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
A true symbol appears only when there is a need to express what thought cannot think or what is only divined or felt.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True symbols emerge when we cannot articulate deep feelings or thoughts.
Carl Jung's quote suggests that symbols serve as a bridge between our unexpressed thoughts and feelings. When rational language fails us, symbols help to convey our innermost experiences, representing what is deeply felt or intuitively understood rather than easily articulated.
Themes
SymbolsExpressionThoughtFeelingIntuition
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on creativity, one might quote Jung to emphasize the importance of symbols in artistic expression.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes βThe majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
Carl JungRead
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.
Carl JungRead
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.
Carl JungRead
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.
Carl JungRead
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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