--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thanks to his complex convictions, made…" description: "\"Thanks to his complex convictions, made strong with the forces of animus and anima, the alchemist believes he is seizing the soul of the world, partici..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/gaston-bachelard-2318_alchemist_thanks-to-his-complex-convictions-made-s_2145383.png" --- # Thanks to his complex convictions, made strong with the… ![“Thanks to his complex convictions, made strong with the forces of animus and anima, the alchemist believes he is seizing the soul of the world, participating in the soul of the world. Thus, from the world to the man, alchemy is a problem of souls.” quote by Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/gaston-bachelard-2318_alchemist_thanks-to-his-complex-convictions-made-s_2145383.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/gaston-bachelard-2318_alchemist_thanks-to-his-complex-convictions-made-s_2145383.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/gaston-bachelard-2318_alchemist_thanks-to-his-complex-convictions-made-s_2145383.png) > “Thanks to his complex convictions, made strong with the forces of animus and anima, the alchemist believes he is seizing the soul of the world, participating in the soul of the world. Thus, from the world to the man, alchemy is a problem of souls.” [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alchemy is portrayed as a spiritual quest, merging inner and outer worlds to grasp universal soul. **In simple terms:** Alchemy seeks unity of self and cosmos. Key Takeaway Explore inner depths to connect with larger purpose. Themes alchemy spirituality unity Mood mystical inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - artistic inspiration - personal transformation - ritual practice - meditation Key Concepts philosophy metaphysics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does "seizing the soul of the world" mean to you? - How can you apply alchemical symbolism today? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure practical application of alchemical ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alchemist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemist/) [Alchemist Believes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemist-believes-4486921/) [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Alchemy Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy-problem-4486923/) [Animus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animus/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Man Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-alchemy-4486922/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Participating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participating/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Seizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seizing/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Thanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanks/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The psychology of the alchemist is that of reveries trying to constitute themselves in experiments on the exterior world. A double vocabulary must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-psychology-of-the-alchemist-is-that-of-reveries-trying-to/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ A mind that is charmed by false appearances refuses better things. \[Lat., Acclinis falsis animus meliora recusat.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-mind-that-is-charmed-by-false-appearances-refuses-better-things-lat/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [The animus is symbolized by male figures appearing in a womans dreams and fantasies, as a husband, son, father, lover, Prince Charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-williams/the-animus-is-symbolized-by-male-figures-appearing-in-a-womans-dreams/) [Esther Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-williams/) > [ There's a certain level of vehemence, it seems to me, that's directed at me \[and\] directed at the president. You know, people talking about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/there-s-a-certain-level-of-vehemence-it-seems-to-me-that-s-directed/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [“What’s an “Animus”?’ asked Mad Dog. Literally, it means “animating spirit” – that’s the essence of your core being, the spirit that defines you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-prowse/what-s-an-animus-asked-mad-dog-literally-it-means-animating-spirit/) [Jane Prowse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-prowse/) > [Comedy speaks for civilization; farce bears an ill-concealed, sometimes unconcealed animus against civilization. Often against civility too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/comedy-speaks-for-civilization-farce-bears-an-ill-concealed-sometimes/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [It does not matter a feather whether a man be supported by patron or client, if he himself wants courage. \[Lat., Animus tamen omnia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/it-does-not-matter-a-feather-whether-a-man-be-supported-by-patron-or/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Bad mind, bad heart. (Mals Mens, Malus Animus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anacharsis-cloots/bad-mind-bad-heart-mals-mens-malus-animus/) [Anacharsis Cloots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anacharsis-cloots/) > [“her keyboard. “There,” she said eventually. “Bringing up real-time scan.” The display changed to a zoomed-in view of the Animus penetration around the object,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walden/her-keyboard-there-she-said-eventually-bringing-up-real-time-scan-the/) [Mark Walden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walden/) > [The government's assertion that it must be unhindered in protecting our security can camouflage the desire to increase Executive power, while the press's cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stengel/the-government-s-assertion-that-it-must-be-unhindered-in-protecting/) [Richard Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stengel/) > [ Courage in danger is half the battle. \[Lat., Bonus animus in mala re, dimidium est mali.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/courage-in-danger-is-half-the-battle-lat-bonus-animus-in-mala-re/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“It is an animus, she decides, the representation of the Logos in the female, as the anima is the representation of Eros in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gruber/it-is-an-animus-she-decides-the-representation-of-the-logos-in-the/) [Michael Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gruber/) > [I still say exactly what my original opinion is. Do you borrow money from China to send it to anyone? Out of your surplus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-still-say-exactly-what-my-original-opinion-is-do-you-borrow-money/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ The mind is hopeful; success is in God's hands. \[Lat., Sperat quidem animus: quo eveniat, diis in manu est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-mind-is-hopeful-success-is-in-god-s-hands-lat-sperat-quidem/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## More by Gaston Bachelard > [Dreaming by the river, I dedicated my imagination to water, to clear, green water, the water that makes the meadows green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/dreaming-by-the-river-i-dedicated-my-imagination-to-water-to-clear/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If we did not have a feminine being within us, how would we rest ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-we-did-not-have-a-feminine-being-within-us-how-would-we-rest/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-the-image-by-dreaming-images-as/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If there is any realm where distinction is especially difficult, it is the realm of childhood memories, the realm of beloved images harbored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-there-is-any-realm-where-distinction-is-especially-difficult-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In scientific thought, the concept functions all the better for being cut off from all background images. In its full exercise, the scientific concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-scientific-thought-the-concept-functions-all-the-better-for-being/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [It is through the intentionality of poetic imagination that the poet's soul discovers the opening of consciousness common to all true poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/it-is-through-the-intentionality-of-poetic-imagination-that-the-poet/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In writing, you discover interior sonorities in words. Dipthongs sound differently beneath the pen. One hears them with their sounds divorced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-writing-you-discover-interior-sonorities-in-words-dipthongs-sound/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Here we are at the very core of the thesis we wish to defend in the present essay: reverie is under the sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-we-are-at-the-very-core-of-the-thesis-we-wish-to-defend-in-the/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [There are children who will leave a game to go and be bored in a corner of the garret. How often have I wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/there-are-children-who-will-leave-a-game-to-go-and-be-bored-in-a/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Ideas are refined and multiplied in the commerce of minds. In their splendor, images effect a very simple communion of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/ideas-are-refined-and-multiplied-in-the-commerce-of-minds-in-their/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The poetic image is a sudden salience on the surface of the psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-poetic-image-is-a-sudden-salience-on-the-surface-of-the-psyche/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Imagination is a tree. It has the integrative virtues of a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/imagination-is-a-tree-it-has-the-integrative-virtues-of-a-tree-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Two half philosophers will probably never a whole metaphysician make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/two-half-philosophers-will-probably-never-a-whole-metaphysician-make/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Irony gives us, at little expense, the impression that we are experienced psychologists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/irony-gives-us-at-little-expense-the-impression-that-we-are/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) [Explore all 166 Gaston Bachelard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## More Alchemist quotes > [When we love, it is not necessary to understand what is happening outside, because everything happens inside us instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-we-love-it-is-not-necessary-to-understand-what-is-happening/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-secret-is-here-in-the-present-if-you-pay-attention-to-the-present/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Soft fantasy worlds have a much looser cause-and-effect relationship. Alchemists can turn lead into gold and nobody wonders about how it will impact the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/soft-fantasy-worlds-have-a-much-looser-cause-and-effect-relationship/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [It's not what enters men's mouth that is evil," said the alchemist. It's what comes out of their mouths that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-s-not-what-enters-men-s-mouth-that-is-evil-said-the-alchemist-it-s/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Even mistaken hypotheses and theories are of use in leading to discoveries. This remark is true in all the sciences. The alchemists founded chemistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/even-mistaken-hypotheses-and-theories-are-of-use-in-leading-to/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs. So get up and use them. You're strong enough to make your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromu-arakawa/stand-up-and-walk-keep-moving-forward-you-ve-got-two-good-legs-so-get/) [Hiromu Arakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromu-arakawa/) > [Good intentions do not guarantee good results. Somehow Andrew Keates turns works of merit into evenings of entertainment. Don't call him a dramaturge, call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gambaccini/good-intentions-do-not-guarantee-good-results-somehow-andrew-keates/) [Paul Gambaccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gambaccini/) > [When we send Love in response to hate, we become spiritual alchemists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/when-we-send-love-in-response-to-hate-we-become-spiritual-alchemists/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [What about you, Sage? I know we don't have to worry about you violating the dress code. Did you have fun at your Alchemist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/what-about-you-sage-i-know-we-don-t-have-to-worry-about-you-violating/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“You'll have a hard time getting any Alchemist to admit that. But I can say you're okay for an irreverent party boy with occasional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/you-ll-have-a-hard-time-getting-any-alchemist-to-admit-that-but-i-can/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“Setiap pencarian dimulai dengan keberuntungan bagi sang pemula. Dan setiap pencarian diakhiri dengan ujian berat bagi si pemenang.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/setiap-pencarian-dimulai-dengan-keberuntungan-bagi-sang-pemula-dan/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To obtain something, something of equal value must be given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromu-arakawa/to-obtain-something-something-of-equal-value-must-be-given/) [Hiromu Arakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromu-arakawa/) > [Perfect alchemists I keep who can transmute substances without end, and thus the corner of my garden is an inexhaustible treasure-chest. Here you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/perfect-alchemists-i-keep-who-can-transmute-substances-without-end/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [All that mattered was that he was Adrian, my Adrian. My match. My partner in crime, in the long battle I’d just signed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/all-that-mattered-was-that-he-was-adrian-my-adrian-my-match-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist. “Because that’s what makes a heart suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/why-don-t-people-s-hearts-tell-them-to-continue-to-follow-their-2/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Browse all 160 Alchemist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thanks to his complex convictions, made strong with the forces of animus and anima, the alchemist believes he is seizing the soul of the world, participating in the soul of the world. 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