alchemy

Marion Woodman suggests that the penultimate happiness comes from cultivating the seeds of right relationship. In Dancing in the Flames she dedicates her book to the goddess, Sophia, and writes that "integrity in love is the only true guide to the wisdom that leads to freedom." …

Since the publication of Faust, a Tragedy in 1832, critics have lauded Goethe's masterwork with innumerable accolades. C. G. Jung, for example, refers to it as "the grandest work of alchemy." Faust, Part One, however, contains only ten lines dealing with alchemy, while alchemica…

In this dissertation, I argue that the transformation of the soul is fundamental to the thought of Augustine and Ghazzali. Their other views are better understood and are in more agreement when taken as secondary to the transformation of the soul. They have given similar account…

This study explores the symbolic nature, cognitive origin, and historic implications of patterns of imagery abundant in alchemical writings of European, Hellenistic, Arabic and Byzantine origin. In so doing, it seeks to bring greater balance between exoteric and esoteric aspects…

The famous "weeping rock," which stands on Mt. Sipylus in Turkey, has, since ancient times, been perceived as the embodiment of Niobe, the Theban queen of Greek mythology. She insulted the gods with her pride and was condemned to live in stone and mourn forever (Homer, trans. 20…

This dissertation explores problems of cultural fragmentation, meaninglessness, and oppression—effects of humanity’s profound disenchantment with life and love—as they are situated in ruptures between the masculine and feminine. Using a classical Jungian and feminist approach, a…

In H.D's lyric epic, Helen in Egypt, Helen of Troy experiences a phenomenological transformation in the brazier of the heart, which burns both on the beach of her new home in Egypt and in the depths of her psychic life. I have envisioned a process by which Helen psychologically …

This work argues that the presence of "alchemical" and "magical" material found in papyri dated to the third or fourth century CE must be related to the declining local aristocracy of the Roman empire and to their educated clients. Jacco Dieleman, Ian Moyer and mostly David Fran…

This hermeneutic study explores the esoteric context and complementary ritual discourse of Medieval Haṭha-Yoga and Hindu alchemy, from a Jungian depth psychological perspective. Its comparative approach draws on the essential values, fantasy images, and key concepts of esoterici…

This study explores symbols of a religious ritual called Ashura in Twelver Shi’ite Islam. It provides a look into these symbol’s unconscious power at work in the suffering of the participants. The ritual’s ceremonial rites are compared with the three stages of alchemy: the nigre…

One can argue that European colonial consciousness and its actions have caused more harm in the world than any other collective psychology. Grounded in the psychology of C. G. Jung, this research investigates the cultural complexes of white colonial consciousness and the possibi…

In the second half of the sixteenth century, a group of physicians sought to uncover how communicable diseases formed and spread. This group used letters to share information, swap cures, and debate theories. It centered around the imperial physician, Johann Crato von Krafftheim…

Dreams, feeling, myth, and intuition are creations of the right brain that are increasingly undervalued in our modern world as the result of a hyperfocus on left-brained analytical activity. Humankind collectively suffers due to this loss. Through focused attention and documenta…

The light of the Anima Mundi has been repressed for over two thousand years. From a feminine in-sighting, this dissertation considers the reasons for the World Soul's repression and how her light can be renewed. The division of body and mind, image and word, physicality and spir…

The Novelas ejemplares , published in 1613, were some of the last published works of Miguel de Cervantes. The purpose of this dissertation is twofold: First, it will demonstrate that the Novelas ejemplares contain numerous allusions to be traced to well known legends of classic …

Sufism is a living mystical path. The present and past great Sufis, despite the difficulty of expressing their states, have left us glimpses and footprints of their journey. Their mystical secrets and wisdom of love have been passed from heart to heart in different cultures. As …

This dissertation is an initial attempt to historically contextualize the Ottoman alchemical literature and those who produced it. Starting in the late fifteenth century, the Islamic tradition of alchemy was transmitted and vernacularized by learned Rumis who would make signific…