Nigredo

Last updated

In alchemy, nigredo, or blackness, means putrefaction or decomposition. Many alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone, all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter. [1]

Contents

In analytical psychology, the term became a metaphor for "the dark night of the soul, when an individual confronts the shadow within." [2]

Jung

For Carl Jung, "the rediscovery of the principles of alchemy came to be an important part of my work as a pioneer of psychology". [3] As a student of alchemy, he (and his followers) "compared the 'black work' of the alchemists (the nigredo) with the often highly critical involvement experienced by the ego, until it accepts the new equilibrium brought about by the creation of the self." [4] Jungians interpreted nigredo in two main psychological senses.

The first sense represented a subject's initial state of undifferentiated unawareness, "the first nigredo, that of the unio naturalis, is an objective state, visible from the outside only ... an unconscious state of non-differentiation between self and object, consciousness and the unconscious." [5] Here the subject is unaware of the unconscious; i.e. the connection with the instincts. [6]

In the second sense, "the nigredo of the process of individuation on the other hand is a subjectively experienced process brought about by the subject's painful, growing awareness of his shadow aspects." [7] It could be described as a moment of maximum despair, that is a prerequisite to personal development. [8] As individuation unfolds, so "confrontation with the shadow produces at first a dead balance, a standstill that hampers moral decisions and makes convictions ineffective or even impossible ... nigredo, tenebrositas, chaos, melancholia." [9] Here is "the darkest time, the time of despair, disillusionment, envious attacks; the time when Eros and Superego are at daggers drawn, and there seems no way forward ... nigredo, the blackening." [10]

Only subsequently would come "an enantiodromia; the nigredo gives way to the albedo  ... the ever deepening descent into the unconscious suddenly becomes illumination from above." [11]

Further steps of the alchemical opus include such images as albedo (whiteness), citrinitas (yellowness), and rubedo (redness). Jung also found psychological equivalents for many other alchemical concepts, with "the characterization of analytic work as an opus; the reference to the analytic relationship as a vas, vessel or container; the goal of the analytic process as the coniunctio, or union of conflicting opposites." [12]

Cultural references

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alchemy</span> Branch of ancient protoscientific natural philosophy

Alchemy is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries AD. Greek-speaking alchemists often referred to their craft as "the Art" (τέχνη) or "Knowledge" (ἐπιστήμη), and it was often characterised as mystic (μυστική), sacred (ἱɛρά), or divine (θɛíα).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Jung</span> Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (1875–1961)

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychologist and pioneering evolutionary theorist who founded the school of analytical psychology. He was a prolific author, illustrator, and correspondent, and a complex and controversial character, perhaps best known through his "autobiography" Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

Collective unconsciousness refers to the unconscious mind and shared mental concepts. It is generally associated with idealism and was coined by Carl Jung. According to Jung, the human collective unconscious is populated by instincts, as well as by archetypes: ancient primal symbols such as The Great Mother, the Wise Old Man, the Shadow, the Tower, Water, and the Tree of Life. Jung considered the collective unconscious to underpin and surround the unconscious mind, distinguishing it from the personal unconscious of Freudian psychoanalysis. He believed that the concept of the collective unconscious helps to explain why similar themes occur in mythologies around the world. He argued that the collective unconscious had a profound influence on the lives of individuals, who lived out its symbols and clothed them in meaning through their experiences. The psychotherapeutic practice of analytical psychology revolves around examining the patient's relationship to the collective unconscious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philosopher's stone</span> Legendary alchemical substance

The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to make an elixir of life which made possible rejuvenation and immortality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analytical psychology</span> Jungian theories

Analytical psychology is a term coined by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, to describe research into his new "empirical science" of the psyche. It was designed to distinguish it from Freud's psychoanalytic theories as their seven-year collaboration on psychoanalysis was drawing to an end between 1912 and 1913. The evolution of his science is contained in his monumental opus, the Collected Works, written over sixty years of his lifetime.

In analytical psychology, the shadow is an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego ideal, leading the ego to resist and project the shadow, creating conflict with it. The shadow may be personified as archetypes which relate to the collective unconscious, such as the trickster.

The anima and animus are a pair of dualistic, Jungian archetypes which form a syzygy, or union of opposing forces. Carl Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, each transcending the personal psyche. They are considered animistic parts within the Self, with Jung viewing parts of the self as part of the infinite set of archetypes within the collective unconscious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self in Jungian psychology</span> Psychological concept

The Self in Jungian psychology is a dynamic concept which has undergone numerous modifications since it was first conceptualised as one of the Jungian archetypes.

