{"id":126501,"date":"2026-06-24T17:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/?post_type=books&p=126501"},"modified":"2026-06-24T17:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:21:21","slug":"volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy","status":"publish","type":"books","link":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/","title":{"rendered":"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy"},"content":{"rendered":"

What did the alchemists really seek when they watched metals darken, whiten, and redden in their furnaces? Gold\u2014or the soul?
\nIn this luminous classic, Marie-Louise von Franz, C.G. Jung\u2019s closest collaborator, guides readers into the symbolic heart of alchemy, where laboratory experiment and inner transformation were understood as one and the same work. Drawing on centuries of Western and Islamic alchemical texts, she reveals how the mysterious images of\u00a0<\/span>nigredo<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>albedo<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>rubedo<\/span>\u00a0describe not only chemical change, but the timeless drama of human individuation: the struggle of opposites\u2014matter and spirit, masculine and feminine, chaos and order\u2014toward a living unity.<\/span>
\nFar from being a relic of superstition, alchemy emerges here as a profound psychology of creativity, suffering, and renewal. Von Franz shows how the alchemists\u2019 quest for the philosopher\u2019s stone mirrors our own search for meaning in a world that still cannot resolve the riddle of psyche and matter.
\nThis new English translation, meticulously prepared from the authoritative 2008 German edition and the original English sources by Alison Kappes, restores the clarity, depth, and poetic precision of von Franz\u2019s thought. Enriched with scholarly notes, images, and an expanded bibliography, it offers both newcomers and seasoned readers an unparalleled gateway into the symbolic world that inspired Jung and continues to illuminate the modern psyche.
\nA timeless work, reborn for a new generation of seekers.<\/p>\n

Table of Contents<\/span><\/strong>
\nForeword
\nForeword to the German New Edition
\nIntroduction
\nPart One: Greek Alchemy
\nThe Prophetess Isis on Her Son<\/span>
\nPart Two: Arabic Alchemy
\nThe Book of the Silver Water and the Starry Earth<\/span>
\nLove Letter of the Sun to the Crescent Moon<\/span>
\nPart Three: Medieval European Alchemy
\nIntroduction
\nAurora Consurgens<\/span>
\nThe First Five Chapters from the Wisdom of God
\nThe Seven Parables on the Development of the\u00a0Nigredo\u00a0<\/span>to the\u00a0Albedo<\/span>
\nAppendix
\nBibliography
\nIndex<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What did the alchemists really seek when they watched metals darken, whiten, and redden in their furnaces? Gold\u2014or the soul? In this luminous classic, Marie-Louise von Franz, C.G. Jung\u2019s closest collaborator, guides readers into the symbolic heart of alchemy, where laboratory experiment and inner transformation were understood as one and the same work. Drawing on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":126502,"template":"","tags":[],"book__categories":[],"class_list":["post-126501","books","type-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVolume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy - JungianDirectory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What did the alchemists really seek when they watched metals darken, whiten, and redden in their furnaces? Gold\u2014or the soul? In this luminous classic, Marie-Louise von Franz, C.G. Jung\u2019s closest collaborator, guides readers into the symbolic heart of alchemy, where laboratory experiment and inner transformation were understood as one and the same work. Drawing on […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JungianDirectory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"311\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"466\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy - JungianDirectory\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T16:21:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg\",\"width\":311,\"height\":466},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Books\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/books\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/\",\"name\":\"JungianDirectory\",\"description\":\"Analysts, Events, Training, CPD, Books, etc\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"JungianDirectory\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/cropped-new-logo-test-2024-03-03.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/cropped-new-logo-test-2024-03-03.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"JungianDirectory\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jungian.directory\\\/fcxfougk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy - JungianDirectory","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy","og_description":"What did the alchemists really seek when they watched metals darken, whiten, and redden in their furnaces? Gold\u2014or the soul? In this luminous classic, Marie-Louise von Franz, C.G. Jung\u2019s closest collaborator, guides readers into the symbolic heart of alchemy, where laboratory experiment and inner transformation were understood as one and the same work. Drawing on […]","og_url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/","og_site_name":"JungianDirectory","og_image":[{"width":311,"height":466,"url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/","url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/","name":"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy - JungianDirectory","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-24T16:21:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/alchemy-mlvf.jpg","width":311,"height":466},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/volume-11-of-the-collected-works-of-marie-louise-von-franz-alchemy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Books","item":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/books\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Volume 11 of the Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz \u2013 Alchemy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/","name":"JungianDirectory","description":"Analysts, Events, Training, CPD, Books, etc","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/#organization","name":"JungianDirectory","url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-new-logo-test-2024-03-03.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-new-logo-test-2024-03-03.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"JungianDirectory"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/books\/126501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/books"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/books"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126501"},{"taxonomy":"book__categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jungian.directory\/fcxfougk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book__categories?post=126501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}