The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1)

This work, along with _Modern Man in Search of a Soul_, is one of the best places to start if you are new to reading Jung. It is also the companion piece and predecessor to _Aion_, which is another spectacular and groundbreaking work. If you want to read _Aion_, it would make sense for you to read this one first, since it is part 1 of volume nine, while _Aion_ is part two. Overall, I would say that both parts 1 and 2 of volume nine are absolutely essential reading for any Jungian, and if you're going to buy one, go ahead and buy both. As for the actual content of _The Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious_, I would describe it as an overview and recapitulation of many of Jung's key concepts. As the title implies, the main concepts are archetypal images (as revealed in to people in dreams) and the collective unconscious. These are trademark Jungian concepts, and Jung devoted a large portion of his writings to explaining what he meant by Archetypes and the collective unconscious. If I could explain it to you right here I would, but Jung spends a the first two hundred pages of this book simply explaining and defining "archetype" and "collective unconscious". These are key concepts in understanding the human mind, and may help unlock the mysteries of conscious existence; it is by no means superfluous to devote such rigorous study to these ideas. _The Archetypes and the Collcetive Unconscious_ is NOT a narrowly focused, specialized, or jargonistic work. It deals with ideas that are central to understanding the human psyche or soul, and applies universally to all of mankind. There is also a pictorial section of the book in which Jung actually shows examples, in the form of paintings, of archetypal images that were seen by his patients in their dreams and subsequently drawn by the patients themselves. Some of these paintings are very artistic, and there are uncanny similarities among many of them. This pictorial section occurs about 200 pages in. After the pictures, Jung goes into a detailed explanation of each one, which I found to be somewhat tiresome, especially considering many of the paintings were extremely similar. Overall, the final, brief, section of the book in which the paintings are described is quite boring, and I would recommend that the reader simply look at the paintings and forego the final explanations, which are extremely redundant. In other words, read the first two hundred pages, look at the pictures, stop, and then move on to _Aion_. The weakness of this final section is not enough to justify removing a star from my ratings, however, simply because of the utter profundity and potency of the first 200 pages, which represents the majority of the book anyway. Keep in mind that the vast majority of Jung's writings consist of essays not more that 100 pages long each. You will find that most of his complete works contain numerous profound and insightful essays, occasionally laced with the odd, specialized, highly esoteric essays. When you come across one of these rare but unreadable essays the best idea is to just skip it rather than get bogged down. This is not to take anything away from Jung and his great, prophetic works; I am just trying to give you the heads up on how to avoid some of the rough patches.

After reading Keirsey, Meyers, Jacobi, van der Hoop, Eve Delunas, and others, i finally decided to bite the bullet and get Jung himself. I was afraid of Book Six, but got it anyway and gave it the coveted place in the washroom. Psychological Types is a misnomer. This book focuses not on types, but is mostly Jung rambling on the attitude type and it's compensatory nature in the unconscious. Only the final chapter focuses on the psychological functions themselves, and is more of a treat to anyone who made it through the book. After reading the authors mentioned above, i believe that each author has a different approach and application: Keirsey - He has prominence because he talks about temperament theory (how we act in the outside world) and ingeniously correlates it to the MBTI. The correlation is first mentioned by van der Hoop, who leaves it up to someone else to do the actual correlation. Keirsey's book has nothing to do with Jung or the MBTI. It just happens to correlate with it. Indeed, he *completely* misunderstands what the actual functions are, and dethrones I/E from any importance. He also mentions that Is becomes Es, and vice versa. He explains I/E and being shy or not. S/N as what I/E mostly is. T/F based on emotions, and J/P as order. His mistakes are laughable but understood once realized that Keirsey is a shy extrovert. After that, the rest makes sense. His book is good because it is based on a history of over two thousand years, correlates many theories together, and shows how the types interrelate and act in the outside world. Meyers - She worked with and continued the work of her mother (Briggs). Briggs brought practical application to Jung's original theory, and worked with Jung via post to devise it. While Jung wants to know what make people tick, Briggs wanted to know how it was useful is getting women into the workforce. In essence, she is practical Jung, and is really what made the typology available to others. She also added the J/P to the inventory to note with function was dominant and which was auxiliary, though, it was done by showing the extroverted function (so it is the main function for extroverts, and auxiliary by introverts). It is more useful this way when dealing with outside-world application. Jacobi - Without her, Jung would be a closed book. She risked her life (the Nazis were after her because she was head of the culture committee and Jewish) to finish her degree (which Jung demanded). She explains the life-cycle and symbols and archetypes (goes to more length than Jung), amongst others. It's almost as if she gives the big picture, and Jung fills in the details. van der Hoop - He wrote two books, the first of which deals with early Freud, and the last chapter deals with where Jung argued with Freud in approach. His second book is exclusively Jung, and broken into three parts. The first part explains how each of the four function works. Not how they apply, but what they do. This is something Jung does not do, as he just defines functions as a set way of psychic processing. He also argues with Jung, calling Sensing a non-function, and instead substitutes instinct, but explains both in great detail. Whereas Jung explains intuition as a mostly unconscious function (leading to Keirsey's black-box explanation), van der Hoop explains how it is a pattern matching function without deciding that actual pattern (T or F do that). It is an image that can only be understand when it is totally there (hence the "Aha!") and is subjective as it is tied to the ego. Thinking is judging whether something exists or not (done by breaking things down to their smallest parts), Feeling (as opposed to emotion, a difference he explains in detail) is judging the comparison in between objects by giving each a value and deciding greater-than, less-than, or equal to. Without van der Hoop, the functions are seen only on the outside. But it is important to note that he disagrees with Jung in a couple places. Eva Delunas - A student of Keirsey, she actually read Jung and applies both theories. (She also notes Keirsey's bias to make everything fit nicely.) Not essential, but worth noting. Jung is just theory, and mostly I/E. If the entire MBTI theory is what your looking for, this should be one of the books read. Otherwise, it isn't necessarily practical. Overall though, i was so happy after reading it that i got Book 9a and started that one right away.

