Coincidentia Oppositorum—the Mythical Pattern

One of Eliade’s characteristic themes is the “ coincidentia-oppositorum ,” the simultaneous occurrence of apparently opposing elements to form a coherent and empowered whole. The following selection is the earliest prolonged consideration of this symbolic motif (1949). I have earlier suggested that this fascination with the coincidentia oppositorum develops from an inherent recognition that the profane world in its entirety and in its diversity is itself revelatory of genuine ontology, real being, the sacred. Existence, as it presents itself to us, is itself a coincidence of opposites, it is both sacred and profane, both real and unreal. It is both a concealment and a revelation of the real ... The coincidentia oppositorum may be the area where Eliade makes a real ontological assumption. ( Reconstructing Eliade , 36, 40)