Inanna and Osiris: Alchemical Functions of the Individuation Process

Abstract

Research is just that—looking back over and over again at material through fresh eyes. In preparing for a workshop, I was drawn once more to the ancient Sumerian myth of Inanna, especially her descent into the underworld where she is murdered and her skin flayed. This archetypal story represents an important dynamic in the individuation process that involves persona and shadow. The Egyptian myth of Osiris, God of the dead and regeneration, also shows how consciousness is processed in the making of an individuated personality. Osiris is not flayed but meets his demise by being killed and dismembered. Viewed through an alchemical lens, these myths portray two operations, solve et coagula (dissolution and reconstitution), that play a critical role in the individuation process. These processes go into the making of the One Thing, a term used by alchemists to symbolize the Philosopher’s Stone, and by Jungians to describe the individuated self.