Coniunctio

In alchemical terms this refers to the union of two opposites to produce offspring, the birth of a new element combining in a greater wholeness attributes of both. For Jung, this is the archetype of psychic functioning, demonstrating symbolically the relationship between unconscious factors. The resultant symbolic projections are a useful source of insight in analysis. They may represent: the relationship formed between analyst and subject (patient); the relation between the unconscious and consciousness of the subject or of the analyst; the merging of the spiritual and the physical.