But this is only a transitory aspect. Then comes the next step, the problem of the realization of animus and anima, in which one is taken far away from outer reality. The integration of these two powers means hard work on oneself for years. In this stage, one is still, so to speak, in the land of death. One can only work the anima or the animus problem out by a period of great introversion. Even if it should come into one’s life in the form of a transference, that is, in a projected form, the only part one can work on is the subjective inner aspect. It is therefore a stage which teaches one detachment from outer reality, and where one has to keep the retort of one’s own inner work closed, and completely reflect, in the literal sense of the word, upon oneself.
In the black and white stage in alchemy, the alchemist has to work hard, and in analysis the analysand has to work hard. The opus, the work, consists in trying to become conscious of these powers. However, after this part is done the alchemists say, the hard work is over. Afterward one has only to go on and to warm one’s substance with a mild and gentle fire, without any more effort. Then the rubedo, the red color, appears by itself. When this appears, one can open the retort and—expressed in alchemical language—the sun or the philosopher’s stone comes out and takes over the ruling of the world.
In less poetical language this would mean the beginning of the realization of the Self, which at this moment takes over the process so that the ego no longer has to work. Close reflective introversion can now be loosened up, for in the realization of the Self, it is equally important to know whether or not one should take outer steps in order to obey the Self. One becomes the servant of a principle which oscillates, manifesting itself sometimes in an introverted form and sometimes in an extraverted form. One may have an order from the Self to do something in the outer world, or an order to realize something within oneself. The retort has, therefore, become superfluous, because the Self is not something which falls apart: the solidity of the vessel has now become the solidity of the “philosopher’s stone,” in other words, a permanent inner experience of the Self, which gives the personality innermost consistency, making any outer artificial solidity or solidification superfluous.14 In many alchemical texts, the vessel and what is cooked in it, the philosopher’s stone, are one and the same thing. It is a symbol of the solid nucleus of the inner personality. This is not identical with the ego; rather, the ego realizes itself in a serving function. Hence, the philosopher’s stone in alchemy is called the king, the new ruler, who far exceeds the ego complex in power.
In the garment of Isis, all these possibilities are hinted at in its three-colored beauty, and she for the moment has indeed taken over the continuation of the process. Though one reads frequently in many summaries of Jung’s ideas that the process of individuation is first a realization of the shadow, then behind that the realization of the anima or animus, and then of the Self, this is only true grosso modo. Actually, one first meets the whole unconscious, the Self, with animus or anima in the shadow, because the shadow is generally all that people are capable of realizing out of the entire impact of what they receive. It is the only thing close enough to their grasp, the only thing one can make clear and real. The rest generally remains purely abstract; only after work on the shadow does one begin to differentiate further. A man would then see some feminine element behind what he now knows as an unconscious part of his personality, and the woman would realize certain typically masculine elements. In this stage one realizes the feminine or masculine contrasexual aspect of one’s unconscious personality, but the animus and anima figures again contain the whole unconscious, so that here with Lucius it is a meeting with the archetypal anima absolutely contaminated with the Self
We shall see that only after Lucius-Apuleius has gone through his initiation into the Isis mysteries, and lived a certain time in Rome as a lawyer, in a normal way, feeling himself to be the servant of the goddess Isis, that he is called a second time through dreams into a new initiation. This time he is to experience the god Osiris, or that aspect of the unconscious which reveals itself as the nucleus of the total personality: the Self. But for the moment Isis is the Self and the anima in one. She personifies for the time being the totality of the unconscious. All the future possibilities of development of Lucius are contained in her, so she quite rightly tells him that he must serve her in an unconditional way.
Later, as mentioned, Lucius is initiated into the cult of Osiris. Since Isis and Osiris represent the feminine and masculine aspects of the totality, this would correspond to the experiencing of the rubedo. After the Isis initiation he returns to Rome and becomes a lawyer, fulfilling the role of a lay priest in the mysteries. During his service for the goddess Isis, he remains a katochos, in other words, he lives within an enclosure, also being enclosed into himself; only when the “inner enclosure” has become solid enough is there no longer any need for this outer imprisonment. One now has an inner solidity against the impact of the outer world, so one can return to life in a seemingly unreflected way.
