Jungian Psychology

Jungian Psychology is a vast and complex topic requiring much study. Itīs only possible here to touch upon a little of what is needed to explain the subject of Archetypal Astrology. So please keep in mind that there is a wealth of study and information to dig into! Some tips can be found on the Links&Books list.

According to the theory of C.G. Jung, there is in our unconscious two layers, a personal, upper layer, and an impersonal, deeper one. The personal layer is colored by our own life, our experiences and our surroundings, but has its roots in the impersonal layer. In this deeper layer, which all humans have in common, there is a "creative force", out of which emerges myths, symbols, images, dreams and fantasies. In Jung's terms this is the depths from where "the archetypes" rise.

When studying the myths, we see that they have many themes in common regardless of which culture they originate from. They tell about the creation of the world, about Man's relation to gods and goddesses, about heroic quests etc. They tell about important human issues, situations that everyone of us encounters at different points in our life, like birth, marriage, funerals or choice of occupation, of living place, or ideas about religion and politics. All of us put our personal emphasis on these situations. They have the same, "archetypal" roots but their variations are unique for every person. It is the collective human voice, speaking out of the assimilated experiences from all those generations that have gone before us.

Each one of us have his or her own reactions and attitudes to these "archetypal" situations in life. They are colored by personal experiences, habits and circumstances. Mostly we go through these changes smoothly and life goes on as it should. But sometimes this "archetypal" force can manifest itself in strange ways, maybe as a strong reaction to someone we encounter, like a spiritual leader or a partner. We can become quite fascinated by this person, in certain cases it can make itself felt almost like a "magic" spell so that your thoughts are occupied with the matter constantly. Just think of the way we react when we fall "desperately" in love!

Whomever the motive of our devotion is, we must remember that this person is no more and no less than a human being! The great fascination is hardly due to the individual, human properties of that person. More likely the object for our fascination assumes too large proportions - the person is almost elevated into a godlike state, and so it has assumed properties out of the common, deeper mythological layer. And there we see the archetype in action!

At birth the childsī perception of his parents is colored by an archetypal concept, the psyche's expectation of "The Great Mother" who is the nurturer and fulfiller of all needs.

If the personal parents can't measure up enough for the child to have his individual emotional and bodily needs fulfilled, the archetypal image will not withdraw. It should, so to speak, be "conquered" by reality, i.e. the personal mother. If that does not happen, the child will remain unsatisfied and will continue to search for someone to give him whatever he thinks he is lacking.

But as the shortage is charged with the force of an archetypal image, no ordinary human being can take that place and so the child will continue to go on chasing after an unattainable ideal, even as a grown up.

Let it be said here, that it's not fair to "blame it all" on the parent. The child can have an extra needy character and hard to satisfy.