Myth/Fairytale Archives - C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago: Recent Episodes
C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago
We continue our coverage of The Odyssey with a focus on proper sacrifice and hospitality rules. As we cannot read the entire epic, there’s no main story reading for this episode. However, towards the very end of the episode, Raisa reads a summary of Odysseus’s reunion with Penelope from Claudio Patrini’s, “Odyssey: Symbols and Meaning.”
There are many versions of The Odyssey out there, but these are the ones that we have found most recommended:
- Stephen Mitchell translation. (Adina’s read this one)
- Robert Fagles translation. (Raisa listened to the audiobook version, read by Sir Ian McKellan)
- Emily Wilson translation. (First translation by a woman and entirely in iambic pentameter. Highly recommended by Raisa’s wife, brother, and many others. Unfortunately the audiobook is exclusively on Audible)
- Stephen Fry retelling. (A contemporary version that adds extra context and is easy to digest. Brilliantly narrated by Stephen Fry himself. Raisa listened to this one first before moving on to Fagles and McKellan)
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: Athena appearing to Odysseus to reveal the Island of Ithaca by Giuseppe Bottani
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
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The post Jungian Ever After | Odysseus: Sacrifice & Hospitality appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
In preparation for the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, we begin our coverage of The Odyssey with a focus on the isles of Polyphemus and Calypso. As the story is far too long to read aloud, Raisa reads a summary of Odysseus’s encounter with Polyphemus from Claudio Patrini’s, “Odyssey: Symbols and Meaning.”
There are many versions of The Odyssey out there, but these are the ones that we have found most recommended:
- Stephen Mitchell translation. (Adina’s read this one)
- Robert Fagles translation. (Raisa listened to the audiobook version, read by Sir Ian McKellan)
- Emily Wilson translation. (First translation by a woman and entirely in iambic pentameter. Highly recommended by Raisa’s wife, brother, and many others. Unfortunately the audiobook is exclusively on Audible)
- Stephen Fry retelling. (A contemporary version that adds extra context and is easy to digest. Brilliantly narrated by Stephen Fry himself. Raisa listened to this one first before moving on to Fagles and McKellan)
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: Athena appearing to Odysseus to reveal the Island of Ithaca by Giuseppe Bottani
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | Odysseus: Trickster and Homesickness appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
We analyze the story of Medea and her embodiment of perhaps the most disturbing archetype – the Death Mother.
Content warning: Infanticide
This episode we will be reading from Medea, by Euripides (Translated by Rex Warner). The following is also referenced in this episode:
- The Death Mother as Nature’s Shadow: Infanticide, Abandonment and The Collective Unconscious – by Daniela Sieff
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: Madame Janauschek as Medea
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | Medea appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
The first of a grim pair of episodes depicting filicide within Greek myths. We piece together the story of Agamemnon’s sacrificing Iphigenia for favorable winds – and the fallout of such action after the war. All this with an eye for how the choices parents make either support or harm the parents’ individuation.
This episode we will be reading from Mythology, by Edith Hamilton. The following are also referenced in this episode:
- Mercury Rising: Women, Evil and the Trickster Gods – by Deldon Anne McNeely
- The Red Book: Liber Novus – by C.G. Jung
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: Agamemnon Condemns Iphigenia by Pierto Aldi
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | Agamemnon & Iphigenia appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
“‘Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood.”
(Shakespeare, Hamlet, ca. 1600)
On the thirty-first of October, countries as distant as Mexico, Brazil, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Canada, and, above all, the United States, celebrate one of the strangest and most popular pagan holidays: Halloween. Over the past two decades, this festival has also taken root in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other Eastern European countries, where it overlaps with the Christian commemoration of All Souls’ Day.
Its origins, however, reach back more than two millennia to the ancient Celtic custom known as Samhain, once celebrated in northern France, England, and Ireland. In various forms, this archetypal motif appears in religions and myths across the world. The theme that Halloween brings to consciousness holds deep psychological significance, as it addresses a core insight for curating the well-being of humankind.
Samhain: The End of SummerThe Celts called the festival Samhain. The old Irish and Gaelic word samfuin means “the end of summer” or “the setting of the sun.” The festival marked the conclusion of the harvest and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The Gallic calendar divided the year into two halves—the dark and the light—each beginning with the months Samonios and Giamonios, respectively. Samhain thus opened the dark half of the year, a time when the sun withdrew and the fires of transformation were kindled. The New Year’s celebration lasted three days—Trinoux Samoni—a triple feast that symbolically contained the movement from life toward death and back again.
The Celtic calendar aligned itself less with the course of celestial bodies than with the organic rhythm of the earth; in this way, its basis was more psychological than astronomical. Ritual bonfires blazed on high hills; families gathered in their light and offered sacrifices to the gods so that divine wrath would not fall upon them during the long winter. The rites were both agricultural and spiritual: offerings, sacrifices, and symbolic deaths ensured the survival of the community. In Ireland and Scotland, this day was called Feile na Marbh, the festival of the dead, for winter inevitably claimed human lives as well. Even today, in certain regions of Ireland and Scotland, people dedicate this night to their ancestors and recount the stories of those who have gone before.
According to Celtic tradition, when one half of the year overlapped with the other, the world of the living came perilously close to the world of the dead. This contact produced strange and frightening phenomena—what we would today call perhaps paranormal events. During this threshold time, the dead were believed to enter daily reality and for one day to walk among the living. However, those spirits brought both blessings and terror: they could destroy crops or whisper prophecies to the Druids, the Celtic priests who in turn can share them with their people. They advised on matters of love and marriage, on the number of children to come, and on the food stores needed to endure the winter.
The Druids built great fires around which families gathered in symbolic unity, seeking communion with the divine. People dressed in animal skins and wore masks that evoked creatures of the wild, acknowledging that the human being and the animal share a single psychic ground. From a Jungian perspective, such a ritual can be seen as an act of integration—an acknowledgment of instinct as the foundation of psychic vitality but also its use as a tool during difficult times of survival. Though the festival contained a sense of dread, it also carried fascination, beauty, and awe. Most importantly – it built resilience through embodiment and development of a new attitude. The participant experienced the ritual in its totality—with pathos, fear, reverence, and wonder—precisely the conditions under which transformation of consciousness can occur.
Merging with Roman and Christian FeastsWhen the Romans conquered most of the Celtic lands around 43 BCE, the native rituals did not disappear but gradually intertwined with the religious life of the empire. This fusion was not imposed by any imperial order; it unfolded naturally through interpretatio Romana—the Roman practice of assimilating local gods and festivals into its own pantheon to maintain harmony across the provinces. The Romans rarely abolished native deities; they translated them into their own symbolic language, recognizing in them familiar divine forces. Thus, Samhain began to merge with the Roman observances of Feralia and Pomona.