The alchemists make very strange references to the fourth or yellow stage, calling it multiplicatio and comparing it to the grain of corn which multiplies by thousands and thousands. With the philosopher’s stone one can turn any ignoble metal into gold. The lapis has a transforming emanation which even goes into the cosmos. In symbolic form this would mean: with the realization of the Self, one is in complete harmony with the whole world, in a synchronistic correspondence with the inner and the outer universe. This is a stage which most people can reach only for a few moments and which the Chinese describe as being one with the Tao.
This reminds me of the famous Zen Buddhist series of “Ten Oxherding Pictures,”15 in which the Chinese painter represented the inner course of development in symbolic form. First comes the releasing, then the catching, and then the taming of the ox. This would correspond to the nigredo and belongs to the “animal” stage of self-education and its problems. Then comes the picture of the full moon and the adept praying to it. He has forgotten the ox and also the whip with which he should tame it, the whole animal problem has disappeared. The next picture is the round disc of the moon, the stage of enlightenment without polarity which is no longer an ego experience. This enlightenment is “Buddha.” Nothing can be added anymore. And then a branch of a cherry tree in flower appears. One does not quite understand what it portends, only that it probably has to do with a return to life. The last picture shows an old man with a fat, hanging belly, walking along, smiling. His servant boy is with him carrying a begging bowl, and a few branches of cherry blossom are before him. He is going to the market, begging, and the text says: “He has forgotten the ox; he has forgotten his own big experience; he has even forgotten himself, but wherever he goes the cherry tree blossoms.” That would correspond to the yellow or gold stage of alchemy. There is then a union with the cosmos. It appears to be a stage of complete unconsciousness, but in reality it has to do with the opposite. In this connection I must refer you to the last two chapters of Jung’s Mysterium Coniunctionis on the unus mundus, where the same experience is described in alchemical and psychological terms.
In our text the Goddess holds a sistrum and brass timbrel in her right hand, an instrument used in the Isis cult to chase away evil demons and ghosts.16 It could be compared to the bell used by the Catholic Church during mass, the ringing of which concentrates the attention of the believers onto the holy moment and also has the function of keeping away all that is unholy. That bell has its origin in the cults of lsis and Mithra. In her left hand Isis carries a golden bowl, which is the most central and important symbol, its meaning corresponding to the vessel mentioned earlier in connection with the waters of Styx. This golden bowl resembles a jug. It is, as we will see later, a symbol of Osiris. In Roman cults, everything to do with underworld gods was associated with the left hand. It was always the left hand which sprinkled the flour over the sacred sacrificial animals when they were consecrated to the gods of Hades. Contrary to that, everything which had to
do with the upper gods was connected with the right hand. For Apuleius, the goddess is holding something in her hand which symbolically announces the next step in the process, which is still unconscious: the realization of the Self, which goes beyond the realization of the anima. It resembles a mysterious veil over something which one does not yet know. She carries the potentiality for the realization of Osiris in her hand and says:
Behold, Lucius, I am come; thy weeping and prayer hath moved me to succour thee. I am she that is the natural mother of all things, mistress and governess of all the elements, the initial progeny of worlds, chief of the powers divine, queen of all that are in hell, the principal of them that dwell in heaven, manifested alone and under one form of all the Gods and Goddesses. At my will the planets of the sky, the wholesome winds of the seas, and the lamentable silences of hell be disposed; my name, my divinity is adored throughout all the world, in divers manners, in variable customs, and by many names. For the Phrygians that are the first of all men call me the Mother of the Gods at Pessinus; the Athenians, which are sprung from their own soil, Cecropian Minerva; the Cyprians, which are girt about by the sea, Paphian Venus; the Cretans which bear arrows, Dictynnian Diana; the Sicilians, which speak three tongues, infernal Proserpine; the Eleusinians, their ancient Goddess Ceres; some Juno, other Bellona, other Hecate, other Rhamnusia, and principally both sort of the Ethiopians which dwell in the Orient and are enlightened by the morning rays of the sun, and the Egyptians which are excellent in all kind of ancient