Alchemical Process - In Brief

Q: According to Jung, what is the psychological interpretation of the alchemical process?

A: Jung sees the alchemical process as a representation of the process of individuation.

We all start as dark matter, undifferentiated and confused, possessed by our complexes, unconsciously reacting to the world around us based on our fears, passions, and biases, completely transported by the events of life without any real agency in them (although we might believe otherwise).

As we progress through the various stages of the alchemical process—not necessarily through all of them and in any prescribed order—we progressively transform ourselves. We suffer, we reflect, we go inward, we open to the world outside us, we experience connection... All these experiences challenge us and bring us forward.

And if we don't get lost in any of these stages (that can happen), then we get to finally find the philosopher's stone inside ourselves: that indestructible, precious center that has knowledge of the mystery of life, and that inspire us to live as our truest selves.