Feralia, a solemn day dedicated to honoring the spirits of the dead, brought families to graves with offerings of food and wine, affirming the continuity between the living and the departed. Pomona, by contrast, introduced a gentler, life-affirming note. As goddess of fruit and orchards, she presided over the fullness of harvest before the world withdrew into dormancy. The apple, sacred to her, became a symbol of regeneration—the life hidden within the seed at the heart of decay. It is likely through this blending that both apple and, later, pumpkin entered the imagery of Halloween.
Pomona belonged to the numinous company of the Numina—divine presences inhabiting woods, streams, and sacred springs. These forces guarded both nature and the human soul, protecting home and spirit from chaos. In them we can sense an early intuition of what Jung would later describe as the psychoid realm, where matter and spirit interpenetrate. Thus, Pomona’s care over orchards and hearth symbolized the safeguarding of the soul’s inner dwelling against destructive powers that arise when the boundary between worlds grows thin.
Through this organic blending of Roman and Celtic imagination—not by decree, but through shared archetypal resonance—two spiritual sensibilities met and transformed each other. The Feralia contributed solemn remembrance; Pomona offered sweetness and renewal. Their union gave rise to a ritual vision in which death was no longer the final end but part of the natural rhythm of life—a quiet prelude to the descent into winter and the soul’s return to its mysterious roots.
By the eighth century CE, Celtic lands had come under Christian rule. Pope Gregory III declared the first of November to be All Saints’ Day, honoring martyrs and the blessed who beheld God in heaven. The following day, November 2, became All Souls’ Day, commemorating those still undergoing purification. The papal intention was to replace the pagan Samhain with a Christian feast, yet the ancient symbolism persisted among the people. Elements of the older rituals were absorbed into the Christian observances, giving rise to All Hallows’ Eve, the night before All Saints’ Day—eventually shortened to Hallowe’en and later Halloween.
Only in modern times did Halloween separate from the church calendar and return to its pre-Christian date of October 31, regaining its “pagan status”—to the dismay of ecclesiastical authorities, who have often viewed it either as “foolish indulgence” or as “the celebration of demonic forces” (Rogers, 2002; Hutton, 1991).
The festival itself, however, has a deep symbolic meaning that transcends both condemnation and commercial trivialization. Its psychological function lies in confronting what civilization habitually represses—the instinctual, the nocturnal, the proximity of death, and the haunting presence of the unconscious.
The Contemporary Festival and the Halloween ArchetypeHalloween, originating in Ireland, reached North America around the mid-nineteenth century and spread across Europe during the twentieth. The celebration includes masks and costumes—especially ghostly and monstrous ones—visiting haunted houses, telling frightening stories, watching horror films, and lighting bonfires. Children go from house to house with the playful threat “trick-or-treat,” receiving sweets as a symbolic exchange. The carved pumpkin, glowing from within, has become its most recognizable emblem. During this season, America swarms with skeletons, devils, and ghosts; according to the National Retail Federation (2024), Americans now spend around four billion dollars on costumes alone, contributing to a total Halloween expenditure of nearly twelve billion dollars each year. Cinemas and streaming platforms earn millions more from horror entertainment. In sheer commercial magnitude, Halloween rivals even Christmas.
Yet rituals honoring the dead or the spirits of the departed are not unique to the Celts or the West. They appear in cultures worldwide—in the Greek Anthesteria, the Egyptian Feast of the Valley, the Australian Alcheringa rites, the Hindu Shrāddha, the Tibetan Ullambana, and the Chinese Zhongyuan Jie. Each of these ceremonies dramatizes the human encounter with mortality and the unseen.
If such festivals were mere remnants of archaic superstition, they would long ago have disappeared. Their persistence suggests a deep psychological necessity. Recent surveys in the United States reveal that one-third of adults believe in ghosts and nearly one-fifth in witches and curses (Harris Poll, 2021). Beyond literal belief lies an archetypal need—the psyche’s urge to symbolize what cannot be grasped by reason alone. The psyche speaks through symbols; rational thought is only one mode of understanding. The symbolic dimension is its native language—an archaic, primordial way of relating to reality that allows meaning to emerge where logic reaches its limits. Let’s look at it through Jungian lenses.
Death: The Mirror of MeaningDeath, after all, is as fundamental to psychic life as birth. It is the boundary that gives shape to existence, the horizon against which life becomes meaningful. Without death, life would lose its direction and its moral gravity. As Jung observed, “Life is teleological only in so far as it is self-limiting; its goal is death” (Jung, 1934/1960, CW 8, para. 812).
The non-existence of consciousness would mean immortality, but also the absence of life. Only that which is reflected by consciousness truly exists. A lifeless world “in itself” is meaningless to the sentient being. To exist psychically, the world must mirror itself in at least one tiny mirror, in one consciousness. The nature of this reflection defines life and that is to say the quality of life. The world perceived by the Dalai Lama is not the same as the one reflected in the mind of a small child—not merely because of knowledge, but because of the depth of freedom experienced in each reflection.
Life and its counterpart, finality, are inseparable. It is almost impossible to imagine existence without death. If death were abolished, moral and social laws would dissolve into a chaos of endless relativism. Life without its counterpart would become a prison—an infinite prolongation stripped of meaning, purpose, and orientation. Its sense is anchored in individuation: the ongoing attempt to find the most conscious and ethical response to the complexities, perplexities, and reversals of existence. Purpose itself can only be measured against our striving within the limits of ultimate choice, defined by the absoluteness of death—finality.
Death remains the greatest unknown of life, the silent justice from which none are exempt. Psychologically, it is the ultimate mystery—a dark realm beyond consciousness, from which only faint voices of faith, imagination, and fantasy reach us. At times these voices whisper terror and cruelty; at others, they promise solace and continuity. Yet though their truth can never be verified, we can still enter into a relationship with them. Death stands as the most enigmatic object of projection—the screen upon which the psyche casts its deepest images, fears, and aspirations. From this interplay, paradoxically, the meaning of life itself begins to emerge.
Since the birth of symbolic agency, death has held a double meaning: fear of absolute annihilation, and the hope of blissful continuity. Both evoke anxiety, for the final answer remains forever uncertain. As Paul Tillich (1952/2000) said, the greatest anxiety is not fear of punishment but “the anxiety of meaninglessness,” the dread that life itself may lack significance.
From the standpoint of the ego, death means dissolution—the collapse of individuality, the annihilation of being. From the standpoint of the unconscious, it signifies return and reunion. Myths across cultures portray death as a joyous homecoming, the restoration of unity with the divine. The moral dimension of this return—heaven or hell, redemption or damnation—merely clothes the archetype in cultural garments.
Integrating Existential AnxietyIn this sense, contact with the dead in ritual form fulfills a profound psychological function: it helps integrate – to contain – the existential anxiety. The spirits of the dead truly “live” in the unconscious; translated into psychological language, they are the latent fears and unresolved complexes surrounding death. For archaic humanity, the acknowledgment of these spirits occurred through projection onto the outer world. During Samhain—and later Halloween—the dead could appear as ghosts and monsters. Fear thus took visible, graspable form; it could be acted out rather than merely endured. What was once diffuse anxiety became embodied symbols. The vague unease of the soul found a face.
