[Note, when I use the term *alchemy, it refers to European, Medieval, Early Modern and Renaissance alchemy, not Arabic, Egyptian, Post Modern, or New Age alchemy, unless stated.]
Female Alchemists
*Alchemy wasn’t always in the male domain. *Alchemists follow in the footsteps of ancient Egyptian women [6], where alchemy was associated with Isis, Hathor and Maat [7]. Mary the Jewess invented the “Bain-Marie” and Cleopatra the Alchemist (3rd/4th century CE) invented the Alembic. The Chrysopoeia, the earliest known scientific text, a single sheet, replete with symbols, scientific drawings, and an image of the Ouroboros, is attributed to her [8].
Why mention this? In the Gnostic text, the Pistis Sophia [9], Sophia, meaning wisdom and light, falls into the Great Dragon of Darkness, where this primordial consciousness, merges with her wisdom. As the texts acknowledge, wisdom is female.
The Womb and Ouroboros
Perhaps the greatest alchemic vessel, apart from the cosmos itself, is the womb. In geo-centric, *alchemy, the womb is a symbolic place, where metals turn to gold and the soul finds enlightenment. The “womb of light” represented consciousness.
In contrast to most mythologies, where the Ouroboros, a Dragon swallowing its own tail, symbolizes perpetual forces of destruction and creation, in *alchemy, the Ouroboros represents, the circular process of the prima materia: “man” mastering the process of birth, death and rebirth, in his quest for immortality.
Jung interprets the Ouroboros as psychological wholeness, unification of the conscious and unconscious, spiritual purification and self-realization. That *alchemy was man-centric, may have helped Carl G. Jung associate alchemy with concepts of “man” allegorically journeying into self. His genius was transforming alchemy into psychology.
Claiming Red
RED, Rubedo, as the ultimate *alchemic color, and pinnacle of process, symbolizes the merging of feminine and masculine opposites, creating a hermaphrodite, possibly stemming from the gender-fluid “chaotic,” Nun and Naunet in ancient Egyptian mythology. Since the male lion is red, representing wholeness, he is, in the patriarchal mindset, placed above the white female lion, who is the Albedo, whitening, purification stage. When viewed through the feminist lens, simplistically put, *alchemy can be described as divisive, doubly so since, during the Early Modern era, the “purification of women” was an obsession. “Churching Women” was a public ceremony for cleansing women of “impure blood” after childbirth [10].
So the patriarchal *alchemists claimed “red” as their power color. Most feminists are familiar with the term “patriarchal reversal” which means “reversing meaning” to suit the patriarchal narrative, so let’s reverse the “reversal,” in the Book of Revelation, where red is associated with “diabolical” femininity, to see what is revealed.
Reclaiming Scarlet
The Whore of Babylon rides a seven-headed scarlet beast (Revelation 17:18) who receives its power from a Dragon (the ancient serpent, Satan). Described as an “abominable harlot,” the name Babylon refers to both “malevolent” femininity, a city, a state and its political system. Reversing the meaning reveals a Goddess harnessing Dragon consciousness, rather like the “fallen” Sophia. Babylon worshipped, Ishtar, the spell caster and Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Great Goddess Har, Mother of Harlots, embodying the holy chaos and “sexual” intensity sparking the birth of the universe.
*As a side note: In Jungian psychology, the harlot archetype, a “fallen woman,” represents sacrificing values for survival.
In contemporary spiritual traditions, as with past belief systems, the color RED expresses the active energy of the Holy Womb, interpreted as “womb enlightenment [12], aside from the cosmos, the greatest alchemic vessel.
According to Lishtar, Babylonians, and the Sumerians who preceded them, observed celestial motion, were metallurgists, and gave symbolic meaning to minerals, which paved the way for alchemy [11]. And then there was Tiamat, the Mesopotamian, female, Dragon and symbol of Chaos, whose body formed the Earth and Sky.
Falling in Cycles
In Carl G. Jung’s analytical psychology, descent into the shadow, correlates with the Nigredo, the “swallowing of the sun,” or blackening stage in alchemy. In the Mesopotamian poem, The Descent of Ishtar (Akkadian version) [13,14], She, by modern psychological interpretations “journeys into self,” by descending into “what lies beneath,” in search of knowledge [of the after life]. Likewise Sophia, as a “fallen deity,” representing the fall and contamination of [female] wisdom, descends into the Great Dragon of Darkness, where her knowledge merges with primordial knowledge.
