The Last and Greatest Work of Alchemy

ABSTRACT

Stephen Wilkerson’s book is an alchemical interpretation of Goethe’s classic poem Faust, a Tragedy. This review offers observations, questions, and criticisms of this well-researched book. The author’s application of an alchemical analysis is thoughtfully and thoroughly applied to five key sections of the poem. Although Jung treasured Faust and his comments on it are ubiquitous throughout The Collected Works, Wilkerson specifically takes up the challenge of seeing this classical piece of literature through an alchemical lens. Through the prism of alchemy Faust comes alive in a new light, one that especially emphasizes the critical role played by the feminine in the mysterium coniunctionis.

KEY WORDS:

• alchemy
• complex
• coniunctio,
• Dorn
• Faust
• feminine
• Goethe
• gnosis
• individuation
• Jung
• Mephistopheles
• psychoid
• Raff
• von Schiller

NOTE

References to The Collected Works of C. G. Jung are cited in the text as CW, volume number, and paragraph number. The Collected Works are published in English by Routledge (UK) and Princeton University Press (USA).

Notes

1. The hermeneutic circle “refers to the idea that one’s understanding of the text as a whole is established by reference to the individual parts and one’s understanding of each individual part by reference to the whole.” See Wikipedia, s.v. “Hermeneutic Circle,” accessed August 28, 2020, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutic_circle.

2. Jung mentions this “theme … that repeats itself on three different levels (Gretchen, Helen, Queen of Heaven)” but offers no further explanation (1989, CW 14, ¶463).

3. See Maria Popova, “19^th Century Insight into the Psychology of Color and Emotion,” The Atlantic, August 17, 2012, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/19th-century-insight-into-the-psychology-of-color-and-emotion/261261/.

4. Jung notes, “Even Dorn did not venture to assert that he or any other adept had perfected the third stage in his lifetime” (1989, CW 14, ¶666).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thom Cavalli

THOM F. CAVALLI, PhD, is a Jungian psychologist, alchemical life coach, keynote speaker, and author of Alchemical Psychology: Old Recipes for Living in the New World (Putnam), Embodying Osiris: The Secrets of Alchemical Transformation (Quest Books), and numerous articles and reviews in Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche and Psychological Perspectives. Correspondence: [email protected]. Website: www.CavalliBooks.com.