious contents as well, ....Primitive tribal lore is concerned with archetypes that have been modified in a special way. They are no longer contents of the unconscious, but have already been changed in to conscious formulae taught according to tradition, generally in the form of esoteric teaching. This last is a typical means of expression for the //transmission of collective contents originally derived from the unconscious//." <fc green>(Emphasis mine).  Jung elaborates further on regarding the origins of the content.  However, in the matter of the 'transmission' I find it useful to understand the rôle of ritual and how it - without the individual knowing in most cases - brings or gives expression to unconscious content, necessarily so I think is crucial too.  As we have lost ritual and tradition in many ways with our modern culture, we have neglected or taken away a platform for our unconscious and not replaced it with anything. </fc> §5 "The term "représentations collectives," used by Lévy-Bruhl to denote the symbolic figures in the primitive view of the world, could easily be applied to unconscious contents as well, ....Primitive tribal lore is concerned with archetypes that have been modified in a special way. They are no longer contents of the unconscious, but have already been changed in to conscious formulae taught according to tradition, generally in the form of esoteric teaching. This last is a typical means of expression for the //transmission of collective contents originally derived from the unconscious//." <fc green>(Emphasis mine).  Jung elaborates further on regarding the origins of the content.  However, in the matter of the 'transmission' I find it useful to understand the rôle of ritual and how it - without the individual knowing in most cases - brings or gives expression to unconscious content, necessarily so I think is crucial too.  As we have lost ritual and tradition in many ways with our modern culture, we have neglected or taken away a platform for our unconscious and not replaced it with anything. </fc>
  
-§6 "The archetype is essentially an unconscious content that is altered by becoming conscious and by being perceived, and it takes its colour from the individual consciousness in which it happens to appear.<fc red><sup>9</sup></fc>"\\ <fc red><sup>9</sup></fc><sub>One must, for the sake of accuracy, distinguish between "archetype" and "archetypal ideas."  The archetype as such is a hypothetical and irrepresentable model, something like the "pattern of behaviour" in biology.  Cf "[[aker:collected_works:cw8|On the nature of the Psyche]]," sec. 7.</sub>\\  +§6 "The archetype is essentially an unconscious content that is altered by becoming conscious and by being perceived, and it takes its colour from the individual consciousness in which it happens to appear.<fc red><sup>9</sup></fc>"\\ <fc red><sup>9</sup></fc><sub>One must, for the sake of accuracy, distinguish between "archetype" and "archetypal ideas."  The archetype as such is a hypothetical and irrepresentable model, something like the "pattern of behaviour" in biology.  Cf "[[collected_works:cw8|On the nature of the Psyche]]," sec. 7.</sub>\\  
-<fc green>This will make life tricky as the material is mixed between 'archetypal' and personal in expression.  Cf. para 28, [[aker:collected_works:cw9ii|Aion CW9ii]] ...although this has more to do with projection.</fc>+<fc green>This will make life tricky as the material is mixed between 'archetypal' and personal in expression.  Cf. para 28, [[collected_works:cw9ii|Aion CW9ii]] ...although this has more to do with projection.</fc>
  
