Carl Jung on “Soma” – Anthology
The Christian images express the same fundamental thought: that Christ is a divinity who is eaten in the Last Supper. His death transforms him into bread and wine, which we relish as mystical food. The relation of Agni to the soma-drink and of Dionysus to the wine should not pass without mention here. ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 526
Nectar, like soma, is the drink of fertility and immortality. The soul is fructified by the intellect; as the “oversoul” it is called the heavenly Aphrodite, as the “under-soul” the earthly Aphrodite. It knows “the pangs of birth.” It is not without reason that the dove of Aphrodite is the symbol of the Holy Ghost ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 198
Just as Christ left behind his redeeming blood, a true pharmakon athanasias in the wine, so Agni is the soma, the holy drink of inspiration, the mead of immortality CW 5 Para 246
Soma and fire are identical in Vedic literature. The ancient Hindus saw fire both as a symbol of Agni and as an emanation of the inner libido-fire, and for them the same psychic dynamism was at work in the intoxicating drink (“fire-water,” Soma-Agni as rain and fire). The Vedic definition of soma as “seminal fluid” confirms this view ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 246
`The “somatic” significance of Agni has its parallel in the Christian interpretation of the Eucharistic Blood as the body of Christ ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 246
Soma is also the “nourishing drink.” Its mythological characteristics coincide with those of fire, and so both are united in Agni. The drink of immortality, Amrita, was stirred by the Hindu gods like the fire. ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 247
Nectar, like soma, is the drink of fertility and immortality. The soul is fructified by the intellect; as the “oversoul” it is called the heavenly Aphrodite, as the “under soul” the earthly Aphrodite. It knows “the pangs of birth.” It is not without reason that the dove of Aphrodite is the symbol of the Holy Ghost ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 198
Babylon is the symbol of the Terrible Mother, who leads the peoples into whoredom with her devilish temptations and makes them drunk with her wine. Here the intoxicating drink is closely associated with fornication, for it too is a libido symbol, as we have already seen in the soma-fire-sun parallel ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 31
The relation of Agni to the soma-drink and of Dionysus to the wine should not pass without mention here ~Carl Jung, CW 5, Para 526
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