Jung and Alchemy: 4 Critical Stages of the Magnum Opus

What is the Magnum Opus in alchemy?

How do the four stages of alchemy relate to Carl Jung’s insights on the psyche?

Can Jungian alchemy help an individual achieve the ultimate goal of the Magnum Opus?

How does alchemy relate to psychological and spiritual development?

In this in-depth guide, we’ll explore these questions and much more.

Let’s dive in …

CONTENTS

What is Alchemy?

Alchemy is the process of transmutation or transformation.

Alchemy can be perceived as a philosophical system, a proto-science, or a symbolic representation of a path to psychological development.

The alchemical process is said to transform a substance or a person through a set number of stages, progressing from a less pure to its purest form.

Alchemy can be a highly cryptic and esoteric topic, as ancient alchemical texts are heavy on occult signs and symbolism.

Four Ways of Interpreting Alchemical Texts and Images

Alchemical literature, imagery, and symbolism can be interpreted in at least four ways:

Literal: the literal transmutation process in metallurgy and early chemistry.
Psychological: the symbolic process of transformation of the psyche (Jungian alchemy).
Energetic: representative of an internal electromagnetic transmutational process of subtle energy within the body.
Occult: symbolic on a universal scale (interpreted as a grand cosmology and cyclical epochs).

Our focus in this guide will be on the psychological or spiritual dimension, with an emphasis on Jung’s interpretations of alchemy.

Georges Aurach, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is the Magnum Opus in Alchemy?

“True” alchemy was never a business or a career, but a genuine opus to be achieved by quiet, self-sacrificing work.

— Carl Jung (CW 12, Para 422)

Latin for “the Great Work,” the Magnum Opus refers to the transmutation process from a base substance into a purified state.

The base substance is known as Prima Materia, or the primal matter. The purified end product is the Philosopher’s Stone.

In traditional (literal) alchemy, the Magnum Opus represented the transmutation from lead (prima materia) into gold (purest expression) by using the Philosopher’s Stone.

In the Gnostic tradition, a psychological interpretation was overlayed on this transmutation process. Here, the prima materia are the alchemists themselves. The transformation of the individual occurs on the level of the psyche (or soul).

As we’ll see below, the goal of the Magnum Opus from a Jungian viewpoint is individuation, the arrival of a state of wholeness.

The Four Stages of the Alchemical Magnum Opus

How many stages are there in the Magnum Opus?

According to some sources, there are three stages of alchemy. Other sources outline four, seven, twelve, or even more phases of the alchemical process.

In Jung’s work, and for our purposes here, we will focus on the four stages of alchemy. This four-stage model is also referred to as the “four colors of transformation.”

These four stages of alchemy:

Nigredo – The Blackening Stage or Melanosis
Albedo – The Whitening Stage” or Leukosis
Citrinitas – The Yellowing or Xanthosis
Rubedo – The Reddening or Iosis

These four colors are labeled based on their Latin translation.

Images from Alchemy: The Great Secret by Andrea Aromatico via Wikimedia Commons

Jung and Alchemy

Jung’s interest in medieval alchemy arose from a desire to find parallels between his personal discoveries of the unconscious and earlier fields of study.

He presumed that his insights regarding the psyche must have a historic precedent.

Then, through a series of dreams—what Jung calls synchronicities—he confirmed his interest in alchemy. (In one of these dreams, he was held captive in the 17th century.)

Jung invested a lot of time exploring the parallels between his analytical psychology and medieval alchemy. In fact, he devoted three entire volumes to it.¹

It sometimes took Jung years to track down specific ancient manuscripts. Then, he had them translated before analyzing them.

Over a decade of arduous work went into decoding these alchemy scripts and their symbolic meaning.

The Alchemical Magnum Opus and the Individuation Process

For Jung, the alchemical Magnum Opus and its accompanying four stages provided a symbolic representation of his individuation process.

He writes in his autobiography, Memories, Dreams and Reflections:²

Only after I had familiarized myself with alchemy did I realize that the unconscious is a process, and that the psyche is transformed or developed by the relationship of the ego to the contents of the unconscious …

Through the study of these collective transformation processes and through understanding of alchemical symbolism I arrived at the central concept of my psychology: the process of individuation.