doctrine, and by their proper ceremonies accustom to worship me, do call me by my true name, Queen Isis. Behold I am come to take pity of thy fortune and tribulation; behold I am present to favour and aid thee; leave off thy weeping and lamentation; put away all thy sorrow, for behold the healthful day which is ordained by my providence. Therefore be ready and attentive to my commandment; the day which shall come after this night is dedicated to my service by an eternal religion; my priests and ministers do accustom, after the wintry and stormy tempests of the sea be ceased and the billows of his waves are still, to offer in my name a new ship, as a first-fruit of their navigation; and for this must thou wait, and not profane or despise the sacrifice in any wise. For the great priest shall carry this day following in procession, by my exhortation, a garland of roses next to the timbrel of his right hand; delay not, but, trusting to my will, follow that my procession passing amongst the crowd of people, and when thou comest to the priest, make as though thou wouldst kiss his hand, but snatch at the roses and thereby put away the skin and shape of an ass, which kind of beast I have long time abhorred and despised. But above all things beware thou doubt not nor fear of any of those my things as hard and difficult to be brought to pass; for in this same hour that I am come to thee, I am present there also, and I command the priest by a vision what he shall do, as here followeth; and all the people by my commandment shall be compelled to give thee place and say nothing.17
The Isis procession with its dates and meaning are part of the Graeco-Roman tidal calendar, and a part of the great calendar year which existed in Egypt18 from oldest times, and which one could parallel with our Church Year. Certain periods of the year have their holy association, so that Time is also psychologically involved in the religious cult. In the winter the boats at the Mediterranean were brought ashore, practically all navigation ceased, and at a certain date in spring it was resumed with a procession of the whole population to the sea, which has to do with the festival, described here (March 5).
The goddess Isis was the protectress of navigation and seamen, as the Virgin Mary still is in Catholic countries. As the stella maris, the Virgin Mary has inherited the function and title from Isis. During this procession the goddess promises that Lucius will find the roses which he needs for his redemption. But there is still a double danger; when he tries to eat the roses held by the priest he could either be beaten away by horrified people or, after being turned back to human shape, he would stand there naked. However, Isis has even foreseen these difficulties and has instructed the priest in a dream that Lucius should quickly be given garments and thus there would be no fuss or scandal about the strange transformation which is to take place in public.
11
The Goddess Isis
We cannot rationally understand the whole greatness of the goddess Isis and what she means in all these connections, for one can never say or exhaust what an archetype contains. But one can to a certain extent circumambulate it by showing its different aspects and functions within the psychic situation. I therefore want to describe briefly the role of the goddess Isis and show why, and in what connections, she suddenly became so tremendously important in the late Graeco-Roman period of antiquity.
For this it is necessary to briefly outline the history of the Egyptian religion. Though I want to assume responsibility for my ideas, I have in the main been inspired by the themes and amplifications of Helmuth Jacobsohn.1 What he has beautifully worked out is the principle of the divine trinity and the trinitarian idea of God, as well as the problem of the fourth divine aspect in the Egyptian religion.2 In Egypt there were two gods named Horus, Horus the elder and Horus the younger. In later times these two were mixed up with each other, but in their nature they were two very different gods. The elder Horus was a kind of pantheistic godhead who included the whole cosmos, matter, spirit, the world, the totality of nature and life; the younger Horus was the reborn Osiris, the new sun.
The Egyptian religion probably originated from, and was more influenced by, African rather than Mediterranean or European sources. It very likely had its very essence in African tribes along the sources of the Nile, and then slowly wandered down the Nile into Egypt.3 Whoever has visited this country has definitely been struck by the absolutely non-European strangeness of the early Egyptian religion. It was truly African, which, to my mind, gives it its special value. Horus the Elder would, therefore, be an African cosmic nature principle. In classical times, however, this god no longer played a great role, but was replaced by a trinitarian representation of the god Ré or Ra.