 §7 "All the mythologized processes of nature, such as summer and winter, the phases of the moon, the rainy seasons, and so forth, are in no sense allegories<fc red><sup>10</sup></fc> of these objective occurrences; rather they are symbolic expressions of the inner, unconscious drama of the psyche which becomes **accessible to man's consciousness by way of projection** - that is, mirrored in the events of nature." <fc green>(emphasis mine) This is very instructive.  The unconscious drama finds voice in the expression of mythologising about nature.  So Jung is saying here the psychic drama came first.  The 'convenience' - if I can call it that - of finding expression, mirrored even, in nature is interesting to me.  It really is - in this view then - 'as above, so below' etc.  It is remarkable how the unconscious then has sought expression, or rather, how we as humans have given it expression.  We are a reflection of nature then in some ways...as the reciprocal must in some way be true too; our psychic drama plays out as in nature?  \\ A reflection now on astrology: </fc>"And yet anyone who can calculate a horoscope should know that, since the days of Hipparchus of Alexandria, the spring-point <fc green>([[wp>Equinox|Vernal equinox]])</fc> has been fixed at 0° Aries, and that the zodiac on which every horoscope is based is therefore quite arbitrary, the spring-point having gradually advanced, since then, into t he first degrees of Pisces, owing to the precession of the equinoxes."\\ <fc red><sup>10</sup></fc><sub>An allegory is a paraphrase of a conscious content, whereas a symbol is the best possible expression for an unconscious content whose nature can only be guessed, because it is still unknown.</sub> §7 "All the mythologized processes of nature, such as summer and winter, the phases of the moon, the rainy seasons, and so forth, are in no sense allegories<fc red><sup>10</sup></fc> of these objective occurrences; rather they are symbolic expressions of the inner, unconscious drama of the psyche which becomes **accessible to man's consciousness by way of projection** - that is, mirrored in the events of nature." <fc green>(emphasis mine) This is very instructive.  The unconscious drama finds voice in the expression of mythologising about nature.  So Jung is saying here the psychic drama came first.  The 'convenience' - if I can call it that - of finding expression, mirrored even, in nature is interesting to me.  It really is - in this view then - 'as above, so below' etc.  It is remarkable how the unconscious then has sought expression, or rather, how we as humans have given it expression.  We are a reflection of nature then in some ways...as the reciprocal must in some way be true too; our psychic drama plays out as in nature?  \\ A reflection now on astrology: </fc>"And yet anyone who can calculate a horoscope should know that, since the days of Hipparchus of Alexandria, the spring-point <fc green>([[wp>Equinox|Vernal equinox]])</fc> has been fixed at 0° Aries, and that the zodiac on which every horoscope is based is therefore quite arbitrary, the spring-point having gradually advanced, since then, into t he first degrees of Pisces, owing to the precession of the equinoxes."\\ <fc red><sup>10</sup></fc><sub>An allegory is a paraphrase of a conscious content, whereas a symbol is the best possible expression for an unconscious content whose nature can only be guessed, because it is still unknown.</sub>
  
 <fc green>This is a full paragraph quote, but worth it I think as it says so much: </fc>\\  <fc green>This is a full paragraph quote, but worth it I think as it says so much: </fc>\\ 
-§8 "Primitive man impresses us so strongly with his subjectivity that we should really have guessed long ago that myths refer to something psychic. His knowledge of nature is essentially the language and outer dress of an unconscious psychic process.  But the very fact that this process is unconscious gives us the reason why man has thought of everything except the psyche in his attempts to explain myths.  He simply didn't know that the psyche contains all the images that have ever given rise to myths, and that our unconscious is an acting and suffering subject with an inner drama which primitive man rediscovers, by means of analogy, in the processes of nature both great and small.<fc red><sup>11</sup></fc>"\\ <fc red><sup>11</sup></fc><sub>Cf. my papers on the divine child and the Kore in the present volume, and Kerenyi's complementary essays in //[[aker:books_and_literature:essays_on_a_science_of_mythology|Essays on [or Introduction to] a Science of Mythology]]//.</sub>+§8 "Primitive man impresses us so strongly with his subjectivity that we should really have guessed long ago that myths refer to something psychic. His knowledge of nature is essentially the language and outer dress of an unconscious psychic process.  But the very fact that this process is unconscious gives us the reason why man has thought of everything except the psyche in his attempts to explain myths.  He simply didn't know that the psyche contains all the images that have ever given rise to myths, and that our unconscious is an acting and suffering subject with an inner drama which primitive man rediscovers, by means of analogy, in the processes of nature both great and small.<fc red><sup>11</sup></fc>"\\ <fc red><sup>11</sup></fc><sub>Cf. my papers on the divine child and the Kore in the present volume, and Kerenyi's complementary essays in //[[books_and_literature:essays_on_a_science_of_mythology|Essays on [or Introduction to] a Science of Mythology]]//.</sub>
  
