Marie Von Franz on Mercurius and Alchemy
The transformation of Mercurius, as prima materia, in the heated, sealed vessel is comparable to cooking the basic instinctive drives in their own affect until their essential fantasy content becomes conscious.
“Instead of arguing with the drives which carry us away, we prefer to cook them and . ask then what they want. . . . That can be discovered by active imagination, or through experimenting in reality, but always with the introverted attitude of observing objectively what the drive really wants.”
Marie von Franz, Alchemy, p. 129)
The drives, ruled by Mercuius, want the soul and the spirit and the body. They want it all.
Yeah, objectively and inwardly consider them but also beware of their shape-shifting tendencies. Can’t come through the door? there is always some kind of window.
Mercurius always finds a way, best befriend it and not acquired and assimilated by it.
Stimulated is okay, and in fact is the essential ingredient of creativity. Mercuirus comprises the starlight hunder which we discover inwardly and create outwardly.
I don’t think i am attributing too much power to the god of alchemy. He is what he is, and what we want it to be.