Originally published in 1966 as a companion volume to C.G. Jung's Mysterium Coniunctionis, this scholarly gem is scattered throughout with insights relevant to the psychological process of individuation. Aurora Consurgens is a rare medieval alchemical treatise, reputed to be the last work of St. Thomas Aquinas, which was rediscovered by Jung in the course of his researches. It bears out Jung's long-standing view that the traditional practice of alchemy is best understood symbolically, as an attempt to express unconscious psychic contents through their projection onto matter. Dr. von Franz's analysis suggests that the author of Aurora Consurgens experienced a breakthrough of the unconscious while in an ecstatic state shortly before his death. History records that Thomas Aquinas died in a trance soon after expounding the Song of Songs, and Aurora ends with a paraphrase of the same Biblical verses and a vision of the mystic marriage. Dr. von Franz's penetrating commentary shows how Jung's analytical psychology may be used as a key to unlock the meaning of this cryptic but psychologically significant text. About the Author: Marie-Louise von Franz, Ph.D. (1915-1998), is the author of many books on the psychological interpretation of dreams, fairy tales and alchemical texts. Her most recent titles in this series are CG JUNG : HIS MYTH IN OUR TIME (1998), THE CAT : A TALE OF FEMININE REDEMPTION (1999) and PROBLEM OF THE PUER AETERNUS (2000). -from the publisher |