 [[aker:Religion|Σ]] §11 "Why have we not long since discovered the unconscious and raised up its treasure-house of eternal images? Simply because we had a religious formula for everything psychic - and one that is far more beautiful and comprehensive than immediate experience. ... Naturally, the more familiar we are with them the more does constant usage polish them smooth, so that what remains is only banal superficiality and meaningless paradox. ..." <fc green>Definitely worth reading further here ...this whole paragraph.</fc> "That people should succumb to these eternal images is entirely normal, in fact it is what these images are for.  They are meant to attract, to convince, to fascinate, and to overpower. ... That is why they always give man a premonition of the divine while at the same time safeguarding him from immediate experience of it.  Thanks to the labours of the human spirit over the centuries, these images have become embedded in a comprehensive system of thought that ascribes an order to the world, and are at the same time represented by a mighty, far-spread, and venerable institution called the Church."  [[aker:Religion|Σ]] §11 "Why have we not long since discovered the unconscious and raised up its treasure-house of eternal images? Simply because we had a religious formula for everything psychic - and one that is far more beautiful and comprehensive than immediate experience. ... Naturally, the more familiar we are with them the more does constant usage polish them smooth, so that what remains is only banal superficiality and meaningless paradox. ..." <fc green>Definitely worth reading further here ...this whole paragraph.</fc> "That people should succumb to these eternal images is entirely normal, in fact it is what these images are for.  They are meant to attract, to convince, to fascinate, and to overpower. ... That is why they always give man a premonition of the divine while at the same time safeguarding him from immediate experience of it.  Thanks to the labours of the human spirit over the centuries, these images have become embedded in a comprehensive system of thought that ascribes an order to the world, and are at the same time represented by a mighty, far-spread, and venerable institution called the Church." 
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 §12ff <fc green>Jung goes into some detail now about Brother [[wp>Nicholas of Flüe|Nicholoas of Flüe]] and his Trinity vision, as an example of the religious explanation of unconscious contents.  Paragraph 17 has a 'conclusion' statement: </fc>"Brother Klaus came to terms with his experience on the basis of dogma, then firm as a rock; and the dogma proved its powers of assimilation by turning something horribly alive <fc green>(The vision of Christ)</fc> into the beautiful abstraction of the Trinity idea." <fc green>...continue to para. 18</fc> §12ff <fc green>Jung goes into some detail now about Brother [[wp>Nicholas of Flüe|Nicholoas of Flüe]] and his Trinity vision, as an example of the religious explanation of unconscious contents.  Paragraph 17 has a 'conclusion' statement: </fc>"Brother Klaus came to terms with his experience on the basis of dogma, then firm as a rock; and the dogma proved its powers of assimilation by turning something horribly alive <fc green>(The vision of Christ)</fc> into the beautiful abstraction of the Trinity idea." <fc green>...continue to para. 18</fc>
  
-{{:aker:collected_works:nicholasflue.jpg?230|}}+{{collected_works:nicholasflue.jpg?230|}}
  
-{{:aker:collected_works:flue.jpg?640|}}+{{collected_works:flue.jpg?640|}}
  
 <fc green>St Nicholas is an interesting character.  Jung mentions in paragraph 15 that Nicholas had visions of 'Christ in the bearskin' ...which makes me think of the bearskin fairytale.  Some online reading came up with some interesting points where both Jung and Von Franz seem to come back to Brother Nicholas and his visions at various points.</fc> <fc green>St Nicholas is an interesting character.  Jung mentions in paragraph 15 that Nicholas had visions of 'Christ in the bearskin' ...which makes me think of the bearskin fairytale.  Some online reading came up with some interesting points where both Jung and Von Franz seem to come back to Brother Nicholas and his visions at various points.</fc>
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 [[aker:Religion|Σ]] §23 "The Protestant is cast out into a state of defencelessness that might well make the natural man shudder.  His enlightened consciousness, of course, refuses to take cognizance of this fact, and is quietly looking elsewhere for what has been lost to Europe.  We seek the effective images, the thought-forms that satisfy the restlessness of heart and mind, and we find the treasures of the East."\\ §25 "... Christianity ...fits in with the existing archetypal pattern." [[aker:Religion|Σ]] §23 "The Protestant is cast out into a state of defencelessness that might well make the natural man shudder.  His enlightened consciousness, of course, refuses to take cognizance of this fact, and is quietly looking elsewhere for what has been lost to Europe.  We seek the effective images, the thought-forms that satisfy the restlessness of heart and mind, and we find the treasures of the East."\\ §25 "... Christianity ...fits in with the existing archetypal pattern."
  
