Carl Jung: “The unity of the Stone is the equivalent of individuation…”

(Jung is talking here about the Philosophers’ Stone)

“The union of opposites in the stone is possible only when the adept has become One him/herself. The unity of the stone is the equivalent of individuation, by which [we are] made one; we would say that the stone is a projection of the unified self. This formulation is psychologically correct. It does not, however, take sufficient account of the fact that the stone is a transcendent unity. We must therefore emphasize that though the self can become a symbolic content of consciousness, it is, as a supraordinate totality, necessarily transcendent as well.”

-Carl Jung, “The Alchemical Interpretation of the Fish,” in Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self

Atalanta Fugiens

The Facebook dialogue regarding this post:

V,M: whenever I hear “Stone” , this comes to mind, Act 4, 11, Peter talking before a council: “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.”

C:S. yes, because Christ is the Self

V.M: amen,that is what the Gospel says…

F.G: That’s why for me there is no personal “God”.

J.H. Victor: Yes, Jung talks about this Biblical verse in relation to his carving of the “orphan stone” … And Bob Marley sings about it… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-PGEc8_Q5c

V.M. Personal God is a personal sensibility…is an intuitive understanding between oneself and “God”…a bit irrational in what concerns relating oneself in a one to one basis with an invisible Being , talking to that Being as friend, in the conviction of his/her omnipotence…wow..it is rather a magical thing!

J.H. Cruz: I would suggest that in Jung’s way of thinking Christ is a symbol of the Self, even a manifestation/incarnation of the Self, and that Self

V.M: Marley sings about it but there is no mention of the “orphan stone” however Im sure there is a genuine symbolism there that could also be traced

C.S.: and I think people should stop using things like Star Wars to explain Jung, too, so I appreciate your clarity.

J.H. V.M:- It wasn’t clear in my comment, but it is Jung (and not Bob Marley) who talked about the Orphan Stone, the equivalent of the Philosophers Stone —

V.M.: ok, no it was just the wording, I thought Marley was mentioning the “orphan stone” but I got you now…in face book one has to re read sometimes several times in order not to misunderstand the true message

R.R: l i have just been reading on this. I am confused as to what the proper, healthy relationship of the ego to the Self is and does the nature of this relationship change over time and throughout the natural development of the psyche? the archetype of the Self has always fascinated me and still does but the ego is really starting to fascinate me. the poor ego takes a pounding from the outside world and then takes a beating from the inside world. then the ego has stand hard against the whole of the Unconscious in the process of Individuation. Wow! The ego gets a bad rap and I’m not sure why, well I have some ideas. the ego is my ship, man. I am thinking of taking better care of that ship.

V.M: This about the ego is what my uncle used to say all the time ( he was a child psychologist) but then I also found another side of the coin when reading the contemporary radical Psychiatrists like Richard Alpert ( Ram Dass, Love Serve Remember ) and Timothy Leary ..they were saying the opposite in what concerns our holding on to the survival of the “ego” as a “security” of sanity of some sort,,,anyway, that was my journey in the transition between adolescence and adulthood..many moons ago

G.W.: What are the opposites unified in the stone? It makes sense to me that there are unified internal opposites being projected into the stone as a symbol of wholeness and self. Are there unified external opposites inherent in stoniness that mirror this? Or is the stone perhaps so unified that in it one sees no opposites at all?

K.C. Bob Marley’s father was a white man who bought farm produce from the small poor farming community where Bob was born.He didn’t live there just couple of times a year..The family had a large ligament family of white children somewhere else. Bob didn’t care for farming and radio reception was very bad in the lowlands where he lived so when he left the village and heard the radio and music for the first time, he had to move to the big city.When Bob’s career sky rocketed to a leading force among his people, Bob the stone that was rejected (by his father) became the cornerstone (famous around the world) head of his family (even revered by his white relatives) and of his Jamaican people. It was after his death that it became known that he was of mixed race.
WHAT a beautiful song, and yes was fully individuated, fully unified, full blown mystic balanced between his head and his heart, enlightened soul as and instrument of the divine muses of sound and rhythm and voice, He was the Natural Mystic Blowing in the air…….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL6L5QOQd5g

V.M: “It was after his death that it became known that he was of mixed race.” Is not true…It was understood among fans that Marley’s father was white, and Marley himself had mentioned this in interviews that I recall from 79-80,,,a rebellion against the father, mainly because he was an illegitimate son

K.C. My bad, I had all his records and he was one of my favorites but I never knew till after his death that his father was white.Never listened to the radio or watched a lot of tv, painted mostly. The point was the stone that you rejected became the cornerstone.Please elaborate on that Victor, what do you recall about that from his interviews? He wrote that song before or after he met with his white relatives after his fathers death? It was like finding his name written on a white stone.