For Jung, alchemy served as a bridge between the ancient Gnostics and the modern psychology of the unconscious.³

A Rich Tapestry of Visual Images

Alchemical images provided Jung with a unique visual vocabulary to describe inner psychic processes that were otherwise difficult to articulate.

These universal images were rich in archetypal significance, as they could be identified in various myths, religious rituals, and personal dreams.

The specific stages of the alchemical Magnus Opus helped Jung perceive the individuation process as a gradual, cyclical journey, rather than a singular event.

In fact, Jung found parallels with his discoveries in two fields: medieval Western alchemy and Eastern thought, especially Taoism. (We’ll address these parallels and a few potential problems with them in the commentary below.)

Alchemical Laboratory – Project Gutenberg

The Four Stages of Alchemy

Before we explore each of these four alchemical stages of the Magnum Opus from the context of Jung’s work, let’s briefly review more traditional descriptions of each stage without its potential psychological meaning.

Stage 1 – Nigredo

In the initial Nigredo stage of alchemy, the alchemist breaks down and dissolves the raw materials (for example, lead).

All impurities must be burned up, and in doing so, “the blackening” occurs within the alchemical vessel. Nigredo is symbolic of death, decomposition, and decay. The old is destroyed to make way for the new.

In terms of seasons, Nigredo represents autumn (falling leaves and their decomposition).

Stage 2 – Albedo

In the Albedo stage, the alchemist seeks to remove any remaining impurities. In the whitening stage, the base material is washed, filtered, and distilled.

This stage is symbolic of purification, distillation, and clarification. More profound purification requires a hotter flame, symbolized by whiteness or light.

The Albedo stage is symbolic of winter, representing refinement and stillness.

Stage 3 – Citrinitas

In the yellow stage, the purified material ripens and matures, taking on a golden hue. The core processes here are solarization, illumination, and fermentation.

Here, the whiteness turns yellowish. Citrinitas is symbolic of the sun and its life-giving energy.

Citrinitas is also symbolic of spring, the season of rebirth and renewal.

(Later alchemists combined Cintrinitas into Albedo.)

Stage 4 – Rubedo

The reddening stage is the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone, generally regarded as a deep red substance.

This deep red is sometimes associated with rubies or pomegranates. The core processes in this final stage of alchemy are crystallization, coagulation, and completion.

In traditional alchemy, this Stone can then be used to transmute base metals, such as lead, into gold. It could also be used as an elixir of immortality.

Rubedo is symbolic of summer, the season of growth, flourishing, and heat.

(This intense heat eventually leads back to death, starting the process over at the Negredo stage, or autumn.)

Jung’s Illustration of Philemon from The Red Book

Jungian Archetypes of Development

To understand how Jung drew parallels between his depth psychology and medieval alchemy, we need to review one more concept first.

As Jung explains:⁴

The archetype is, so to speak, an “eternal” presence, and it is only a question of whether it is perceived by the conscious mind or not.

Three powerful archetypes coincide with each stage in Jung’s individuation process. These three archetypes are:

The Shadow
The Anima or Animus
The Self

Let’s take a quick look at each archetype …

The Shadow

The shadow archetype represents everything within the psyche that’s held “out of view.”

Everything that we don’t know about ourselves, including our ignored character traits, hidden attitudes, repressed memories, trauma, and anything else we’ve disowned during our early development, gets relegated to our shadow.

Getting to know our disowned self is an essential first step in the individuation process.

The Anima-Animus

The second essential archetype of development in Jungian psychology is the anima or animus.

The anima is the feminine aspect of a man’s personality. The animus is the masculine counterpart within a woman’s psyche.

Jung saw the anima and animus as enlivening souls or spirits within men and women.

The Self

The third and final archetype of development, according to Jung, is the Self, or the archetypal Self.

Jung borrowed the concept of the Self from Hindu philosophy. He described the Self as the “totality of the whole psyche,” distinguishing it from the ego.

