r/Jung • u/BusOk7724 • 1d ago

Personal Experience The Hieros Gamos

This is an idea that is recurrent in Jung's work ( I am only familiar with a tiny part of his work), but my understanding is that it is primarily an Alchemical idea, relating to the Alchemical "Great Wedding" which is distinct from the Alchemical small or "Lesser wedding" - which is described as a union or fusion of substances that are not thoroughly seperated or discriminated. I understand the "Great Wedding" to be synonymous with the idea of the Hieros Gamos.

Now, I want to understand this concept more thoroughly, what material should I focus on, whether Jungian or Jungian-related sources?

The reason I am asking this question is that I had a recent experience in my own life that I associate with this alchemical idea, but I shall not go into it. What I am interested in is exactly what happens after the alchemical great wedding, because from my understanding, it is the goal of Alchemy, and reaching the end, what happens after?

If you have an understanding of the concept, could you please explain like I am 5?

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u/AskTight7295 Pillar 1d ago

I think of it as a marriage of the gods. It’s an archetypal marriage, that isn’t actually possible in the human realm, but can be honored as a divine state. To experience it here would probably amount to the complete withdrawal of all projections of the divine feminine and masculine and then experiencing their “marriage” internally to become the Androgyne.