The negative elementary pole culminates in the figure of the Terrible Mother, who presides over the Death Mysteries. In the words of Erich Neumann (The Great Mother, 71-72):

The mysteries of death as mysteries of the Terrible Mother are based on her devouring-ensnaring function, in which she draws the life of the individual back into herself. Here the womb becomes a devouring maw and the conceptual symbols of diminution, rending, hacking to pieces, and annihilation, of rot and decay, have here their place, which is associated with graves, cemeteries, and negative death magic.

mummified Roman woman, 3-4th century CE; Budapest Historical Museum

This painting of the biblical heroine Judith, a Jewish widow who saved her city from a besieging army by cutting off the head of the general, Holofernes, illustrates the raw physical symbolism that pervades the negative elementary pole of the feminine archetype.

“Judith” by Artemisia Gentileschi; Capodimonte Museum

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