Axiom of Maria is a precept in alchemy: "One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth." It is attributed to 3rd century alchemist Maria Prophetissa, also called Mary the Jewess, sister of Moses, or the Copt. A more detailed quote was provided by the seventh-century alchemistic author called Christianos, who cited that what Maria uttered was "One becomes two, two becomes three, and by means of the third and fourth achieves unity; thus two are but one". Marie-Louise von Franz also gave an alternative version, which states: "Out of the One comes Two, out of Two comes Three, and from the Third comes the One as the Fourth." The axiom served as a recurring theme associated with alchemy for over seventeen centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubedo</span> Final stage in the alchemical process

Rubedo is a Latin word meaning "redness" that was adopted by alchemists to define the fourth and final major stage in their magnum opus. Both gold and the philosopher's stone were associated with the color red, as rubedo signaled alchemical success, and the end of the great work. Rubedo is also known by the Greek word iosis.

Citrinitas, or sometimes xanthosis, is a term given by alchemists to "yellowness." It is one of the four major stages of the alchemical magnum opus. In alchemical philosophy, citrinitas stood for the dawning of the "solar light" inherent in one's being, and that the reflective "lunar or soul light" was no longer necessary. The other three alchemical stages were nigredo (blackness), albedo (whiteness), and rubedo (redness).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albedo (alchemy)</span> Alchemical concept

In alchemy, albedo, or leucosis, is the second of the four major stages of the Magnum Opus, along with nigredo, citrinitas and rubedo. It is a Latinicized term meaning "whiteness". Following the chaos or massa confusa of the nigredo stage, the alchemist undertakes a purification in albedo, which is literally referred to as ablutio – the washing away of impurities. This phase is concerned with "bringing light and clarity to the prima materia ".

<i>Two Essays on Analytical Psychology</i>

Two Essays on Analytical Psychology is volume 7 of The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, presenting the core of Carl Jung's views about psychology. Known as one of the best introductions to Jung's work, the volumes includes the essays "The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious" and "On the Psychology of the Unconscious" (1943).

Psychology and Alchemy, volume 12 in The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, is Carl Jung's study of the analogies between alchemy, Christian dogma, and psychological symbolism.

<i>The Collected Works of C. G. Jung</i> Book series compiling the works of Carl Jung

The Collected Worksof C. G. Jung is a book series containing the first collected edition, in English translation, of the major writings of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung.

The Philemon Foundation is a non-profit organization that exists to prepare for publication the Complete Works of Carl Gustav Jung, beginning with the previously unpublished manuscripts, seminars and correspondences. It is estimated that an additional 30 volumes of work will be published and that the work will take three decades to complete.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to alchemy:

In Jungian psychology, the Wise Old Woman and the Wise Old Man are archetypes of the collective unconscious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnum opus (alchemy)</span> Alchemical procedure for creating the philosophers stone

In alchemy, the Magnum Opus or Great Work is a term for the process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual transmutation in the Hermetic tradition, attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes, used as a model for the individuation process, and as a device in art and literature. The magnum opus has been carried forward in New Age and neo-Hermetic movements which sometimes attached new symbolism and significance to the processes. The original process philosophy has four stages:

Stanton Marlan is an American clinical psychologist, Jungian psychoanalyst, author, and educator. Marlan has authored or edited scores of publications in Analytical Psychology and Archetypal Psychology. Three of his more well-known publications are The Black Sun. The Alchemy and Art of Darkness, C. G. Jung and the Alchemical Imagination, and Jung's Alchemical Philosophy. Marlan is also known for his polemics with German Jungian psychoanalyst Wolfgang Giegerich. Marlan co-founded the Pittsburgh Society of Jungian Analysts and was the first director and training coordinator of the C. G. Jung Institute Analyst Training Program of Pittsburgh. Currently, Marlan is in private practice and serves as adjunct professor of Clinical Psychology at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He also currently

References

  1. ↑ Greenberg, Arthur (March 2000). A chemical history tour: Picturing chemistry from alchemy to modern molecular science. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   0-471-35408-2.
  2. ↑ Robert H. Hopeke, A Guided Tour of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung (Boston 1989) p. 165
  3. ↑ C. G. Jung, Man and his Symbols (London 1978) p. 40
  4. ↑ Dieckmann, Hans. "Analytical Psychology: Carl Jung's theory of the shadow". eNotes.
  5. ↑ Paul W Ashton, From the Brink 9 (London 2007) p. 231
  6. ↑ Gerhard Adler, Studies in Analytical Psychology (London 1999) p. 19
  7. ↑ Ashton, Brink p. 231
  8. ↑ Jung, C. G. Psychology and Alchemy (2nd ed.) (Transl. by R. F. C. Hull)
  9. ↑ C. G. Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis (London 1963) p. 497
  10. ↑ Christopher Perry, in P. Young-Eisendrath & T. Dawson, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Jung (Cambridge 1977) p. 152-3
  11. ↑ C. G. Jung, "Psychology of the Transference", Collected Works vol. 16 (London 1950) p. 279
  12. ↑ Hopeke, A Guided Tour pp. 164–165
  13. ↑ "The physician and philosopher Sir Thomas Browne".
  14. ↑ M. C. Schoenfeldt, A Companion to Shakespeare's Sonnets (2007) p. 414
  15. ↑ William T. Gorski, Yeats and Alchemy (1996) p. 85
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.