This article is about the symbolism in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and is a transcript of the video linked above. Although I have added elaborating notes on the figures developed for the video and article: I want to focus on one specific symbolism in the movie which is about the three stones used in the movie and how they relate to Biblical and Jungian symbolism.

The reason I think it is important to notice these symbolic patterns in our life is that they point to something deep within ourselves that I think we best can explain in symbols. If we can understand ourselves on a deeper level we can understand cosmic laws on a deeper level and how reality works. I hope to offer some valuable insight so hopefully it will become easier to navigate the world of symbols as our ancestors used symbols to navigate and to understand the world we live in. These symbols are always appearing from the unconscious when we need them and are pointing towards our higher self.

The axiom of Maria Prophetissa goes like this ”One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.” This symbolism might be very complex to understand, but I will try to break it down to some simple steps. Imagine you are one being. Then you encounter something outside yourself that is different from one self and from here we get secondness, which is like otherness. Now, we need something to understand the otherness and relate it to one’s own being therefore a mediation is made between one and two. This link between the one and the two is therefore a third. In Christianity this is what is known as the Holy Ghost. Now that we have a third we can merge the one and two as one through the third. It can be seen like the collapse of a wave function going between two positions, but choosing one. The mediation link to something else generally has two ways and one has to be chosen, which means that the other is left out in the shadow.

Figure 1. The Axiom of Maria Prophetissa visualised through Yin and Yang. It is a  merging of consciousness and unconsciousness. Once it is realized how reality perceived is a projection, it makes more sense how consciousness merges unconscious content as one, so we do not get confused or overwhelmed by the world we inhabit.

If a mediation link is made between one and two then it is integrated as one. From here we have a connection, and therefore “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.”. Now this of course sounds extremely abstract, but it is about understanding how we make sense of the world. In the movie the symbol is depicted when Indiana Jones has the three stones turned into one it is a symbol of his progression and individuation progress. He no longer needs any satisfaction or money to serve himself, but he returns the stone to the city who asked for his help. The guy who burned his hands and fell to his death missed the power of the stones and failed to gather them into one because he only served himself. This is a reflection of Indiana Jones shadow side who as a famous archeologist could have an urge to have all the glory for himself when he discovers treasures. Instead by sharing it all with the city that needs it back and being willing to lose it all he wins it all back. Therefore his shadow ego side is sacrificed from the mountain, which is a reoccurring symbol when something is discovered at a mountain top.

I can refer to Carl Jung and his four functions of consciousness, which are thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition to get a better understanding of the symbolism of the one to a fourth. The main thing to understand is that we are only conscious of one function of the time, where two functions work as auxiliary functions and one is left in the dark, meaning it is completely unconscious. When you realize that you always have one function completely unconscious it would make more sense to understand why it is important to understand this kind of symbolism. Carl Jung used this axiom of Maria Prophetissa from the third century to formulate his theory of individuation and lot more. I also used this example of the axiom of Maria in relation to Jung’s Bollingen stone in my video about interstellar. 

The Four Functions

I have mentioned the four functions of consciousness before and it is a very difficult thing to research in relation to symbolism in the beginning, but it makes sense eventually. I found it important to remember that each of the four functions of consciousness are functions. This means they do not explain what reality fundamentally is, but it explains four fundamental aspects of reality and how we conceive reality. This means how we act and think in the world are constituted by these four functions. Thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition are switching inside of us depending on where we are what we do and they can be either conscious and unconscious. There even can be discrepancy between action and thought as the mental plane can think that it is operating on one function, but the physical outcome in action reflects another function. 

Figure 2. The four functions as formulated by Carl Jung. I have added emphasis on the light (conscious), dark (unconscious) and auxiliary functions to emphasize how the three are visible, although the auxiliary actually share the light and the dark. It is interesting to observe that it every action and thought develops the exact opposite within our unconscious and this can confuse if not understood. The main point of the article is to emphasize that the functions are like north, south, west and east on a compass. Therefore they are ways of understanding and navigating consciousness from within, which eventually should lead to the Kingdom within and possessing the 12 powers of the disciples, which are the manifested form of the functions in actuality both in thought and action.

It might sound like I am making this stuff up, but I am really just following the symbolism laid out in a lot of literature about symbolism and I here I also see them in popular movies. Initially, the three stones made into one stone was the symbol I wanted to investigate in the movie and how they relate to the four functions.

But then I saw this wheel in the movie with 12 bowls of water spinning in a wheel and giving water to the people in the village. The 12 bowls of water is like the 12 disciples, who each brings life in a specific pattern of behavior. The number four symbolizes a body and the number 3 is the mental plane. So multiplying the body, which is four with the mental which is three we get 12. Why these numbers symbolize the body and the mental plane relates back to the specific symbolism mentioned earlier “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.” The wheel that is spinning represents each disciple diving into the unconscious and delivering a message to the conscious when appearing at the surface. So when one represses messages, there is a flood and the disciples are drowned in unconscious messages desperate to deliver the messages up to the surface. Listen to these messages or else no one else will.

The wheel is divided into twelve and is turning around the center point which is filled with the water of life. It is like the 12 powers of man. The four functions can each be divided into three because they possess two auxiliary functions that also can have an extraverted or introverted attitude. This may be too abstract, but the point is that the combinations of the four functions can be arranged into 12 patterns that are represented as the 12 disciples.

The water is the spirit that runs effortlessly through the body and fulfills life en every part of being. There is no limit to spirit, but only if we resist its good nature through focusing on material things.

As the wheel is in the ending scene of the movie, it is a symbol of the resolution and the flowing of water. The hero journey is typically symbolized by an initial lack of control of reality, which is rediscovered after uniting what was scattered before. 

Figure 3. It is my greatest honor to shed light on the deepest symbol of our ancestors. The four rivers mentioned in Genesis chapter 2 is not only aware of the four functions of consciousness, but while the book lays the symbolism out it simultaneously explains what lies beyond the functions in a spiritual form. Hopefully I will write an more in-depth article on these four rivers because this is some of the deepest stuff I have encountered. I hope you get the gist of it, but each river is also a symbol for something important. I can only refer to Genesis 2:10. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the verse and chapter number add up to twelve.

The four rivers from the Garden of Eden explained in Genesis chapter 2 also support this symbolism, as it is the water of life that fuels the four functions and not the functions themselves. For instance, the thinking function is fueled by spiritual and material yearnings, and often we like to identify ourselves with the function of thinking or any other function and get caught up in material things and this leads to stopping the water from flowing to other functions. Through spiritual insight the water can flow to every function and then it is possible to integrate anything unknown that comes on ones way and it is an important step towards individuation. The three stones made into one, is seeing the three functions that can be conscious and realizing that there always is one function left in the dark as the unconscious, this realization is therefore the one as the fourth.

Bonus symbolism:

Indiana Jones is a the a bridge across a river. Instead of walking the practical way across, he cuts the rope with a sword (a word), and he let’s go of all material properties. Thereby, his shadow side is relinquished and he can climb the mountain with the stone. The stone is the Kingdom within, supreme wisdom, and within alchemical symbolism it is the philosopher’s stone that can turn any substance into gold. As our attention is directed towards something of much value that not only benefits ourselves, but everybody around us the value is of gold because the attention itself is the gold.

Hope some of the ideas could inspire to read some more about Jung or the Bible to uncover more symbolism like this.

Like, dislike or comment, see you 🙂

Love, Alan Olewnik