Jung, Alchemy and the Tree of Life—Squaring the Circle: Reanimating Spirit in Matter
We find ourselves living in a time of unprecedented dissolution and change. How do we orient ourselves in time and space as our known reality is dissolving and shifting on personal, ecological, cultural and global levels? How do we bridge the worlds of Spirit and Matter and find
pathways to integrate, balance and bring meaning in these times? The Tree of Life is both a Map and a Mandala depicting Cosmos, Psyche and Matter. The study of alchemy as elucidated by this ancient glyph offers a deepened understanding into Jung’s understanding of archetype, image and symbol, bridging the collective and the personal psyche as it reflects the Soul’s initiatory journey towards Individuation offers us keys for navigating the changes
permeating our inner and outer worlds. In seeking to link the above and below, the inner and the outer, the masculine and feminine, dark and light, force and form, we seek balance through the
mediating movement of Soul as it moves between Spirit and Matter. Applying a Jungian lens to the ancient glyph of the Tree of Life the Hermetic underpinnings and illuminates the process of transmutation we are currently navigating personally, ecologically, culturally and Globally. Entering into the Imaginal realm through Image, Symbol and Metaphor we will explore and discuss how the alchemists; goal of Squaring the Circle is a process of Spirit animating Matter through the mediating vehicle of Soul.