The cyclical nature of the universe, symbolized by the Ouroboros, a Dragon eating its own tail, dictates those who descend will rise again.
Influential Women in Carl G. Jung’s life
While we’re here, let’s honor some largely, forgotten women in Carl G. Jung’s life:
*Emma Jung, a scholar of mythology, symbolism, alchemy, and the feminine psyche: author of the Grail Legend, where dragons represent the chaotic depths of the unconscious mind.
*Toni Wolff, developer of the four feminine archetypes – Mother, Amazon, Hetaira, and Medial Woman, author of “Structural Forms of the Feminine Psyche.”
*Sabina Spielrein, patient and visionary psychoanalyst: author of “Destruction as the Cause of Coming into Being.” The International Association for Spielrein Studies, was named after her.
[Information courtesy of Women in World History and What an Amazing History.]
With thanks to Portal Ibis for their fantastic collection of imagery.
View images from the Red Book here.
[a] The Visionary Mystical Art of Carl Jung: See Illustrated Pages from The Red Book, January 28th, 2020 Open Culture https://www.openculture.com/2020/01/the-visionary-mystical-art-of-carl-jung.html
[b] Kriegman, Mitchell Carl Jung’s Red Book – The Visionary Swiss Psychoanalyst’s Secret Book of Dreams. Mar 20, 2014. Santa Barbara Independent. https://www.independent.com/2014/03/20/carl-jungs-red-book/
[c] Carl Jung The Red Book. Jan 2.2025. The Doors of Perception. https://doorofperception.com/2025/01/carl-jung-the-red-book-liber-novus/
References
[1] The Red Book The Red Book (Philemon) 1st Edition
by C. G. Jung (Author), Sonu Shamdasani (Editor, Translator), Mark Kyburz (Translator), John Peck (Translator) amazon.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393065677/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=openculture-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0393065677&linkId=d9fffbb88eba29f2c8f312acb2da8dcb
[2] The Red Book of Carl G. Jung: Its Origins and Influence
The Red Book and Beyond. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/red-book-of-carl-jung/the-red-book-and-beyond.html
[3] The Muslim Alchemists. Science Abbey https://www.scienceabbey.com/the-muslim-alchemists/
[4] No. 10. The book of the Composition of Alchemy, Transcribed with an introduction by Adam McLean. Alchemic Texts. Alchemy website. https://www.alchemywebsite.com/hrs10.html#:~:text=The%20translator%20was%20Robertus%20Castrensis,the%20Algebra%20of%20al%2DKwarizimi.
[5] Wise Women: Traditional Cures and Remedies. Museum of Cambridge. https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/wise-women-traditional-cures-and-remedies/
[6] Egyptosophy. Echoes of Egypt. https://echoesofegypt.peabody.yale.edu/egyptosophy/narrative
[7] Isoora. March 29. 2014. Isis the Alchemist. Isiopolis. https://isiopolis.com/2014/03/29/isis-the-alchemist/
[8] De Abreu, Kristine. October 17, 2023. Six Women Alchemists: Their Obsessions and Inventions. Explorers Web. https://explorersweb.com/women-alchemists/
[9] Translated by G. S. R. Mead, Gnostic Scriptures and Fragments. Pistis Sophia. The Gnostic Society Library. http://www.gnosis.org/library/pistis-sophia/index.htm
[10] M. Rieder, Paula. On the Purification of Women : Churching in Northern France, 1100-1500. (The New Middle Ages.) Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Pp. 257. scholarworks. wmich.edu https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=mff
[11] Lishtar, ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLISM IN SUMERIAN MYTH AND RELIGION. https://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/religion/sumalch1.htm
[12] Dieu-Le-Vent, Annie. Ishtar, the real holy whore of Babylon, May 14, 2023. https://anniedieuleveut.com/2023/05/14/ishtar-the-real-holy-whore-of-babylon/
[13] Stephany, Timothy j.The Descent of Ishtar: both the Sumerian and Akkadian versions. Paperback. 12 Nov. 2015 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Descent-Ishtar-Sumerian-Akkadian-versions/dp/1517611369#
[14] Stifler, Bill. Babylonian Creation Myth: Tiamat and Marduk (Merodach)
https://www.billstifler.org/myth/files/2D-001-03-babylonian_creation.htm
(End of the Essay)