archetypes

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...

FOUR ARCHETYPES Mother, Rebirth, Spirit, Trickster

By C.G. Jung Published by Routledge, 2003 “The hallmarks of spirit are, firstly, the principle of spontaneous movement and activity; secondly, the spontaneous capacity to produce images independently of sense perception; and thirdly, the autonomous and sovereign manipulation of these images.” (pp. 107-108, CW9 par. 393) When Carl Gustav Jung (1875 – 1961) passed away aged 86, he left a prolific legacy of profound psychological writings which even in recent years have been gradually released to the public, such as the recent publications...

Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious: by C. G. Jung

A Synopsis  by Shane Eynon, PhD (Centre for Applied Jungian Studies and the Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts) Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious is Part 1 of Volume 9 in The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, a series of books published by Princeton University Press in the U.S. and Routledge & Kegan Paul in the U.K. Three essays establish Jung's theory. They are followed by essays on specific archetypes and a section relating them to the process of individuation. The volume includes...

The Middle Passage, from Misery to Meaning in Midlife by James Hollis

This book review is by Lynelle Pieterse and will be explored in the bookclub. Follow this link to join the Jungian Bookclub. James Hollis received his Diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, and is the Director of the C.G. Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas. He is a frequent guest speaker who spends winters in analytic practice and writes during the summers. In his books, he elaborates on the theories of C. G. Jung. Contemplated...

COMPLEX, ARCHETYPE, SYMBOL in the Psychology of C.G. Jung by Jolande Jacobi

This is a book review by Lynelle Pieterse who manages the Jungian Book Club. Click here to buy this book. Complex/Archetype/Symbol in the Psychology of C.G. Jung (Bollingen Series (General))  

Introduction

In the foreword, Jung writes: “…the concept of the archetype has given rise to the greatest misunderstandings.” The book is a discussion about the intricate terms Complex, Archetype, and Symbol and specifically about how they are interrelated. Jolande Jacobi was an associate of C.G. Jung for many years. She is known for...

The “Collective Unconscious” and its value for psychotherapy

This article locates, defines, and evaluates Jung’s contribution to psychoanalysis of the Collective Unconscious or “Objective Psyche” and its use a tool in psychotherapy. This is a copy of a lecture given by Stephen Anthony Farah at the University of Pretoria on the 9th of September 2015.   Introduction Carl Gustav Jung, (1875 – 1961), the Swiss psychiatrist and academic, was an early and key collaborator of Freud’s; and at one time the heir apparent to the psychoanalytic legacy. He made a big...

The Archetypes of the Anima and Animus

One of the most interesting and provocative archetypes we encounter in Jungian Psychology is that of the Anima and Animus. The Anima/Animus relates to our inner or soul life. Not soul as understood in metaphysical terms as something which lives on beyond our physical existence but rather soul as in the inner force that animates us. These soul definitions stem from a time, when Jung was doing this work, where the gender roles were more traditionally and clearly differentiated. So some...

Jung’s dream house and discovering your own archetypal home

In Memories, Dreams, Reflections Jung reports a seminal dream in his discovery of the collective unconscious.  I was in a house I did not know, which had two storeys.  It was "my house".  I found myself in the upper storey, where there was a kind of salon furnished with fine old pieces in Rococo style.  On the walls hung a number of precious, old paintings.  I wondered that this should be my house and thought, "Not bad".  But then...

Unfortunately…it seems We Will Have to Kill the Child

I don't know about you, but I truly love children. Of course I love my own children, but beyond them I love children generally. Children possess a humanity which is absent in most adults. They know how to love, how to laugh, how to cry, and perhaps most importantly how to play. What is life, after all, if we're not at play. Sometimes I encounter kids who seem like little adults, embedded in reality; or as Freud would put it, living...

Why Dont You Act like Youve Got a Pair: or, How to Find Your Inner Cowboy.

Once a long, long time ago in a land far, far away there was a particular type of man. A man who lived life as if he had a pair. This truly was an exotic creature, not to be confused with your garden variety metro-sexual. I speak of a man that is not some lily livered, hormonally imbalanced, girl man. A man who measured himself by how he crushed his enemies underfoot, how many women he had taken to his bed,...