Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
with Evans Lansing Smith, Ph.D., Chair of the Mythological Studies program
Filmed | Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 | 3:00 pm PST
Alchemy involves the reduction of molecules to their elements, which can then be recombined to produce new compounds. The metaphor can be applied to the disintegration of any structure—social, political, psychological, economic—that collapses, dissolves, and is reduced to its primary elements, which can then be recombined to generate new forms. Jung used the metaphor as an analogy of the individuation process: the collapse of the ego opens us to the archetypal elements of the deep psyche, so that a new identity can be forged. The myth of the Apocalypse shares this metaphor: after all the structures of the world are destroyed—social, political, psychological, economic—there comes a revelation of those archetypal images from which new life emerges: a new heaven, a new earth, and a new city can then be created. This is the myth of our time—the Alchemical Apocalypse—the myth that we are living, and dying by. This presentation therefore explores the archetypal imagery of the Book of Revelation, as seen through the lens of D.H. Lawrence’s last book, Apocalypse, in a quest to understand the significance of the apparent anarchy and futility of contemporary history.
with Evans Lansing Smith, Ph.D., Chair of the Mythological Studies program
Filmed | Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 | 3:00 pm PST
Alchemy involves the reduction of molecules to their elements, which can then be recombined to produce new compounds. The metaphor can be applied to the disintegration of any structure—social, political, psychological, economic—that collapses, dissolves, and is reduced to its primary elements, which can then be recombined to generate new forms. Jung used the metaphor as an analogy of the individuation process: the collapse of the ego opens us to the archetypal elements of the deep psyche, so that a new identity can be forged. The myth of the Apocalypse shares this metaphor: after all the structures of the world are destroyed—social, political, psychological, economic—there comes a revelation of those archetypal images from which new life emerges: a new heaven, a new earth, and a new city can then be created. This is the myth of our time—the Alchemical Apocalypse—the myth that we are living, and dying by. This presentation therefore explores the archetypal imagery of the Book of Revelation, as seen through the lens of D.H. Lawrence’s last book, Apocalypse, in a quest to understand the significance of the apparent anarchy and futility of contemporary history.
