Salt

Salt has a magical quality; it is a completely white mineral that dissolves in water and can preserve food. As a result, there are many superstitions and sayings associated with salt; for example, it was said to protect against evil, and if one spills salt, one should throw a pinch over their left shoulder, etc., and we have expressions like "worth his salt". Homer calls salt "divine," and Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount that the disciples are "the salt of the earth." Salt has the metaphorical meaning of "wisdom."

Preservation

What we perhaps most associate salt with, aside from being a flavor enhancer, is its preserving property. This magical quality reappears in myths and legends, such as the Jewish one where the original monsters were salted and thus could be preserved until the age of the Messiah, when they will be served. Aside from the other symbolism in this story, it describes how something is salted to prevent decay, which gives the substance a connection to the eternal and indestructible.

Purification

One of salt's symbolic meanings is purification (it is also a main ingredient in soap). This corresponds to the baptismal water that is thought to cleanse the initiate from sins, and to the alchemical water that purifies prima materia. "This corresponds to... becoming aware of one's own dirt." (Mysterium Lectures, p. 163.) In the Roman Catholic Church, salt is indeed used in baptism.

Wisdom

Salt's connection to wisdom appears, for example, in university initiations where the initiate was given "the salt of wisdom," likely a remnant of the Roman ritual where a pinch of salt was mixed with blessed water before being poured into the initiate’s mouth with the words: "Receive the salt of wisdom."

A Pinch of Salt

Pliny the Elder notes that "a pinch of salt" is part of antidotes, which could be the origin of the saying; with a pinch of salt, the poison is less dangerous. On the other hand, the Latin word sal means both "salt" and "understanding," so the expression cum grano salis can be understood in both senses: to be on guard, to use one's intellect.

Mind and Morality

"Salt" and "mind" were thus connected, especially in the sense of intellect and quick-wittedness. In biblical contexts, salt appears in a moral sense (e.g., Leviticus 3:19), and as is well known, Jesus says that the disciples are "the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13), symbolizing personifications of higher insight and spiritual wisdom.

Alchemy

Salt was one of the central substances and was associated with the process, the end product, and Mercurius; there are endless descriptions and metaphors of salt in alchemical literature, and not surprisingly, it is mystical and contradictory. (See Mysterium Coniunctionis, especially paragraph 320ff.) For example, there is salt at the center of the earth and in the magnet; the salt of metals is lapis, while salt or bitterness is the corrupting element; the "permanent moisture" consists of salt; it is "our earth," coagulated water – salt was also linked to the body (as sulfur was the soul and mercury the spirit). The white and corporeal, earthy quality gives salt a feminine undertone (see below); it is associated with water and the moon.

Albedo and the Soul  

Like ash – which shares much of the symbolism of salt, aside from chemical properties and reactions – salt is a synonym for the enlightened state, albedo, "the whitened."  

Jung suggests that the paradoxical image of salt becomes clearer when we understand that its primary meaning is the soul – a rather elusive and contradictory concept. (Mysterium Coniunctionis, par. 321.) The soul can be seen as an expression of "the secret substance" – that which transforms and is transformed – which, like salt, is common and "exists everywhere." (See below.)

Bitterness and Wisdom  

Salt is "the matter of wisdom" (sal sapientiae) – but it can also have a bitter quality. Wisdom and bitterness are opposites. "Tears, sorrow, and disappointment are bitter, but wisdom comforts all psychological suffering," writes Jung (Mysterium Coniunctionis, par. 330), and continues: "Where bitterness reigns, wisdom is absent, and where wisdom is, no bitterness can exist." However, a bitter experience, once made conscious, can lead to wisdom; the connection between bitterness and wisdom is the feeling function.

What Unites – Eros and Mercurius  

The necessity of feeling for union, and that which unites – Eros – was associated with salt. In Mysterium Coniunctionis, Jung understands the alchemists' salt as the psychological concept of Eros. (Par. 333.)  

Mercurius is the one who unites par excellence, and thus salt was believed to come from him, but even Aphrodite – who, by the way, was born from saltwater – is connected to this white mineral. Finally, it is easy to understand that Christ, due to this symbolism, is also described as "the salt" (the salt of wisdom, the sweet salt, etc.).

The Secret Substance  

For alchemists, salt was a cosmic, feminine principle associated with the moon and the sea. It was linked to "the secret substance," which was thus compared to the saltwater of the ocean. The common is also the valuable, according to this tradition. "The whole secret lies in the prepared, common salt," says one, quoted in Mysterium Coniunctionis, par. 240. Ash leads to salt, which leads to mercury (i.e., Mercurius). "The roots of the art are the wise men's soap," which is "the bitter salt" (ibid.).

Water  

Salt is associated with water, as mentioned above, and primarily with the sea. The Pythagoreans are said to have referred to the sea as "Kronos' tears" due to its "bitter saltiness" (Kronos/Saturn has a heavy, depressing character). It is the foam of the sea beast and the clear waters of wisdom. The path to wisdom goes through "the bitter chalice."

Fire  

The connection to salt's burning, preserving character led to its association with fire and sulfur. One alchemist argues that salt and fire are essentially the same, something that all rational people know, he notes, "while fools know no more about this than a cow..." (Mysterium Coniunctionis, par. 319.) "Everyone will be salted with fire," it says in the Gospel of Mark (9:49), where Jesus urges his disciples to preserve their salt, for "if the salt loses its saltiness," it cannot be regained. Here, there are clear parallels to symbolic heat and fire. Salt was also the spark of the world spirit, captured in the earth or the sea.

Dreams  

Although salt is not a particularly common dream symbol, it occasionally appears as glass, cubes, crystals, or ash, both in dreams and paintings, often in its center as an expression of the Self. (Mysterium Coniunctionis, par. 329.)

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