Johannes de Monte-Snyders had a great influence on Isaac Newton's study of alchemy. In his book Metamorphosis planetarum (c. 1684) he depicted "the three irrational worlds, where all is concealed, for therein lie the roots of all things. I place my left foot on one birth of the great world and my right foot on the other hermaphroditic birth, making the Microcosm universal, irrational, and mineral. I lift my hands to the crystalline, shining heavens, uniting the two great lights".
Those who are acquainted with Carl Jung's writings about alchemy should be able to decipher Monte-Snyders' riddle and image. Several of my previous blogposts also explain the links between Jung, alchemy and transcendent experiences and it may be useful to refer to them.
Let's begin with the hermaphroditic birth. In alchemy, the hermaphrodite is a symbol representing the conjunction of opposites male-female. As the conjunction of opposites is always related to mystical or transcendent experiences, the hermaphrodite represents such an experience.
Before diving into the heart of the subject, we should define the nature of mystical experiences. Thoses experiences are always (in Jung's theory) a lived symbol showing the conjunction of two opposites. Experiences like I was with or in God, I became merged with the universe or with nature show the conjunction of the whole (universe, nature, God) with the particle (me or the experiencer). Another form of mystical experiences is the conjunction of the exterior with the interior, the outside world with the mind.
Now, let's explain Monte-Snyders illustration. Under his left foot, the philosopher has the first conjunction represented by the planets Jupiter and Saturn. According to Jung, this conjunction is the unio mentalis of the alchemist Gerard Dorn, the first transcendent experience. Dorn was handpicked by Jung among multiple alchemists because his system contained three transcendent experiences which he stated as corresponding to the psychological reality. Those experiences also correspond to the three irrational worlds of Mont-Snyders above. Under his right foot, the philosopher has the conjunction of the planets Mars and Venus. They represent the experience known as the philosopher's stone, the second experience in Dorn's three successives conjunction of opposites.
Under his feet, we also see the Moon (left foot) and the Sun (right foot). They represent matter and spirit. The same planets are also represented at the end of each arm which will be explained below. The symbols Sun and Moon are showing the philosopher's stone transcendent experience where the experiencer feels momentarily that the whole world (matter) is his psyche or mind (spirit).
What is interesting is that C. G. Jung used the same symbols in the stone he carved in 1950 in his Bollingen retreat.
Although he mixed the planets differently, he depicted the opposition Saturn-Mars (up and down) and Jupiter and Venus (left and right). We also see the Sun (circle on left) and the Moon on the right. At the center on the illustration we see Telesphorus, the one who brings light wearing the symbol of the planet Mercury (the symbol of revelation) on his chest. Jung's intent seems that he wanted to tell that he experienced both conjunction of opposites, Jupiter-Venus and Saturn-Mars and therefore realizing the conjunction of spirit and matter, the philosopher's stone.
The Bollinger stone, when correctly deciphered, indicates that Jung has had the philosopher's stone transcendent experience, the second level in Dorn's system. In his book Mysterium Conjunctionis, Jung wrote that the third conjunction was not achievable but Thomas Merton did realized it in 1968 before his death as well as many other known mystics.
If the first conjunction is always lived as a conjunction of the whole with the particle and the second, a conjunction of matter and spirit, what is the symbol of the third conjunction of opposites? Accounts of that experience, (Thomas Merton, John of the Cross, Marguerite Porete, Evelyn Underhill) all point to the experience I am God which is a symbol produced by the psyche and not a metaphysical reality. That is what is depicted in Monte-Snyders' illustration. The third mystical experience merges the first two. I am one with the universe and everything is in my spirit therefore I am God.
For more, see on Academia.org
Carl Jung's Second Mystical Experience