Again from Jung:⁵

I may define “self” as the totality of the conscious and unconscious psyche, but this totality transcends our vision; it is a veritable lapis invisibilitatis [stone of invisibility].

The ego represents only a small part of one’s whole psyche. Think of the Self as an unknown, inner Divine center at the core of each of us.

Arriving at the Self is the essential goal of Jung’s alchemical Magnum Opus (the individuation process).

Four Stages of Jungian Alchemy

Jungian Alchemy: Four Stages of Individuation

Now, with the above foundation in place, let’s examine the four stages of alchemy through their symbolic meaning, as Jung perceived it.

Keep in mind that these stages aren’t meant to be linear, where an individual walks through each stage, step by step.

Instead, think of these stages as cyclical, as if you’re ascending a spiral, each cycle bringing more clarity and a new layer of understanding.

Each ascent up the spiral brings you closer to achieving the alchemical Magnum Opus.

Cesare Ripa (1764) via Wikimedia Commons

Nigredo – Darkening

The unconscious is always the fly in the ointment, the skeleton in the cupboard of perfection, the painful lie given to all idealistic pronouncements, the earthiness that clings to our human nature and sadly clouds the crystal clarity we long for.

— Carl Jung, CW 12, Para 207

Before beginning this alchemical process, we identified with various personae, or social masks. These social masks were picked up in early development as a means of adapting to society.

These masks represent the “roles” we sometimes play. However, these social masks are not who we are.

In the first stage, we look behind these masks and confront our shadow.

When we initiate this alchemical journey, we begin to examine everything we don’t know about ourselves. Unconscious material begins bubbling to the surface.

Confusion, chaos, and impurity mark this stage. Hence, the “blackening” or “darkening.” This stage can be depressive at times, leading to a “dark knight of the soul”-type experience.

Nigredo is symbolic of despair without solution, a sentiment that can lead to mental anguish and suffering.

Old psychological structures collapse, and there isn’t anything yet to take their place. We begin to know our shadow through each confrontation, but the darkness remains …

Alchemy – Mercury and sulfur personified | Ibbs, Edith A.

Albedo – Purifying

Since the psychological condition of any unconscious content is one of potential reality, characterized by the polar opposites of “being” and “non-being,” it follows that the union of opposites must play a decisive role in the alchemical process.

— Carl Jung (CW 12, Para 557)

As we confront the shadow, the light follows the darkness. Hidden patterns are revealed. Insights begin to emerge. The tensions between opposites begin to integrate and resolve themselves.

These opposing tensions stem from the polarity between how we perceive ourselves (conscious mind) and the unconscious (the aspects of our shadow that we deny within ourselves).

A more advanced aspect of our shadow is found in the anima or animus archetype. A man must get to know his interior feminine counterpart (anima). A woman must integrate her interior masculine counterpart (animus).

Jung referred to the encounter with the anima (or animus) as the “masterpiece,” while the confrontation with the shadow is the “apprentice-piece.” That is, anima integration is considerably more challenging.

During the Albedo phase of the alchemical process, self-knowledge increases greatly. The blackened psyche of the Negredo stage is purified. Clarity builds as confusion is scrubbed away with psychological insight.

Albedo, from a Jungian context, is still about the purification of one’s self-identity. As we integrate the shadow, we develop a more lucid and conscious self-image (or conscious personality).

Androgynous Rebis from Rosarium Philosophorum

Citrinitas – Illuminating

Without the experience of the opposites there is no experience of wholeness and hence no inner approach to the sacred figures.

— Carl Jung (CW 12, Para 24)

After clarifying one’s self-image, the alchemist begins to acknowledge and awaken to a deep, inner light within them. This Light is transcendent of one’s personal ego, leading to an expansion of one’s overall awareness.

Through the synthesis that occurs during the Albedo stage, higher consciousness begins to emerge. Citrinitas is the initial stage of spiritual awareness, accompanied by a wellspring of profound insights and spiritual guidance.

