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Assignment of Psychoanalysis
Carl Gustav Jung: Aspects of the Masculine
Logos and Eros: Sol and Luna

Subject: Theory and Criticism

Compiled by: Neha Upadhyay
M.A. German
Roll No. 10

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Important Definitions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.

9.

SOL- An ancient Roman god, personifying the son.

LUNA:- The ancient Roman goddess, personifying the moon.
Contra sexual a persons psyche that has characteristic of the opposite gender.
Archetypal- In Jungian psychology, a collectively inherited unconscious idea, patterns of thought,
image universally present in the individual psyche.
Alchemy- a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy plasticized in the middle ages and the
Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods of transmuting base metals into
gold.
Alchemist- A person who practice alchemy.
Panacea an ancient Greek goddess of healing.
Mercurius bisexual, androgynous soul of metal, the metallic man both good and evil, child of
Sol and Luna. He possess masculine body and feminine soul. According to the Jungian
Psychology, he is the reflection of mystical experience, the self and the individualism process.
Mercurius a graco-roman God of travelling trade revelation. He is simultaneous Omni present
of every level of being and the connecting psychic principle between all beings.

Logos and Eros: SOL and LUNA

Jung, the Greek philosopher attempted to equate LOGOS and EROS (his intuitive conceptions of
masculine
and
feminine
consciousness)
with
the
alchemical
SOL and LUNA. By Logos he meant discrimination, judgment, insight and by Eros he meant the capacity
to relate. These two conceptions are difficult to define.
Logos is a certain peculiar quality, in a mans being, which leads him to discriminate, to reason, to judge,
to understand insight. Whereas Eros possess the capacity of relatedness seeing things together, gathering
things together, not judging things and looking at them properly but rather attracting or repelling them.
Then he gives an instance that a man who cares nothing for discrimination, judgment and insight and the
woman who displays an almost excessively masculine proficiency/ property. These cases are exceptions
and we can categorize them under the term contra sexuality.
These actions are because of predominant contra sexuality. Whenever this exists we find an act of
unconsciousness and exclusion of either sex. These are the characteristics of contra sexuality.
1.
2.
3.
4.

A forcible intrusion of unconsciousness.

Exclusion of consciousness specific of either sexes.
Predominance of shadow and contra sexuality
The presence of system of passiveness( compulsion phobias, obsession, automatism, exaggerated
affects)

And this change of Role is probably the chief physiological source of alchemical concept of
hermaphrodite, a person in which two opposite qualities of both male and female are combined together.

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In a man it is called as Lunar Anima and in a woman it is called as Solar animus which influences
consciousness to the highest degree. Even if a man is unaware of his anima possession visibly we can see
the property possession
Logos and Eros are the archetypal images of Sol and Luna.
Sol and Luna are description and superlatively graphical terms, so Jung is reflecting them as pedestrian
terms of Logos and Eros. Logos and Eros are intellectual equivalents of Sol and Luna. But Jung prefers
Logos and Eros as they are philosophical terms rather than Sol and Luna.
The personification of the opposite
Alchemists` endeavor to unite the opposite in a chymical marriage is the supreme act of union. Power
of love and passion are the two driving forces which drives the opposite poles together. The guilt is lying
in-between both of them, but it appears unreasonable only to our rational thinking but not to the psychic
nature.
For instance;
If we take an example of paradise Lost: Eve was told: Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall
rule over thee. And Adam was told : Cursed is the ground for thy sakeBecause thou hast heartened
unto the voice of the wife
Sol:
The sun in coniunecto ( the holy wedding). Sol has corresponding fiery characteristics and his metal is
gold or sulphur. He is associated with consciousness and Animus in Jungian psychology
In alchemy, the sun signifies gold and whose sign resembles with the sun. As philosophical gold, it is not
a common gold, the sun is neither just the metallic gold nor heavenly object. Sometimes it is an active
substance hidden in the gold and sometimes as heavenly body. It is processor of magically effective and
transformative rays. It contains active sulphur as red color due to active substance copper.
The sun has `balsam` a fragrance like substance which produces fruits like oranges, lemon etc. May be
he is talking about here all the human beings. In man their balsam forms radical moisture from the sphere
of super celestial water and this causes inner warmth. It is actually a vital spirit and its seat is in brain and
its governance is in the heart.
Sol in alchemy is a mysterious power having generative and transformative effect. Just ad physical sun
lightens and warms the universe similarly in human body there is a sun like Arcanum (secret power)
from which life and warmth stream forth. This power is called sulphur.
Sol Niger- There is also a `sol niger` (a black sun) which coincides with the state of death. Like
mercurius sol in alchemy is ambivalent
Alchemical sol was the real source of illumination in alchemy. Generally sol is regarded as the masculine
and its active half is mercurius. In this alchemical form, Mercurius does not exist in reality, he must be
unconscious projection. He is by nature unconscious but at the same time by virtue of its being living

