ABSTRACT
The philosophical ground of hermeneutics rests within a mythological context. This chapter summarizes several differences between philosophical and alchemical hermeneutics. First, alchemical hermeneutics deepens the circle of understanding between a reader and a text into a spiral of engaged confrontation. Second, in alchemical hermeneutics the researcher lingers with his or her question to the work so that he or she might be more deeply questioned by the work. Third, alchemical hermeneutics deepens the sense of the symbol by showing how symbols arise from the ground of loss. Fourth, alchemical hermeneutics situates the researcher in that place between his or her time-bound complex wounds. Fifth, alchemical hermeneutics reverses the emphasis on the issue of questioning and being questioned by a text. Sixth, alchemical hermeneutics brings a feminine presence to the arts of interpretation and understanding. Seventh, alchemical hermeneutics gives a central place to the body as the starting point of the hermeneutic process.