D.O: Am I the Hand of God in Stone dreaming of my salvation in the hands of that man sculpting me? Or am I this stonemason lifting each stone finger lovingly into place?

W.D: The union of opposites in my self first appears as a bicycle.I take this to symbolize,the “Two mandalas”representing the “Personal and Trans-personal”as the two wheels.Then as the dream series starts developing from night to night.It will be Mom and Dad together,representing my “conscious and unconscious”if there is not a union of “conscious and unconscious”.I will dream that there divorced, which they never were.(I am at this point now,I will post, what the final union is, symbolized as, I dream it.

V.M.: K.C: Marley’s songs are definitely mystical by default..he was a convert to the Rastafari sect, that claims to be descendants of king solomon himself as it is stated in the Bible that King Solomon met with the Queen of Sheba. he Bible as you may know has a link with the Gospel, from where this “corner stone” subject arise,,,Marley as a Mystical man, use freely and intuitively as he wrote his songs, based on his personal relation to God ..the jamaican expression “I and I”, meaning me or me and you or all of us, also a hybrid expression from the Bible ( I am that I am) reflects the oneness of the “stone” This mystical sect of Rastafarians also feeds in history concerning slave trades and the inhumane consciousness that most europeans had concerning the treatment of those human beings…from there arise the balance of his work launching attacks towards “Babylon”, justified in King David’s warrior stance and the words of redemption that he sought to share,,,,

L:l: The “Stone” may also take the form of a diamond:
http://carljungdepthpsychology.blogspot.com/2012/08/if-thou-wouldst-complete-diamond-body.html#.UpQuMOJrVwZ

N.H: I read that and had to share….shine bright like a diamond kept running through my headhttp://youtu.be/lWA2pjMjpBs
Rihanna – Diamonds

J.D. Every block of stone has a sculpture inside it. It is the job of the sculptor to discover it. — Michelangelo

2 Comments

Stephen Parker, Ph.D (Article Selection and Commentary) says:

November 26, 2013 at 4:57 am

The Facebook dialogue regarding this post:

V,M: whenever I hear “Stone” , this comes to mind, Act 4, 11, Peter talking before a council: “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.”

C:S. yes, because Christ is the Self

V.M: amen,that is what the Gospel says…

F.G: That’s why for me there is no personal “God”.

J.H. Victor: Yes, Jung talks about this Biblical verse in relation to his carving of the “orphan stone” … And Bob Marley sings about it… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-PGEc8_Q5c

V.M. Personal God is a personal sensibility…is an intuitive understanding between oneself and “God”…a bit irrational in what concerns relating oneself in a one to one basis with an invisible Being , talking to that Being as friend, in the conviction of his/her omnipotence…wow..it is rather a magical thing!

J.H. Cruz: I would suggest that in Jung’s way of thinking Christ is a symbol of the Self, even a manifestation/incarnation of the Self, and that Self

V.M: Marley sings about it but there is no mention of the “orphan stone” however Im sure there is a genuine symbolism there that could also be traced

C.S.: and I think people should stop using things like Star Wars to explain Jung, too, so I appreciate your clarity.

J.H. V.M:- It wasn’t clear in my comment, but it is Jung (and not Bob Marley) who talked about the Orphan Stone, the equivalent of the Philosophers Stone —

V.M.: ok, no it was just the wording, I thought Marley was mentioning the “orphan stone” but I got you now…in face book one has to re read sometimes several times in order not to misunderstand the true message

R.R: l i have just been reading on this. I am confused as to what the proper, healthy relationship of the ego to the Self is and does the nature of this relationship change over time and throughout the natural development of the psyche? the archetype of the Self has always fascinated me and still does but the ego is really starting to fascinate me. the poor ego takes a pounding from the outside world and then takes a beating from the inside world. then the ego has stand hard against the whole of the Unconscious in the process of Individuation. Wow! The ego gets a bad rap and I’m not sure why, well I have some ideas. the ego is my ship, man. I am thinking of taking better care of that ship.

