“True Religion”: Individuation, Alchemy, and Poetry

Abstract

The most vital urge in every being, the urge to self-realize, is the motivating force behind the individuation process. With the internal compass of our very nature set toward self-realization, the thrust to become who and what we are derives its power from the instincts. On taking up the study of alchemy, Jung realized his long-held desire to find a body of work expressive of the psychological processes involved in the overarching process of individuation. Here, Jung saw the individual's opus in the individuation process mirrored in the opus of the alchemical procedure.Like alchemical images, poetry can also shed light on individuation. Poetry's languages of symbol, imagery, and feeling are able to bring the concept of individuation vibrantly to life, adding nuance and conveying the numinous energy associated with an individuating experience. In this presentation, I entrust to poetry—one poem by D. H. Lawrence and several of my own—the task of bringing individuation and its underlying alchemical processes to life.