This lecture will be in-person in Amsterdam, but is also being live-streamed and recorded.

Alchemy has long captivated minds across various disciplines: historians, scientists, artists, art historians, psychologists, and spiritual seekers alike. Each group seeks to unravel the mysterious and elusive essence of alchemy. In the 20th century, Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung elevated alchemy from the shadows of superstition and "primitive science," asserting its psycho-spiritual relevance for modern wo/man. Jung proposed that alchemical processes and symbols were part of the primordial riverbeds of the human psyche. Yet, despite Jung and his student-collaborator Marie-Louise von Franz delving deeply into alchemical studies, they never directly analyzed the psyche of a living, practicing alchemist. This gap in their research led them to draw conclusions regarding the perceived futility of physical, laboratory work.

Now, breaking new ground in Jungian and alchemical research, this lecture unveils a case study-a three-year exploration and analysis of the psyche of a practicing alchemist undergoing psychoanalysis. Through this study, we reveal how the alchemist's engagement with matter in the laboratory profoundly transforms their psyche, body and ontology, as it catalyzes psychological processes and heightens synchronicities and alchemical imagery in dreams.

This interdisciplinary study synthesizes Jungian psychology, the history of alchemy, and contemporary Spagyrics practice, with revisions on Jung's theory of alchemy. Departing from Cartesian dualism, it embraces feminist and post-humanist viewpoints that weave together matter, spirit, and psyche. Through an exploration of dreams, synchronicities, alchemical emblems and interview narratives, we will explore the alchemist's inner and outer journey, illuminating the differentiation and synthesis of Body (Salt), Soul (Sulphur), and Spirit (Mercury), leading to the culmination of the alchemical quest-the marriage of opposites and the revelation of the Philosophers' Stone.

Program

Place: Embassy of the Free Mind, Keizersgracht 123, Amsterdam
The doors and cafe are open from 18:15h. The doors close at 19:15h. The lecture will start at 19:30h. From 20:30-21:00h there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Afterwards, you can visit the cafe to purchase a drink.

You can get your tickets via Embassy of the Free Mind. Online tickets are also available here.