Blood

Blood is life, an instinctive (bodily) substance that can also symbolize intense emotions and passion. The association of blood with human soul capacities and temperament is illustrated by old expressions such as “bloodless,” “with cold blood,” and “to awaken bad blood.”

In antiquity, blood was described as “the essence of the organism” (see also Heart). Not least in Christian and alchemical traditions, blood is linked to the soul or spirit, just as bread is associated with the body. Blood and wine are often symbolically synonymous, with the difference that one is natural and the other crafted by humans; both Christ and Dionysus were associated with both. (See further "Transformation Symbolism in the Mass," par. 335, 359.)

Holy Heat

Blood is an expression of life energy and is connected to the sun; it shares symbolic value with the color red. In many myths and beliefs, there is a connection between blood and fire, such as the idea that spilled blood transforms into fire. The soul or spirit is thought to reside in blood, and thus blood is sacred. von Franz describes blood as the “emotional, active psyche... the affective psyche” (1994b, p. 91).

In certain rituals (such as within the Mithras cult) and in expressions like Revelation 7:13-14, blood is used as a symbol of baptism or purification. This involves enduring and overcoming an affective state. The symbolism of blood combines water and fire, so a baptism in blood would, for an alchemist, describe both calcinatio (burning) and solutio (dissolution).

Life Substance

According to some traditions, blood is the divine life substance that flows through our bodies. It carries a special, more or less sacred and taboo meaning everywhere, associated with magic, supernatural elements, and superstitions. Expressions such as “blood brothers,” “blood shame,” “to have it in one’s blood,” “cold-blooded,” and so forth, are still common today, as are popular ideas like writing a contract with the devil in one’s own blood.

The connection of blood to “life substance” is reflected not only in its association with fire—“warm and reddish like fire”—but also in the idea that blood transforms into seed in men and milk in women.

Alchemy

In alchemy, blood was one of the most well-known synonyms for aqua permanens (lapis in liquid form or “the substance of transformation”), and it was also synonymous with spirit.

Feminine Mystery

In ancient myths and rituals, blood is associated with the mother goddess or the concept of motherhood in general. Blood is a feminine mystery linked to women's fertility. It was offered to the earth to fertilize it. (Blood has an earthy, physical quality.) The good mother’s dark side is that of a bloodthirsty goddess connected to war and battlefields (for example, Anat, Hathor, and Kali). Many female rituals held in honor of goddesses were veritable blood feasts.

But for women (and goddesses), blood holds a different significance than for men (and gods). In a woman's life, blood can be associated with fertility. Childbirth is connected to blood, and blood is, as we know, a regular occurrence for the fertile woman. For men, traditionally, blood is more often linked to violence, to the battlefield. Blood, with its fiery connection to life, thus possesses both a feminine and masculine aspect.

Coagulation

Blood has the property of coagulating to stop the flow out of the body; it is a protective, healing, and spontaneous process. This may be something necessary for survival, but coagulation can also have a negative quality as a symbol, acting as something that halts a desired flow.

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