137 - Arthur I. Miller [69]
In order for the modern scientific world to develop, it has been necessary—in Jungian terms—to relegate the unconscious to a position below the conscious and rationality. In Pauli’s case, this marginalizing of the unconscious has been an inevitable consequence of his life as a scientist. It is no accident that the figures in his dream are feminine, for the unconscious is feminine in nature. Like the seductive maidens of mythology and alchemy who appear to lead the unwary traveler astray, Pauli’s unconscious is reaching out to him. Pauli can run away if he wants to, but it seems he does not wish to do so. Rather he wants to “get away from Father”—from intellect and rationality which have dominated his life so far.
The awakening of the sleeping king, shown as a judgment of Paris, with Hermes Trismigestus as psychopomp. (Thomas Aquinas, De alchimia [MS, 16th century].)
The serpent Uroboros
A few days later Pauli dreams that he is rooted to the center of a circle formed by a serpent biting its own tail.
Jung reaches down another book, which has a picture of the creature whom alchemists called the Uroboros, a serpent who devours his own tail and gives birth to himself. Uroboros slays and is slain, resurrects and is resurrected, in an eternal and magical transformative process.
Uroboros symbolizes the process in which the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, are transformed into each other. (Abraham Eleazar, Uraltes chymisches Werk [18th century].)
The Uroboros symbolizes the eternal circle, the circular process by which the four elements (earth, water, air, and fire) transform into one another. The circular form taken by the Uroboros is also the first hint of the symmetrical form of a mandala, suggesting that change is beginning. The area that the Uroboros encircles is a protected area, the temenos, where the dreamer—Pauli—can safely come face to face with his unconscious.
The veiled woman
Then Pauli dreams of a veiled woman.
This is the first time the veiled woman has entered Pauli’s dreams. She has done so because the serpent has created a protected area where she can safely appear. Jung tells him she is his feminine side—his anima. The appearance of a person, rather than a symbol, means that the unconscious is stirring. Something has awoken. Pauli’s anima will lead him to his unconscious and reveal its contents, but he must beware; there may be unpleasant surprises in store. He may find irrationality lurking there.
Jung shows Pauli a picture of veiled women like the woman in his dream moving up and down a staircase, symbolizing the ascent of the soul through the seven spheres of the planets to the sun-god, from whom the soul originates. (In ancient pre-Copernican astronomy, there were seven planets. Copernicus realized there were only six; one of the seven was the moon.) Perhaps Pauli’s dream relates to an initiation rite and moving up the staircase symbolizes the beginning of his transformation into a new person.
Jung also examines the role of woman and of the eternal female in Pauli’s personal life. Jung assumed that Pauli must have originally projected his anima onto his mother, as men usually do. No doubt this made Pauli think of his mother, Bertha, who had died six years earlier. The mother symbolizes the source of life—the unconscious, where Pauli’s feeling function is hidden. While a man continues to project his anima wholly onto his mother, his feelings too—his Eros—remain identified with her, pushing all other women into the background. This sort of man takes a passive view of life, for he is still in an infantile state. His relationships are passionless, usually restricted to prostitutes.
Jacob’s dream, as depicted by William Blake (19th century).
As Jung says, Pauli’s behavior exactly fit this analysis:
The dreamer repeatedly found himself in the most amazing situations. For