Carl Jung developed his theory about human consciousness over a lifetime of psychological study and psychoanalytical practice with patients. He came to understand that human consciousness existed both consciously and unconsciously, and that the unconscious sides of human beings have a lot in common. People from different countries, cultures, and even time periods have expressed similar unconscious impulses and desires, and he reasoned that we all must have something in common, buried deep within our unconscious. He called these unconscious human similarities archetypes, which he defined as “instinctive data of the dark, primitive psyche, the real but invisible roots of consciousness.” Some of the most common archetypes explored in his work are the persona, the shadow, the anima or animus, and the self. The persona is equivalent to the social ‘masks’ that we all wear in different social situations. We wear a different ‘mask’ when around our family members, our coworkers, or our friends. The persona allows people to adapt to the social world around them and fit in. “The shadow personifies everything that the subject refuses to acknowledge about himself,” for instance, repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, and instincts. The same way that the persona grows out of a need to behave appropriately in different social settings, the shadow grows out of a need to adapt to different cultural norms. The shadow contains all of the things that are unacceptable to society or to one’s own personal morals and values. The anima and animus are the latent feminine and masculine traits, respectively, which reside within the unconscious of men and women. When babies are first developing in a mother’s womb, they are a mix of both genders, until one ultimately becomes the dominant. The other gender, however, still resides within, buried inside the unconscious. A lot of Jung’s work can be observed through a similar balance of opposites. The ‘whole’ individual is a perpetual balancing and recalibrating of the conscious and the unconscious, which are often in conflict with one another. This is also the archetype known as the self. (This is similar to yin-yang theory and is analogous to the relationship between Christ and God.) The self is the present understanding of the conscious ego as it relates to the unconscious. All of these unconscious archetypes are in a constant state of change as they fight for recognition by the conscious mind. The persona is a reflection of social situations; the shadow is that of cultural norms; the anima and animus are the balance of gender within an individual; the self is one’s conscious understanding of the sum of one’s own consciousness and unconsciousness. While these are the most popular archetypes Jung proposed, there are many, including the father, the mother, the child, the hero, the maiden, the trickster, and more. They are usually acknowledged and expressed in dreams, when the bridge between the conscious and unconscious is most open. They sometimes also occur during intense emotional states of mind when emotions take over and the unconscious explodes outwards. “As a rule, unconscious phenomena manifest themselves in a fairly chaotic and unsystematic form,” first and foremost, in metaphors. One of Jung’s most important discoveries and modes of psychotherapy is the universally observed image of the mandala. The mandala is a metaphor for the self and can be found in pictures throughout time, from the earliest artworks of primitive peoples to the unguided drawings of Jung’s patients. A mandala “is the premonition of a centre of personality, a kind of central point within the psyche, to which everything is related, by which everything is arranged, and which is itself a source of energy.” It makes logical sense when you think about it: a mandala is a circle, and the self exists in the middle. So, the conscious and unconscious are always in a state of flux, either in harmony or disharmony, but never static. This is important, because this fluctuation is the basis for individual growth. The more the conscious mind can accept and understand its unconscious persona, the better it can operate in social situations. The more it accepts its shadow, the better it can express itself fully in society. Similarly, the more it understands about its anima or animus, the better it can understand itself as a ‘whole’ individual. The acceptance of one’s unconscious archetypes is paramount for psychological growth. It is a process that never ends, analogous to the river of life.

I must admit, this book was a hit and a miss for me. Some parts of it were great, as Jung usually is. Other parts I found to be, at least personally, uninteresting. Overall, it was a pretty good book, and some parts were absolutely essential for understanding Jung. Some parts were also very inspiring in terms of understanding my own individuation journey. Hence the 4 stars.

