Tag - Jung

Modern Man in Search of a Soul

THE JUNGIAN BOOK CLUB NOVEMBER 2023 BOOK REVIEW written by Byron J. Gaist Carl Gustav Jung (1933) Modern Man in Search of a Soul Translated by W.S. Dell and Cary F. Baynes Published by Routledge, 2001, London and New York Taken together with his autobiography Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1962), his Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (1928), and the collective volume Man and His Symbols (1961), this book can be considered one of the seminal introductory texts on Jungian Analytical Psychology.  Anyone who wants a quick,...

Eating Disorders as an Addiction to Perfection

“The individual may strive after perfection . . . but must suffer from the opposite of his intentions for the sake of his completeness.” Jung (1951) This article is based on Marion Woodman’s Addiction to Perfection and is a continuation of my previous article on the author: Psyche, Metaphor, Soma, with a specific focus on how disembodiment and the loss of the feminine principle engender the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Woodman, whose focus is on women whose food complex is...

Four Steps to Transformation in Jungian Psychology and Gnostic Alchemy

I have been doing some research into the Mysterium for our upcoming Jungian Mystery School this year on the theme of the Unus Mundus. This combined with some prior research I have done on the “Four Stages of Transformation”1 has allowed me to map the corresponding stages of the Mysterium Coniunctionis2 onto the four stages of depth psychology that Jung describes in an earlier text and onto the four stages of the Magnum Opus, i.e., the four stages of transubstantiation...

Prozac and the royal road to misery

modern (wo)man in search of soul in the wasteland of meaning Epigraph: In 2006 I had occasion to spend Diwali in Mauritius with my then sister-in-law, Joanne Farah. One of the celebrants at the hotel where we were staying was offering Henna tattoos to the guests. I asked for the word ‘spirit’ to be tattooed on my arm. When my sister-in-law, seemingly bemused, inquired as to what exactly I considered ‘spirit’ to be, I was unable or possibly unwilling to answer....

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...

Have you swallowed another’s shadow?

Have you ever met one of those couples, where the one is just perfect and fantastic and their partner is a walking disaster? One is incompetent, inappropriate, a total bitch or bastard, etc. Yet their partner is charismatic, socially skilled, an all round good person. And you think to yourself what on earth is he doing with her (or vice versa). Whilst I was doing research on Persona, I came across a story told by Jung which illustrates this very well. […]...

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...

Forgiving another, what it really means.

I have just returned from another fantastic international study trip with Dr. Leslee Brown, exploring Existential Analysis in Vienna. Leslee sources experts in various psychodynamic disciplines and puts together amazing learning opportunities for both professionals (these courses are accredited) and anyone who is interested in these topics. Her next tour is in July 2016, this time in Argentina, and explores Lacan and Tango therapy. Follow this link for more information on this fantastic opportunity. The Existential Summit I attended was in Vienna and...

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...

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...