These insights may express themselves through:

Significant dreams,
Profound intuitions of higher truths, or
A grand vision

In Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey motif, this stage represents the meeting with the “Mentor with supernatural aid,” or what Jung often referred to as the Wise Old Man (or Woman). It is also the sage archetype. (This internal guide can also emerge during the prior stage.)

In Jung’s case, this sage-like character was named Philemon, and it guided him to numerous insights within the dream world.⁶

Arriving at the Philosopher’s Stone requires guidance from the Inner Teacher to facilitate inner transformation.

Acknowledging “something greater” than oneself provides a sense of meaning that was previously absent before initiating this alchemical process.

Many breakthroughs and spiritual insights emerge during this phase. It can be exhilarating at times.

The ego is beginning to recognize its place within the larger Self.

Mandala of Vajradhatu

Rubedo – Unifying

In the last analysis, every life is the realization of a whole, that is, of a self, for which reason this realization can also be called “individuation.”

— Carl Jung (CW 12, Page 222)

The Rubedo phase represents the achievement of the alchemical Magnum Opus: the realization of psychic wholeness.

Jung also referred to this stage as the Mysterium Coniunctionis, the uniting of the spirit, soul, and body with the world.

The internal conflicts between the ego and the unconscious are now fully resolved. Conscious and unconscious materials are now in union, fostering a sense of inner harmony.

The result of this “reddening stage” is a fully integrated, balanced, individuated, and conscious personality. The archetypal Self is realized.

All the neuroses (anxieties, insecurities, depression, etc) that existed before and during the Negredo stage have been purified and dispelled, resulting in a resilient, secure, and competent individual.

The fully realized, differentiated individual can now navigate through life with authenticity, creative self-expression, and a sense of inner stability.

For Jung, this is the Magnum Opus of inner alchemy, the hidden “spiritual gold” of the Philosopher’s Stone (the realized Self) that provides personal meaning.

This Magnum Opus was the goal of Jung’s individuation process: spiritual and psychological wholeness.

Four Stages of Alchemy & Psychotherapy | C.G. Jung

Jung’s Four Stages of Psychoanalysis

Healing comes only from what leads the patient beyond himself and beyond his entanglements in the ego.

— Carl Jung (CW 13, Para 397)

Jung also applied this alchemical process to psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, using the same four basic stages highlighted above.⁷

Confession (Nigredo)
Elucidation (Albedo)
Education (Citrinitas)
Transformation (Rubedo)

These four alchemical stages are ultimately the stages of character transformation—the transformation of the conscious personality.

While each of these stages is somewhat distinct, they are also interdependent.

Even though Jung applied these stages to the psychoanalytic process (involving both an analyst and a patient), they also apply to each of us, whether or not we’re working with a trained professional.

Let’s quickly run through each stage, as they can help clarify the alchemical process highlighted above:

Stage 1 – Confession

Confession is the catharsis stage where we begin to become conscious of unconscious psychic material. We acknowledge our:

Limitations,
Inhibited and suppressed emotions,
Weaknesses, and
Character defects.

In this initial unburdening process, the content of one’s psyche becomes separated and brought to consciousness despite one’s ego defense mechanisms.

When working with a therapist, the client divulges life experiences and “hidden secrets” they generally would not share with anyone.

Stage 2 – Elucidation

Through elucidation, unconscious material continues to bubble to the surface.

If you’re working with a therapist, they may help you clarify the nature and origins of these issues.

If you’re engaging in inner work alone, the unconscious may guide you to the original source through dreams, active imagination, and spontaneous insights and memory recall.

In this revealing stage, many unconscious processes are brought to awareness, leading to noticeable changes in one’s overall attitude. (The once, all-powerful intellect begins to take a back seat instead of driving the bus.)

When working with a therapist, the analyst watches for common psychological dynamics, such as transference and countertransference. They help the client gain insight into their unconscious reactions.

Stage 3 – Education

Insights are one thing; incorporating and integrating these insights into one’s conscious personality is another.

The education stage involves integrating these insights to become more adaptable in daily life.

The education process involves addressing the issues from the vantage point of the four functions: thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting.

