Product details
Biographical note
Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. He was a prolific author, illustrator, and correspondent.<p><strong>For the serious student of Jung, </strong><em>Psychology and Alchemy</em><strong> is a must. For the lay person who is prepared to wrestle with it, it will be rewarding and enlightening.</strong> - <em>Changes</em></p>
Alchemy is central to Jung's hypothesis of the collective unconscious. In this volume he begins with an outline of the process and aims of psychotherapy, and then moves on to work out the analogies between alchemy, Christian dogma and symbolism and his own understanding of the analytic process.
Introducing the basic concepts of alchemy, Jung reminds us of the dual nature of alchemy, comprising both the chemical process and a parallel mystical component. He also discusses the seemingly deliberate mystification of the alchemists. Finally, in using the alchemical process as providing insights into individuation, Jung emphasises the importance of alchemy in relating to us the transcendent nature of the psyche.
In Psychology and Alchemy Jung works out in detail the analogies between alchemy, Christian dogma and symbolism in relation to alchemy, focusing on the mandala in particular.