Jungian analysis encompasses a vast constellation of ideas — from the foundations of psychodynamic theory to anthropology, mythology, and the world's religious traditions. These are the concepts at its living heart.
Each concept is a door into depth — they interweave, inform, and illuminate one another. Read them in any order.
Looked at symbolically, alchemy was a precursor to the modern study of the unconscious — the alchemists projected their inner processes into the work.
Myth-making is a spontaneous, primary activity of the psyche — not a by-product or pale reflection, but the original experience itself.
The layer of the psyche retaining the common psychological inheritance of mankind — ancient symbols beyond direct understanding.
Meaningful coincidence — when the outer world and the inner world speak at the same moment.
What the ego refuses to know does not disappear — it waits, and finds another way through.
A method of assimilating unconscious contents — dreams, fantasies — through self-expression, giving voice to sides of the personality normally unheard and establishing dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious.
A nonrational constellation that points beyond itself to unknown reality — making accessible to consciousness what reason alone cannot reach.
The function that mediates opposites and bridges the gulf between consciousness and the unconscious — expressed through the symbol.
The prototype of Jung's conception of the individuation process — depicting how he regained his soul and overcame the malaise of spiritual alienation.
The ego's identification with the Self — an archaic state of unconscious wholeness that can persist far into adult life.
Entering sacred space is always an ordeal — requiring humility, submission, and the willingness to be changed at the threshold.
The totality of all psychic processes — a pattern of wholeness that can only be described symbolically, not reduced to physical terms.
Individuation is a process informed by the archetypal ideal of wholeness, which in turn depends on a vital relationship between ego and unconscious. The aim is not to overcome one's personal psychology or become perfect, but to become familiar with it.
Individuation involves an increasing awareness of one's unique psychological reality, including personal strengths and limitations, and at the same time a deeper appreciation of humanity in general. It differs from individualism in that the former deviates from collective norms but retains respect for them, while the latter eschews them entirely.
Individuation underscores Jung's belief that neurosis is ultimately an existential issue that cannot be overcome unless the meaning of one's life has been recognised.
"This is the loneliness of liberation, of no longer finding security by taking sides with the crowd, of no longer believing that the rules of the game are the laws of nature."
— A. Watts
Dreams are part of the process of human evolution. Whether the individual notices it or not, dreams will always be contributing to his efforts to fulfil the whole of his potential — concentrating especially on those parts he is neglecting and that are therefore threatening the growth of his personality.
Dreams tell us what we need, as well as what we desire, in order to be complete. Dreaming directs the dreamer's attention especially to whatever he is most in danger of ignoring or rejecting in his everyday waking attitudes.
Dream unfolds along the lines of a narrative. Next to our predilection towards storytelling, these narratives are enumerations of embodied states existing simultaneously in spatial networks — presenting themselves sequentially to the perceiver. This relates to images as ecosystems, in which each element exists in a simultaneous network with all other elements.
"Dreams tell us what we need, as well as what we desire, in order to be complete."
— R. Bosnak
Jung uses the word "archetype" to designate those universal symbols which possess the greatest constancy and efficiency, the greatest potentiality for psychic evolution, and which point away from the inferior towards the superior.
There is an intermediate realm between the oneness of the individual soul and its solitude, and the variety of the universe — between the res cogitans and the res extensa of Descartes. That realm is the image of the world in the soul and of the soul in the world: the "place" of symbolism working in areas prepared by the archetypes, eternally present.
"The problem being whether the consciousness perceives them or not."
— J.E. Cirlot
Jung thought that alchemy, looked at from a symbolic and not a scientific eye, could be regarded as one of the precursors of modern study of the unconscious — and in particular of analytical interest in the transformation of personality.
The alchemists projected their internal processes into what they were doing. As they carried out their various operations, they enjoyed deep, passionate emotional and spiritual experiences — crucially not attempting to split off experience from activity.
Like analytical psychology in its time, alchemy was a subversive and underground force — its vivid and earthy imagery contrasting with the stylized expression of medieval Christianity, just as psychoanalysis startled Victorian prudishness.
