Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult ArtsSilberer, Herbert
Religion
Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts
Silberer, Herbert
Alchemy; Society of Rosicrucians; Symbolism (Psychology)
Interpretation. In this symbol everything that I was thinking of is
expressed. The validity of the transsubjective concerns all men without
exception; the circle goes through all the heads. This validity must have
its cause in something common to all. The heads all belong to the same
apparently homogeneous sphere. Not all judgments are transsubjective; with
their bodies and limbs men are outside of and under the sphere and stand
on the earth as separate individuals.
B. Functional Symbolism.—Conditions. Dreamy state as above. I reflect upon
something or other, and yet in allowing myself to stray into bypaths of
thought, I am diverted from my peculiar theme. When I want to get back the
autosymbolic phenomenon appears.
Symbol. I am climbing mountains. The nearer mountains shut out my view of
the more distant ones, from which I have come and to which I should like
to return.
Meaning. I have got off the track. I have ventured too high and the ideas
that I have entertained shut out my starting point like the mountains.
To the material category belongs, for example, the meaning of the
strawberry dream explained in the second part of the introductory chapter.
Strawberry picking is a symbol for an imaged wish gratification (sexual
intercourse), and so for an image content. The symbolism is therefore a
material one. The greatly preponderating part of psychoanalytic dream
literature is occupied with interpretation according to material
categories.
To the functional categories belong, for example, the symbolism of falling
asleep and waking up, which I have mentioned in the second part in
connection with the interpretation of the parable.
The two categories of symbolism, if they never did anything but parallel
each other, would afford us no analogues for our problem of double
meaning. Now the cases, however, are extremely rare where there is only
functional or only material symbolism; the rule is an intimate
interweaving of both. To be sure, one is frequently more emphasized than
the other or more easily accessible, but we can generally find cases where
long contexts of images are susceptible of material as well as functional
interpretation, alike in detail and continuity of connection.
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