Alchemical Study Group - Two of Vessels

Leisa

(from the book)

A man and woman are joined as lovers. In the upper vessel
is an Old World rose, which arises from their union. This rose
is also the alchemical rose, a symbol of perfection, like gold.
The polarity expressed in this image is that on the emotional
level, there is love and harmony.

Tarot wisdom: There is harmonious, happy love in your life.
The message could pertain to finding a new lover, or being in
harmony with your lover. Together you create balance and
stability--a perfect situation. The message also might relate to
the inner plane, where a harmony and balance of the masculine and
feminine within create perfection for you.
 

sapienza

This is an interesting card. I like that they couple are within the vessel. When two people first fall in love it is often described as if they feel like they are the only two people on earth. Being in the vessel highlights the idea that they are in their own world, just with each other.


Leisa said:
(from the book)The polarity expressed in this image is that on the emotional level, there is love and harmony.

I'm totally lost with that sentence! What is the polarity? Anyone???
 

Kenny

Leisa said:
The polarity expressed in this image is that on the emotional level, there is love and harmony.
sapienza said:
I'm totally lost with that sentence! What is the polarity? Anyone???
Alchemical images are not read simply on the symbols but in a more detailed way starting from identifying the symbols and their layout--though I am not an expert I can see three (though it could be five) symbols: the connected vessels, the rose, the couple. The layout of this image is a simple above/below.

The red rose is a symbol of rubedo, the final stage of purification, the results of which can turn Lead into Gold. They are shaking, or holding, each others right hand with their right hand--yet they are each working towards each other with opposite legs, his right, her left. This might be important but I do not know left/right definitions as of yet.

So to try and answer your question: the polarity seems to me a simple one, of male/female energy combining to create the pure red rose. The sealed dual-container helps to keep what is happening inside in (and outside out) and so allowing it to be purified (there is a semi-overt link in this card to III The Empress, IV The Emperor, V The Hierophant, and VI The Lovers).
 

Kenny

On another level it could be that the red rose is helping to transform the couple into something more, something purer, than earthly lovers: soul mates, or does it go deeper than even this?
 

sapienza

Thanks Kenny, your ideas have helped me with this card. I like the idea of the couple transforming into a something deeper and more pure.
 

RexMalaki

Two alchemical vessels are standing mouth to mouth one reversed upon the other. They are are a union of that which is above with that which is below. The man and the woman are the animus and the anima, present in the unconscious of each person. They are accepting of one another; there is a harmony, a contentment, in their touch. Theirs is a union of polar opposites. It is this union in the lower world that brings about the blossoming of the full potential of the unconscious in the higher world. The alchemical rose is the philosopher's stone; it is the goal of the work.
 

RexMalaki

RexMalaki said:
The man and the woman are the animus and the anima, present in the unconscious of each person.

This implies that we each have an anima and an animus. That is not what C.G. Jung was saying regarding the two. The anima is the unconscious manifestation of "femaleness" within the male mind. The animus is the unconscious manifestation of "maleness" within the female mind.

So, only one of the two would be present in each person. The union of polar opposites is the mind coming to terms with the unconscious representation of the opposite gender within itself.