"In this way too they link with a contemporary psychological attitude — the opus of turning lead into gold, suffering into meaning."
— A. Samuels
The archetypal realm, the place of original imprinting, is the mythic realm — a place of original experience. Myth is not a by-product or afterthought, nor a pale reflection of social patterns. Myth-making is a spontaneous, primary activity of the psyche.
Nor is myth only a "projection" of psychic figures, for this makes myth secondary, presupposing a projector. Mythic events and persons are experiences of the psyche. Without being literal, myths are "true" stories and "real" persons in that they are psychologically true and real. Myths make the psyche intelligible.
"Myth-making is a spontaneous, primary activity of psyche — not a by-product or pale reflection but the original experience itself."
— L. Cowan
Some of the most potent symbols derive from what Jung called "the collective unconscious" — the part of the psyche that retains and transmits the common psychological inheritance of mankind. These symbols are so ancient and unfamiliar to modern human beings that they cannot be directly understood or assimilated through reason alone.
Unlike the personal unconscious, which is shaped by individual experience, the collective unconscious is universal — a layer of the psyche shared across cultures, across time, expressing itself through the same primordial images regardless of where or when they appear.
"The collective unconscious contains the whole spiritual heritage of mankind's evolution, born anew in the brain structure of every individual."
— C.G. Jung, M.L. von Franz, et al.
Synchronicity — a coincidence in time of two or more causally unrelated events which have the same or similar meaning. This may take the form of a coincidence of inner perceptions — foreboding, dreams, visions, hunches — with outward events situated in the past, present, or future.
Jung explains the occurrence of synchronistic phenomena by an "a priori, causally inexplicable knowledge," based on an order of the microcosm and macrocosm which is independent of our will. In this ordering, the archetypes play the role of ordering factors.
The meaningful coincidence of an inner image with the outward event reveals the spiritual as well as the material and corporeal aspect of the archetype — and provokes the individual who experiences it to heightened emotionality.
"The archetype by its enhanced energetic charge provokes increased emotionality — indispensable if synchronistic phenomena are to occur and be perceived."
— J. Jacobi
The law of the preservation of energy applies also to the psyche. Whatever is repressed, while then lost to consciousness, still does not disappear. It becomes an unconscious compulsive force with primitive and potentially destructive characteristics.
Repression of sexuality leads to exaggerated pseudospirituality, typical of Victorianism. But repression of the religious myth leads to the neurosis of our time — a primitive mythologization of secular values, a pseudoreligion of material prosperity, monetary greed, and sexual thrills.
Repressed contents, unlike those suppressed, are withdrawn from the control of consciousness and function independently of it. As depth psychology has shown, they lead an active underground life of their own, with disastrous results for both the individual and the collective.
"The repressed energy of the myth contains the threat of collective no less than individual psychosis — which those who become aware have the awesome responsibility to attempt to transform."
— E.C. Whitmont
Active Imagination is a method of assimilating unconscious contents — dreams, fantasies — through some form of self-expression. Its object is to give a voice to sides of the personality that are normally not heard, particularly the anima/animus and the shadow, thereby establishing a line of communication between Consciousness and the unconscious.
Even when the end products — drawing, painting, writing, sculpture, dance, music — are not interpreted, something goes on between creator and creation that contributes to a transformation of Consciousness.
The first stage is like dreaming with open eyes. It can take place spontaneously or be artificially induced. The second stage involves a conscious participation in the images, the honest evaluation of what they mean about oneself, and a morally and intellectually binding commitment to act on the insights.
The first stage of active imagination is like dreaming with open eyes. It can take place spontaneously or be artificially induced.
— D. Sharp
Jung's symbolic approach to the psyche is his special contribution to depth psychology. Unconscious processes are not directly accessible to our senses — they cannot be seen, touched, heard, or tasted, nor adequately described by the rational categories of causality, time, and space. A new approach commensurate with the intangible quality of the psyche is needed. The psyche speaks in symbols.
By symbol, Jung means a nonrational, figurative constellation that points beyond itself to unknown or unknowable objective reality and makes that reality perceptible to us. Hence, the symbol has a mediating function — it makes accessible to our consciousness something that is inaccessible to our direct sensory experience and to our reason.
