The Alchemy of Lucid Dreaming: A Jungian Approach

When we become lucid in a dream, what is it we wake up to? The popular Western definition of lucid dreaming describes a state in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming and can control the dream narrative. Yet, in lucid dreams, as in life, we can be distracted by the continually changing surface layer of experience, becoming caught up in the thrill of the ‘virtual’ world of dream lucidity and the desire to control. However, beyond the scenarios that captivate us, spiritual traditions across the world teach that within the dreaming state there resides a more serene experience of pure consciousness — one of profound wisdom and joy. Unlike the turbulent emotions of the ego, this is our original soul nature.

To illustrate the process of lucid dream alchemy, this experiential presentation draws on alchemical emblems from the Rosarium Philosophorum (The Rosary of the Philosophers, 1550), featured…