Circumambulation*

gárgula de ímpetos imanentes
o mais astuto dos segréis calar-se-ia
ante um torvelino de queixas tão obtusas

mas acolhe: afaga-lhes as faces rombudas
abre-lhes as palmas feridas de pedras
para que delas abandonem sorridentes flores

os embates não nutrem pérolas em ostras

é a síntese a erigir-lhes sentido

* In Jung's view, the alchemical attempt to transmute base metals into gold (the philosopher's stone) was actually a psychological process which had been unconsciously projected onto the various material substances used in the process. The alchemists were usually not aware of the projection, according to Jung. They really believed they could turn base metals into gold. The symbols used by the alchemists were really representative of what he termed the process of individuation. Jung stressed that individuation must not be understood as a linear development, but as a "circumambulation of the self" (Jung, Memories 196), that is, the movement is toward the center, which Jung says is the Self. One of the symbols in alchemy which represents this process is the Ouroboros, the serpent which devours its own tail. This means that the process is circular and self-contained, according to Jung. – Extracted from “Jung and Alchemy” by Mark L. Dotson, Spring 1996.