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spirit (spritus vegcetativus) he is an active principle and therefore must appear in the differential form. He
is called duplex both active and passive.
The ascending active part of him is called sol, and it is only through this that the passive part can
be perceived. The passive part bears the name Luna because she borrows her light from the sun.
As consciousness requires its necessary counterpart a dark side, the unconscious whose
counterpart is dark side and whose presence can known by the light of consciousness. Sol since
occasionally appears black itself. It contains both light and dark.
For Instance: Just as the bell and clapper have no existence without each other . Same applies to
the light and shadow. In man the natural sulphur is identical with the elemental fire, the cause of
corruption and this fire is enkindled by an invisible sun. The sun is an instrument in psychological
drama of return to the prime material stage the death.
Sol is transformative substance. The prime material and gold tincture. The first part is called the
earthly sun (sol terrenuys) without which the work is not perfected. The second part of Sol is
joined with Mercurius.
According to arch authority, Sol is the father of Mercurius who appears as feminine and as mother bride.
In that capacity Mercurius is identical with Luna, and via the Luna- Mary Eccelesia symbolism is equated
with the virgin.
Diagram Explanation
Principium Mercurius (Beginning)
Filius (Son)
Frater (brother)
Pater (Father)
Sol (male)

Filia (Daughter)
Soror (Sister)
Mater (Mother)
Luna (Female)

Filius
Mercurius (Son)

As blood is the origin of flesh, so is Mercurius the origin of Sol and so Mercurius is Sol and Sol
is Meercurius. Sol is therefore father and son at one time. Similarly the feminine counterpart is
mother and daughter in one person. The Sol and Luna are aspects of the same substance.
Merecurius duplex for whom philosophers say that he contains everything that is sought by the
wise/.
The cross by Christian totality symbol is an instrument of torture at express sufferings on earth of the God
but as quaternary it expresses universe which also includes material world.

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Alchemy adopts the principle where things starts from the darkness of the earth to the winged spiritual
Filius macrocoms and lux moderna where as Christian drama represent the descent of Kingdom of heaven
to earth. Both are like mirror images.
Diagram Representation
Christian Totality Symbol
Kingdom of heaven

Earth

Alchemy
Filius Macrocosmi (Lux Moderna)

Darkness of Earth

Alchemists knew that their Sol is somehow related to man from the beginning man was sulphur. ,Sulphur
is a distinctive fire enkindled by the invisible sun.
Dorn regards the sun and its sulphur as components of human body. Alchemy projects certain facts.
One of these fundamental fact is the primary pair of opposites
Consciousness and unconsciousness whose symbol are Sol and Lumna
The personal unconsciousness is personified by shadow
Unconsciousness appears in projected as symbolized form, as there is no other way by which it
may be perceived. But this is not so with consciousness. Luna is conceivable as a projection. But
Sol itself is a projection. It symbolizes consciousness. Our consciousness issues from a dark body.
The ego which is the indispensable condition for all consciousness, which is nothing but the
association of an object or a contact with the ego.
In western mythology God and ego are the opposite. Self represents the littleness, sinfulness of
ego.
In Indian mythology on the other hand God and ego (ones identity) is taken as one. The ego
(personal atma) is the part of universal atma (parmatma). The ego remains to the veil of Maya.
The men`s consciousness is responsible for the creation of the world.