The Rose
Rosa mystica
The flower of love, and of the centre.
The Rose: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
The alchemists called their chief anthology the Rosarium philosophorum, the rose garden of the philosophers, and Jung read its woodcuts in “The Psychology of the Transference.” The many-petalled rose, opening about its centre, he counted among the mandalas.
It is the flower of love and of the Virgin, and of the wound: red as blood, with its thorns.
The Rose: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
The celestial rose of Dante’s Paradiso; the rose windows of the cathedrals; the Rosicrucians; the Roman de la Rose; the rose of Mary.
From the Sources
Jung calls the rose the symbol of the beloved woman, blooming in the maiden's rose-garden and so a direct symbol of the libido.
“The rose is the symbol of the beloved woman (“Haidenröslein,” heather rose of Goethe). The rose blooms in the “rose-garden” of the maiden; therefore, it is also a direct symbol of the libido.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part II, Chapter VIII, "The Sacrifice". Authorized translation, with introduction, by Beatrice M. Hinkle, M.D.; New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916. The text, read in part
Rock reports Pope Innocent III's reading of the Golden Rose: as Laetare Sunday stands for love after hate, joy after sorrow and fullness after hunger, so the rose by its colour, odour and taste signifies love, joy and satiety.
“As Lætare Sunday, the day set apart for the function, represents love after hate, joy after sorrow, and fullness after hunger, so does the rose designate by its colour, odour, and taste, love, joy, and satiety respectively.”
P. M. J. Rock, "Golden Rose", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Article "Golden Rose", read in full. Vol. 6, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909 (New Advent transcription). The text, read in full
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.
In the Materia Medica
Rose: the substance itself, as the old medicine used it and as it is known today.
Where to Read
- “The Psychology of the Transference,” CW 16
- 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 Growing Things
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Rose.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/rose.
Nearby in the alphabet: The Ring: Bond, circle, and power. The River: The flow of life and time, and the border to be crossed. The Royal Incest: The union of like with like, read as a symbol. The Sacred Marriage: The union of opposites, pictured as a wedding.