Monday, April 19, 2010; 07:00PM - 09:00PM
6 Mondays: April 19, 26; May 3, 10, 17, 24
Psychology and Alchemy, Parts One & Three
Class 1
Presented by J. Gordon Nelson, Ph.D.
Jung discovered in alchemy a metaphor for the individuation process. These alchemical operations are seen as actions of the soul as it reaches towards conscious development. Here in Volume 12, Jung describes how necessary actions thwarted in dogma reappear in our inner conflicts, and are symbolized and acted out in the world of alchemy. Jung’s topic expresses our cultural myth, i.e., Western religion, as our need for individuation. Part III, “Religious ideas in Alchemy,” is an in-depth study of the connections between the drives embedded in religious symbolic expression and the empirical world of laboratory science. Some topics we will cover include imagination and meditation, the Lapis-Christ parallel, and the image of the unicorn. For the first week each participant is asked to read pages 1-21 of Psychology and Alchemy, and bring questions and insights for discussion in class.
Course Objectives:
- Identify similarities between the ends of religion and the ends of alchemy
- Describe what is meant by a psychological understanding of a material transformation
- Illustrate an alchemical symbol in terms of psychological growth
J. Gordon Nelson, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst and clinical psychologist in Santa Monica. He has taught the Collected Works Reading Program as well as many individual courses on Jung. He served as the president of the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and chair of its certifying board for new analysts.
Pre-registration (recommended) until 5:00pm of the lecture day for evening lectures; or Friday, 5:00pm for week-end workshops. At Door fee applies after.
Image from ARAS, Copyright 2009 ARAS. All rights reserved.