Here, we see the shift from a neurotic to a healthy relationship with the original issues.

When working with an analyst, the therapist helps the client make the insights actionable so they can be successfully applied to daily life.

Stage 4 – Transformation

In this final transformative stage, we reoriented our relationship with the initial problem.

The fourth stage involves integrating all the material from the prior stages, helping the individual move toward wholeness (individuation).

The psyche is harmonized by the resolving of opposing tensions between the conscious mind and the unconscious. The ultimate goal of this fourth stage is to bring the individual closer to realizing the Self.

When working with a therapist, the client and the therapist now stand on an equal level (no transference or projection).

The Ego-Self Axis (from Edinger’s Ego and Archetype)

Edinger’s Ego-Self Axis

For the alchemist, the one primarily in need of redemption is not man, but the deity who is lost and sleeping in matter.

— Carl Jung (CW 12, Page 312)

One final concept related to Jung’s Alchemical Opus needs clarification before we delve into the critical commentary.

The stated goal of the Alchemical Magnum Opus is wholeness or Self-realization. However, we need to be careful with our terminology, as “Self-realization” means something different in the Eastern traditions.

What is the relationship between the ego and the Self from a Jungian perspective?

As Jungian Edward F. Edinger explains in Ego and Archetype:⁸

The Self is the ordering and unifying center of the total psyche (conscious and unconscious) just as the ego is the center of the conscious personality.

Or, put in other words, the ego is the seat of subjective identity while the Self is the seat of objective identity. The Self is thus the supreme psychic authority and subordinates the ego to it.

According to Edinger and many contemporary Jungians, the ego is in a continuous cycle between separation and union with the Self, as illustrated in the Ego-Self Axis illustration above.

Again from Edinger:⁹

The process of alternation between ego-Self union and ego-Self separation seems to occur repeatedly throughout the life of the individual both in childhood and in maturity.

Edinger’s observations and those of his contemporaries, I believe, are accurate—from a Jungian viewpoint. That is, the Jungian Alchemical Opus is never really completed. The score never ends…

Critical Commentary on Jung and Alchemy

In the above discussion on Jung’s Alchemical Magnum Opus, I did my best to remain consistent with Jungian concepts and explanations.

However, for those who are still reading, I would like to interject some personal thoughts based on my experiences and studies with this topic.

I learned a great deal from both Jung and many Jungians, and so I mean no disrespect with the following comments and observations.

Two Sources of Confirmatory Data: Alchemy & Taoism

After Jung had fleshed out a great deal of his analytical approach to the psyche, he sought verification and validation from external sources. He believed he found his validation in two primary sources:

Western medieval alchemy (with its roots in Gnosticism), and
Eastern thought, especially Chinese Taoism

As such, Jung became somewhat obsessed with alchemy in the later stages of his work and writing.

The parallels that he perceived in the alchemical process and its symbolic meaning helped him clarify and codify many of his concepts around the psyche and the unconscious.

The “Eastern” Dilemma

So let’s start with Jung’s second validating source: Taoism.

Many Jungians and those interested in his work have likely read The Secret of the Golden Flower, translated by Richard Wilhelm, first published in 1931.

In the commentary section of this book (included in Volume 13, Alchemical Studies), Jung drew many parallels between this Taoist text and his concepts of the psyche.

The challenge, as I highlighted in this guide to the Animus, is two-fold:

The translator, Richard Wilhelm, clearly lacked a strong understanding of Taoism and Buddhism.
The version of the text Wilhelm translated appears to be an invalid, cultic, quasi-spiritual version of the original Golden Flower manuscript.

Eastern scholar Thomas Cleary provides ample evidence of the above in his definitive translation of and commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower (1991).

I’m confident that if Jung had access to more accurate translations of these Taoist texts, he would not have made many of his statements found in Alchemical Studies and other volumes. In fact, he may have been forced to rethink a number of his ideas.

