The Redeemer
Salvator
The one who frees what is bound.
The Redeemer: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
In Aion Jung read Christ as a symbol of the Self, and in Psychology and Alchemy he set the stone of the alchemists beside him, as a redeemer not of man but of nature: the alchemist sought to free the spirit imprisoned in matter, as the Church taught that Christ freed the soul. The redeemer is what releases a life from its bondage.
The Redeemer: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
Osiris, Mithras, the Messiah, the bodhisattva who turns back from nirvana for all beings, the filius philosophorum of the alchemists.
From the Sources
In Luke 4 the passage read in the synagogue says that the Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and to set at liberty them that are bruised.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”
The King James Version of the Bible, Luke 4:18 (read by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth, 4:16-17). King James Version, Project Gutenberg eBook #10. The text, read in part
Jung describes the Saviour set up by the Christian religion as the deliverer and redeemer of our guilt, a God who stands above sin.
“He is the deliverer and redeemer of our guilt, a God who stands above sin, “who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (Pet. ii: 22).”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part I, Chapter III, 'The Hymn of Creation'. Authorized translation, with introduction, by Beatrice M. Hinkle, M.D.; New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916. 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
- “Christ, a Symbol of the Self,” in Aion, CW 9ii
- “The Lapis-Christ Parallel,” in Psychology and Alchemy, CW 12
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
Also among Spirits and Mediators
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Redeemer.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/redeemer.
Nearby in the alphabet: Rebirth: Becoming new, in five forms. Red: The reddening: the work completed in blood and life. The Return: Coming home with what was found. The Ring: Bond, circle, and power.