C.G. Jung: “a crucifixion of the ego, its agonizing suspension between irreconcilable opposites…”
Christ Crucified Between Two Thieves Duccio di Buoninsegna
Yet, although the attributes of Christ (consubstantiality with the Father, co-eternity, filiation, parthenogenesis, crucifixion, Lamb sacrificed between opposites, One divided into Many, etc.) undoubtedly mark him out as an embodiment of the self, looked at from the psychological angle he corresponds to only one half of the archetype.
The other half appears in the Antichrist. The latter is just as much a manifestation of the self, except that he consists of its dark aspect.
Both are Christian symbols, and they have the same meaning as the image of the Saviour crucified between two thieves.
This great symbol tells us that the progressive development and differentiation of consciousness leads to an ever more menacing awareness of the conflict and involves nothing less than a crucifixion of the ego, its agonizing suspension between irreconcilable opposites.
Aion
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