There is perhaps no figure in literature more fascinating than the trickster, appearing in various forms in the folklore of many cultures. He is different from the figure of the fool, who is harmless but also naïve, and many times ends up harming himself. The fool walks joyfully dreaming about all his adventures, unaware thatContinue reading “The Psychology of The Trickster”
Category Archives: Analytical psychology
Inner Gold – Alchemy and Psychology
Alchemy occupies a unique place in the collective psyche of humankind. We have spent millennia transitioning from instinct to reason, the culmination of which lead to the Age of Enlightenment, a radical cultural shift. Our ancestors, however, lived by instinctual impulse, rather than logical reasoning. We did not think about our actions, we simply actedContinue reading “Inner Gold – Alchemy and Psychology”
The Psychology of Projection
Projection is a psychological fact that can be observed everywhere in the everyday life of human beings, whether you are having a conversation and someone tells you that you are projecting, or the first impressions you have of a particular person that turned out to be wrong. In our ideas of other people and situations,Continue reading “The Psychology of Projection”
Synchronicity: Meaningful Patterns in Life
“Never do human beings speculate more, or have more opinions, than about things which they do not understand.” Carl Jung, C.W. Vol. 14: Mysterium Coniunctionis From his childhood, Carl Jung experienced strange and seemingly unexplainable phenomena. He feared that he was going mad, and went on the quest to discover what they meant. “I sawContinue reading “Synchronicity: Meaningful Patterns in Life”
Active Imagination: Confrontation with the Unconscious
“My soul, my soul, where are you? Do you hear me? I speak, I call you – are you there? I have returned, I am here again. I have shaken the dust of all the lands from my feet, and I have come to you, I am with you. After long years of long wandering,Continue reading “Active Imagination: Confrontation with the Unconscious”
Owning Your Own Shadow: The Dark Side of the Psyche
“To honour and accept one’s own shadow is a profound spiritual discipline. It is whole-making and thus holy and the most important experience of a lifetime.” Robert A. Johnson, Owning Your Own Shadow Introduction Robert A. Johnson was an American author and Jungian analyst (a follower of Carl Jung’s analytical psychology). At the age ofContinue reading “Owning Your Own Shadow: The Dark Side of the Psyche”
The Dream Artist Nobody Knows About
“I experience a power within myself which is not the same as my conscious ego. It has forced me to adopt a path quite foreign to my conscious attitude, a path which totally contradicted my will and everything I considered important. Before I was able to obey this power, I first needed to be crushedContinue reading “The Dream Artist Nobody Knows About”
Anima and Animus – Eternal Partners from the Unconscious
In Carl Jung’s model of the psyche, we have both the outer world and the inner world. The persona (which represents the social mask that we put on) lies between the ego and society, representing our conscious life and outer world. The inner world or the unconscious is where the real adventure begins. Here weContinue reading “Anima and Animus – Eternal Partners from the Unconscious”
The Persona – The Mask That Conceals Your True Self
“Whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself. The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because we cover it with the persona, the maskContinue reading “The Persona – The Mask That Conceals Your True Self”
Carl Jung and The Collective Unconscious
“The one thing we refuse to admit is that we are dependent upon “powers” that are beyond our control.” Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols, Part I. Approaching the Unconscious One of Carl Jung’s most well-known (and controversial) concept is the collective unconscious, the aspect of the unconscious mind which manifests inherited, universal themes whichContinue reading “Carl Jung and The Collective Unconscious”