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VII
SERMONES AD MORTUOS - C G JUNG
Sermo VI
The deamon of sexuality approaches our soul as a serpent. It is half human and appears as thought-desire.
The deamon of spirituality descends into our soul as the white bird. It is half human and appears as desire-thought.
The serpent is an earthy soul, half daemonic, a spirit, and akin to the spirits of the dead. Thus too, like these, she swarms around in the things of earth, making us either fear them or pricking us with intemperate desires. She seeks the company of the dead who are held by the spell of the earth, they who have not found the way beyond that leads to singleness. The serpent is wanton with the devil and with evil spirits; a mischievous tyrant and tormentor, ever seducing to evil company. The white bird is a half-celestial soul of man. He abides with the Mother, descending from time to time. The bird is effective thought. He is chaste and solitary, a messenger of the Mother. He flies high above earth. He commands singleness. He brings knowledge from the distant ones who went before and are perfected. He bears our word above to the Mother. She intercedes, she warns, but against the gods she has no power. She is a vessel of the sun. The serpent goes below and with her cunning she lames the phallic daemon, or else goads him on. She yields up the too crafty thoughts of the earthy one, those thoughts which creep through every soul and cleaves to all things with desirousness. The serpent, doubtless, does not will it, yet she must be of use to us. She flees our grasp, thus showing us the way, which with our human wits we could not find.
With disdainful glance the dead spake: Cease this talk of gods and daemons and souls. At bottom this has long been known to us.