Jung’s Opinion of Eastern Methods

For example, Jung wrote in Alchemical Studies:¹⁰

There could be no greater mistake than for a Westerner to take up the direct practice of Chinese yoga, for that would merely strengthen his will and consciousness against the unconscious and bring about the very effect to be avoided. The neurosis would then simply be intensified. It cannot be emphasized enough that we are not Orientals, and that we have an entirely different point of departure in these matters.

This view was common among psychologists of his era. In fact, psychoanalysts viewed meditation as a form of “checking out” or “avoidance behavior.”

In fairness, there is a danger in pursuing various practices like meditation when divorced from inner work.

Nowadays, we call this a “spiritual bypass” or “spiritual materialism,” where individuals use consciousness-based practices to avoid addressing their trauma and repressed emotions. However, this warning also existed in Eastern literature.

Additionally, Jung inaccurately assumed that Eastern psychology arose “only through abnormal psychic states.”

That is, he incorrectly thought that the purpose of meditative techniques was to create altered states of consciousness, which is simply untrue, especially in the Eastern alchemical traditions.

The Gnostics and Western Alchemy

We’ll get back to Taoism in a moment, but let’s turn our attention to Western alchemy first.

Similar to the above, I think if Jung had access to the information we have today, he might also have to reconsider some of his ideas related to alchemy and whether they directly corresponded to his concept of individuation.

I’m not a Gnostic scholar, but from my understanding, much of the Gnostic insights arose from psychedelic-induced states.

That is, many of the ancient mystery schools were essentially drug cults.¹¹

They used various substances, especially the Amanita muscaria mushroom, to realize specific altered states of consciousness.¹²

Anima Mundi (The World Soul) Robert Fludd, via Wikimedia Commons

Alchemical Symbolism and Its Meaning

I realize I may get into trouble here, as symbolic imagery is open to interpretation. However, if you have a foundation in occult knowledge and its symbolism, you will likely interpret many popular alchemical images differently than Jung and others tend to.

For example, for Jung, images of the King and Queen, as well as the sun and moon, virtually always represent the animus and anima. However, this is unlikely to be the case in these alchemical depictions. (Similarly, “Yin” and “Yang” in the Taoist canon definitely do not equate to anima and animus.)

From an occult perspective, the sun images associated with the king often represent religion, while the moon images related to the queen represent the law.¹³

The Hidden Source of Many So-Called “Alchemical Images”

Oligarchs of the ruling class (including various secret orders) clearly commissioned a great deal of popular medieval alchemical images that exist today. If you know their symbolism, you see it everywhere, as they make sure to leave their mark.

Many of these images signify epochs and cycles. For example, the Phoenix is a commonly used calendar symbol in these alchemical images, depicting repeating cataclysms. Shovels represent “reset” periods.

For example, the above image, “Anima Mundi,” used on the cover of Edinger’s Ego and Archetype, is a calendrical image depicting epochs.¹⁴

Sadly, this is Freemasonic symbolism—not representative of authentic alchemy.¹⁵

You might also ask why the Tetragrammaton is clearly present in so many of these alchemical images (including the one above).¹⁶

Despite our best efforts to project positive meaning onto these images, these illustrations are not communicating “higher” insights into the nature of the psyche.

Jungian Alchemy and Self-Realization

Why does any of the above matter?

Two reasons:

I think it’s apparent that Jung was prone to a significant level of “confirmation bias” when reviewing the sources listed above.
I don’t think it’s accurate to assume that Jung’s Magnum Opus actually leads one to authentic Self-realization. (And I’ll explain why this is the case below.)

Can analytical psychology help you develop a conscious personality? Absolutely!

Is shadow work an essential process to realize mature adulthood? Definitely!

Is it essential that we recollect our projections to become more whole? Certainly!

Is it correct to say that analytical psychology is a form of internal alchemy? In many ways, yes, I believe so.

But as Edinger noted, this form of Jungian alchemy leads us on an endless merry-go-round where we never reach the final destination. That is, the Alchemical Opus is never fully realized.

I recall neo-Jungian Robert Moore lamenting about this observation from Edinger in one of his lectures. He said something to the effect, “Surely, we can do better than this!”

