FINELY MINGLED IN THE DEPTHS OF DARK WATER

“Sixth century Greek philosophers talked of the soul being made out of star-stuff. The Gnostics saw the soul of a human as a spark or seed of light from the greater fire of God, left behind or fallen in his Creation, imprisoned in the darkness of matter, awaiting restoration to the realm of light. This soul spark formed the secret backbone of humankind, without which there would be no redemption.

In the alchemical fantasy of the scintilla, infinitesimal sparks are found in multiple forms in the earth, or finely mingled in the depths of the dark water. When contemplated, these sparks shine in the darkness like fishes’ eyes and, when gathered together, form the alchemical gold. Jung found that these processes corresponded with his clinical observations of the multiple centers of the psyche. They depict how a human being can become conscious of, or “gather together” the luminous substance of the personality, extracted from complexes and unconscious projections into a more integrated whole.”

 - TASCHEN The Book of Symbols