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)
Stekel tells a dream of Mrs. Delta in which occurs “an open square space,
a garden or court. In the corner stood a tree, that slowly sinks before
our eyes as if it were sinking in water. As the tree and the court also
made swinging motions, I cleverly remarked, ‘Thus we see how the change in
the earth’s surface takes place.’ ” The topmost psychic stratum of the
dream reveals itself as an earthquake reminiscence. “Earth” leads to the
idea of “Mother Earth.” The tree sinking into it, is the tree of life, the
phallus. The rectangular space is the bedroom, the marriage bed. The
swinging motions characterize the whole picture still better. The
earthquake, however, contains, as is found in the analysis, death thoughts
also. The rectangular space becomes a grave. Even the water of the dream
deserves notice. “Babies come out of the water,” says an infantile theory
of procreation. We learn later that the fœtus floats in amniotic liquor.
This “water” lies naturally in “Mother Earth.” In contrast we have the
water of the dead (river of the dead, islands of the dead, etc.). Both
waters are analogous in the natural symbolism. It is the mythical abode of
the people not yet, or no longer, to be found in the world.
As water will appear again at important points in the parable, I will
dwell a little longer on that topic.
Little children come out of Holla’s fountain, there are in German
districts a number of Holla wells or Holla springs (Holla brunn?) with
appropriate legends. Women, we are told, who step into those springs
become prolific. Mullenhof tells of an old stone fountain in Flensburg,
which is called the Grönnerkeel. Its clear, copious water falls out of
four cocks into a wide basin and supplies a great part of the city. The
Flensburgers hold this fountain in great honor, for in this city it is not
the stork which brings babies, but they are fished out of this fountain.
While fishing the women catch cold and therefore have to stay in bed.
Bechstein (Fränk. Sagensch.) mentions a Little Linden Spring on a road in
Schweinfurt near Königshofen. The nurses dip the babies out of it with
silver pails, and it flows not with water but with milk. If the little
ones come to this baby fountain they look through the holes of the
millstone (specially mentioned on account of what follows) at its still
water, that mirrors their features, and think they have seen a little
brother or sister that looks just like them. (Nork. Myth d. Volkss., p.
501.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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