Alchemical Studies

518 Pages·1967·87.8 MB·English

by  C. G. Jung

B O L L I N G EN S E R I ES XX
THE COLLECTED WORKS
OF
C. G. J U NG
VOLUME13
E D I T O RS
' SIR HERBERT READ
MICHAEL FORDHAM, M.D., M.R.C.P.
GERHARD ADLER, PH.D.
WILLIAM MCGUIRE, executive editor
PYTHON...:.....
The 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 mystagogue Hermes. The three
(above) are (left to right): Luna, Sol, and coniunctio Solis et Lunae in Taurus,
the House of Venus. Together they form ~ = Mercurius. Illuminated drawing
in a German alchemical ms., c. 1600
A L C H E M I C A L
S T U D I E S
C. G. JUNG
TRANSLATED BY R. F. C. HULL
54 ILLUSTRATIONS
B O L L I N G E N S E R I E S X X
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
COPYRIGHT (g) 1967 BY BOLL1NCEN FOUNDATION, NEW YORK, N.Y.
PUBLISHED BY
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, PRINCETON, N.J.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Second printing, 1970
Third printing, 1976
First Princeton / Bollingen Paperback printing, 1983
THIS EDITION IS BEING PUBLISHED IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY PRINCETON
UNIVERSITY PRESS AND IN ENGLAND BY
ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL, LTD. IN THE
AMERICAN EDITION, ALL THE VOLUMES
COMPRISING THE COLLECTED WORKS CON­
STITUTE NUMBER XX IN BOLLINGEN SERIES.
THE PRESENT VOLUME IS NUMBER 13 OF
THE COLLECTED WORKS AND WAS THE FIF­
TEENTH TO APPEAR.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUE CARD NUMBER: 75-156
ISBN 0-691-09760-7
ISBN 0-691-01849-9 pbk.
MANUFACTURED IN THE U.S.A.
E D I T O R I A L N O T E
When we compare the essays in the present volume with Jung’s
monumental Mysterium Coniunctianis, 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, if 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 on
alchemical sources, it is included in the present volume rather
than in Volume 15 with two shorter essays on Paracelsus as a
personality and physician.
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, Zurich; and to Mr. Hellmut Wieser, of
Rascher Verlag, Zurich. 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.
T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S
EDITORIAL NOTE V
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Xlii
I
Commentary on “The Secret of the Golden Flower” i
Translated from the “Europaischer Kommentar” to Das Geheimnis
der goldenen Bliiie: Ein chinesisches Lebensbuchj 5th edn. (Zurich:
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
ing 11
3. The Fundamental Concepts 20
A. TAO 20
B. THE CIRCULAR MOVEMENT AND THE CENTRE 2 1
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 (Zurich: Rascher, 1954).
I. The Texts 59
II. Commentary 66
1. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE INTERPRETATION 66
2. THE SACRIFICIAL ACT
3. THE PERSONIFICATIONS GO
4. THE STONE SYMBOLISM 94
5. THE WATER SYMBOLISM 101
6. THE ORIGIN OF THE VISION 1O5
III
Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon 109
Translated from "Paracelsus als geistige Erscheinung," Paracelsica:
Zwei Vorlesungen iiber den Arzt und Philosophen Theophrastus
(Zurich: Rascher, 1942).
Foreword to Paracelsica 110
1. The Two Sources of Knowledge: The Light of Nature
and the Light of Revelation 111
A. MAGIC 116
B. ALCHEMY 122
C. THE ARCANE TEACHING 124
D. THE PRIMORDIAL MAN 12G
2. "De vita longa": An Exposition of the Secret Doctrine 133
A. THE ILIASTER 134
B. THE AQUASTER
C. ARES 140
D. MELUSINA 142
E. THE FILIUS REGIUS AS THE ARCANE SUBSTANCE
(MICHAEL MAIER) 145
viii
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 180
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 (Zu-
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
ix