This process is not an expression of primitive superstition but a psychic necessity coming from the deep archetypal wisdom. To “express” fear in symbolic form is to externalize and ritualize the inner tension between life and death. Such dramatization mirrors the process of active imagination in Jungian analysis, where unconscious contents are personified and engaged in dialogue rather than split-off and sent off as projections.
In the Celtic lands—especially in Ireland, where winters were long and harsh—the collective psyche carried deep fears of darkness, hunger, and death. Such seasons of isolation and loss filled the community with emotions too heavy for consciousness alone. Festivals like Samhain served as sacred vessels for these tensions. Around great fires, through masks, dance, and story, people gave form to their fears and released them into ritual space.
In this way, the Celts transformed fear into meaning. Samhain was a psychic act of courage—a collective “holding” of darkness rather than being consumed by it. From a Jungian perspective, these rites contained the unconscious, allowing archetypal energies of death and renewal to rise into awareness. By facing the shadow together, the Celtic people found balance and prepared the soul—and the land—for facing the Giamonios, the dark side of the year.
The overlapping of the worlds of the living and the dead corresponds psychologically to the overlapping of consciousness and the unconscious. During Halloween, the unconscious gains energy, forcing consciousness to respond with heightened attention. Contents once denied or repressed—fear, aggression, guilt, and desire—arise as ghosts and walking dead. Yet in this symbolic space, they can be acknowledged and even embraced.
Confronting fear within a defined, socially sanctioned ritual—whether through costume, storytelling, or bonfire—parallels the therapeutic encounter with shadow material in a safe analytic setting. Here, safety isn’t provided by the analyst, but by the ritual container itself, which allows for emotional enactment and play. Many people intuitively seek this controlled exposure to fear, choosing to watch horror films or read Stephen King precisely at this time, engaging with frightening content under the reassuring psychological condition of “as if.”
It would be naïve to think that only children take Halloween seriously. Beneath the laughter and play often lie adult anxieties. Denying them does not free us from their power. Every ritual works unconsciously, and therefore partly against our conscious positions. Children, being closer to instinct, experience the festival more directly and deeply; for them, fear and fascination are still united.
The atavistic identification with animals, monsters, and ghosts—so typical of Halloween—can thus be understood as a psychological attempt to integrate the unconscious. It represents a phylogenetic regression, a descent of ego-consciousness into its instinctual roots. This descent naturally provokes fear of disintegration. The ego feels anxiety as evolution appears to reverse itself, plunging back into the archaic. Yet establishing a relationship with the inner animal is essential for psychic wholeness. Instincts that “modern” people believe they have outgrown have merely sunk into the depths, living silently like coelacanths in the ocean of the unconscious.
Death as Transformation and RebirthHalloween, therefore, serves not as a mere exposure to fear but as a nature-guided process of transformation. The descent into the “underworld” (Tír na nÓg), the world of instinct, corresponds psychologically to a descent into the unconscious. Because every symbol contains something ineffable and numinous, confrontation with it is always mysterious. It brings forth emotions that were previously unknown, split-off, and considered too painful or unbearable for consciousness to hold. Immersion in that horrific and fascinating mystery—whether through ritual, dream, or creative expression—can be turned into a cleansing and healing bath if the mind finds the right propensity and courage. The ego, bathed in the transformative waters of the unconscious, will always emerge more courageous and grown.
Jung said: “The true man is a child who has had his eyes opened. The darkness that hides the good is the same darkness that hides the bad, and we can draw the good out of the darkness only when we can also find the bad there.” (CW 16, para. 544)
The ancient Celts understood that the confrontation with darkness carries a transformative purpose. Confronting the spirits of the dead was not simply an act of terror, but an initiation. Through the symbolic death of the ego, a new life could be born. What we now call the “unconscious,” early humanity referred to as the “world of spirits.” Among the ancient Irish and Celts, this world was known as Annwn or Tech Duinn—realms of the ancestors and of the unseen forces shaping life. From that world came both wisdom and power. By honoring the dead during Samhain, people maintained a dialogue with the invisible realm, ensuring that life remained in balance with its hidden source. Through such rituals, they derived strength to endure existence in the body with all its sufferings and limitations, understanding that descent into darkness was not an end but a passage toward renewal.
Through myth and ritual they summoned their spirits, expanding the image of the world beyond the boundaries of individual existence. Faith in those spirits opened access to the living wellspring of the unconscious—a capacity that many modern people have forgotten. Few civilizations cultivated this art of dying as profoundly as the ancient Egyptians, whose mysteries aimed to initiate the living into the life beyond death. Psychologically understood, this “life after death” represents an initiation into a higher state of consciousness—the transcendence of ignorance and unconsciousness. In this light, death is not the negation of life but its incomplete form, existence without awareness, deprived of the experience of the divine—the divine as the ever-present, eternal ground of life itself.
We find similar parallels in the Greek mysteries, in Christian liturgy, and in other ancient religions. The Bardo Thödol, or Tibetan Book of the Dead, can likewise be understood as a guide for awakening the soul to its original divine nature, forgotten at birth (Jung, 1935/1958, paras. 841–842). As Jung wrote, “The dead who seek recognition are the voices of the dead within us; it is they who demand the work of transformation which leads to individuation” (CW 11, para. 856). The spiritual climax is attained precisely at the moment of bodily death, when the soul is initiated into a higher mode of awareness.
From the depth-psychological perspective, such ritual dramas view life and death symbolically, for the projections surrounding death can never be entirely rationalized. Communication through symbols is not a trivial game of conjuring spirits but a moral and transformative act through which ego-consciousness enters into relation with the deeper reality—a world that continually calls for ethical participation and conscious engagement with the mystery of being.
Halloween, in its contemporary form, is indeed a simplified echo of such ancient initiations. The Druids, guided by instinct, enacted the same process that the Bardo Thödol describes in sophisticated theological language: conscious participation in the transition from one mode of being to another. In a similar way, Jungian analysis is an initiation into new life, assisting the integration of the Self into ego-consciousness. As Jung (1955/1966) wrote, “Penetration into the lower strata of the psyche is a kind of Socratic maieutics which brings to birth psychic contents that were hitherto only in a germinal state, subliminal and therefore unborn” (CW 13, para. 163).
