Psychology Commons^™

The Union Of Opposites: Carl Jung, Folklore, And The Caduceus And Ouroboros In Alchemy, Jack Daly

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis advocates for the use of Carl Jung’s psychoanalytic theory in folkloristics by examining the role of the caduceus and the ouroboros in alchemy as a case study. Although a Jungian lens has not been widely accepted by folklorists, it can and should be applied to folklore, particularly in the context of binary oppositions. Folklorists such as Alan Dundes have been harshly critical of this perspective. However, Dundes also stressed the importance of binaries in folklore. Furthermore, Dundes championed the theory of symbolic equivalences, and in my paper I argue that the caduceus and the ouroboros are examples of …

Who Put The Super In Superhero? Transformation And Heroism As A Function Of Evolution, Susan Ross

Faculty Publications

Transformation and heroism are reciprocally related. Transformation produces an individual that others may call hero; one who inspires, guides, and protects something precious—an ordinary extraordinary person, master of the self. Heroes exhibit the further reaches of human development by transforming into entirely new, resplendent individuals that demonstrate valuable capacities whiles still being mortal. Because transformation is the means through which heroes are made, a more thorough understanding of the forces affecting transformation may advance collective understanding of the demands upon the individual. Founded on the scholarship of seminal authors of depth psychology, East Indian spirituality, anthropology, physics, mythology, Hermetic science, …

"An Alchemy Of Heaven On Nature's Base": Intimations Of The Universal Opus In The Integral Yoga And The Divine Life In Man In The Work Of C. G. Jung, Stephen L. Julich

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This comparative study addresses two main questions. First, considering the status of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as spiritual teachers and Jung as a psychologist: might their respective views on transformation be too divergent to warrant comparison? Second, considering that one of the goals of the Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s yoga was the transformation of physical substance, could their relationship be viewed through an alchemical lens? The discussion begins with a comparison and differentiation of integral and analytic psychologies and a discussion of the nature of awakening in the two traditions, which leads to an extended amplification: “a method of …

Alchemy In Education: Towards A Preschool Model In College Classrooms, Van Alstyne, Bradley E.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Education has long been a necessary, yet standardized procedure with little difference from program to program or school to school. In this paper I argue that more of a creative approach using existing educational models such as preschool education would serve us well in the development of student skills at all levels, including college. I also contend that an alchemical metaphor would be useful in the application and acknowledgement of the value of such an approach.

Gnawing At The Roots: Toward A Transpersonal Poetics Of Guilt And Death, Jason Butler

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

As an imaginal approach, archetypal psychology focuses its attention on the diverse and polysemous expressions of imagination as the ground from which all psychological expressions emerge, replacing the dried up concept of a singular ego with the notion that consciousness takes up a multitude of styles concordant with the mercurial flow of images that concentrically influence, grip down, and take over consciousness like a band of pirates commandeering a ship. Archetypal psychology situates itself as a transpersonal psychology by qualifying the image as inextricably archetypal, denoting a valence of meaning that extends beyond the merely personal, beyond the particular cultural-historical …

Alchemy Series, Ellen Questel

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

As medieval alchemists did not distinguish between psyche and matter, so too the artist, the images, and the materials of art are partners in the process of revealing. The artist shares her process of working with the archetypal images presented here.

The Alchemical Heart: A Jungian Approach To The Heart Center In The Upanisads And In Eastern Christian Prayer, David M. Odorisio

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The heart is a rich symbol in religious traditions both East and West. When interpreted through a Jungian alchemical lens, the heart emerges as a symbol of psychospiritual

transformation, integration, and healing. This article re-visions the metaphor of the heart in the Upanisads and in Eastern Christian prayer through the use of Jung’s lectures on the heart cakra, his transcendent function theory, and as Spirit Mercurius. Each facet of this lens offers a variegated approach through which to explore the heart as mediating center of psychic polarities, what Jung referred to as the union of opposites. When …