A leading Jungian psychologist reveals the relationship between alchemy and analytical psychology, delving into the visionary work of a sixteenth-century alchemist
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Although alchemy is popularly regarded as the science that sought to transmute base physical matter, many of the medieval alchemists were more interested in developing a discipline that would lead to the psychological and spiritual transformation of the individual. C. G. Jung discovered in his study ofย alchemicalย texts a symbolic andย imaginalย language that expressed many of his own insights into psychological processes.
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In this book, Marie-Louiseย vonย Franz examines a text by the sixteenth-century alchemist and physicianย Gerhardย Dornย in order to show the relationship of alchemy to the concepts and techniques ofย analyticalย psychology. In particular, she shows that the alchemists practiced a kind of meditation similar to Jung's technique of active imagination, which enables one to dialogue with the unconscious archetypal elements in the psyche.
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Originally delivered as a series of lectures at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich, the book opens therapeutic insights into the relations among spirit, soul, and body in the practice of active imagination.
Gezondheid, lichaam en geest