'Alchemy for Dummies'
                              Presentation By

          Charlene Henry, LCSW, Jungian Analyst

                       Saturday, September 28, 2019

             The Presentation:   'Alchemy for Dummies'

                        The word  “alchemy” often conjure up images of some wild ancient person in his laboratory surrounded

              by various vessels and materials. And, we are told that he is trying to turn a lowly substance  (prima materia)

              into gold, “Really??” we ask. And, if we look through a book of alchemical images, we might be left scratching

              our heads wondering, “What in the world is this?”
             

                        It is good to know that when Jung  viewed the first alchemical manuscript that he got his hands on, even

              he said,  “Good Lord, what nonsense!   This stuff is impossible to understand.”  (MDR, p. 204).   But, he stuck

              with it and over time he began to see that the images were meant to be interpreted symbolically and that they 

              represented  “symbols of transformation”  taking place in the psyche.
             

                        In this three  hour presentation,  Charlene Henry presented   1)  a brief history on the development of 

              alchemy beginning  with  the mummification  process  in  Egypt;  2)  the various stages  and processes 

              involved in this work of  transformation,  and  3)  and with some of  the Latin terms that we run across when

              we are reading this material.
             

                        To have a depth understanding of Alchemy requires many years  of trying  to  interpret  these  very

              difficult texts.   But,  perhaps, it  can begin to  make  a  little bit  of sense  as we are exposed to and try to

              understand this ancient lost art and how it relates to our own psychological process.

              Charlene Henry:

                       Charlene Henry  is a Jungian analyst and psychotherapist who has just started her fiftieth year of

              practice.  She lives and works in Lafayette, Louisiana and is one of  the founders of the C.G. Jung Society

              of Lafayette and is a member of the Board of Directors.