This August, Pacifica is hosting a weekend symposium on alchemy and depth psychology.
The program link is here: https://retreat.pacifica.edu/ars-alchemica/
The ancient art of alchemy – the transformation of base materials into a nobler form – continues to captivate the imaginations of artists, poets, scholars, seekers – and depth psychologists. One of the earliest material technologies found throughout the world, many alchemical traditions over time developed into highly elaborate esoteric systems until nearly being eclipsed at the dawn of the modern scientific era. In the late 1920s, after undergoing his profound Red Book experience, C.G. Jung was synchronistically introduced to Daoist alchemy through Richard Wilhelm’s translation of The Secret of the Golden Flower. This encounter catapulted Jung away from his inner exploration of the Red Book images, and into the world of alchemy, capturing his imagination and profoundly influencing his scholarly output for the remainder of his life.
This weekend symposium draws upon the rich influence of Jung’s alchemical psychology, while expanding it for a new generation of scholars, seekers, and practitioners. Scholars of alchemy and Jungian analysts of international renown join to offer diverse perspectives of cross-cultural alchemical systems and their implications for analytical practice and personal growth and transformation. Join us at Pacifica for this inter-disciplinary odyssey into the rich and diverse worlds of alchemy and depth psychology as they are brought into creative dialogue.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Pre-Conference Workshops (Friday, August 25)
- Tina Stromsted
Embodied Alchemy®: Awakening Spirit in the Body - Robert Bosnak
Daily Life against a Background of Alchemical Colors: Green, Black, Blue, White, Yellow, Red - Kwame Scruggs
Sacred Storytelling and Personal Transformation in Myth: Creating Temenos with Alchemy
Opening Plenary Address (Friday, August 25)
- Stanton Marlan
Divine Darkness and Divine Light: Alchemical Illumination and the Mystical Play between Knowing and Unknowing
Symposium Session I (Saturday, August 26)
- Dominic Steavu, Daoist Alchemy
- Stanton Marlan, Respondent
Symposium Session II (Saturday, August 26)
- James Hillman’s Alchemical Psychology (Panel): Alchemy in Dallas
Patricia Berry, Michael Sipiora, and Joseph Cambray
Symposium Session III (Saturday, August 26)
- Kwame Scruggs, Our Alchemical Vessel: Transforming a Black, Blacker than Black
Alchemy in Practice: Keynote Session and Panel Discussion (Sunday, August 27)
- Tina Stromsted, Body & Soul in Transition (Keynote Session)
- Alchemy in Practice, (Panel Discussion): Tina Stromsted, Stanton Marlan, Pat Berry, and Joe Cambray
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Embodied Alchemy®: Awakening Spirit in the Body
Tina Stromsted
“Our task is not to create more images of light, but to release the light that is trapped within the darkness.”
~ C.G. Jung
More: The program link is here: https://retreat.pacifica.edu/ars-alchemica/