The Seba library treats Fifth Element in 8 passages, across 7 authors (including Marie-Louise von Franz, James Hillman, Jung, C.G., Abraham, Lyndy).
Then comes the fifth essence, which is not another additional element, but is, so to speak, the essence of all four and yet none of the four; it is the four in one.
Von Franz identifies the quintessentia as the psychological equivalent of the philosopher’s stone — the integrated Self that transcends and contains all four functions without being reducible to any one of them.
, Lectures on Jung’s Typology, 2013thesis
Five represents the unity of four, the quinta essentia. This is something we absolutely must bear in mind, because this pattern is the op
Jung, in his seminar notes, defines five as the structural unity of the quaternity — the quinta essentia — distinguishing this from the pentagram and insisting on its centrality for understanding Cardanus and the psychology of wholeness.
, Dream Interpretation Ancient and Modern: Notes from the Seminar Given in 1936-1941, 2014thesis
heaven the top of the alembic; the quintessence, the philosopher’s stone. During the sublimation or vaporization of the Stone, the volatile spirits rise to the top of the alembic
Abraham’s dictionary equates the quintessence with the philosopher’s stone and with ‘heaven’ as the alembic’s apex, grounding the Fifth Element in the concrete imagery of the alchemical vessel and sublimation process.
, A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery, 1998supporting
fifth element feeding see cibation. ferment, fermentation the stage following the sublimation, during which the soul of the Stone is driven up and down from the body
Abraham cross-references the fifth element to cibation and fermentation within the alchemical opus, indicating that the term belongs to a dense network of transmutational processes aimed at producing the perfect tincture.
, A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery, 1998supporting
the esoteric teachings concerning the Five Elements, as symbolically expounded in the Bardo Thödol, parallel, for the most part, certain of the teachings of Western Science
Evans-Wentz situates the Five Elements of Tibetan esoteric cosmology alongside Western scientific frameworks, treating the fifth elemental stage as the culminating phase in a planetary evolutionary sequence beginning with Fire.
, The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Evans-Wentz Edition), 1927supporting
five is characteristic of humans: we have five senses, five fingers on each hand, and five toes on each foot, and if we stand with head erect and arms and legs spread out, we find that these five extremities form the points of a pentagram.
Hamaker-Zondag links the number five to human embodiment and the pentagram, situating the Fifth Element’s symbolic resonance within the Minor Arcana’s treatment of eros, conflict, and the revolutionary disruption of fixed forms.
, Tarot as a Way of Life: A Jungian Approach to the Tarot, 1997supporting
the number five has always traditionally been associated with both man and with Mercury, the significator of mind. Following this line of thought, we can see a correlation with the fact that five divided into the circle of three hundred and sixty degrees yields the quintile aspect
Greene draws on the association of five with Mercury and mind, connecting the quintile aspect and the pentagram to the airy trigon and the human faculty of analytical intelligence — an astrological analogue to the quinta essentia’s unifying function.
, Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil, 1976aside
our traditional four elements are represented as the four qualities that make up creation: light (fire), airiness, fluidity, and solidity. The elements are also intricately woven into the fabric of mythology.
Arroyo frames the classical four elements as the cosmological foundation of reality across cultures, implicitly establishing the conceptual ground from which the Fifth Element emerges as their transcendent synthesis.
, Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements: An Energy Approach to Astrology and Its Use in the Counseling Arts, 1975aside