Taoist Nei Jing Tu (Chart Representing the Cultivation of the Human Body)

An Alternative View of Inner Alchemy

Instead of divorcing “Western” and “Eastern” methods as Jung did, it would benefit all of us to integrate them instead.

I realize this isn’t a radical or new idea. After all, writers like Ken Wilber made these observations back in the 1980s.¹⁷

Transpersonal psychology (the “fourth wave”) corrected a lot of this confusion, but I get the sense that the overall confusion still remains today.

Generally, psychoanalysis is rich in psychological insights and clarifying concepts about the psyche, but it’s relatively weak in method.

The Importance of Body-Mind-Spirit Integration

Jungian psychology, for example, cannot produce what Jung called Mysterium Soma, the united spirit and soul with the body.¹⁸ How could it? By what mechanism? All of depth psychology takes place within the mind. It is an exclusively mental process.

Jung did, however, acknowledge that body-mind integration was the goal of inner alchemy:¹⁹

Alchemy was trying to produce a corpus subtile, a transfigured and resurrected body, i.e., a body that was at the same time spirit. In this it finds common ground with Chinese alchemy, as we have learned from the text of The Secret of the Golden Flower. There, the main concern is the “diamond body,” in other words, the attainment of immortality through the transformation of the body.

However, to clarify, “diamond body” is a Buddhist term. I have never seen it referenced in any Taoist texts, including The Secret of the Golden Flower.

Additionally, as Thomas Cleary explains in his commentary, the Golden Flower text primarily originated from the Complete Reality School of Taoism, which was more focused on transforming one’s consciousness than on bioenergetics (discussed below).

Approximate Location of the Lower Elixir Field in Taoist Alchemy

Taoist Inner Alchemy

The Taoist form of inner alchemy is far more preserved than anything that has survived in the West.

In particular, Taoist Neidan (alchemical firing process) is arguably the most comprehensive form of inner alchemy in existence.

We don’t have the space here to go into detail, but to illustrate briefly:

The body itself is the alchemical vessel
The cauldron is located in the lower torso (known as the lower Dantien, lower Cinnabar field, elixir field)
The bellows is the breath (closing and opening)
The fire is the intention of the heart (directed at the elixir field)

The mind’s awareness (Yi) combines with the breath to stabilize the mind and direct the chi energy to specific locations in the body.

Preparatory Work for Approaching the Self

The initial process in Taoist alchemy is designed to produce the microcosmic orbit, also called the “waterwheel.”

Here, the energy from the elixir field (lower dantien) travels up the energetic channel in the back along the spine, to the crown of the head, and then down the front of the body to the perineum.

The energy that collects in the lower torso and cycles up and down two major meridian channels is a luminous red substance. (Hence, it is called the cinnabar field, which is associated with pomegranates, red mercury, and dragon’s blood.)

This is considered “initial” or “preparatory work” for the later transformation of consciousness (Shen/Spirit).

That is, this sophisticated ancient form of psychology incorporates the physical and energetic bodies as the foundation.

In my opinion and experience, it’s the key ingredient that’s missing in modern systems, including Jungian psychology, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Archetypal Psychology, and Psychosynthesis.

IFS, for example, acknowledges the importance of being rooted in the Self before working with parts (archetypes). However, like analytical psychology, IFS doesn’t provide any practical means of doing so.

The Importance of Stabilization in the Center

The keywords and concepts missing in the Western lexicon are:

Stabilization
Refinement
Cultivation

Eastern systems are focused on all three:

Stabilizing and refining the breath, allowing it to normalize and “sink” into the lower torso.
Stabilizing and refining the mind so the thoughts don’t run wild.
Stabilizing and cultivating the Jing (life essence) and Chi (internal energy) so it doesn’t leak out (leakage causes emotional issues).

These initial types of stabilization and refinement practices, performed correctly via accurate instructions, help produce a stable, calm, alert, active, steady Center.

This Center then enables one to refine these qualities further and initiate a higher transmutation process, where the spirit (Shen/Consciousness) is reintegrated into the body.