Life “before” birth, therefore, can correspond to the original unconscious totality—the Platonic realm of the Good (to agathon). In Plato’s philosophy, this realm was also called the hyperuranion topos—the “place beyond the heavens”—where the eternal Forms dwell, unchanging and pure, and where the soul contemplates truth before descending into the body. In the Celtic imagination there is a similar symbol-image of the “Land of Youth,” or Mag Mell, the “Plain of Delight”—timeless realms of harmony where the soul dwelled in unity with the divine prior to incarnation. Both express the archetype of primordial wholeness that the human soul seeks to recover through experience of reality. Thus, when the soul remembers its divine origin, it will be reborn. Depth psychology understands this process of transformation as spiritual rebirth. By entering into dialectical relation with archetypal forces—the living symbols of the unconscious—one attains the highest form of wisdom: a consciousness that reconciles the opposites of the mortal with the eternal within the Self.
The Shadow and the Need for DialogueArchaic humans possessed an advantage over the modern: ritual contact with archetypal powers was an organic part of daily life. They lived immersed in symbol, in continuous dialogue with the unconscious, which ensured psychic balance and continuity. Modern humans, by contrast, have overvalued—and even deified—rationality to the point of blindness, leaving themselves defenseless before archetypal energies they no longer recognize or understand. The archetype, as a source of image, emotion, thought, and impulse to act—the very wellspring of psychic energy—cannot be “thought away.” The task of modern humanity is not to banish or subjugate these forces, but to rediscover their roots and, like the ancient Druids, to enter into conscious relationship with them—an attitude that once again aligns life with the deepest and most natural rhythm of being.
The so-called primitive lived in dialogue with his gods and therefore with his own soul. Jung (1961) observed that “while the man without faith walks toward nothingness, the one who entrusts himself to the powers of the archetype walks toward life through death. Both move in uncertainty, yet the one lives against his instincts, the other in accord with them” (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, p. 306). When archetypes—or “spirits,” are ignored, they turn against us.
James Hillman (1977) demonstrated this in Suicide and the Soul. When the symbolic dimension of death is denied, its archetype may possess the personality, producing the literal urge for self-destruction. Death and rebirth are then experienced as bodily necessity. But the soul, which knows no body, expresses this as an archaic longing for transformation. The task is to understand that the body need not die; it is only the old psychic form that must perish so that a new, spiritual body can emerge. When we follow an archetype concretely, we become trapped in its literal meaning. When we apprehend it symbolically, its energy can be sublimated and transcend the body and its compulsions. Physical destruction is no longer required; the work with the archetype of death leads instead to renewed life.
The “ghosts” that haunt us—the unrecognized contents of the psyche—belong to what depth psychology calls the shadow: all that lies beyond the light of awareness. The more we repress these contents, the more destructive they become. Halloween reminds us that by consciously approaching this danger—whether through mockery, laughter, or the deliberate evocation of fear—we learn to live with death rather than turn away from it.
Here we encounter a phenomenon no longer confined to America—the growing fascination with brutality and violence. The modern obsession with horror films and violent games reveals, on one level, a conscious trivialization of death, and on another, an unconscious build-up of unacknowledged aggression. When the natural impulse toward aggression is dissociated, it sinks into the unconscious and returns as compulsive imagery. What consciousness neglects eventually takes possession. This process, known as psychological compensation, reflects the psyche’s instinctive effort to restore balance by bringing the rejected material back into awareness.
Just as excessive sexual restraint gives rise to obsessive erotic fantasies, and rigid dieting provokes compulsive overeating, an exaggerated attachment to life strengthens the pull of its opposite—death. Nature seeks equilibrium and continually brings both poles before consciousness. Only when the denied and the desired unite can true psychic freedom emerge. Instinctual and moral forces must meet in reflective harmony, converging at the center of the psyche—within what Jung called the transsubjective reality of the Self.
In the ancient Samhain, the world of spirits and the world of humans overlapped, allowing people to face the harsh winter not trembling with fear of death but strengthened through communion with their ancestors. Likewise, modern humanity, if it dares to gaze into its own darkness, may discover guidance rather than terror. The spirits that once haunted the night are, in truth, reflections of our own unlived life.
References Adler, M. (2006). Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today (Rev. ed.). Beacon Press. * Eliade, M. (1997). Šamanizmus a nejstarší techniky extáze [Shamanism and the Ancient Techniques of Ecstasy]. Argo. * Hillman, J. (1977). Suicide and the Soul. Harper Colophon. * Hutton, R. (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy. Blackwell. * Jakubisko, J. (Director). (1985). Perinbaba [Film]. Koliba Studios. * Jung, C. G. (1934/1960). The Soul and Death. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (Vol. 8). Princeton University Press. * Jung, C. G. (1935/1958). Psychological Commentary on “The Tibetan Book of the Dead.” In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (Vol. 11). Princeton University Press. * Jung, C. G. (1955/1966). The Practice of Psychotherapy. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (Vol. 16). Princeton University Press. * Jung, C. G. (1961). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Vintage Books. * MacKillop, J. (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press. * Rogers, N. (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Oxford University Press. * Šolc, V. (2016). Psychologie svátku Halloween. In Psychologie Dnes, 22(11), 38–41. * Tillich, P. (1952/2000). The Courage to Be*. Yale University Press.
The post Vlado Solc | The Witching Time of the Soul: A Jungian Reflection on Halloween and Death appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
We begin our coverage of Orpheus and Euridice. This episode is primarily focused on the archetypal power of creativity as demonstrated in Edith Hamilton’s telling of the story. We will read Ovid’s version and dig into other elements of the story in the following episode.
This episode we will be reading from:
- Metamorphoses, by Ovid. Translation by Mary M. Innes.
We recommend watching part or all of the opera L’Orfeo. You can find a video with English subtitles here.
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: File:Kratzenstein orpheus.jpg – Wikipedia
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
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The post Jungian Ever After | Orpheus and Euridice – Creativity appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
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We recorded this shortly after the 2024 US election results but, as it took some time to edit, we decided to post on inauguration day (reposted here from the original feed). In a time when self-absorbed billionaires have taken control of government, this episode’s topic feels particularly relevant.
This episode we will be reading from:
- Metamorphoses, by Ovid. Translation by Mary M. Innes.
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: File:Narcissus-Caravaggio (1594-96).jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
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In this episode we discuss the story of Hercules, the strongest man and perhaps the most well known of Greek heroes. While folks are probably familiar with general highlights of his story, many of the finer details may be surprising. After consuming the entirety of his legend, it’s hard to call it anything else but tragic.
This season we will be reading from:
- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: File:Antonio del Pollaiolo – Ercole e l’Idra e Ercole e Anteo – Google Art Project.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
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The post Jungian Ever After | Hercules appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
After an unintentionally extended break we bring you our first story episode of season 2! No pantheon is without its creation story and it seemed an obvious place to start for our season of Greek mythology. We discuss the archetypes of creation stories with some comparisons to biblical creation and… The Big Bang Theory?
Story begins | 14:03
Story ends | 20:02
This season we will be reading from:
- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: File:Olympians.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | The Greek Creation Myth appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Our Spring Fundraising Drive ends June 30! We need your help to keep this free podcast, our classes, and our training programs going. Become a supporter by making a donation today!
