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40: Carl Jung & Alchemy • Part II: River of Gold

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The Importance of Animal Symbolism in Alchemy

The association of certain animals with certain aspects of human experience goes really far down into the unconscious. In alchemy we see a connection in the way alchemists use lions in their artwork and metaphors. Jung would argue these symbols exist in our collective unconscious and that much of it is rooted in archetypes. These archetypes are revealed to us most clearly in visionary dreams and moments of revelation such as those we can arrive at in deep states of meditation. This is the doorway that Jung tried to show us with the practice of active imagination.

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