Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is known for his groundbreaking work in the field of psychology. While he is mostly recognized for his theories on the collective unconscious, archetypes, and individuation, it is lesser-known that Jung also had an interest in the occult. Jung's fascination with the occult can be seen in his study of alchemy, a seemingly mystical and esoteric practice. He believed that alchemy had a deeper symbolic meaning that could be used to understand the human psyche. For Jung, alchemy was not just about transforming metals but also about transforming oneself through inner work and self-discovery. In his book "Psychology and Alchemy," Jung explores the parallels between the alchemical process and the process of psychological transformation.
Freud, always deeply worried about the reputation of psychoanalysis, warned Ferenczi that he was “throwing a bomb into the psychoanalytic edifice.” But, despite his skepticism about supernatural phenomena, Freud himself was also interested in the occult. In a 1921 letter, he wrote:
If I were at the beginning rather than at the end of a scientific career, as I am today, I might possibly choose just this field of research, in spite of all difficulties. Nevertheless, Jung was extremely interested in the subjective accounts of mystical experience provided by people such as Meister Eckhart, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Jacob Boehme.
In his book "Psychology and Alchemy," Jung explores the parallels between the alchemical process and the process of psychological transformation. He suggests that alchemical symbols and processes represent the different stages and conflicts encountered in the individuation process, which is the process of becoming an individual and realizing one's full potential. Jung also had a particular interest in dreams and their connection to the occult.
When Psychoanalysts Believed in Magic
Sigmund Freud told Carl Jung it was important to keep sexuality at the center of the human psyche, rather than anything spiritualist.
Group photo in front of Clark University: Front row: Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, C. G. Jung; Back row: Abraham A. Brill, Ernest Jones, Sándor Ferenczi.
January 22, 2019 February 24, 2020 3 minutes The icon indicates free access to the linked research on JSTOR.The discipline of psychoanalysis has always struggled to define itself as truly scientific. As psychologist and historian Júlia Gyimesi writes, something that made this difficult from the get-go was the deep interest many early Freudians had in the occult.
The psychoanalytic view that people are subject to drives hidden from the conscious mind had a natural connection with spiritualists’ ideas. If we, as rational beings, are not in control of our minds, it wasn’t that far of a leap to imagine that some mysterious force—internal or external—must be influencing our actions.
Despite his skepticism about supernatural phenomena, Freud himself was also interested in the occult.
So it may not be surprising that a number of early Freudians attempted to study spiritualists’ claims of telepathy and other supposed psychic phenomena. For example, Gyimesi writes, Sándor Ferenczi, Freud’s close collaborator and founder of the Budapest School of psychoanalysis, conducted experiments with mediums and clairvoyants. Ferenczi argued that thought-transference was common among his patients. In a 1910 letter to Freud, he wrote “I am reading my patients’ thoughts (in my free associations) … This method will be suitable to catch the patient’s most active complexes at work.”
Freud, always deeply worried about the reputation of psychoanalysis, warned Ferenczi that he was “throwing a bomb into the psychoanalytic edifice.” But, despite his skepticism about supernatural phenomena, Freud himself was also interested in the occult. In a 1921 letter, he wrote:
I am not one of those who dismiss a priori the study of so-called occult psychic phenomena as unscientific, discreditable or even as dangerous. If I were at the beginning rather than at the end of a scientific career, as I am today, I might possibly choose just this field of research, in spite of all difficulties.
The most famous advocate for an expansion of psychoanalytic theory into the realm of the occult was Freud’s favorite disciple, Carl Jung. Jung’s interest in the supernatural developed before he met Freud; several members of his mother’s family claimed supernatural abilities. In his professional lectures, Jung critiqued purely materialist thinking as “intellectual death.” He argued for the existence of an immortal soul, with a presence outside space and time. Gyimesi writes that Jung’s theory “desexualized the motivational basis of psychoanalysis and posited an obscure, scarcely rational life-force at the center of the human psyche.”
This horrified Freud. Jung later recalled a conversation in which Freud asked him to pledge never to abandon the sexual theory. “You see we must make a dogma of it, an unshakable bulwark,” Jung recalled Freud saying. Jung wrote that, “In some astonishment I asked him, ‘A bulwark—against what?’ To which he replied, ‘Against the black tide of mud’—and here he hesitated for a moment, then added, ‘of occultism.’”
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By highlighting sex, Gyimesi writes, Freud insisted on the unconscious as a biological phenomenon, closing off interpretations based in mental states that transcended the individual mind.
Today, of course, many of us consider Freud’s ideas about sexuality pseudoscientific, even as we take for granted that our behavior is often motivated by unconscious drives of some sort.
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He believed that dreams could provide insights into the unconscious mind and believed that they could be a bridge between the conscious and unconscious realms. Through the analysis of dreams, Jung aimed to uncover the hidden symbols and messages that the unconscious communicates to the conscious mind. Furthermore, Jung integrated elements of astrology into his analytical psychology. He saw astrological symbols as archetypal patterns that could provide valuable insights into an individual's personality and psychological development. He recognized that the positions of celestial bodies at the time of a person's birth could influence their psychological predispositions and tendencies. While Jung's interest in the occult might be seen as unconventional for a renowned psychologist, it highlights his belief in the interconnectedness of different realms of human experience. He sought to explore and understand the deeper layers of the human psyche, even if it meant delving into the realms of mysticism and astrology. Overall, Jung's exploration of the occult enriches our understanding of his broader theories on psychology. It highlights his commitment to exploring the mysteries of the unconscious mind and the diverse methods he employed to unravel its secrets..
Reviews for "The Rise of Carl Jujg: The Occultist Making Waves in the Esoteric Community"
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