Axiom of Maria. A precept in alchemy: "One
becomes two, two
becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as
the
fourth."
Jung used the axiom of Maria as a
metaphor for the whole
process of individuation. One is the original
state of unconscious
wholeness; two signifies the conflict between
opposites; three
points to a potential resolution; the third is
the transcendent
function; and the one as the fourth is a
transformed state of
consciousness, relatively whole and at peace.