-[[aker:Death|Ω]] §66 "Human interpretation fails, for a turbulent life-situation has arisen that refuses to fit any of the traditional meanings assigned to it. It is  a moment of collapse.  We sink into a final depth - [[wp>Apuleius|Apuleius]] calls it "a kind of voluntary death."  It is a surrender of our own powers, not artificially willed but forced upon us by nature; not a voluntary submission and humiliation decked in moral garb but an utter and unmistakable defeat crowned with the panic fear of demoralization.  Only when all props and crutches are broken, and no cover from the rear offers even the slightest hope of security, does it become possible for us to experience an archetype that up till then had lain hidden behind the meaningful nonsense played out by the anima.  This is the archetype of //meaning//, just as the anima is the archetype of life itself."+[[:death|Ω]] §66 "Human interpretation fails, for a turbulent life-situation has arisen that refuses to fit any of the traditional meanings assigned to it. It is  a moment of collapse.  We sink into a final depth - [[wp>Apuleius|Apuleius]] calls it "a kind of voluntary death."  It is a surrender of our own powers, not artificially willed but forced upon us by nature; not a voluntary submission and humiliation decked in moral garb but an utter and unmistakable defeat crowned with the panic fear of demoralization.  Only when all props and crutches are broken, and no cover from the rear offers even the slightest hope of security, does it become possible for us to experience an archetype that up till then had lain hidden behind the meaningful nonsense played out by the anima.  This is the archetype of //meaning//, just as the anima is the archetype of life itself."
  
 [[#top|back to top]] [[#top|back to top]]
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 == 2. The Psychology of Rebirth == == 2. The Psychology of Rebirth ==
 == 3. A typical set of symbols illustrating the process of transformation == == 3. A typical set of symbols illustrating the process of transformation ==
-[[aker:Death|Ω]] §249 "The intuition of immortality which makes itself felt during the transformation is connected with the peculiar nature of the unconscious.  It is, in a sense, non-spacial and non-temporal."+[[:death|Ω]] §249 "The intuition of immortality which makes itself felt during the transformation is connected with the peculiar nature of the unconscious.  It is, in a sense, non-spacial and non-temporal."
  
 §240 "By this is meant the moment when consciousness sinks back into the darkness from which it originally emerged, like Khidr's island, the moment of death." §240 "By this is meant the moment when consciousness sinks back into the darkness from which it originally emerged, like Khidr's island, the moment of death."
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 §386 "A very widespread view conceives spirit as a higher and psyche as a lower principle of activity, and conversely the alchemists thought of spirit as the //ligamentum animae et corporis//, <fc green>(The ligament between body = corporis and soul = animae)</fc> obviously regarding it as a //spiritus vegetativus// (the later life spirit or nerve-spirit)." §386 "A very widespread view conceives spirit as a higher and psyche as a lower principle of activity, and conversely the alchemists thought of spirit as the //ligamentum animae et corporis//, <fc green>(The ligament between body = corporis and soul = animae)</fc> obviously regarding it as a //spiritus vegetativus// (the later life spirit or nerve-spirit)."
  
-§387 "From time immemorial emotion has been regarded as possession, which is why we still say today, of a hot-tempered person, that he is possessed of a devil or that an evil spirit has entered into him.<fc red><sup>3</sup></fc>\\ <fc red><sup>3</sup></fc><sub>See my "[[aker:collected_works:cw8#601//648//Spirit//and//Life|Spirit and Life]]" <fc green>(In [[aker:collected_works:cw8|CW8]] )</fc></sub>+§387 "From time immemorial emotion has been regarded as possession, which is why we still say today, of a hot-tempered person, that he is possessed of a devil or that an evil spirit has entered into him.<fc red><sup>3</sup></fc>\\ <fc red><sup>3</sup></fc><sub>See my "[[collected_works:cw8#601//648//Spirit//and//Life|Spirit and Life]]" <fc green>(In [[collected_works:cw8|CW8]] )</fc></sub>
  
 <fc green>Jung spends some time in these paragraphs going through the 'score or so of meanings and shades of meaning attributable to the word "spirit". ...and then...</fc>\\  <fc green>Jung spends some time in these paragraphs going through the 'score or so of meanings and shades of meaning attributable to the word "spirit". ...and then...</fc>\\ 
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 == II. Self-representation of the spirit in dreams == == II. Self-representation of the spirit in dreams ==
  
