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The Spirit Mercurius: From Individualism to Spiritual Emergence
November 19, 1993 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm PST
After his earlier explorations of gnosticism and the Eastern yogas, Jung found in alchemy a mythic system closely tied to the origins of modern consciousness. His observation that the individual psyche produces symbols which compensate for he conscious ego attitude could be applied to dominant myths in the collective unconscious as well. Seen in this light, the confusing and polymorphous imagery of alchemy represents a compensation to the rational culture in which we live. The central personification of the alchemical drama was the trickster figure, Spirit Mercurius, who is the allegorical agent for dissolving old structures and changing lead into gold. In early childhood development, the appearance of the trickster archetype presages a lifelong struggle between one’s own sense of reality and collective norms. Weaving a symbolic picture from the development of the trickster archetype, the dreams of a patient, and the near-death visions of Jung, Dr. Stein will discuss the tension between individualism and surrender in spiritual development and show how the evolution of the trickster can mediate conflicting tendencies in the unconscious.
Related Workshop: Polarities of the Self
Richard H. Stein, M.D. is a psychiatrist and Jungian analyst in private practice in San Francisco. He is actively involved in the analytic training program of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, and coordinates the Seminars for Professionals Program for practicing psychotherapists in the Bay Area. he is on the editorial board of Harvest and has published articles and book reviews in a variety of journals. Dr. Stein has an abiding interest in the integration of Eastern Religion and Western depth psychology and an ongoing fascination with the evolution of symbolic understanding in the maturation process.