The Tomb
The grave that is also a womb.
The Tomb: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
The tomb holds the dead, and in the myths it is also where life is renewed: the sealed place of the nigredo, where the joined king and queen lie dead in the Rosarium before the soul returns to them. Jung read grave and womb as one symbol.
The Tomb: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
The empty tomb of Easter, Osiris’ coffin enclosed in a tree at Byblos, the pyramid, the sepulchre of the alchemists.
From the Sources
Taking the tree as predominantly a mother symbol, Jung reads 'this manner of burial' as delivering the dead back to the mother for rebirth.
“Keeping in mind the fact that the tree is predominantly a mother symbol, then the mystic significance of this manner of burial can be in no way incomprehensible to us. The dead are delivered back to the mother for rebirth.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part II, Chapter 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
Jung says that the cave corresponds to the grave, and that the same idea is represented in the Christian mysteries.
“The cave corresponds to the grave. The same idea is represented in the Christian mysteries, although generally in more beautiful human forms.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part II, Chapter VII, "The Dual Mother Role". 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
- “The Psychology of the Transference,” CW 16
- Symbols of Transformation, CW 5
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
In the Glossary: Nigredo.
Also among Vessels and Enclosures
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Tomb.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/tomb.
Symbols That Share Its Terms
Putrefactio (Putrefaction) · Mortificatio (Mortification, killing) · Black (Nigredo) · Lead (Saturn) · The Eclipse (The black sun) · The Bird · The Raven (Caput corvi)
Nearby in the alphabet: Tin: The metal of Jupiter, completing the seven. The Toad: Earthbound and poisonous, with a jewel in its head. The Tower: Height, enclosure, and the danger of reaching too high. The Treasure Hard to Attain: What is guarded because it is worth the danger.