Through Darkness to Light: The Alchemy of Writing

Description

Darkness gives birth to light…what is unconscious becomes conscious. C.G. Jung (p. 102, Commentary, Secret to the Golden Flower)

In this program, we will see how alchemy opens the way through darkness to light. Jung’s journey toward selfhood in The Red Book was an alchemical journey: going into the unconscious (nigredo), encountering and listening to its contents (albedo) and bringing them to the light (rubedo). After an introduction to alchemy, we will follow Jung on his journey in and out of darkness as written in The Red Book. We will then look at how we can make our own alchemical journey. There will be examples and excerpts from contemporary writers—Marion Woodman, Orhan Pamuk, and Elaine Pagels—along with guided writing exercises. We will become alchemists, finding our stories in the dark, remembering that we cannot hoard our bits of gold, our growing awareness. Rather we need to share our light in the world around us.