Mandrake Root

The mandrake is an imaginary plant supposed to be shaped like a man without a head. One text says: “It needs only a soul breathed into it to become a little human being” ( Rahner, Greek Myths, p. 233 ). In other words it is a kind of homunculus growing as a plant in the ground. It is thought to be an aphrodisiac, a narcotic, an anesthetic, exceedingly poisonous on occasionit can cause madnessand when a magician extracts it he then can work magic with its root:

Certain alchemical texts for the creation of the Philosophers' Stone have a parallel symbolism to the extraction of the mandrake root. The text quoted by Rahner says, “The little red man in the ground cries, `Help me and I will help thee'.” The Philosophers' Stone makes a similar remark to the alchemist ML p.117

DIFFICULTIES EXTRACTING THE ROOT

It is very difficult to extract the mandrake root and in order to succeed you must follow a rigorous ritual. You can work only at night, by the light of the moonthat is where the moon symbolism comes in. The first task of course is to find the plant. Fortunately the plant helps because it glows in the dark. Once the plant is found, the digger must draw three circles around it and then turn westward. He brings an assistant with him who must dance round the plant murmuring erotica ML p.117

BLACK DOG MUST BE USED

IN EXTRACTING THE ROOT

Because this plant belongs to Hecate who has the black dog as her attribute, a black dog must be used in the process of removing the mandrake root. This is how it is done: first the earth is dug away from around the root and the root is then tied to the tail of the black dog. The rhizotomist, the root extractor, remains some distance away. He doesn't get too close to the plant at this point. He calls the dog and the dog runs to him. It's a little like the way, as children, we'd remove a loose toothyou'd tie one end of a thread around it and tie the other end to a door-knob, then open the door or something like that. So he calls the dog, the dogs runs to him, and the root is pulled out ML p.117

This is the moment of greatest peril and urgency; at the moment of extraction the mandrake utters a scream which is death for men to hear. The rhizotomist must be sure to hold his ears as he calls the dog so that he doesn't hear the scream. Then the black dog dies. There are two versions of how this happens. According to one, the dog perishes at the moment of the extractionthe scream kills him. According to the other version, the rhizotomist sacrifices the black dog after it is done its job ML p.117

Now isn't that a fascinating account? If you keep this story in mind I think there will be occasion to use it every now and then when dreams come up that allude to some aspect or other of this sequence. Let me say just a few words about each of these operations ML p.117

ROOT AS IMAGE OF THE ORIGINAL SELF

I think of the mandrake root itself as an image of the original Self, the whole man, buried in a state of participation mystique. Or one could say that it is the Self, buried at the core of one's central complex ML p.117

WORK MUST BE DONE WHEN

THE EGO IS ECLIPSED

The work must be done at night because it is only in the darkness that one can see the faint glow of the plant. That would suggest to me that it has to be done when the ego is eclipsed. As long as the ego is emitting light and is functioning out of daytime consciousness, it is not going to be able to perceive the faint light glowing in the unconscious. Drawing three circles around the plant suggests magic protective circlescreating a kind of temenos that centers, focuses and delimits the attention and energy being poured into the procedure ML p.118

THE DOWN-GOING PHASE OF LIFE

Turning westwardthe direction of sunset, the land of the deadsuggests that the ego must be oriented toward the down-going phase of life rather than the rising phase of life. In other words it is a second half of life operation ML p.118

The assistant must dance around, murmuring erotica: that suggests to me the deliberate evocation of coniunctio energies ML p.118

ANALYSIS OF

ONE'S CENTRAL COMPLEX

The earth must be dug away from the root: that suggests there must first be an analysis of the personal, concrete context of one's central complex in order to loosen the immediate earth around it ML p.118

ROOT ATTACHED TO TAIL OF DOG

Then the crucial event: the root is pulled out by being attached to the tail of a black dog. Both the mandrake and the black dog are associated with the moon and so the idea is that the root must be extracted by something of its own nature. The black dog suggests a dark affect which is harnessed to a specific purpose. That is the most provocative image of allusing a black dog to extract the root. No prissy fooling around will accomplish this particular taskit is a dark job ML p.118

TIME TO BE OPEN TO UNCONSCIOUS

AND TIME TO BE CLOSED

The scream of the mandrake which one must not hear is like the song of the sirens that one may not listen to. This indicates that there is a time to be open to the unconscious and a time to be closed to it. It reminds me of Psyche's descent to the underworld when, at a certain point, she is told she must not extend pity to one of the victims of the underworld as he reaches out to her. She is obliged to turn away from him and close her ears to his entreaty. There are certain times in dealing with the unconscious when one must close one's ears to more humane considerations ML p.118

Finally at the end the black dog is sacrificed. This suggests that the dark affect which was permitted to function for a specific purpose in a specific setting must now be sacrificed. This is of vital importance; if it doesn't happen, the black dog rather than the human being is the extractor. That would amount to the mandrake extracting the operator rather than the operator extracting the mandrake. Very provocative symbolism ML p.118

DOG AS THE THERIOMORPHIC

PERSONIFICATION OF THE UNCONSCIOUS

Psychologically the dog might be called the theriomorphic personification of the unconscious. It is the theriomorphic aspect of the moonthe way she manifests on the animal, earthy leveland there are a number of different facets to this symbolism ML p.118