Dregs of Yore

Reflections on Ch. 6 - The Battle for Deliverance from the Mother, Part II, Symbols of Transformation by Carl Jung. It has been well established that the mother image is the symbol of the unconscious. This is not surprising given that the woman (or the mother, for the terms “woman” and “mother” will be used interchangeably for the purposes of this text) embodies chaos. Far from being a Jungian concept, this insight is reflected in Daoist philosophy as well. The Yin and Yang symbol is a depiction of chaos and order. Typically, it consists of a circle, divided by an S-shaped line into a  dark and a light segment. Each segment has the “seed” of the other, i.e., there is order in chaos and chaos in order, and this duality makes up the nature of our universe and of our souls. The darker segment, Yin, symbolises chaos, and is feminine in nature. Yang, the lighter segment, symbolises order, and is masculine. Jung extends this principle to our psyche as well. The woman is a symbol of chaos...

Reflections on Ch. 5 - Symbols of the Mother and of Rebirth, Part II, Symbols of Transformation by Carl Jung. “The city is a maternal symbol, a woman who harbours the inhabitants in herself like children.” - Carl Jung, Symbols of Transformation. Given that most famed cities were walled, they represented the safety of the mother’s womb, wherein the hero lies dormant, in preparation for the labour of the mother, following which he would begin his conquests. It is on the soil of our nourishing motherland, that we grow the grain that feeds our mouths.  In the Homeric epic, the Iliad, the city of Troy has walls so fortified that when the might of Agamemnon batters them down, it is a historic moment of tragedy as it spells the doom of the city. “Yes, they fail to fulfill their promise sworn that day they sailed here from the stallion-land of Argos: that not until you had razed the rugged walls of Troy would they sail home again… ….Up with you, all you Argives geared for combat, s...

Reflections on the unbelievably profound tale of Cupid and Psyche from The Golden Ass by Apuleius 1. Book IV: Fatal beauty - The story begins with Psyche’s beauty calling on worshippers from far and wide, which in turn, invokes the wrath of Venus, whose temples lay bare and in want of devotees. This is characteristic of the tussle between infatuation (immature, romantic and impulsive affection) with love (mature, enduring and stable affection). As have been the ways of man, the allure of the former overshadows the more meaningful latter. The former requires indulgence and instant gratification, and the latter requires taking responsibility and willingness to grow. The charm of infatuation often causes the hero to stray from the more difficult path of choosing love. What makes this resemblance even more striking is that Psyche is described as a “mere mortal” who is doomed to death (as infatuation is inevitably short-lived) while Venus is an immortal goddess (aptly analogous to love). “...