Grounded in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages, alchemy formed a bridge: on the one hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.
Carl JungRead
The primordial image, or archetype, is a figure--be it a daemon, a human being, or a process--that constantly recurs in the course of history and appears wherever creative fantasy is freely expressed. Essentially, therefore, it is a mythological figure. . . . In each of these images there is a little piece of human psychology and human fate, a remnant of the joys and sorrows that have been repeated countless times in our ancestral history. . . .
Interpretation
What this quote means
Carl Jung suggests that archetypes are universal symbols rooted in human psychology and history.
In this quote, Carl Jung explains the concept of archetypes as recurring figures or symbols that emerge across different cultures and eras. He posits that these archetypes, which can manifest as mythical figures, contain elements of human psychology and convey collective experiences of joy and sorrow that connect us to our ancestral past. Jung's insights emphasize the depth of shared human experiences and the timeless nature of creative imagination.
Themes
ArchetypesMythologyPsychologyHuman ExperienceCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the impact of mythology on modern storytelling, one might quote Jung to highlight the enduring nature of archetypal themes.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes →The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
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Complexes are psychic contents which are outside the control of the conscious mind. They have been split off from consciousness and lead a separate existence in the unconscious, being at all times ready to hinder or to reinforce the conscious intentions.
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We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
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From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any aesthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex.
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I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
Carl JungRead
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