Donum Dei (Gift from God) via Wikicommons

Without Stabilization…

Without integrating physical and energetic principles to establish a strong foundation, there’s no stabilization in one’s psyche (the totality of body and mind). That is, the alchemical vessel is never firmly established to facilitate the Great Work.

As such, is it any wonder that Jungian alchemy is viewed as an endless cycle?

Using methods like dream work, analysis, and active imagination alone cannot end the cycle because they don’t provide any injunction or means of doing so.

Are they alchemical? Sure. The transformation of one’s conscious personality can clearly take place.

But can they help the individual achieve Self-realization? No. How could they?

Going Beyond the Image

The Taoist alchemists warned about getting caught up in images.

That is, the mind can easily get enthralled with endless phantasmagoria and archetypal images (which is the thrust of Jungian alchemy).

As such, stabilization can never be achieved using Jung’s methods exclusively.

For stabilization to occur, at some point, the focus must shift from the content of mind to the mind itself (or the source of awareness, as the real Golden Flower text refers to it).

And this process is by no means relegated to a specific geographical region (East vs West) or culture.

The human body is the human body. We’re referring to universal principles here.

Internal Alchemy Shouldn’t Be Confusing

Many older Taoist alchemical texts are also filled with seemingly abstract alchemical garb and metaphorical imagery, but only to the uninitiated who are unfamiliar with these references.

However, one thing you’ll notice if you read later Taoist alchemical texts, and especially if you practice these internal arts, is that they are entirely:

Practical
Logical
Concise
Sequential
Progressive
Conformatory

The process of alchemical refinement follows a sequential order, converting:

Vitality (Jing-essence) to Energy (Chi)
Energy to Spirit (Shen or consciousness)
Spirit to Emptiness

These alchemical texts provide “confirmatory experiences” at various stages to ensure you’re making correct progress.

Tricksters Afoot in Western Alchemy

Compare this to the often vague and abstract language and symbols of Western alchemy (and even some of Jungian psychology).

My impression is that Western alchemy was hijacked at some point by groups of Tricksters (what Robert Moore called the Detached Manipulator, the active shadow of the Magician archetype).

The Detached Manipulator provides just enough information to pique your interest, but not enough to facilitate practical progress.

We can observe this through the Western alchemical symbolism, which is why it leads most of the self-initiated to confusion and uncertainty, instead of concrete results.

Ouroboros drawing from a late medieval Byzantine Greek alchemical manuscript

Concluding Thoughts on Jungian Alchemy

All the greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally insoluble. They must be so, for they express the necessary polarity inherent in every self-regulating system. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.

— Carl Jung (CW 13, Para 18)

Jungian alchemy offers a powerful process to help individuals understand their psyche and develop a conscious personality. It aids the individual in moving from unconscious darkness and fragmentation toward greater clarity and wholeness.

While the initial stages (Negredo) of shadow work can be ungrounding, chaotic, and potentially “dangerous” at times, the internal connections, resolutions, spiritual insights, and synchronicities that follow are worth the effort.

However, it is arguably inaccurate to say that Jung’s methods will lead an individual to Self-realization. Analytical psychology simply doesn’t provide the tools and principles to achieve this.

Instead, as Edinger accurately noted, the individual goes in a continuous loop, moving towards union with the Self before once again separating from it.

In this way, Jungian alchemy can not provide the true alchemical Magnum Opus, which would require stabilization in the Self.

Jungian Books on Alchemy

If you’re interested, I’ve created a reading list on Bookshop.org for books related to Jung and alchemy, including:

Alchemical Books by C.G. Jung

The Red Book

Vol. 9 pt. 2. Aion: Researches into the phenomenology of the self (1968)

Vol. 12: Psychology and Alchemy (1968)

Vol. 13: Alchemical studies (1967)

Vol. 14: Mysterium coniunctionis (1970)

Jung on Alchemy by C. G. Jung; N. Schwartz-Salant (Ed.)

Other Jungian Books on Alchemy

Alchemical Active Imagination by Marie-Louise von Franz

Alchemy by Marie-Louise Von Franz

Ego and Archetype by Edward F. Edinger