Two Birds in a Tree: Symbolism: Lead

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Symbolism: Lead

Saturn (Medieval book of hours)

I'm starting a new series on symbolism, one of the foundations of Jungian psychology. As I spoke to in a previous post, an understanding of the rich, complex world of symbols and their meanings is one of the most important things to master for anyone interested in analytical psychology. So here’s the first topic in the series: we’re going to take a look at the symbolism of lead.

Lead is the prima materia; the debased, contaminated original material that is the raw ingredient for the alchemists’ magnum opus. It’s associated with death, decay, and the deity Saturn/Cronus. One of the earliest metals used by humans, even back in the days of Babylon they were aware of its poisonous nature. Like most symbols, lead has a positive and a negative aspect. In its negative aspect it’s a dark, malefic material… at the same time, through burning it purifies corruption, as lead is transformed into that most valuable of metals, gold. Lead is the metal of redemption and transformation; it is the base, degraded material that’s both the carrier of death, and eternal, incorruptible life.

Lead has strong associations with Saturn/Cronus, and shares many of the same qualities: age, tradition, convention, structure, authority, and order. Negatively, Saturn and lead are associated with limitation, contraction, coldness, depression, loneliness, and harsh judgments. Positively, they’re associated with responsibility, self-control, and knowledge and wisdom.

Lead being the equivalent of Saturn, having a definite androgynous nature, is both malefic, and the worst events can be expected, and a purifier. Lead represents the impurities of metals and humans. Some say these are the vexations and troubles which God puts on people to bring them back to repentance. Others say these are just the troubles of life which man has to overcome in order to perfect himself. But as lead burns it burns all of the impurities with it which is why Boethus the Arab called it the water of sulphur. The tribulations of life are metaphoric with lead as they cleanse people of the imperfections they incur.

- Lead (The Mystica)

Saturn doesn't make things easy. That's the role of the taskmaster of the zodiac. Saturn commands us to get to work and to work hard. Discipline and responsibility are important to this planet, yet if we're eager to conquer the world, that's okay, too.

Much like Father Time, Saturn implores us to look at the clock (its glyph, after all, is the sickle of Chronos, the God of Time). Is there time for everything we want to do, or are there limits? Those limitations are important to Saturn, and we must learn to manage them. Restrictions are the province of this planet, as is any form of discipline or delay.

In keeping with the passage of time, Saturn governs old age along with the lessons it teaches us. Learning life's lessons is key to this planet, in keeping with its role as teacher. The majesty of older age also brings with it a certain sense of tradition, conventionality (our learned patterns of behavior) and wisdom, and Saturn is mindful of these characteristics. This planet applauds our perseverance and the fact that we've withstood the test of time (yes, time comes up once again). This senior status further brings with it a measure of authority, and Saturn lords over that as well.

Structure, order and the way in which we conduct our affairs are all ruled by this ringed planet. Contraction and the reining in of assets are also important here. Lastly, Saturn, again in its role as teacher, concerns itself with karma and the lessons which past experiences might bring.