V.M: This about the ego is what my uncle used to say all the time ( he was a child psychologist) but then I also found another side of the coin when reading the contemporary radical Psychiatrists like Richard Alpert ( Ram Dass, Love Serve Remember ) and Timothy Leary ..they were saying the opposite in what concerns our holding on to the survival of the “ego” as a “security” of sanity of some sort,,,anyway, that was my journey in the transition between adolescence and adulthood..many moons ago

G.W.: What are the opposites unified in the stone? It makes sense to me that there are unified internal opposites being projected into the stone as a symbol of wholeness and self. Are there unified external opposites inherent in stoniness that mirror this? Or is the stone perhaps so unified that in it one sees no opposites at all?

K.C. Bob Marley’s father was a white man who bought farm produce from the small poor farming community where Bob was born.He didn’t live there just couple of times a year..The family had a large ligament family of white children somewhere else. Bob didn’t care for farming and radio reception was very bad in the lowlands where he lived so when he left the village and heard the radio and music for the first time, he had to move to the big city.When Bob’s career sky rocketed to a leading force among his people, Bob the stone that was rejected (by his father) became the cornerstone (famous around the world) head of his family (even revered by his white relatives) and of his Jamaican people. It was after his death that it became known that he was of mixed race.
WHAT a beautiful song, and yes was fully individuated, fully unified, full blown mystic balanced between his head and his heart, enlightened soul as and instrument of the divine muses of sound and rhythm and voice, He was the Natural Mystic Blowing in the air…….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL6L5QOQd5g

V.M: “It was after his death that it became known that he was of mixed race.” Is not true…It was understood among fans that Marley’s father was white, and Marley himself had mentioned this in interviews that I recall from 79-80,,,a rebellion against the father, mainly because he was an illegitimate son

K.C. My bad, I had all his records and he was one of my favorites but I never knew till after his death that his father was white.Never listened to the radio or watched a lot of tv, painted mostly. The point was the stone that you rejected became the cornerstone.Please elaborate on that Victor, what do you recall about that from his interviews? He wrote that song before or after he met with his white relatives after his fathers death? It was like finding his name written on a white stone.

D.O: Am I the Hand of God in Stone dreaming of my salvation in the hands of that man sculpting me? Or am I this stonemason lifting each stone finger lovingly into place?

W.D: The union of opposites in my self first appears as a bicycle.I take this to symbolize,the “Two mandalas”representing the “Personal and Trans-personal”as the two wheels.Then as the dream series starts developing from night to night.It will be Mom and Dad together,representing my “conscious and unconscious”if there is not a union of “conscious and unconscious”.I will dream that there divorced, which they never were.(I am at this point now,I will post, what the final union is, symbolized as, I dream it.

V.M.: K.C: Marley’s songs are definitely mystical by default..he was a convert to the Rastafari sect, that claims to be descendants of king solomon himself as it is stated in the Bible that King Solomon met with the Queen of Sheba. he Bible as you may know has a link with the Gospel, from where this “corner stone” subject arise,,,Marley as a Mystical man, use freely and intuitively as he wrote his songs, based on his personal relation to God ..the jamaican expression “I and I”, meaning me or me and you or all of us, also a hybrid expression from the Bible ( I am that I am) reflects the oneness of the “stone” This mystical sect of Rastafarians also feeds in history concerning slave trades and the inhumane consciousness that most europeans had concerning the treatment of those human beings…from there arise the balance of his work launching attacks towards “Babylon”, justified in King David’s warrior stance and the words of redemption that he sought to share,,,,

L:l: The “Stone” may also take the form of a diamond:
http://carljungdepthpsychology.blogspot.com/2012/08/if-thou-wouldst-complete-diamond-body.html#.UpQuMOJrVwZ

N.H: I read that and had to share….shine bright like a diamond kept running through my headhttp://youtu.be/lWA2pjMjpBs
Rihanna – Diamonds

J.D. Every block of stone has a sculpture inside it. It is the job of the sculptor to discover it. — Michelangelo
Pingback: Carl Jung on Opposites – Carl Jung Depth Psychology

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