Renowned mythologist and McArthur genius Fellow Lewis Hyde joins Patricia Martin in a revelatory conversation about the trickster archetype embodied in mythology.
“Lewis Hyde is a poet, essayist, translator, and cultural critic with a particular interest in the public life of the imagination. His 1983 book, The Gift, illuminates and defends the non-commercial portion of artistic practice. Trickster Makes This World (1998) uses a group of ancient myths to argue for the disruptive intelligence that all cultures need if they are to remain lively and open to change. Common as Air (2010) is a spirited defense of our “cultural commons,” that vast store of ideas, inventions, and works of art that we have inherited from the past and continue to enrich in the present.
Hyde’s most recent book, A Primer for Forgetting, explores the many situations in which forgetfulness is more useful than memory—in myth, personal psychology, politics, art & spiritual life.
A MacArthur Fellow and former director of undergraduate creative writing at Harvard University, Hyde taught writing and American literature for many years at Kenyon College. Now retired, he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife, the writer Patricia Vigderman. Hyde is a trustee of MacDowell and a founding director of the Creative Capital Foundation.”
Learn more at lewishyde.com.
Patricia Martin, MFA, is the host of Jung in the World. A noted cultural analyst, she applies Jungian theory to her work as a researcher and writer. Author of three books, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, and USA Today. She holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and an MA in cultural studies at the University College, Dublin (honors). In 2018, she completed the Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute Chicago where she is a professional affiliate. A scholar in residence at the Chicago Public Library, for the last decade she’s been studying the digital culture and its impact on the individuation process. Patricia travels the world giving talks and workshops based on her findings, and has a private consulting practice in Chicago.
Want to learn more about the Trickster? Listen to Robert Moore’s The Trickster Archetype: Potential and Pathology
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, and Raisa Cabrera
2024-2025 Season Intern: Kavya Krishnamurthy
Music: Michael Chapman
The post Jung in the World | Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth and Art with Lewis Hyde appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Announcements
- Registration for George Bright’s in-person seminar “Where did Jung’s Red Book Come From, and Why Does it Matter?” closes on May 10
- The recording of Nora Swan-Foster’s workshop, “Image or Art? From Jung’s Red Book to Jungian Art Therapy” is now available as a Self-Study Course
Our first episode of season 2! In a way this is episode 0 because it is an introduction to the members of the Greek pantheon and some of our opinions on them.
This season we will be reading from:
- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at FreeMusicArchive.org.
Banner Image: File:Olympians.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | Introducing the Greek Pantheon appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Join the Fall Fundraising Drive: Donate
- Store Sale: Use the code HOLIDAY for 30% off Downloads & Self-Study CE Courses through December 31
- Online Salon Series: A Fresh Look at The Red Book: Reading the Liber Novus with Jungian Psychoanalysts
This episode is the first part of the series Hero & Heroine: The Mythic Dimension in Times of Transition & Growth (the full series is available for purchase on our website). From the seminar description:
Jean Shinoda Bolen leads a workshop which offers an appreciation of how myth, legend, poetry, and contemporary stories provide insights that are meaningful in ordinary life, with particular attention given to those times in a person’s life when major changes are occurring.
It was recorded January 21-22, 1989.
Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, and an internationally known author and speaker. She is the author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Everywoman, Gods in Everyman, Ring of Power, Crossing to Avalon, Close to the Bone, The Millionth Circle, Goddesses in Older Women, Crones Don’t Whine, Urgent Message from Mother, and Like a Tree with over eighty foreign translations. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, a past board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the International Transpersonal Association. She was a recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing’s “Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing Award”, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She was in two acclaimed documentaries, the Academy-Award winning anti-nuclear proliferation film Women—For America, For the World, and the Canadian Film Board’s Goddess Remembered. The Millionth Circle Initiative (millionthcircle.org) was inspired by her book and led to her involvement at the UN. She is the initiator and the leading advocate for a UN 5th World Conference on Women (5wcw.org), which was supported by the Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly on March 8, 2012.
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
Links
Purchase the full series Hero & Heroine: The Mythic Spirit in Times of Transition & Growth
All of Jean Shinoda Bolen’s Seminars
Events
A Fresh Look at The Red Book: Reading the Liber Novus with Jungian Psychoanalysts
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, Raisa Cabrera
Music: Michael Chapman
The post Institute Archive | Hero and Heroine: The Mythic Dimension in Times of Transition and Growth with Jean Shinoda Bolen appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Applications for the Jungian Psychotherapy Program and Jungian Studies Program have reopened! Apply now to secure your place. The story is “Little Red Cap” this time, better known as “Little Red Riding Hood”. We discuss such topics as the 3 faces of the Great Mother, the nature of wolves, and of course our good friend […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Little Red Riding Hood: Sex & Violence appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Our part 2 coverage of Snow White discusses Anima/Animus and how it has shaped the way people perceive and project gender roles at varying points in history. The story is from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm and is read on the PREVIOUS episode of Jungian Ever After, Snow White Part 1: Archetypal Evil. Adina also recommends: Our […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Snow White Part 2: Anima/Animus appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Video Available on YouTube
University of Chicago Professor and online game designer Patrick Jagoda, PhD talks with Patricia Martin about ways that online games and new media apply Jungian theory to create emotional bonds with users.
Patrick Jagoda, PhD is a digital media theorist and game designer. He is Professor of English and Cinema & Media Studies at the University of Chicago. Patrick is also the co-founder (with Melissa Gilliam) of the Game Changer Chicago Design Lab and the Transmedia Story Lab, as well as Executive Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Critical Inquiry and the faculty director of the Weston Game Lab. Patrick’s books include Network Aesthetics (2016), The Game Worlds of Jason Rohrer (2016, with Michael Maizels), and Experimental Games: Critique, Play, and Design in the Age of Gamification (2020), and Transmedia Stories (2022). Patrick has co-directed several alternate reality games, including Speculation (2012), the parasite (2017), and Terrarium (2019). Information about his books, essays, and collaborative game projects appears on his website.
Patricia Martin, MFA, is the host of Jung in the World. A noted cultural analyst, she applies Jungian theory to her work as a researcher and writer. Author of three books, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, and USA Today. She holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and an MA in cultural studies at the University College, Dublin (honors). In 2018, she completed the Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute Chicago where she is a professional affiliate. A scholar in residence at the Chicago Public Library, for the last decade she’s been studying the digital culture and its impact on the individuation process. Patricia travels the world giving talks and workshops based on her findings, and has a private consulting practice in Chicago.
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, and Raisa Cabrera
Music: Michael Chapman
The post Jung in the World | Technology & the Self 3: Myth, Archetypes, and Avatar Personas in Online Games with Patrick Jagoda appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Snow White is one of the most recognized fairy tale stories and characters but, as usual, not many people are familiar with the Grimm version. Part one centers around Archetypal Evil and how it taints those who come into contact with it.
