Transformation by Death:

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Symbolic Aspects as Represented

in Dreams, Alchemy, and Art

 

Presented by
Kornelia Grabinska, PhD

 

(Video not available)

 

Sunday, November 21, 2021, 4:00 - 6:00 pm PST (UTC - 8) 

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"Death is not an end but a goal, and life’s inclination towards death begins as soon as the meridian is passed.”  C.G. Jung Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower (1929) CW 13, par. 68.

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Death - whether physical or psychological - it is the ultimate transformer.

 

This presentation will consist of two parts.  Part one will discuss symbolism connected with death.  Alchemical language regarding death as transformation and several mythological tales related to descent to the underworld - along with representations in art - will be shared.

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The second part will present a series of dreams of a woman in her 90’s as she is approaching death. This material will illustrate how the individual psyche undergoes the processes discussed in part one.

 

Learning objectives:  

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• ​Identify and define three terms from alchemy related to symbolic death.

• Name two mythological figures who descend into the underworld and explain the symbolic meaning of the descent.

• Explain the concept of death as transformation. 

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Kornelia Grabinska, PhD, moved to the USA from Poland when she was a young woman.  She obtained her analytic training from the Institute of Research and Depth Psychology according to C.G. Jung and Marie Louise von Franz in Switzerland.  Her initial work was on the symbolism in Inuit folktales.  She has presented on the descent of Inanna, alchemical stages as depictions of psychological development, the archetype of the wild, the animus in the development of the feminine, Psyche’s tasks in the myth of Eros and Psyche. Dr. Grabinska is a member of the Colorado Jung Institute, and lives and practices in Fairbanks, Alaska.