Ritualistic Suffering in Shi'ism

This study explores symbols of a religious ritual called Ashura in Twelver Shi'ite Islam.It provides a look into these symbol's unconscious power at work in the suffering of the participants. The ritual's ceremonial rites are compared with the three stages of alchemy: the nigredo, the albedo, and the rubedo. Through these processes, using hermeneutical approaches, Shi'ite cosmology and beliefs are examined and compared with depth psychology. Hence, the study also contributes to depth psychology a Shi'ite way of experiencing inner spirituality.