-§396 "The psychic manifestations of the spirit indicate at once that they are of an archetypal nature - in other words, the phenomenon <fc green>(I like that he says phenomenon here, we experience the spirit)</fc> we call spirit depends on the existence of an autonomous primordial image which is universally present in the preconscious makeup of the human psyche." <fc green>Bold!</fc>\\ "It struck me that a certain kind of **father complex** has a "spiritual" character, so to speak, in the sense that the father-image gives rise to statements, actions, tendencies, impulses, opinions, etc., to which one could hardly deny the attribute "spiritual."  ... In dreams, it is always the father-figure from whom the decisive convictions, prohibitions, and wise counsels emanate.  The invisibility of this source is frequently emphasized by the fact that it consists simply of an authoritative voice which passes final judgments.<fc red><sup>7</sup></fc>  Mostly, therefore, it is the figure of a "wise old man" who symbolizes the spiritual factor. ... The dwarf forms are found, at least in my experience, mainly in woman; ... In both sexes the spirit can also take the form of a boy or a youth.  In woman he corresponds to the so-called "positive" animus who indicates the possibility of conscious spiritual effort.  In men his meaning is not so simple.  He can be positive, in which case he signifies the "higher" personality, the self or //filius regius// as conceived by the alchemists.  But he can also be negative, and the he signifies the infantile shadow."\\ <fc red><sup>6</sup></fc><sub>Even if one accepts the view that a self-revelation of spirit - an apparition for instance - is nothing but an hallucination. the fact remains that this is a spontaneous psychic event not subject to our control.  At any rate **it is an autonomous complex, and that is quite sufficient for our purpose.** <fc green>(Emphasis mine)</fc></sub> \\ <fc red><sup>7</sup></fc><sub>Cf. //[[aker:collected_works:cw12|Psychology and Alchemy]]// , §115</sub>+§396 "The psychic manifestations of the spirit indicate at once that they are of an archetypal nature - in other words, the phenomenon <fc green>(I like that he says phenomenon here, we experience the spirit)</fc> we call spirit depends on the existence of an autonomous primordial image which is universally present in the preconscious makeup of the human psyche." <fc green>Bold!</fc>\\ "It struck me that a certain kind of **father complex** has a "spiritual" character, so to speak, in the sense that the father-image gives rise to statements, actions, tendencies, impulses, opinions, etc., to which one could hardly deny the attribute "spiritual."  ... In dreams, it is always the father-figure from whom the decisive convictions, prohibitions, and wise counsels emanate.  The invisibility of this source is frequently emphasized by the fact that it consists simply of an authoritative voice which passes final judgments.<fc red><sup>7</sup></fc>  Mostly, therefore, it is the figure of a "wise old man" who symbolizes the spiritual factor. ... The dwarf forms are found, at least in my experience, mainly in woman; ... In both sexes the spirit can also take the form of a boy or a youth.  In woman he corresponds to the so-called "positive" animus who indicates the possibility of conscious spiritual effort.  In men his meaning is not so simple.  He can be positive, in which case he signifies the "higher" personality, the self or //filius regius// as conceived by the alchemists.  But he can also be negative, and the he signifies the infantile shadow."\\ <fc red><sup>6</sup></fc><sub>Even if one accepts the view that a self-revelation of spirit - an apparition for instance - is nothing but an hallucination. the fact remains that this is a spontaneous psychic event not subject to our control.  At any rate **it is an autonomous complex, and that is quite sufficient for our purpose.** <fc green>(Emphasis mine)</fc></sub> \\ <fc red><sup>7</sup></fc><sub>Cf. //[[collected_works:cw12|Psychology and Alchemy]]// , §115</sub>
  
 == III. The spirit in fairytales == == III. The spirit in fairytales ==
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 §407 "There is equally a connection with the unconscious when the old man appears as a dwarf."\\ <fc green>There is more in this paragraph about the unconscious appearing as a little iron man, or dressed in iron.</fc> "There are indeed little ice men, and little metal men too..." §407 "There is equally a connection with the unconscious when the old man appears as a dwarf."\\ <fc green>There is more in this paragraph about the unconscious appearing as a little iron man, or dressed in iron.</fc> "There are indeed little ice men, and little metal men too..."
  
