The Rosarium Philosophorum is an alchemical text ascribed to Petrus Toltetanus of Toledo in the mid-1200s. The only version available to us now was printed in 1550. It is a text, which describes and illustrates the alchemical process of psychic transformation through the metaphor of the sexual union of the King and Queen and their subsequent physical transformations. This process is presented in a series of 20 woodcuts with associated commentaries. In 1946 C.G. Jung published The Psychology of the Transference using the first half of the series from the Rosarium Philosophorum to illustrate the typical stages in the development of the transference in psychotherapy. On March 18^th, 1990 Joseph L. Henderson gave a slide and lecture presentation before the S.F. Friends of ARAS using the second half of the series to illustrate further developments in the transference and individuation process. He illustrated his presentation with a colorful set of paintings accurately reproducing the original 1550 woodcuts. He began with a review of Jung's commentary on the first ten slides and followed this up with his presentation of the second half of the series. This article is a summary of Dr. Henderson's presentation. I will begin with my own brief introduction to Dr. Jung's discussion on the first ten woodcuts and follow this with my summary of Dr. Henderson's presentation.

To read On the Rosarium Philosophorum in its entirety, click here.