ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some speculative ideas about alchemical transformations of the king and the psychology of individuation. The dream began with a tree, symbol of growth and individuation. C. G. Jung's individuation from conventional Christianity was a central task because his father and grandfather were ministers. Individuation implies discovering our own identity, rather than remaining caught in our conditioning by family and cultural expectations. Individuation is achieved through a union of opposites. The dream depicted a transition from an abandoned shack to a cosy cottage, a symbol of home, safety, family. The dream conveyed a clear image, and visceral experience, of the death of the ego. The dream evoked the spiritual quality of surrender. The dream's archetypal core is the Job story. In Jungian dreamwork, the coniunctio isn't just an image of the goal; it's the path, the method of healing.