-§408 "In this connection we might also mention the Anthroparion, the little leaden man of the Zosimos vision,<fc red><sup>28</sup></fc> as well as the metallic men who dwell in the mines, the crafty dactyls of antiquity, the homunculi of the alchemists, and the gnomic throng of hobgoblins, brownies, gremlins, etc."\\ "The atman is "smaller than small and bigger than big," he is "the size of a thumb" yet he "encompasses the earth on every side and rules over the ten-finger space."" \\ <fc red><sup>28</sup></fc><sub>Cf. "[[aker:collected_works:cw13#ii_the_visions_of_zosimos_85_-_144|The Visions of Zosimos]]," para. 87 (III, i, 2-3) <fc green>(In my copy of the CW's III, i, 2-3 is in §86, not §87.  However, the Brazen, then Silver man, and reference to the golden man - the Anthroparion, are made in §87.  In §86 too, the Anthroparion is mentioned.)</fc></sub> \\ <fc green>The ten finger space = mouth to the top of the head\\ Cf. CW5 where Jung is quotes an Indian Upanishad talking of Purusha:</fc>+§408 "In this connection we might also mention the Anthroparion, the little leaden man of the Zosimos vision,<fc red><sup>28</sup></fc> as well as the metallic men who dwell in the mines, the crafty dactyls of antiquity, the homunculi of the alchemists, and the gnomic throng of hobgoblins, brownies, gremlins, etc."\\ "The atman is "smaller than small and bigger than big," he is "the size of a thumb" yet he "encompasses the earth on every side and rules over the ten-finger space."" \\ <fc red><sup>28</sup></fc><sub>Cf. "[[collected_works:cw13#ii_the_visions_of_zosimos_85_-_144|The Visions of Zosimos]]," para. 87 (III, i, 2-3) <fc green>(In my copy of the CW's III, i, 2-3 is in §86, not §87.  However, the Brazen, then Silver man, and reference to the golden man - the Anthroparion, are made in §87.  In §86 too, the Anthroparion is mentioned.)</fc></sub> \\ <fc green>The ten finger space = mouth to the top of the head\\ Cf. CW5 where Jung is quotes an Indian Upanishad talking of Purusha:</fc>
  
 ~~SEARCHPATTERN#'/(.*§178 \s*([^\n\r]+).*)/i'?? +aker:collected_works:cw5 _sprender $quote ??~~ ~~SEARCHPATTERN#'/(.*§178 \s*([^\n\r]+).*)/i'?? +aker:collected_works:cw5 _sprender $quote ??~~
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 §422-§424 <fc green>Here follows a retelling by Jung of the fairytale "The Princess in the Tree", [ //Deutsche Märchen seit Grimm// , pp. 1ff.].  I've not been able to find this tale online, and it isn't my my book of Grimm tales.  It is a very interesting tales and much of what follows now; para. 425-435 is in elucidation of this tale.</fc> §422-§424 <fc green>Here follows a retelling by Jung of the fairytale "The Princess in the Tree", [ //Deutsche Märchen seit Grimm// , pp. 1ff.].  I've not been able to find this tale online, and it isn't my my book of Grimm tales.  It is a very interesting tales and much of what follows now; para. 425-435 is in elucidation of this tale.</fc>
  