The story is from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm and is read starting at 6:24 and ending at 24:55.
Adina also recommends:
- The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale And Folklore Library). If attempting to purchase this, be sure it says, “with Padraic Colum (intro) and Joseph Campbell (commentary) and James Scharl (illustr)”. Amazon considers all versions to be the same book, so you could accidentally buy a copy without those key elements.
- Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales. Written by Marie-Louise von Franz.
Our intro/outro music is from Antoni Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, performed by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Players. You can find the original at freemusicarchive.org
Banner Image: File:Schneewittchen2.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | Snow White Part 1: Archetypal Evil appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
This episode is the first part of the series Women’s Spirit: The Fire Within (the full series is available for purchase on our website). From the seminar description:
Fire as a feminine aspect is the central image of this workshop by Jungian analyst and author Jean Shinoda Bolen. Fire takes many forms in our imagination, dreams, metaphors, and in our life experiences. We think of hearth fire, campfire, creative fire, passionate fire, consuming fire, destructive fire, transforming fire, wildfire, Pentecostal fire, fire signs, fiery redheads, fire-breathing dragons and firewalks. We fight fire with fire and go through the fire; our fire is put out, rekindled, and dampened: we can be fired up, flare up, burnt up, and burned out. We tend the fire and keep the homefires burning. Fire as a feminine quality is about spirit, energy, and intensity, about warmth and illumination, about rage and outrage. Inner fire is reflected in our work, in our relationships, and in the activist and feminist stances we take in the world. Using poetry and a guided meditation, Dr. Bolen’s workshop helps the listener gain insights into herself and find her personal symbols.
It was recorded in 1994.
Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, and an internationally known author and speaker. She is the author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Everywoman, Gods in Everyman, Ring of Power, Crossing to Avalon, Close to the Bone, The Millionth Circle, Goddesses in Older Women, Crones Don’t Whine, Urgent Message from Mother, and Like a Tree with over eighty foreign translations. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, a past board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the International Transpersonal Association. She was a recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing’s “Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing Award”, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She was in two acclaimed documentaries, the Academy-Award winning anti-nuclear proliferation film Women—For America, For the World, and the Canadian Film Board’s Goddess Remembered. The Millionth Circle Initiative (millionthcircle.org) was inspired by her book and led to her involvement at the UN. She is the initiator and the leading advocate for a UN 5th World Conference on Women (5wcw.org), which was supported by the Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly on March 8, 2012.
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
Links
Purchase the full series Women’s Spirit: the Fire Within
All of Jean Shinoda Bolen’s Seminars
Events
In the Eye of the Storm
Member Event: Opening The Closed Heart: A New Look At Jungian Depth Psychology In Light Of Trauma, Affect-Theory, And Defense With Donald Kalsched
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, Raisa Cabrera
Music: Michael Chapman
The post Institute Archive | Women’s Spirit: The Fire Within with Jean Shinoda Bolen appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Video Available on YouTube
Elizabeth Eowyn Nelson, PhD joins Patricia Martin for a lively conversation about the value of Jungian thought in our tech-centric times. Nelson is on the faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she is a scholar on dreams, technology, and cultural studies. In this episode, she brings a wealth of insight to our contemporary moment, exploring what it means to pursue personal growth in a digital culture.
Elizabeth Eowyn Nelson, PhD has served on the faculty of Pacifica Graduate Institute since 2003. Dr. Nelson’s own research interests have long been addressed to the issues of gender, shadow, and power, with a particular devotion to dangerous women in fiction and fact. She has published several papers and chapters in edited collections and regularly presents at scholarly conferences around the world. Dr. Nelson’s books include Psyche’s Knife: Archetypal Explorations of Love and Power (Chiron, 2012) and The Art of Inquiry: A Depth Psychological Perspective (Spring Publications, 2017), coauthored with Joseph Coppin, which is now in its third edition. She has been a professional writer and editor for more than 30 years, coaching aspiring authors across a variety of genres and styles through her consultancy Wingedfeat.
Patricia Martin, MFA, is the host of Jung in the World. A noted cultural analyst, she applies Jungian theory to her work as a researcher and writer. Author of three books, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, and USA Today. She holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and an MA in cultural studies at the University College, Dublin (honors). In 2018, she completed the Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute Chicago where she is a professional affiliate. A scholar in residence at the Chicago Public Library, for the last decade she’s been studying the digital culture and its impact on the individuation process. Patricia travels the world giving talks and workshops based on her findings, and has a private consulting practice in Chicago.
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, and Raisa Cabrera
Music: Michael Chapman
The post Jung in the World | Technology & the Self 2: Finding Ourselves in a Digital Culture with Elizabeth Nelson appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
This underrated fairy tale has a lot more to it than either of us would have guessed. We discuss fear of abandonment, resilience, and how they relate to a few current events as of the show’s recording.
The story is from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm and is read starting at 3:21 and ending at 20:10.
Adina also recommends:
- The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale And Folklore Library). If attempting to purchase this, be sure it says, “with Padraic Colum (intro) and Joseph Campbell (commentary) and James Scharl (illustr)”. Amazon considers all versions to be the same book, so you could accidentally buy a copy without those key elements.
- The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. Written by Bruno Bettelheim.
Our intro/outro music is from Antoni Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, performed by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Players. You can find the original at freemusicarchive.org
Banner Image: File:1903 Ludwig Richter.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com
Twitter: @JEA_Podcast
Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter
The post Jungian Ever After | Hansel & Grethel appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Jungian Analysts Judith Cooper and Daniel Ross discuss Elegy, the 2008 film directed by Isabel Coixet. Its screenplay is adapted by Nicholas Meyer from the 2001 novel The Dying Animal by Philip Roth. They discuss:
- Counterdependency
- Eros
- Beauty
- Projection
- Death
- Sex vs. Emotional Relatedness/Intimacy
- Initiation
- Puer/Senex
In the intro Ben mentions the episode The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche and our new Self-Study CE Courses.
Judith Cooper, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and diplomate Jungian Analyst in private practice in Chicago. She is a graduate and member of the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago. She was adjunct faculty at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology (1999-2000), teaching projective testing. She was clinical supervisor (1991-2002) and director of training (1998-2002) of an APA-accredited psychology internship program at a community mental health center in northwest Indiana. She has taught in the Analyst Training Program and lectured on the anima/animus, and the clinical use of film.
