Being the second part of my readings from my collection 'The Body of Air' (1966) and comprising (a) Kronos (b) A Bird in the Darkness; a Flower at the Heart and (c) Resurrection.
These poems explore themes from Jung's studies in alchemy and relate them to my own evolving psychic development as it then was. At the beginning of the volume is a quote from 'De Chemia' (About Chemistry) by Senior (the Latinised name of Muhammad ibn Umail):
'Natus sapientiae in aere nascitur' (the son of wisdom is born in the air) - which represents the archetypal rebirth of ordinary (fallen) human nature into our original or uncorrupted status, this being, according to Jung, the whole point of the alchemical process.
There are fascinating web pages for Muhammad ibn Umail at:
www.livinghumanheritage.org/Ca...
I found the 'Senior' quotation in Jung's great work of his old age, 'Mysterium Coniunctionis' ('An Inquiry into the Separation and Synthesis of Psychic Opposites in Alchemy'). My personal copy of the book is dated 5th July 1965 - and if anyone should observe that this would be queer reading for any young man of 24 at the present day, I would not disagree!
11 июл 2024
