The Cross
Two ways crossing at a centre.
The Cross: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
The cross joins two axes at a centre, and Jung read it as a form of the quaternity and as the meeting and tension of opposites. In Symbols of Transformation he followed the old identification of the cross with the tree of life, and so with the mother, on which the god hangs and from which life is renewed.
The crucifixion pictured for him the suffering of one held between opposites until something new can be born.
The Cross: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
The ankh of Egypt, the equal-armed cross of the four directions, the sun wheel, the rose-cross, and the legend that the wood of the cross came from the tree of Paradise. The Symbolarium keeps the blessed crucifix of the exorcists, and the Caravaca cross.
From the Sources
Silberer writes that the trinity can be represented by the conventional cross, whose two lines, uniting or penetrating each other, give a third in their point of intersection; and that more generally the cross is read as fiveness, the four elements gathered about the quintessence.
“A representation of trinity is possible by means of the conventional cross. We can see in it two elements of lines which by their unification or penetration give the third as the point of intersection. More generally the cross is conceived as quinity (fiveness)—i.e., 4+1ness (in alchemy four elements which are collected about the quinta esentia).”
Dr. Herbert Silberer, Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts (originally published as Problems of Mysticism and its Symbolism), Part II, Section IV, "Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry". Translated by Smith Ely Jelliffe, M.D., Ph.D.; Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1971, an unabridged republication of the work published by Moffat, Yard and Company, New York, in 1917 (Project Gutenberg eBook #27755). The text, read in part
Jung writes that the cross symbol still seems to carry the meaning of 'union', an idea belonging to the fertility charm and above all to the thought of eternal rebirth, which is most intimately bound up with the cross.
“It does appear, however, as if the cross symbol actually still possessed the significance of "union," for this idea belongs to the fertility charm, and especially to the thought of eternal rebirth, which is most intimately bound up with the cross.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part II, ch. V, "Symbolism of the Mother and of Rebirth". Authorized translation, with introduction, by Beatrice M. Hinkle, M.D.; New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916. The text, read in part
Timaeus says the Creator divided the compound of the world-soul lengthways into two parts, joined them at the centre like the letter X, and bent them into a circular form.
“This entire compound he divided lengthways into two parts, which he joined to one another at the centre like the letter X, and bent them into a circular form, connecting them with themselves and each other at the point opposite to their original meeting-point”
Plato, Timaeus, Timaeus's account of the making of the world-soul. Translated by Benjamin Jowett (Project Gutenberg eBook #1572). The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Where to Read
- Symbols of Transformation, CW 5, “The Dual Mother”
- “A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity,” CW 11
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
Also among Shapes
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Cross.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/cross.
Nearby in the alphabet: The Creation: The world, and consciousness, coming into being. The Crocodile: The devouring jaws of the depths. The Crown: Sovereignty, and the work completed.