Symbols Archives - Applied Jung

The Creation Myth and the Structure of Desire

This essay is a reflection on a few of the primary symbols from the biblical story of the Garden of Eden as seen through an archetypal lens. I focus on four specific symbols: God the Garden of Paradise/the Wilderness the Serpent the Forbidden Fruit, for which I will offer an archetypal analysis and psychological interpretation of the way in which they structure our unconscious creation myth. With any symbol it is important to keep in mind that it has both a subjective personal dimension and...

November 8, 2023

By Stephen FarahAnima mundi, desire and drive, Symbolsarchetypes, myth, symbols26 Comments

Systema munditotius: a Master Symbol

The question, “who am I?” lies at the heart of psychological and spiritual practice. It is the origin of self-inquiry. In Jungian psychology it is both the foundation stone and telos of individuation, the art of becoming oneself. The idea that there is indeed an answer to the question of one’s true nature is axiomatic to self-reflection and inquiry. Albeit that the answer is frequently maddeningly elusive and may lead the subject to either abandon the search or to be...

June 7, 2022

By Stephen FarahMandalas, Self, Symbols18 Comments

“Man and His Symbols” in 2017: A Current Overview

Synopsis written by Shane Eynon Ph.D Publisher: Dell Original publication date:1964 Introduction The key features that one requires in orientating themselves to this particular book is the unique ways that it came to be written. It is a book that stands apart in many respects from the rest of the published works of Carl Gustav Jung. The principle aims of “Man and His Symbols” was to aid the general public in understanding Jung’s work and ideas. It is also the last book worked on...

December 1, 2017

By Stephen FarahBook and Movie Reviews, Symbols4 Comments

The Body and the Blood

When I was a kid, for as long as I can remember, every Friday night, we would go to my grandmother’s house for a family supper. As my mother and one of my aunts were fond of saying, “Every road leads to Mayfair,” the suburb my grandmother’s home was located. We would go there for what I can only describe as a feast. My grandmother, God rest her soul, would prepare a feast for us every single week, without fail. My...

September 11, 2016

By Stephen FarahJungian Themes, Living Meaningfully, Symbolsjungian perspective, meaning, narrative, ritual, soul, symbols3 Comments

An Alchemists’ Lair

Arriving at Bollingen Tower. I am not an intrepid traveler. I am rather attached to my comforts and routines and usually overwhelmed by the airports and stations and luggage and people and shops. So it was with great trepidation that I set off to Zurich to attend the C.G. Jung Institute Winter Intensive, 2016. I traveled with a group organised by Dr. Leslee Brown that included accommodation and outings. This really worked for me, since I usually hide...

March 7, 2016

By Anja van KralingenJungian Themes, SymbolsBollingen Tower, C.G. Jung, Jung, stones, symbols3 Comments

Working with Symbols: manifesting Health, Wholeness and Meaning

In the Jungian system, there are four ways of using symbols in order to create meaning and depth in your life. The first way is as a tool for dialogue with unconscious content and its integration it into consciousness. The second way is to heal experiences of trauma or loss. The third way is to use symbols to imbue your life with meaning and magic. And the final way is to use symbols to resolve conflict and manifest conscious intent. Symbolising unconscious content in...

October 31, 2014

By Anja van KralingenSymbolsJung, meaning, myth, symbols25 Comments

Of Butterflies and other Symbols of Transformation

I have a butterfly in a bottle on my desk. It is not a real butterfly, it is fake. There is a wire attached to it and it is battery operated. When you tap the top of the bottle, the butterfly flutters and flies and flaps its wings. It is absolutely convincingly real. I LOVE it! I am fascinated by it and it is a symbol for me. Perhaps it is the ingenuity of the design, or the fact that it...

September 18, 2012

By Anja van KralingenJungian Themes, Symbolscomplex, consciousness, ego, individuation, meaning, movie10 Comments

A Roadmap of the Soul

Although not our natural state, I believe in the possibility of a truly meaningful and fulfilled life. A life lived with a sense of profound excitement and awe; a life where the depth, complexity and beauty of the cosmos live in us. I don’t suggest that suffering is not a reality, or that I have personally reached such an elevated state of consciousness. I suggest rather, that much suffering we do endure is illegitimate and that: a meaningless existence, boredom, lack of purpose, a...

September 4, 2012

By Stephen FarahJungian Themes, Symbolscomplex, consciousness, Freud, individuation, Jung, meaning1 Comment

The experience machine and Jung’s symbolic attitude

I heard from one of my lecturers at Wits recently about a book called Better never to have been: the harm of coming into existence, written by a local lad, Professor David Benatar, HOD of the philosophy department at the University of Cape Town. As the title suggests Benatar proposes that it is far better never to be born; that one is irreparably harmed by coming into existence. The two arguments that Benatar offers for this view are: 1.By bringing someone...

April 25, 2012

By Stephen FarahPhilosophically, Symbolsconsciousness, Jung, meaning0 Comments