Jung and the alchemical imagination

306 Pages·2000·16.9 MB·English

by  Jeffrey Raff

of
The alchemical art and its allegories are the drama
our own souls-playing out the individuation
of
process on the wheel life
JUNG
and the
ALCHEMICAL
IMAGINATION
The Jung on the Hudson Book Series was instituted by
The New York Center for Jungian Studies in 1997. This
ongoing series is designed to present books that will be of
interest to individuals of all fields, as well as mental health
professionals, who are interested in exploring the relevance
of the psychology and ideas of C. G. Jung to their personal
lives and professional activities.
For more information about the annual Jung on the
Hudson seminars, this series and the New York Center for
Jungian Studies contact: Aryeh Maidenbaum, Ph.D., 27
North Chestnut St., Suite 3, New Paltz, NY 12561, tele
phone [phone], fax [phone].
For more information about becoming part of this series,
contact: Nicolas-Hays, Inc., P.O. Box 540206,Lake Worth,FL
33454-0206, telephone: [phone], fax: (561) 798-
1042, email: [email protected].
J U N G
and the
ALCHEMICAL
IMAGINATION
The alchemical art and its allegories are the drama of
our own souls-playing out the individuation
process on the wheel of life
JEFFREY RA F F
NICOLAS-HAYS. INC.
Lake Worth, Florida
First published in 2000 by
Nicolas-Hays, Inc.
P.O. Box 540206
Lake Worth, FL 33454-0206
www.nicolashays.com
Distributed to the trade by
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
Box 612
York Beach, ME 03910
www.redwheelweiser.com
Copyright © 2000 Jeffrey Raff
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
Nicolas-Hays, Inc. Reviewers may quote brief passages.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Raff, Jeffrey.
Jung and the alchemical imagination / Jeffrey Raff.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-892 54-045-1 (pbk.: alk. paper)
I. Jungian psychology. 2. Alchemy-Psychological aspects. 3. Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav),
1875-1961. I. Title.
BF173.R18 2000
1S O. 19'5 4-dc21 00-040 19 4
EB
The author gratefully acknowledges Princeton University Press for giving him permission to
quote material from the following titles: Jung, C. G., Psychology and Alchem)', Copyright © I 953 by
Bollingen Foundation, New York, NY; ©I 968 Bollingen Foundation, Reprinted by permission
of Princeton University Press; Jung, C. G., Ai£hemical Studies, Copyright© I967 by Bollingen Foun
dation, Princeton University Press, Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press; Jung,
C. G., Mysterium Coniunctionis, Copyright © I 970 by Bollingen Foundation, Princeton University
Press, Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press.
Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck
Typeset in 12/ 14 Centaur MT
Printed in the United States of America
876543
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American
National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials Z39.48-1992 (R1997).
CONTENTS
~
. .
Acknowledgments . . V!I
Introduction . . . . . IX
Chapter 1 }UNG AS A SPIRITUAL TRADITION . . . . . 1
Chapter 2 THE ALCHEMICAL IMAGINATION . . . . . 39
Chapter 3 THE CREATION OF THE SELF. . . . . . 80
Chapter 4 THE PROCESSES OF INNER ALCHEMY. 160
Chapter 5 THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL ALCHEMY. . 218
Conclusion . . . . . . . . 253
Bibliography . . 259
Index ..... . 267
About the Author . . 278

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank those individuals whose writing skills
helped me through the difficult challenge of learning to
put my ideas on paper and whose comments helped make
this book far better than it would otherwise have been:
Lydia Lennihan and Gary Hartman. My thanks to Steve
Wong for getting me into writing, and to Linda Vocatura
for helping me shape many ideas that appear in this work.
I wish also to thank Kay Galvan for her help with the book.
And my special thanks to my wife Marilyn for her patient
support through the hard work and discouraging moments
that accompanied this creative process and for being part
ner in the alchemy of relationship.

INTRODUCTION
When I was 22 years old, I experienced a spiritual awak
ening. Long before I ever heard of either C. G. Jung, or
alchemy, a spiritual current raced through my soul and sum
moned me to experiences I had never imagined could ex
ist. I was young and very ignorant, and had no way to
conceptualize the experiences that I was undergoing. In my
need to comprehend, I sought teachers and traditions that
might help me to understand. I found none-until I came
upon the writings of C. G. Jung. Though his ideas, and
the complexity of his writings puzzled me, in my heart I
knew I had found a kindred spirit. I could sense, long be
fore I could understand, that Jung provided the framework
in which I could decipher the visions that I experienced.
My study of Jung introduced me to earlier traditions
that also spoke to my depths. Of these, the most impor
tant was alchemy. For me, alchemy was a vast cauldron of
image and symbol, a chaotic mixture of the reasonable and
the bizarre, the endearing and the terrifying. At the core
of it all stood the fascinating image of the philosopher's
stone, the magical substance with the power to transmute
metals, heal the sick, reveal the mysteries of the spirit, and
bestow immortality on its fortunate creator. It was the image
of the stone, more than any other, that captured my imagi
nation and moved me to the study of alchemy-a study
that has continued for over twenty years.
Originally I did not seek intellectual understanding
about the origins of alchemy, nor did I wish to get into
the minds of the early alchemists to deduce what they might