The symbol cannot be produced at will, nor can it be automatically translated into some known problem or drive. For Jung, the symbol must be met in terms of its own details and qualities.
"The symbol is the expression of the little known or the unknown fact that cannot be translated into familiar elements or more clearly represented."
— A. Belford Ulanov
The transcendent function is the function that mediates opposites — expressing itself by way of the symbol, it facilitates transition from one psychological attitude or condition to another. It represents a linkage between real and imaginary, or rational and irrational data, bridging the gulf between consciousness and the unconscious.
"It is a natural process," Jung writes, "a manifestation of the energy that springs from the tension of opposites and it consists in a series of fantasy-occurrences which appear spontaneously in dreams and visions." Standing in compensatory relationship to both, the transcendent function enables thesis and antithesis to encounter one another on equal terms.
Jung considered the transcendent function to be the most significant factor in psychological progress. Its role in the stimulation of conscience is significant — it supplies a perspective other than one that is purely personal, and asserts, often from a more objective position, a possible solution.
"The transcendent function does not proceed without aim or purpose. At the very least, it enables a person to move beyond pointless conflict and avoid one-sidedness."
— A. Samuels
The overall theme of the Red Book is how Jung regains his soul and overcomes the contemporary malaise of spiritual alienation. This is ultimately achieved through enabling the rebirth of a new image of God in his soul and developing a new worldview in the form of a psychological and theological cosmology.
Liber Novus presents the prototype of Jung's conception of the individuation process, which he held to be the universal form of individual psychological development. It can be understood on one hand as depicting Jung's own individuation process, and on the other as his elaboration of this concept as a general psychological schema.
"Liber Novus itself can be understood as depicting Jung's individuation process and as his elaboration of this concept as a general psychological schema."
— S. Shamdasani
We are born in a state of inflation. In earliest infancy, no ego or consciousness exists — all is in the unconscious. The latent ego is in complete identification with the Self. Since the Self is the center and totality of being, the ego totally identified with the Self experiences itself as a deity.
This original state — experiencing oneself as the center of the universe — can persist long past childhood. Such a person is full of talents and potentialities, cursed with a plethora of riches. He could do anything but can't decide on one thing in particular. The problem is that he is all promises and no fulfillment.
In order to make a real accomplishment he must sacrifice a number of other potentialities. To be something in reality he must give up being everything in potentia.
"The puer aeternus archetype is one of the images of the Self, but to be identified with it means that one never brings any reality to birth."
— E. Edinger
Entering sacred space is always an ordeal or trial, whether done voluntarily or involuntarily. One must undergo rituals of degradation and humiliation at the threshold, and "submit" before crossing over into the transitional sacred space.
Entering the initiation process requires humility. Hinduism has a saying that a temple cannot be found with unbent knee or unbowed head. Rituals of degradation symbolize the spirit of resignation and surrender required to enter sacred space. It is not accessible otherwise.
"Submission is symbolized culturally in numerous ways. Fraternity hazing, for example, is a vestige of this ancient process and has primordial meaning."
— R.L. Moore
By his basic definition of the psyche as "the totality of all psychic processes, conscious as well as unconscious," Jung intended to delineate the area of interest for analytical psychology — one that could not be reduced to physical terms.
The psyche cannot be seen, touched, heard, or tasted. We cannot speak of the psyche as a thing that is or does this or that. At best we can speak of it indirectly by describing human behaviour — as if it expressed aspects of a hypothetical pattern of meaning, as if a potential, encompassing wholeness were ordering the action of the parts.
The most basic hypothesis about the human psyche, then, is that of a pattern of wholeness that can only be described symbolically.
"Like the atom, the psyche and its elements are not physical objects that can be seen or touched, but unlike the atom they cannot even be made to fit the conditions of laboratory testing and statistical evaluation."
— E.C. Whitmont
Analysis is a way of learning to read it — the recurring figures, the threshold moments, the dragons that must be faced. These are not abstractions. They are living forces in the psyche, visible in dreams, in symptoms, in the shape of a life.