Daniel Ross, RN, PMHNP, MSN, MBA has been a nurse for 40 years and in hospice for over 30. As a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Jungian Analyst, he brings a medical, psychiatric, and analytical perspective to the field of end-of-life care. He first completed the two-year Clinical Training Program (now the JPP/JSP) at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago then went on to complete the Analyst Training Program. He is in private practice in the northwest suburbs working with adults seeking psychotherapy and continues to see hospice and palliative care patients at the end of life. He is Co-Director of the Jungian Psychotherapy Program and Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
Links
Judith Cooper’s page on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Website
Daniel Ross’s page on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Website
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, and Raisa Cabrera
Music: Michael Chapman
The post Healing Cinema | Elegy appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Please join our Holiday Giving Drive by making a donation online. Your support allows us to provide free and low-cost education to students and listeners around the world. Donate: https://jungchicago.org/blog/support-us/ Rumpelstiltskin is a character the we love from the show Once Upon a Time, but the original story isn’t commonly consumed. We have split our […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Rumpelstiltskin Part 1: Narcissism and Persona appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Renowned folklorist and Harvard scholar Maria Tatar joins host Patricia Martin to discuss her latest book, Heroine with 1,001 Faces. In this interview, Tatar unearths the forgotten legacy of the […]
The post Jung in the World | Mythology and the Age of the Heroine with Maria Tatar appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
One of the most popular fairy tales, Cinderella, especially as told by Grimm, contains two major themes. So, we’ve split our analysis into 2 parts. This second episode speaks of the dehumanizing power of envy. There is a brief recap of the story at the 2:00 mark. We’ll be reading from Household Tales by Brothers […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Cinderella Part 2: Envy appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
One of the most popular fairy tales, Cinderella, especially as told by Grimm, contains two major themes. So, we’ve split our analysis into 2 parts. This first episode speaks of the healing power of grief, while next month we will discuss the role of envy. The story reading takes place from 8:06 to 22:48 We’ll […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Cinderella Part 1: Grief appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
We begin our Grimm journey with the story of Rapunzel! A tale of irresponsible parents, a tower of isolation with no stairs or door, and the persecutor/protector that exists in all of us. The story reading takes place from 9:22 to 18:18 We’ll be reading from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm Adina also recommends: The […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Rapunzel appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
We are adding a new show to Jungianthology! Jungian Ever After is a new show co-hosted by Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts member Adina Davidson and Raisa Cabrera. It’s a podcast about fairy tales through the lens of Jungian analysis. Jungian Ever After will be shared on our feed alongside our other shows. They have […]
The post Jungian Ever After | Introduction appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Death was sacred to some aboriginal people in Colombia. Near the town of San Agustin and Isnos, the journey to death called for a necropolis to be built by unknown indigenous tribes. Approximately more than 2000 years ago, funerary mounds, megalithic, anthropomorphic, anthropozoomorphic, and zoomorphic statues, funerary corridors, and stone slab tombs were constructed beneath […]
The post Freddie Taborda | What the Dead May Teach the Living About the Individuation Process: A Jungian Perspective About an Aboriginal Necropolis appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
This episode is the first session of the series The Warrior Within: A Study in Masculine Psychology, a classic seminar in his series on the four major archetypes of masculine psychology as he understood them: King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. From the seminar description: The Warrior is the archetype of self-disciplined, aggressive action. If Warrior energy […]
The post Institute Archive | The Warrior Within: A Study in Masculine Psychology with Robert Moore, PhD appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
In this episode, Patricia Martin interviews Laura Vecchiolla, clinical psychologist and graduate of the Jungian Psychotherapy Program at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Their discussion touches on: Jung’s obsession with mythology Mythology – Freud vs Jung What does archetypal mean? Image vs story Wonder Woman Hero’s journey Glory seeking vs caretaking Underestimation of women […]
The post Jung in the World | Jung, Wonder Woman, and the Psychology of Myth with Laura Vecchiolla appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
In this episode, Patricia Martin interviews Ryan Maher, MA, LMHC, LCPC, and graduate of the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago’s Jungian Psychotherapy Program. In this discussion, they touch on: Symbolism of the Forest in ancient and modern contexts “Panic” and irrational states of mind Paul Robichaud’s Pan: The Great God’s Modern Return Self-regulation Jung’s […]
The post Jung in the World: Jung, The Mythology of Pan, and Panic Culture: Interview with Ryan Maher appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
During our Holiday Giving Drive we are presenting a series of interviews called Jung in the World. In this episode, Patricia Martin interviews Roula-Maria Dib, creative writer and literary scholar, who views Carl Jung as a modernist and has written about the power of the modernist moment in history to give rise to the discipline […]
The post Jung in the World | C. G. Jung & the Modernist Revolution with Roula-Maria Dib appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Mythology can help us to understand and integrate the shadow, but this endeavor can also be undermined by the use of mythology. In particular, the limiting madness of the shadow can be denied, and with this denial one can lose a sense of soul and embodied life. Schwartz-Salant examines the nature of madness and evil […]
The post Institute Archive | The Myth of Shadow and the Shadow of Myth with Nathan Schwartz-Salant appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Carl Jung was known to be endlessly creative and said art is an innate drive within all of us. People who identify as creatives are prone to certain mental health issues that are somewhat specific to their work. In particular, their shadow material is often overlooked in our culture in favor of a more romantic, […]
The post Jung in the World: Jung & the New Generation of Creatives with Jessica Carson appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
“Jamaya Pu’lapuin?” (“How was your dream?”) are the first words with which the Wayuu greet each other daily. In contrast, when people from industrialized societies meet, they may say, “Hi”, “Hola”, “How are you?.” The greeting of ‘How are you?’ does not exist in the Wayuu language. An initial comparison of the greetings between these […]
The post Freddie Taborda | “JAMAYA PU’LAPUIN?”: A Brief Archetypal Teaching from Wayuu Aborigines to Jungian Psychology appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
In this episode, Jungian Analysts Judith Cooper and Daniel Ross discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film Rear Window (Wikipedia). They touch on: Creative vision Post WWII social change Anima/Animus Puer & Senex Projection Fear of intimacy & marriage Voyeurism Masculine and feminine Coniunctio Patriarchal gaze The Tale of Blue Beard (Wikipedia) The Shadow The Trickster Judith […]
The post Healing Cinema: Rear Window appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
This episode is the opening lecture of a weekend given by Polly Young-Eisendrath. It contains a 1-hour lecture followed by an hour of Q&A. From the seminar description: We all sense a connection with the source that underlies our existence, whether or not we recognize it as such and we all wish to identify with […]
The post The Adventure of Being Human: Beyond the Myth of Biological Salvation with Polly Young-Eisendrath appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Best-selling author Elizabeth Lesser sat down with us to discuss her latest book, Cassandra Speaks: When Women are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes. Elizabeth is the co-founder of the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. In the interview, Lesser talks about new models of power with host Patricia Martin and explains why feminine archetypes and […]
The post Jung in the World | Animating Female Archetypes & Telling Women’s Stories: Interview with Elizabeth Lesser appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
This episode is the first in a new series called Healing Cinema. Judith Cooper, PsyD, and Daniel Ross, PMHNP, members of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts, discuss films from an Jungian point of view. These informal discussions will be released in parallel with our other episodes (lectures from our archives and interviews by Patricia […]
The post Healing Cinema: Gaslight appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
with Robert Moore, PhD This episode is the first session of the series The King Within: A Study in Masculine Psychology, a classic seminar in his series on the four major archetypes of masculine psychology as he understood them: King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. From the seminar description: Of the four male archetypes described by Robert […]
The post The King Within: A Study in Masculine Psychology appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Thank you to Dr. Dana C. White and Dr. Will Linn for sharing the recording of this online salon with Jungian Analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen. It was recorded in August, 2020. Links: Dr. Dana White’s YouTube Channel
The post Dana White | Myth Salon with Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen: Liminality of the Covid Pandemic, Unscripted appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
with Laraine Kurisko, PhD, Jungian Analyst For this Women’s History Month, we’re sharing the seminar The Return of the Archetypal Feminine & the Dawn of the New “Third” in its entirety. It was recorded on January 4, 2019. From the seminar description: The archetypal “Feminine” is back, and She’s…”unhappy.” From “Me Too,” to the trial […]
The post The Return of the Archetypal Feminine & the Dawn of the New “Third” appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
with Robert Moore, PhD Fall online programs are open for registration, including Dreaming in Times of Turmoil, Becoming Marcel Proust: Claiming Self in a Conflicted World, and a reading & consultation group for clinicians: Attachment, Affect Regulation and the Reflective Function in Analytical (Depth) Psychotherapy. In light of the financial difficulties imposed by the pandemic, […]
The post Mythology of the Great Self Within appeared first on C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.
