The original intent of this seminar was to introduce Jung as Artisan. The book’s title does not indicate that its heart is concerned with the evolution into a fuller consciousness of the tetractys symbol of the Alexandrian axiom of second century Maria Prophetessa, sprinkled through alchemy. Jung did not explore the geometric attributes and insights of this seemingly enigmatic tetractys, though physicist Wolfgang Pauli suggested that geometry (Euclid’s) could be a “wetnurse” for what the “unknown woman wanted to say”. In other words, Maria’s symbol of wisdom needs suckling into life for a fuller appreciation of the interweaving of the spirit with matter necessary for engaging The Undiscovered Self essential for a world, now, in deep upheaval.
The book involves journeys around the world, many worlds, in fact. It includes the literal, contemporary and ancient trade and alchemy of indigo, magnificent handmade fabrics and their inwoven and still evolving community stability, economics and politics. Our seminar exploration will be a small taster. With heart I shall introduce simple geometry and number that arose through dreams during deep illness. I am not a mathematician or physicist, so this development shocked me: I even felt affronted! I am exploring personal and unfolding experiences and stories which I gradually saw in wider contexts of significance and satisfaction.
The simple geometry of ‘one’ and ‘two’ in dialogue can be seen as creating a ‘vesica’ through which to imagine transitional ‘Alexandrian’ dialogues, and even developing possible cosmologies. Similarly, the geographical and historical Suez Isthmus and Canal is envisioned as a pertinent and time-laden ‘vesica’ for transitioning between ‘East’ and ‘West’, and for dialogue regarding some of Jung’s journeys, and my own. Such a ‘global’ vesica gives us an interesting and necessary ‘ground’ matrix.
Jung started to mention hints of Maria’s Axiom more fully in the crucial post war year of 1945, though even by his last great work (CW Vol 14) Jung considered that the ambiguous formulation of Maria does not shed very much light on the necessary move from the ‘trinity’ to a ‘quaternity’. I find this birthing difficulty can be ameliorated, to some extent, through exploring basic/primary numbers (1 – 10) and their geometries.
Slowly fabricating my own hermeneutic container, it now seems as if its ‘intention’ has been to pull Maria and her axiom out of “footnotes only”, “passing references” in “miscellaneous writings”, so that we can begin to see her, and experience her “non-denominational” teachings, as front and foremost of what was to be reborn out of the destruction of both world wars. A new yet ancient self-system. Maria offers such a self-system, even systems, moving us way past ‘Orientalism’, and involving us in deepening global and individual relational connections through ‘indigenous’ artisan earth-based values and creative practices, for cultural sustainability.
