9.10.26 | Lecture: Alchemy & The Individuation Process

In 1928, after Jung received the Chinese alchemical text titled The Secret of the Golden Flower from the sinologist Richard Wilhelm, he closed the Red Book mid-sentence and devoted the next thirty-plus years of his life to researching and reflecting on the images, writings, and practices of the Western alchemical tradition.

Jung was the first person in modern times to see the psychological value of the alchemical metaphor as it pertained first to the collective unconscious and then more specifically to the individuation process itself. Alchemy has since become such a common trope in today’s conversation as to now risk trivialization.

This lecture will bring us back into close contact with the original alchemical fire that drew Jung in, eventually culminating in his magnum opus, Mysterium Coniuctionis. We will look into that seminal text and see how Jung’s treatment of his favorite alchemist, Gehrad Dorn, would provide him the most powerful analogue for his psychological model as a whole.

This lecture goes to the heart & soul of Jung’s life and work. You won’t want to miss it!