Page 5 - A critical exposition of Jung's theory of alchemy

Jung, Alchemy and History:
A Critical Exposition of Jung’s Theory of

Alchemy

It is well known that Jung’s encounter with alchemy was important
for the development of his psychology, and that his writings on the
subject have a reputation for difficulty. This difficulty largely arises as
the later writings, in particular, were written without much thought for
the audience who might read them (Edinger 1996: 11), and because
Jung’s prodigious scholarship encouraged him to continue to produce
more and more elaborations and examples, until the reader, and
sometimes apparently the writer, lose track of what it was that was being
elucidated. In some ways the books exemplify his technique of dream
amplification, far more than they read like normal psychological texts.

In this discussion, I give a brief history of alchemy, a brief account
of Jung’s position arranged by subject, a small amount on James
Hillman’s use of alchemy, and some brief criticism. The aim is to
provide people with enough background for them to read Jung’s
writings on alchemy themselves. The overall theme is that Jung’s
writings, while interesting, important and influential, do not exhaust the
complexities of alchemy.

As Jung’s writings on alchemy fill three volumes of the collected
works, a fair proportion of a fourth, with a fifth volume having a
connected study, and a seminar series as yet unavailable to the general
public, I am necessarily giving an incomplete summary.

Since Jung’s death, enough has been published on the history of
alchemy to have doubled the size of his library. When Jung wrote we

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