This book is a collection of Jung's articles dealing with the archetypes of the collective unconscious. In it, Jung expands the definition Freud used of the unconscious, which Jung refers to as the personal unconscious, which is simply the collection of all things forgotten. The collective unconscious is trans-personal and common to all members of our species. It contains primary ideas or symbols that guide the development of people, formed though millennia of human behaviors becoming in part encoded in our genetic make up, much like instinctual behavior in animals. Personally, I feel that if a bird can spontaneously remember how to build a nest, I do not see it difficult at all for a human to recognize a mother or perhaps remember how to spiritually cultivate his/her self. However, there is no one direct expression of any one archetype as they are colored by the experiences of the individual consciousness. Life experiences that seem to take on a larger than life significance often are those that pair up with the archetypes. Such archetypes are the way we relate to our parents, to our spouses and even how we transform spiritually. It is crucial that these archetypes are allowed to express themselves spontaneously in the individual, for if they solidify, they cease to interact with the world and their energy begins to stagnate in the unconscious where it will eventually erupt. Much of religion then, according to Jung, is a means to express the archetypal energy of the individual in a healthy and productive fashion. It is important to note that the rational process, which distances the individual from the act or thought primarily squelches the spontaneity of this energy, which is subjective and often synchronistic. The consequence of not expressing this energy is impulsive thoughts and behavior that makes up the shadow, or the collection of all neglected energetic impulses. This book is an explanation of some of the more regularly encountered archetypes. The first archetype Jung deals with is the mother, which symbolically represents fertility on many levels, from a plowed field to the alma mater of academic institutions to Kundalini shakti or the primordial generative energy of prakriti or matter. The mother is also represented as the terrible mother as found in the Hindu goddess Kali. Jung goes on to write about the various neuroses that may result when a child identifies their own shadow with their biological mother. It its worse case, this can lead to "Don Juan-ism" in men and hyper-femininity in women. At its best, it leads to compassion and sensitivity in men and a healthy awareness of oneself as mother in women. Rebirth is another primary archetype whose expressions can be found anywhere from religious beliefs in the afterlife to the journey of the hero in mythology. Jung mentions spiritual cultivation is the process of uncovering this transformative archetype, which is expressed well in Christian mysticism and Hindu Yoga (presumably the Yoga Sutras). Jung gives many examples of dreams in which an individual is confronting their own unconscious so that they can grow beyond their current limited mental state. He also gives the detailed story of a female painter who transferred her religious development into mandala paintings. Jung carefully explains how the patient is dealing with her archetypes by how they are expressed in each of the paintings. Other archetypes covered are the child (new-ness, potential for change, virgin birth, continuation), Persephone (mother-daughter relationship), various quests of fairytales and the trickster figure (the success of non-thinking). In brief, this book presents plentiful examples in which Jung demonstrates how seemingly universal concepts manifest in patients' psyches. By doing so, Jung gives the reader ample evidence to support his method and theory.

This is my first deep dive into Jung. I'm familiar with some interpretations from Joseph Campbell and Jordan Peterson and a primer here and there but this is my first venture from the man himself. Wow! Every paragraph has the potential to explode in revelation! The depth and insight from Jung is like few others in history. Simply astounding! He goes into primarily the Mother, Father, and Child archetypes with plenty to say on the Anima/Animus, Trickster, and Shadow archetypes and how each archetype has a anima/animus or yin/yang aspect of it's own. There is the wise old man mentor and there is the grumpy old man jerk all contained in the Old Man archetype. The evidence for their existence is all around if you just know where and how to look. After reading this I saw "The Dark Tower" movie written by Stephen King and discovered archetypes and archetypal images everywhere. Jung even surprises by demonstrating how the parable of the unjust steward is a call from Jesus for us to confront, meet, and integrate our own shadow! It is about God saying it's okay to be dishonest with Him if you're aim is to reconcile with those around you! This I did not expect and yet it is truly compelling. Makes me want to read Part II: Aion. That's next. Truly one of those books that can change your life. You will begin to see things differently after reading this magnificent masterpiece.

Quick ship, Great Quality, friendly seller.

Jung is a though read. Most of his famous ideas are essays not whole books therefore do not expect a full 400 pages dedicated to archetypes or his other important ideas. Them he left for Jungian researchers. Because of his love for religious, mystical and mythical texts i can't help myself noticing the similarity of his work to them, where every sentence is valuable, and have a profound meaning but lacks explanation which you may find in modern reference books. Archetypes and other important issues are introduced here but Jung talks to reader as if he is talking over a morning coffee. Some alchemical, philosophical or theological references are left without footnotes assuming the reader has some knowledge about whereas the ones with footsnotes are kind of express train at top speed full of historical images and information. One must be very careful not to make a superficial reading because torrent of data flowing behind the lines are immense and you have to learn it. Like i did 3 years ago after reading his thin book "Four Archetypes" published independent of his collected series. I was shocked and felt like an ant in elephants' world. Since then i tried hard to attain the information he demanded but i must admit it helped me a lot culturally. Explanation of complexes are tricky, you need to learn them from other sources in addition. A weakness of this book is due to editors i guess who put a part of 80 pages or so where Jung comments on painted images of a woman patient in purpose of illustrating the "individuation" process. This is boring even for the most determined reader. Finally if you buy that book there is a chance that whole set of writers' corpus of works (plato, schopenhauer, nietzsche, meister eckhart etc.) are coming with it which in my case is true. This is an important book.