Circle, Circulation

The circle is likely the most primal, central, and widespread symbol, which humanity initially perceived in the sun and the moon. (See also Ball.) The circle and the square (or "quaternity") are the most common representations of totality, wholeness, or the Self. They share considerable symbolic content, but the circle is generally considered celestial, otherworldly, while the square is more earthly, human. The union of these two images expresses a synthesis, a "divinization." Alchemists spoke of quadratura circuli, the squaring of the circle.

Augustine said, "God is a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere." This conceptual relationship is illustrated by the universal symbol of a point within a circle, also mentioned below. (The origin of this quote is debated.)  

The circle symbolizes the original wholeness, whose opposites are separated by consciousness; thus, a human, conscious wholeness is expressed as a square (the "wholeness of the ego"), with the goal of returning to the "heavenly" circle, the wholeness of the Self. (Edinger 1995, p. 200.)  

Perfection

It is an archetypal image of perfection, sharing symbolic value with, for example, the sphere and egg. As in Plato's vision, the circle represents an original wholeness before the separation of opposites.  

The Eternal

Nonetheless, the circle is eternal, without beginning or end, and like the egg, self-contained. In some contexts, the circle—together with a point at its center—symbolizes the unfathomable, omnipotent God. A circle in a dream may also refer to the uroboros, the serpent biting its own tail).

Fulfillment  

One of the circle's expressions of wholeness is fulfillment—“coming full circle.” (This also connects the symbol to cyclic time, sometimes expressed as uroboros. In this sense, the circle and round objects are linked to individuation and the Self. Dreams expressing successful individuation often feature circles and balls.  

Variations

The symbol gains more specific meanings in various forms. With spokes, it becomes a wheel, implying dynamism; when depicted as a serpent biting its tail, it suggests a "circulatory" process—the alchemical work that "arises from one thing and leads back to the One" (CW 12, par. 404). (See also Androgynity.) The symbolism also reappears in forms such as vessels and eggs. The heavenly, divine, etc., is often described as "round"—the soul, paradise, and so on.

Sacred Space

The circle functions as a sacred space, as evidenced particularly by prehistoric cult sites or as a magical protection (such as so-called fairy circles). Jung says that a circle drawn around a person is always a matter of magic. (2019, p. 87.) In alchemical texts, "circle" and "vessel" are sometimes synonymous expressions.

As a dream symbol, the circle or mandala may express the Self’s need to protect individuation (compare Vessel) from external influences; more mystically expressed, the soul—like a child, which in turn symbolizes the Self—must both be protected and not let out (a recurring admonition in alchemy). A popular portrayal of this archetypal image was the treasure in the center of the protected, mandala-shaped city. "The circle expresses the enclosure of the individual who, through insight, has somewhat found oneself and established an outer boundary, a wholeness." (Jung 2020, p. 198.)

Point

The point and its circle are, as mentioned, an expression of God, the All, but also of the soul; it is the center of the world—"the point of origin." A point in a dream is usually a symbol of the Self. It is thought that the circle is eternal and the point indivisible. In alchemy, the point is a symbol of a mystical, creative center. According to Heraclitus, the point was identical with the spark, and the spark is the soul (and the spark comes from the stars).  

Plotinus, the metaphysician who greatly influenced religion and mysticism, stated that the soul that knows itself "knows that it does not move as a line but as a circular movement around … a central point … from which the circle originates." (Compare Spiral.) Jung adds (Aion, par. 343): "For this perspective, the point is the center of a circle that, so to speak, arises through the soul’s circumambulation. This is the perspective that still underlies today’s mandala symbols in dreams." (See also Spark, another expression of the point in this context.)  

Circulation

Circulating is a common theme in initiations, rites, and mystery cults, where the participant moves around a center (along the wall of a room, along a spiral, around a pole, etc.). It has a "cosmic quality"; the universe, time, and everything move in cycles. The circulating rite brings microcosm into balance with macrocosm, humanity in harmony with the rest of the world. Thus, the circle is connected to time, especially in the form of a wheel.  

Moving round and round a point creates a circulation that strengthens what is being circled; what circulates is empowered or fertilized by the circled, which in turn is strengthened by the circulation. ("Strength" here refers to power, fertility, mana, etc.)

The one who circulates focuses on the center, meditates on what is central, shows devotion to it, and creates something at the core.  

Circling is used not only to "fill" the center and so on, but also to create a protective ring as a defense against something, as well as to weaken and even destroy something (such as the walls of Jericho).

Furthermore, the circle or circulation can symbolize an "up-down theme"—what was below or beyond is now above or near, etc. It could involve typology—one attitude or stance is unconscious, but through circulation becomes conscious.  

It can also be seen as an expression of contemplating the unfathomable—the central point—from all directions, a circumambulation. (A perspective we recognize in Jung’s writings as he tried to describe the unfathomable archetype, whose core we cannot know, but can only understand through reflections in consciousness, becoming somewhat comprehensible by describing it from all possible angles.)  

A circular motion to the left or counterclockwise is "downward," towards the unconscious, the bodily; while a motion to the right or clockwise is ascending, towards the conscious, the spiritual. (Jung 2020, p. 58.)  

Negative Circulation

The symbol of circulating or rather spinning also has a negative aspect, perhaps expressing being stuck or finding oneself in a "vicious cycle"; going round and round in the same track, perhaps brooding over the same issues, feeling one is getting nowhere, or constantly returning to the same negative patterns. This negative circulating is, of course, expressed differently than the earlier examples. One can imagine a donkey, blindfolded to prevent dizziness, mindlessly driving an old millstone.

Similarly, the positively charged circle's shadow could be the ring that binds its bearer to a particular, unwanted fate. This aimless spinning often suggests that the protagonist is caught in an unconscious pattern, a situation the ego needs to resolve. (von Franz 2002, p. 98.)  

(See also Ring, Spiral, and for circulatio, Height and Right and Left.)

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