The Secret of the Golden Flower
Trans. By: Richard Wilhelm (Chinese to German)
Cary F. Baynes (German to English)

As well as being “the secret of the powers of growth latent in the psyche” (preface, Baynes), this is also an ancient formula for the complete integration of the mind. Two Taoist texts are contained within this volume - “The Secret of the Golden Flower” and the “Hui Ming Ching” (The Book of Consciousness and Life). Rendered into remarkably fluid English, the course of producing the “Immortal Spirit Body” by means of “Circulation of the Light” is demonstrated, outlining the methods and accompanying effects of this process of Taoist alchemy. It can be difficult to find authoritative works on this subject, as much of the sincere literature is obscured by centuries of “puffery” and pseudo-magical practice aimed at concocting various physical ‘elixirs’ of immortality. However, the practices suggested herein are designed to operate directly on the human system, eliminating the intermediary of potions and pills, accessible not only to those with a chemical laboratory, but to anyone with the introspective faculty of mind - internal alchemy. While the texts themselves are altogether around only sixty pages, a fifty page commentary by Carl Jung provides context and additional insight into the inner meaning of the procedures discussed.