-§426 "Between the three and the four there exists the primary opposition of male and female, but whereas fourness is a symbol of wholeness, threeness is not. The latter, according to alchemy, denotes polarity, since one triad always presupposes another, just as high presupposes low, lightness darkness, good evil.  In terms of energy, polarity means a potential, and wherever a potential exists there is the possibility of a current, a flow of events, for the tension of opposites strives for balance.\\ In psychological language we should say that when the unconscious wholeness becomes manifest, i.e., leaves the unconscious and crosses over into the sphere of consciousness, one of the four remains behind, held fast by the //horror vacui// of the unconscious.  There thus arises a triad, which as we know - not from the fairytale but from the history of symbolism - constellates a corresponding triad in opposition to it<fc red><sup>41</sup></fc> - in other words, a conflict ensues.  here too we could ask with Socrates, "One, two, three - but, my dear Timaeus, of those who yesterday were the banqueters and today are the banquet-givers, where is the fourth?"  He has remained in the realm of the dark mother, caught by the wolfish greed of the unconscious, which is unwilling to let anything escape from its magic circle save at the cost of a sacrifice."\\ <fc red><sup>41</sup></fc><sub> Cf. //[[aker:collected_works:cw12|Psychology and Alchemy]]//, fig. 54 and §539; and, for a more detailed account, "[[aker:collected_works:cw13#iv_the_spirit_mercurius_239_-_303|The Spirit Mercurius]]," §271.</sub>+§426 "Between the three and the four there exists the primary opposition of male and female, but whereas fourness is a symbol of wholeness, threeness is not. The latter, according to alchemy, denotes polarity, since one triad always presupposes another, just as high presupposes low, lightness darkness, good evil.  In terms of energy, polarity means a potential, and wherever a potential exists there is the possibility of a current, a flow of events, for the tension of opposites strives for balance.\\ In psychological language we should say that when the unconscious wholeness becomes manifest, i.e., leaves the unconscious and crosses over into the sphere of consciousness, one of the four remains behind, held fast by the //horror vacui// of the unconscious.  There thus arises a triad, which as we know - not from the fairytale but from the history of symbolism - constellates a corresponding triad in opposition to it<fc red><sup>41</sup></fc> - in other words, a conflict ensues.  here too we could ask with Socrates, "One, two, three - but, my dear Timaeus, of those who yesterday were the banqueters and today are the banquet-givers, where is the fourth?"  He has remained in the realm of the dark mother, caught by the wolfish greed of the unconscious, which is unwilling to let anything escape from its magic circle save at the cost of a sacrifice."\\ <fc red><sup>41</sup></fc><sub> Cf. //[[collected_works:cw12|Psychology and Alchemy]]//, fig. 54 and §539; and, for a more detailed account, "[[collected_works:cw13#iv_the_spirit_mercurius_239_-_303|The Spirit Mercurius]]," §271.</sub>
  
 <fc green>von Franz talks of the difficulty in going from 3 to 4, from 7 to 8 in fairytales:</fc> <fc green>von Franz talks of the difficulty in going from 3 to 4, from 7 to 8 in fairytales:</fc>
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 §450 "Speaking in the spirit of the fairytale, which unfolds its drama from the highest point, one would have to say that the world of half-gods is anterior to the profane world and produces it out of itself, just as the world of half-gods must be thought of as proceeding from the world of gods." §450 "Speaking in the spirit of the fairytale, which unfolds its drama from the highest point, one would have to say that the world of half-gods is anterior to the profane world and produces it out of itself, just as the world of half-gods must be thought of as proceeding from the world of gods."
  
-{{:aker:collected_works:god-halfgods-profane.png?150|}}+{{collected_works:god-halfgods-profane.png?150|}}
  
-§452 "We could say, then, that the swineherd stands for the "animal" man who has a soul-mate somewhere in the upper world. By her royal birth she betrays her connection with the preexistent, semi-divine pair. Looked at from this angle, the latter stands for everything a man can become if only he climbs high enough up the world-tree.<sup><fc red>66</fc></sup>\\ <sup><fc red>66</fc></sup><sub>The great tree corresponds to the arbor philosophica of the alchemists. The meeting between an earthly human being and the anima, swimming down in the shape of a mermaid, is to be found in the so-called "[[aker:books_and_literature:ripley_scrowle|Ripley Scrowle.]]" Cf. [[aker:collected_works:cw12|Psychology and Alchemy, fig. 257]].</sub>+§452 "We could say, then, that the swineherd stands for the "animal" man who has a soul-mate somewhere in the upper world. By her royal birth she betrays her connection with the preexistent, semi-divine pair. Looked at from this angle, the latter stands for everything a man can become if only he climbs high enough up the world-tree.<sup><fc red>66</fc></sup>\\ <sup><fc red>66</fc></sup><sub>The great tree corresponds to the arbor philosophica of the alchemists. The meeting between an earthly human being and the anima, swimming down in the shape of a mermaid, is to be found in the so-called "[[books_and_literature:ripley_scrowle|Ripley Scrowle.]]" Cf. [[collected_works:cw12|Psychology and Alchemy, fig. 257]].</sub>
  
  
  • Last modified: 2017/02/14 05:08
  • by janus