The pharaoh was, so to speak, the incarnated representative of the sun god Ra, and in innumerable invocations and titles is represented as such. But he was not only an earthly personification of the god, he was the god. For instance, when the pharaoh for the first time entered the bedroom of the queen and generated for the first time his successor, his eldest son, he was then invoked in the text as the supreme god, Amoun, visiting the goddess Isis, and generating his son with the help of the Ka-mutef, which means “the bull of his mother.” Therefore, this first union of the king and queen in which a successor was conceived—in other words, the new sun god was generated—became a hieros gamos between mother and son. The queen is at the same time mother, wife, and sister of the king. Jacobsohn rightly points out that, in a way, the Kamutef plays the same role as the Holy Ghost in the Christian trinity. He mediates between Father and Son and generates the Son from the Father.
Quite generally, however, the Ka-mutef was the generating power, namely, that which kept man and cattle fertile; it was the dynamism of the godhead which spread through the whole empire. But the fourth was missing, and this invisible fourth, which was excluded from the light, solar, trinitarian principle, was in Egypt the goddess Isis, symbolizing matter. Or it was Osiris, who in this framework of the two older empires represents that which was not included in the upper solar trinity; the passive principle in nature, the suffering, that which is sacrificed and excluded. Osiris is the irrational element that was lacking in the conscious order of the Egyptian civilization. Therefore, Osiris became the secret ruler of the underworld. One could call him the personification of the collective unconscious, all that existed in the collective unconscious psyche, but which was not included in the conscious religious forms of that time.4 The sun principle in its trinitarian form is visibly associated with a conscious order of the world. Its worship coincides with the invention of the measuring of fields and the invention of writing, the fixing of definite bound
aries on the surface of the earth, the settling of all the territories of wandering tribes and neighbors into a fixed order which was guaranteed by the king and his polis. This was at that time one of the great advances toward a higher consciousness in mankind. Another great advance took place at the same time; namely, the invention of hieroglyphs and the establishment of archives fixing possession and the law.
For the first time in this oldest Egyptian empire, there was thus established a continuous conscious order which was not constantly obliterated or corrupted by invasions of the unconscious. Osiris, however, was still not included; for the more rigid and continuous, firm and systematic consciousness becomes, the more the other aspects of the psyche, the irrational aspects, are relegated and fall into the unconscious. The irrational element which was excluded became more differentiated in time. It became possible to distinguish another trinity in relationship to the first (see diagram on p. 190).
Osiris, the suffering king and god-man, was, according to the legend, a good king and a great musician and artist, but he was brutally murdered by his enemy, Seth. One could see Seth as the aspect of evil which has been excluded from the conscious order. The color red is attributed to Seth, and in the Egyptian language “doing red things” means doing evil. Seth stood for emotionality, for murder and brutality. Osiris was represented by the black or green color. “To do green things” meant to act according to Osiris. In superficial books on the Egyptian religion, Osiris is characterized as a vegetation god. This is seen too simply, although he was associated with vegetation, with the wheat growing in the spring or after the Nile floods. But in his deeper meaning he is the symbol of greenness in the form of resurrection. As Jacobsohn has beautifully worked out, he is associated with vegetation because he represents the passive plant life, that living and irrational element which does nothing evil and, on the other hand, is the great sufferer from the beginning of the world. Every animal, every louse, every ant eats up the vegetation, and it silently grows again. Osiris is this life principle, this evergreen life in the human psyche—that which continues to live after innumerable deaths. Seth was really evil, and that is why I have put Seth at the bottom of the lower triad, for he disrupted the civilized behavior of the Egyptians. Seth is the great counter-player, the darkest point in the lower principle against the upper trinity.
The Golden Ass of Apuleius Page 20