JUNGIAN.DIRECTORY

Quaternity

Definition

A quaternity or quaternion often has a 3+1 structure, in that one of the terms composing it occupies an exceptional position or has a nature unlike that of the others. (For instance three of the symbols of the Evangelists are animals, and that of the fourth, or St. Luke, is an Angel.) This is the ‘Fourth’, which, added to the other three, makes them ‘One’, symbolising totality. In analytical psychology often the ‘inferior’ function (i.e., that function which is not at the conscious disposal of the subject) represents the ‘Fourth’ and its integration into consciousness is one of the major tasks of the process of individuation. In Christianity, the focus is on the trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), however, Jung viewed this as inadequate as it purposely left absent the evil or shadow counterpart – the Devil – which must be integrated by the trinity in order to become One; good cannot exist without evil and vice versa, once the two concepts merge, all concepts shatter and is replaced by non-duality, or Oneness.

C. G. Jung: “The quaternity is an archetype of almost universal occurrence. It forms the logical basis for any whole judgement. Id one wishes to pass such a judgement, it must have this fourfold aspect. For instance, if you want to describe the horizon as a whole, you name the four quarters of heaven…There are always four elements, four prime qualities, four colours, four castes, four ways of spiritual development etc. So, too, there are four aspects of psychological orientation… In order to orient ourselves, we must have a function which ascertains that something is there (sensation); a second function which establishes what it is (thinking); a third function which states whether it suits us or not, whether we wish to accept it or not (feeling), and a fourth function which indicates where it came from and where it is going (intuition). When this has been done, there is nothing more to say… The ideal completeness is the circle or sphere, but its natural minimal division is a quaternity.” (Psychology and Religion West and East, Collected Works, Vol. 11, p. 167.)

Samuels, Shorter & Plaut

Sharp

An image with a four-fold structure, usually square or circular and symmetrical; psychologically, it points to the idea of wholeness. (See also temenos.)

The quaternity is one of the most widespread archetypes and has also proved to be one of the most useful schemata for representing the arrangement of the functions by which the conscious mind takes its bearings.[See below, typology.] It is like the crossed threads in the telescope of our understanding. The cross formed by the points of the quaternity is no less universal and has in addition the highest possible moral and religious significance for Western man. Similarly the circle, as the symbol of completeness and perfect being, is a widespread expression for heaven, sun, and God; it also expresses the primordial image of man and the soul.[“The Psychology of the Transference,” CW 16, par. 405.]From the circle and quaternity motif is derived the symbol of the geometrically formed crystal and the wonder-working stone. From here analogy formation leads on to the city, castle, church, house, and vessel. Another variant is the wheel (rota). The former motif emphasizes the ego’s containment in the greater dimension of the self; the latter emphasizes the rotation which also appears as a ritual circumambulation. Psychologically, it denotes concentration on and preoccupation with a centre.[The Structure and Dynamics of the Self,” CW 9ii, par. 352.]

Jung believed that the spontaneous production of quaternary images (including mandalas), whether consciously or in dreams and fantasies, can indicate the ego’s capacity to assimilate unconscious material. But they may also be essentially apotropaic, an attempt by the psyche to prevent itself from disintegrating.

These images are naturally only anticipations of a wholeness which is, in principle, always just beyond our reach. Also, they do not invariably indicate a subliminal readiness on the part of the patient to realize that wholeness consciously, at a later stage; often they mean no more than a temporary compensation of chaotic confusion.[The Psychology of the Transference,” CW 16, par. 536.]

Jung References

Further Reading

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