Thomas Moore will be visiting us in October to lead a two-day seminar (registration is open now). As an introduction to Moore’s perspective and voice, we are sharing the first hour of his previous workshop with us, Cultivating Soul, which included two parts: Part 1: Ageless SoulThomas Moore will speak about the themes of his […]
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with Nathan Schwartz-Salant, PhD Dr. Schwartz-Salant explores the importance of Mythology for understanding and containing psychic life within the analytic process. The myths of Pan, Dionysus, Gilgamesh, and Egyptian images of creation are examined in the context of transference/counter-transference dynamics and the creation of the containing environment. This episode is the first session of the […]
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Preparing to Meet the Gods: The Soul Turned Inward with John Van Eenwyk, PhD Experiencing the archetypes as personified gods and goddesses active in our lives reveals the great powers shaping our moods, choices, and actions. Facing the Gods: Archetypal Patterns of Existence illuminates the Olympian stories that serve as reflecting pools where we, as […]
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with Robert Moore, PhD This episode is part one of the series The Four Couples Within: The Structure of the Self and the Dynamics of Relationship. It was recorded in 1989. The four archetypal couples inherent in the Self—the King and Queen, the Warriors, the Magicians, the Lovers—create four distinct psychosocial environments within a relationship. […]
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with Robert Moore, PhD This episode is part one of the series Myth and Psyche: An Introduction to Jungian Perspectives on Human Mythology. It was recorded in 1992. According to Jung, myth-making is a natural and impersonal potential present in the collective unconscious of all peoples throughout all times. Drawing on the contributions of Jung, […]
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with Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD This episode is the first part of the series Women’s Mysteries: Sources of Creativity, Religion & Spirituality, & Solace. Jungian analyst and author Jean Shinoda Bolen leads a workshop for women “who seek to nurture their own creative and spiritual yearnings and find ways of expressing, articulating, and valuing what […]
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with Murray Stein, PhD This lecture, “Origins: The Ego Once- and Twice-Born”, is part one of the series A Psychological Approach to the Bible I. It was recorded in 1989. Jungian analyst Murray Stein leads a study of the Bible for its insight into psychological questions about the ego’s proper relation to the self, the […]
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with Lionel Corbett, MD & Cathy Rives, MD This episode is the first session of the series Jungian Psychology & Kohut’s Self-Psychology. The psychoanalytic methods of self psychology as developed by Heinz Kohut examine the development and the developmental disturbances of self-esteem and confidence, the formation and malformation of guiding ideals, empathy for the thoughts […]
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with Anthony Stevens, MD This episode is part one of the series The Archetypal Realities of Everyday Life. It was recorded in 1986. This seminar examines the ways in which the archetypes of the collective unconscious guide, form, and vitalize our daily existence. We can perceive this archetypal influence subjectively in consciousness and objectively in […]
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with Murray Stein, PhD This episode is part one of the series Understanding the Meaning of Alchemy. It was recorded in 1992. During the last thirty years of his life, Jung turned to alchemy as a fundamental resource for depth psychology. In alchemy he found images and thoughts that were uniquely fitted to his perceptions […]
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with Lois Khan, PhD This episode is “Go I Know Not Whither, Bring Back I Know Not What”, part one of the series The Psychology of Fairy Tales. “Fairy tales are the purest and simplest expression of collective unconscious processes… They represent the archetypes in their simplest, barest, and most concise form … [and] afford […]
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with Thomas Patrick Lavin, PhD This episode is part one of the series Myths to Grow By. In his later years, Joseph Campbell defined mythology as a system of energy-evoking and energy-directing symbols which serve four functions for individuals and for the culture: the mystical, the cosmological, the sociological, and developmental functions. This course addresses […]
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with Warren Sibilla, Jr, PhD. Using examples from Zen Buddhism, Warren Sibilla discusses Jung’s idea that the subjective and objective have a complementary relationship, and that this relationship is necessary in clinical practice – objective knowledge alone is not enough. Warren Sibilla, Jr, PhD is a Diplomate Jungian Psychoanalyst with a clinical practice in Chicago, IL […]
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with John Beebe, MD. In this lecture, Dr. Beebe explores a neglected area in analytical psychology, the influence of the father’s unconscious upon the later development of the son. Jung’s analytical psychology offers insight into the way a father’s feminine side influences the formation of the anima of the son. It was recorded on February […]
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Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Earth with China Galland. One of the most important features of a pilgrimage is its intimate association with nature through the kaleidoscope of changing weather and landscape that one experiences along the way. Fellow pilgrims, strangers at the start, may feel like old friends by the end of a long journey […]
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with Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. To be a crone is not a matter of age or appearance. Becoming a “crone” is a crowning inner achievement. “Crones Don’t Whine” is the first of thirteen defining qualities of the crone because whining blocks spiritual and psychological development. Crone qualities are those that can be taken to heart […]
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with Anita Greene, Ph.D. Anita Greene, Ph.D. is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Amherst Massachusetts, and a teacher at the C.G. Jung Institute in Boston. She is also a Rubenfeld Synergist who combines gentle body techniques within her analytic work. She lectures widely on the integration of body and psyche. There is no […]
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with Sylvia Brinton Perera, MA Just as earth is source, support, and home to humankind, so the mother’s body is source, support, and home of each infant. When the individual’s primal bond is scarred by basic faults, therapy often involves the female analysand’s falling through the painful wounds of the personal mother complex to meet […]
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