The genealogical tree of Christ's ancestors, appears in a picture from a 15th century manuscripta representation of the Dream of Nebuchadnezzar ( Daniel 4 : 7ff. ). Although purporting to be no more than a representation of that dream, it has, so to speak, been dreamed over again by the artist, as is immediately apparent if one examines the details more closely:
The tree is growing (in a quite unbiblical manner) out of the king's navel: it is therefore the genealogical tree of Christ's ancestors, that grows from the navel of Adam, the tribal father
CW8 ¶ 559For this reason it bears in its branches the pelican, who nourishes its young with its blooda well-known allegory of Christ
CW8 ¶ 559Apart from that the pelican, together with the four birds that take the place of the four symbols of the evangelists, form a quincunx
CW8 ¶ 559This quincunx reappears lower down in the stag, another symbol of Christ, with the four animals looking expectantly upwards
CW8 ¶ 559These two quaternities have the closest connections with alchemical ideas: above the volatilia, below the terrena, the former traditionally represented by birds, the latter as quadrupeds
CW8 ¶ 559Thus not only has the Christian conception of the genealogical tree and of the evangelical quaternity insinuated itself into the picture, but also the alchemical idea of the double quaternity (“superius est sicut quod inferius”)
CW8 ¶ 559This contamination shows in the most vivid way how individual dreams make use of archetypes. The archetypes are condensed, interwoven, and blended not only with one another (as here), but also with unique individual elements
CW8 ¶ 559