Yellowing: The Snake
Over the past few weeks I’ve been contemplating the symbol of the snake, the “yellowing” alchemical process and the integration of both “parts” of the personality: masculine and feminine.
The snake is a symbol of the depths of the unconscious.
This painting captures both a symbolic and emotional dynamic: man staring into the face of nature, even as he leans onto the feminine and rests his hands on the snake’s body. The yellow color of Adam and Eve speaks to the alchemical phase Citrinitas…
“[The Snake] appears to be equipped with the gift of wisdom and of supreme spirituality. As Hippolytus says, the Gnostics identified the serpent with the spinal cord and the medulla. These are synonymous with the reflex functions.” — Aion, CG Jung p. 233
“The ‘yellowing’ is a knowing that comes from deep down in our soul; not formed by knowledge, past experience, or to pacify some external authority, but of who we are in our essence.” — Gary Tomkins
The purely instinctual and body-based knowledge of Adam and Eve are so evident in the Garden of Eden, they had no consciousness: only body instinct. This brings us to the shadowy colors of the snake, not only is the snake itself a symbol or guide to the unconscious, but the dark shades reflects this symbol as well. This darkness is both feared and revered as a source of power.
“The move to Yellowing is a paradigm shift wherein we choose to accept darkness and not knowing, allowing ourselves to be with what is.”
”Since the shadow, in itself, is unconscious for most people, the snake would correspond to what is totally unconscious and incapable of becoming conscious, but which, as the collective unconscious and as instinct, seems to possess a peculiar wisdom of its own and a knowledge that is often felt to be supernatural. This is the treasure which the snake (or dragon) guards, and also the reason why the snake signifies evil and darkness on the one hand and wisdom on the other.“ — Aion, CG Jung p. 233
Painting:
Augusto Giacometti
“Adam and Eve” 1907
Currently on exhibit at the Kunsthaus, Zürich
