The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not become conscious of his inner opposite, the world must perforce act out the conflict and be torn into opposing halves. Collected Words 9ii Christ, A…
Spiegel der Philosophen Mirror of the Philosophers from Aurei Velleris, (Hamburg: bei Christian Liebezeit, in der St. Joh. Kirch, 1708) Whoever desires to know the highest and most true knowledge of the Art and Wisdom of the high Wisdom should study this little book diligently, earnestly reading it over so that it brings them their…
What we are to our inward vision, and what man appears to be… can only be expressed by way of myth. Myth is more individual and expresses life more precisely than does science. Memories, Dreams, Reflections; Prologue (1961) El Malabarista, 1956 from Defining irrealism: scientific development and allegorical possibility Dean Swinford, University…
The Tao begets One One begets Two Two begets Three Three begets the myriad things Tao-te-Ching, Chapter 42 Yesterday’s post was about the three roots of Yggdrasil (to Asgard, Jotunheim, Nifhelm) and the three norns (Urd, Verdani, Skuld), and a quotation by Jung about the number three : One is the first from which all…
Would you sacrifice an eye to the external world so that you could have an eye to the internal world and the Collective Unconscious? In Norse mythology, Mímisbrunnr (Old Norse “Mímir’s well”)is a well associated with the being Mímir, located beneath the world tree Yggdrasil. The god Odin once placed one of his eyes within…
You gotta hand it to the Norse myth-makers — a huge serpent eating corpses and gnawing at the root of the World Tree is a bit of a nightmare image. According to Jung, the beginning of psychological work starts with the alchemical stage of the nigredo, the “point of maximum despair.” In images, it is…
Of course, if there is a world tree, there has to be a world serpent… What’s a tree without a snake?…. In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is the Midgard Serpent that surrounds the world: when he lets go of his tail, the world will end. . Previous posts have talked about Snake symbolism and the Uroboros:…
From Northern Antiquities, an English translation of the Prose Edda from 1847. Painted by an Oluf Olufsen Bagge The last posts have been about symbols and stories of climbing into the heavens… This is a theme found in all cultures… In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil is the immense ash tree that stands at the center of…
The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack’s window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed…