Dependency in the analytic relationship
or
A Blind Spot in
Jungian Thinking?
Abstract: Three cases of dependency, in analysands of C.G. Jung, are investigated. Their dreams, including their personal understanding, are examined. The article addresses difficulties in C.G. Jung's personal convictions, which hampered his former analysands (my conjecture). These convictions remain a quandary in the school of Analytical Psychology.
Keywords: dependency, quaternarian, trinitarian, C.G. Jung, Joseph L. Henderson, Marie-Louise von Franz, Wolfgang Pauli, Saint John of the Cross, analytical psychology, individuation.
Introduction
In the analytical relationship, like in
any relationship of psychological dependency, the analyst's unconscious problem
or his dubious convictions, risk being communicated to the analysand. After the
analysand has resolved many personal issues, there is often an emptiness that
must be addressed. To what extent the analyst should be involved in this phase
remains a difficult question. Psychological dependency can have a stifling
effect on the growth of personality. Something which illustrates this is how
people occasionally experience a freeing of personality when their parents die.
An impairing form of dependency can develop in the long-standing analytic
relationship, or in the relation to a powerful personality.
To
deliberately "remove all attachments" seems very central in spiritual
disciplines, but this concept is not properly addressed in Jungian thinking. The
notion of seeing through the illusions, not only of the personal relation, but
of the world as a whole, is undeveloped in Western general consciousness. In the
following I present dreams or dream excerpts which illustrate this, some of
which include the death motif. As I miss much of the contextual information, my
interpretations, needless to say, have only a relative truth-value (but the gist
of my argument does not stand or fall with these interpretations).
Henderson
and Jung
In JAP 52(1), 2007 (here),
David Tresan, among other things, discusses dependency in the case
of Joseph L. Henderson (analysand) and C.G. Jung
(analyst).
Dr. Henderson himself had two dreams in the early thirties when he was about thirty that reassured him beyond doubt that his relationship to Jung would be healthy with regard to dependency and that he was fated to be an individual in his own right. [In the first dream the] news was that Jung had died. When Henderson heard this in the dream, there arose a clatter from people beating on pots and pans like the Chinese are said to do in order to help a soul ascend to heaven. This tumult was to help Jung's soul rise, and, quite contrary to Baynes's expectations, Dr. Henderson felt happy for Jung and in no way disturbed. He realized later that it was Baynes who had displaced his own feeling attachment to Jung onto him (Henderson).
More to the point is that
Henderson compensates his attachment to Jung by dreaming that Jung has died. In
the long-standing relationship, Jung, by power of personality, will impose his
views on the patient. In Henderson's case it is likely to stymie his
development. In an interview (cf. Wagner, 1985) Henderson tells of a dream where
he is seated in a church together with his colleagues. Jung appears as a
clergyman and holds a speech. Afterwards all people in the pew rise and exclaim
repeatedly
mandala! mandala!, similar to how historical Christians would call out
hosanna! Henderson said that the dream was indicative of his ridiculous
attachment to Jung. There is an emancipative motif behind these dreams.
Jung's
view on the advanced development of personality is radically his own. It
involves the continual encounter with archetypal forces, by way of 'active
imagination'[1]. Of course, such a
view runs counter to the ideals of Christian mystics, who saw advanced
development of personality as the fruit of complete surrender and privation.
Although Jung in this respect is inconclusive, it could be argued that he
inclines toward a "Celtic" mythic worldview, which almost appears like
an unceasing heroic fight against dragons. In the post-Jungians this slightly
archaic aspect of his thought has been amplified, and the detrimental effect is
unmistakable (e.g. Archetypal Psychology, here).
The dependency on Jung probably had harmful effects on Henderson. It seems like
many psychoanalysts think that dependency, by way of transference, is a
prerequisite of psychoanalysis[2].
But it could have damaging effects if the relation is continued much beyond the
resolution of urgent transference issues. After all, dependency goes beyond this
phase. The argument that an analyst could have life-long relations to an
analyst, in the "symbolic friendship", must be questioned. It's
evident from Tresan's article that Henderson took issue with Jung's archaic God
image, symbolized by Jung's "giant radiolarian" (vid.
v Franz 1998), which is called "monster" in this
article:
As such, he, like the patient of the round monster, individuated under the aegis of what Dr. Henderson calls the Primal God Image. The obverse was that Jung eschewed the realm of Henderson's Ultimate God Image which was metaphysics. Together, in absolute accord with Henderson's theory, the Primal and the Ultimate God Images represent the two poles of the state of individuation...
Henderson (1967) is intent on introducing a "Christian"
counterpart of the primal god image, what he denotes ultimate god image.
He exemplifies with the shamanic type of initiation that provides the mythology
of a circular experience, descent to the Primal God Image, followed by ascent to
the Ultimate God Image, both of which are at the extremities in his diagram. The
upmost Ultimate God Image involves the myth of transcendency. Jung regarded the
latter as, largely, a defence against the true and living godhead, namely the
primal godhead, exemplified by Mercurius. Henderson's argument, toward the
inclusion of the transcendent godhead, bears upon his many case examples,
including dream interpretations[3].
If
Henderson dreams that Jung dies, this indicates a strong urge to break free.
Jung and v Franz overtly eschewed the concepts of individuation
introduced by the Christian mystics[4].
They referred to it as 'imitatio Christi'. To modern people, certain features of
mystical methodology appear artificial and excessive, but the call to
disengagement and poverty still makes sense, in the way of a whole-hearted and
decisive step toward spiritual change. This concept does not appeal to Jung,
either. Thus, a lopsidedness develops, toward the archaic view of the Self. The
"monstrous" Primal God Image, as portrayed in Henderson's book,
embodies both good and bad, and probably also male and female. It is close to
Jung's own view of the divine, as portrayed in Answer to Job, and elsewhere.
Jung
emphatically evaded notions of faith, pertaining to the transcendental God, in
order to focus on the archetypal processes in individuation. But what if 'faith'
is a natural ingredient in individuation, while the psychological opus at a
point in time must cease, and
mortification commence?[5] To
be focused on the transcendental God means to look past every entity of the
soul, and resolutely avoid the chimera of the world. This would include the
collective unconscious, which, arguably, is also "of the world".
John of the Cross (1542-1591) says that discursive meditation,
which is the same as Jung's 'active imagination', is useful only at the stage of
the novice:
"...[Meditation] is a discursive action wrought by means of images, forms and figures that are fashioned and imagined by the said senses, as when [we] imagine all kinds of other things, whether Divine or human, that can belong to the imagination. All these imaginings must be cast out from the Soul, which will remain in darkness as far as this sense is concerned, that it may attain to Divine union [...]
For, although these considerations and forms and manners of meditation are necessary to beginners, in order that they may gradually feed and enkindle their souls with love by means of sense, [yet] they must merely pass through them, and not remain ever in them, for in such a manner they would never reach their goal, which does not resemble these remote means, neither has aught to do with them. The stairs of a staircase have naught to do with the top of it and the abode to which it leads, yet are means to the reaching of both..."[6].
Although St John is steeped in the theology of the mystical
tradition, let us give him a benefit of a doubt. What he criticises is, I think,
a naive form of discursive meditation, and not necessarily all forms. So he
probably throws the baby out with the bathwater. Yet his critique could be
relevant as regards the naive form of active imagination. To the many disciples
that never leave the naive "amateur level", and John recognizes this,
Jung's worldview is apposite, but it could be harmful to men like Henderson who
have an urge to make progress[7].
Focusing on imagery, and to view this as the cardinal element of the psyche,
will have harmful consequences. This is evident in the case of phenomenological
post-Jungians, such as
James Hillman.
Wolfgang
Pauli, physicist and former patient of Jung, recurrently dreamt of a
figure whom he associated with Merlin, the prophet and magician in Arthurian
legend (cf. Meier 2001, pp.50-51). It seems like this figure was partly
identifiable as Jung, something which Jung himself acknowledges (cf. v Franz,
1998, ch.XIV). Pauli dreamt that this medieval wizard was surrounded by women
and children, who were much fond of him.
Although this image does not
seem disagreeable, it is for "women and children", which in a
(sardonic) man's dream language implies naive people. It does not refer to
Jung's scientific contributions, which are excellent, but it concerns his
philosophy of life, that is, his advanced concepts of individuation. Although
Jung eschews a metaphysics on phenomenological lines, he endorses a
concentrative effort on the image. Arguably, this is what causes the drift
toward "childish" occupations, with the Celtic necromancer Merlin in
the centre.
von Franz and Jung
The Eulogy for
Marie-Louise von Franz (Isler, 2004,
here), presents us with some of
M-L v Franz's dreams from her last years, when she suffered from a
somatic illness. We can discuss these dreams from a similar perspective. M-L
v Franz did analysis with Jung, and afterwards they remained lifelong
colleagues.
She is working in the laundry at the cloister in Einsiedeln. She is given to understand that Jung would come down from heaven to the wedding of the Black Madonna. Marie-Louise is among the one hundred elect who are permitted to take part in the wedding.
She commented on this and said "[that] the unconscious was
indeed preparing a remedy for the world and a union, to be sure not one "above
in the spiritual realm," but a union of above and below, a union of spirit
and matter. Very early on the Virgin Mary
was thought to be "the earth;" the
Black Madonna was a nature goddess. And yet the union comes about
in a Christian framework, which she (Marie-Louise) never could
accept. But still the dream filled her with the highest happiness" (Ibid.).
The Black Madonna, a famous relic in the Einsiedeln cloister, is a potent
Christian symbol. To the élite it is also an eminent symbol of
mortification, the denial of bodily passions and appetites by abstinence. When
Jung comes down from heaven to marry the Black Madonna, this
portrays the "death of the spirit of Jung." The
Black Madonna is the Mother of Death, and Jung is now going to
experience the "second death", a mythologem prevalent in primitive
cultures where people perform rituals to facilitate the second death of the
deceased individual (otherwise he risks coming back to haunt them). The second
death of Jung must be accomplished, thus liberating her from his living spirit,
making it possible for her to attain the 'mortificatio' of the Christian
mystics.
In German, people say they have to "wash dirty linen"
if they have quarreled and want to resolve the matter. Here she is "washing
dirty linen" in the realm of Christian spiritual discipline. The idea of
complementing Jung's spirit, that is, his ideas, with its better half, namely
the contemplative aspect of Christianity, is portrayed in this dream. In the
laundry she is performing a work of a very humble Christian nature, signifying reclusiveness, purification, and self-mortification. This true
cloister work could be the very act that brings about the union of upper and
lower.
Assuming that dreams are compensatory, the dreams could signify
that
v Franz and Jung have underestimated the Christian personal opus,
which implies self-denial in mystical terms, that is, the annihilation of the
ego, the 'mortificatio', and the 'sacrificio intellectualis'. What v
Franz
is doing in the cloister is an act very far away from her daily nature.
Thus, she is prostrating herself before the trinitarian God. To Jung and
v Franz
the 'sacrificio intellectualis' tended to take the form of active
imagination, painting, dreaming, arguing that this is the opposite of the
intellectual, conscious, function. There is a level of truth in this, but how
much truth? Notwithstanding its preliminary benefits, does this not lead, in the
end, to yet another way of supporting the ego?
Does this not reflect
upon an "aesthetic" attitude that is furtively present in Jung's
worldview, but grows to a strong gale in Hillman's form of paganism? Juan
de la Cruz, and other Christian mystics, argued that such imaginative
work is performed at an amateur's stage. They argued that everything that
engages libido, and is attractive to the person, i.e., something that he longs
after, is a distraction from God and will only delay mortification, aiming at
spiritual death.
M-L v Franz is doing the laundry,
she is not performing active imagination. She is not mixing chemicals in an
alchemist's laboratory, or in a magician's fairytale castle. She is enclosed in
a Christian place, and performs a very humble, repetitious, job. The dream is
compensatory, I'd say. It puts her in a context where Jung said that she does
not belong. It seems like the dream says: give up everything that is you, give
up Jung's psychology, even. Not because it is faulty, of course, but because it
is living, and full of libido.
She is near a farmhouse; many people in black are there. A young farm worker digs a hole for the coffin. Out of the coffin comes an old man who suffers the same illness as she. He absolutely wants to live. The fellow argues with him, saying that he belongs back in there, throws him in the coffin and shuts the lid. She herself takes no part in it and thinks: "This has nothing to do with me." In the yard stands a tree. She thinks that it is a horse-chestnut. But it is a marvelously beautiful tree with dinner-plate sized passion flowers which she herself had once planted. In each blossom is a little tomato. She plucks one, eats it and knows that it is the "cibus immortalis," the food of immortality.
Her comment on this was that "[the] old man was the will to live
that will not give up, but only extends her suffering. The worker believes it is
time to die..." (Isler, 2004).
In the other dream I proposed that
it is Jung who is going to be married with the Mother of Death, that is, undergo
the "second death", which is a well-known theme in comparative
religion. In this dream a similar theme appears. The man who is dead (buried in
a coffin) wants to live. Her proposal is that it refers to the unbending will to
live that struggles against her physical illness. But, among primitives, in
order to die completely, a man must die a second time, i.e. undergo the
spiritual death, so he won't remain an unblessed spirit, bound to the living.
She leaves this man to his fate. Who is this man that she turns her back to?
Which tree is this, that v Franz
at first underestimates, and thinks is a mere "horse-chestnut"
(that is, inedible chestnuts)? What does the passion flower signify?
According to Webster's dictionary the passion flower is symbolic of Christ's
crucifixion (having to do with the fancied resemblance of parts of the flowers
to Christ's crucifixion). It is evident from her comments on the cloister dream
that she didn't much like the Christian context. It is a horse-chestnut to her.
So it was for Jung. Hence, the man in the coffin, who suffers from "the
same illness as she", is Jung himself.
The tomato is actually
a fruit and was once thought to be poisonous, but is today one of the most
important vegetable crops. They fabricate a "blood-surrogate" from it,
that is, ketchup. So in this dream appears the flower of crucifixion, and the
blood fruit. When she eats the tomato she is secretly drinking the blood of
Christ in the Eucharist.
She had written an eight volume work on Arabic alchemy. She had the eight volumes in front of her and she was quite happy about them.
She understood the dream as affirming that her life's work was now
finished. But what does the dream really say? Eight is a curious choice of number because it is 2x4. Jung,
and v Franz, regarded the number 4 as the number of wholeness,
par excellence. So eight would secretly express 2. It would mean that completeness is really a two-unity [See my article, The Complementarian Self, here]. This realization is what makes her happy. The most famous saying deriving from Arabic alchemy, often cited by Jung, is "That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above." Thus there are two wholenesses, an upper and a lower. The dream compensates the Jungian focus on the "worldly", quaternarian, self (the quaternity).
Comparatively, Western alchemists typically endorsed the number
three (ternarius), the number of the Christian godhead, and were suspicious of
the number four (quartarius). To Gerhard Dorn the number four was "of
the devil" (cf. Jung, 1977, p.188). But Jung regarded the Trinity an
incomplete wholeness in that it only effected a union with the potential "spiritual"
world, and not the world of multiplicity (Ibid. p.534). It stood in the way of
true individuation. But what if Dorn was right in his tenacious defence of the
'ternarius'? Henderson, so it seems, wants to combine 'ternarius' and
'quartarius'.
She saw in a brook something that she took to be human excrement - "something man-made," she thought. As she stepped closer she saw that it was this frog. Suddenly it lifted its foreleg and waved at her.
For her, this was a sign that Jung was still living, and she died
with a beautiful carved stone frog in her hand, which had been in the possession
of Jung. The frog in fairytales, which is v Franz's field of
expertise, is a representative of the anima-world hidden underneath our
Christian culture. It is a dream image comparable to Pauli's Merlin dream. What
Jung stands for is something very precious. He is the Frog King, well-known from
fairytales. As such he does not represent a wholly different paradigm, but the
necessary vitalizing complement to our conscious heritage, namely the inner
spiritual path. The spirit is found in seemingly humble things.
In 'The
Way of the Dream' v Franz reveals that she repeatedly dreamt of being publicly
executed, foremostly by decapitation (cf. Boa, ch.2, 1994). She understood these
dreams as expressing the necessity of abandoning the ego attitude for the
moment. But this does not rule out that they are also mortification dreams,
especially since her enormous intellect is located in the head. To sacrifice her
greatest possession would, in a sense, imply giving up her conscious life. That
ideal would have appeared overly spiritual, too medieval and ascetic for her
taste.
Pauli and Jung
When Wolfgang Pauli
experienced a deep crisis, Jung suggested that Pauli consulted with a colleague
of Jung. Later Pauli took up analysis with Jung. After two years, Pauli suddenly
cancelled their weekly sessions. This was probably disappointing to Jung while
Pauli's unconscious was a fount of valuable archetypal material, much of which
is analysed by Jung in Psychology and Alchemy (Jung, 1980). They
remained friends throughout life, producing a sizeable, and highly cerebral
correspondence.
There is a vertical and a horizontal circle, having a common centre. This is the world clock [...] The horizontal circle consists of four colours. On it stand four little men with pendulums [...] The "clock" has three rhythms or pulses [...] (cf. Jung, 1980, p.203).
[The dreamer draws] three-leaved clovers or distorted crosses in four different colours [...] (cf. Jung, 1980, p.164).
Pauli always returned to the theme of three and four. As with
Henderson it seems to be the question of integrating three and four, not
rejecting three in favour of four (on lines of Jung), nor rejecting four in
favour of three. When Pauli saw the embellished picture of Brother Klaus's
Trinity vision, it immediately brought to mind the above dream of the world
clock with its three rhythms (cf. Lindorff, 2004, p.47).
The
'ternarius' clearly wanted to add to the worldview deriving from
Jung. Also in his conscious speculation Pauli notoriously returned to the above
form of abstract speculation, which, like an image of the trinitarian godhead,
served to compensate the quaternity, what Dorn called the "four-horned
serpent".
[...]Niels Bohr [makes] an announcement to me, a very official one: Three popes have given you a house [...]
Pauli suggests that this represents a linkup with Catholic tradition,
but Jung, in his reply, thinks that the three popes signify the lower Trinity,
that is, the chtonic counterpart of the Christian Trinity (cf. Meier, 2001,
pp.135-37, p.154). To Jung, this probably stands for a linkup with the
anima-world, but I would suggest a somewhat different interpretation of the "dark
Trinity"[8]. After all, the theme of three
popes seems imbued with Christian spirit. Comparatively, in the Celtic tradition
the chtonic Trinity appears in the form of The Triple Mothers. I suggest that
the symbol represents the mors mystica, and the seclusive life of the
mystic. The symbol certainly connects with the Catholic tradition, but more
specifically its shadowy aspect, namely the way of the radical Catholic mystics.
Pauli
took great interest in the intellectual controversy between the astronomer
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and the physician and Rosicrucian
Robert Fludd (1574-1637). While Fludd remained true to an
alchemical view of the world, Kepler's modern methods of quantitative
measurement was, according to Fludd, tantamount to heresy. The objectified and
rational attitude of Kepler, where man sets himself above nature as a neutral
onlooker, was a threat to a vision of wholeness. It would create a rift in the
soul of man, and man and world would definitively fly apart. Of course, Fludd
was correct, but so was Kepler. Kepler and Fludd represent the attitudes of the
trinitarian versus the quaternarian (cf. Lindorff, 2004, p.89).
It is my contention that Jung had a strong predilection for the
quaternarian standpoint. Pauli, in his essay about the Kepler-Fludd dispute
(Pauli, 1955), accepts both standpoints. This essay probably testifies to his
inner struggle to remain under the aegis of the Trinity, and thus to liberate
himself from Jung's, and Fludd's, perspective. Still, his conscious standpoint
was that the number three was incomplete, while the number four, in contrast,
was the number of completeness (cf. Lindorff, 2004, p.57). Undoubtedly, this is
an influence from Jung. While Kepler represents the extraverted
trinitarian standpoint, Pauli's conscious efforts merely serve to compensate the
quaternity. The introverted trinitarian standpoint is the proper
solution.
When Pauli, after two years of analysis, discontinued his
sessions with Jung, he said that "...it is true that there are still
one or two unresolved problems remaining. Nevertheless, I feel a certain need to
get away from dream interpretation and dream analysis, and I would like to see
what life has to bring me from outside" (Meier, 2001, p.6). The realm
of Merlin, the Celtic dreamworld, with its "vague female forms", is
encroaching upon his extraverted trinitarian world. Lacking the mitigating
force of a heartfelt and sincere piety, Pauli must break away from the "four-horned
serpent".
I am in Sweden, where I come across an important letter. [It] says in the letter that with me there is something essentially different from C.G. Jung. The difference is that with me the number 206 has changed to 306, but not with Jung. I keep seeing 206 turn into 306. The letter is signed: "Aucker" (cf. Meier, 2001, 137).
The zero, in its capacity of circle, and due to its position in the
centre, probably refers to wholeness and, hence, spirit. With Pauli, the
trinitarian spirit has made an inroad, while Jung remains in the binarian world
(the quaternity, Dorn says, is really binarius in disguise). The sum of 2 and 6
equals 8, so it refers to the same form of wholeness that
v Franz achieved in her eight volumes, namely a devious form of
wholeness while it includes the binarius.
In Pauli's number, the sum of
3 and 6 equals 9. Nine is a most potent number as it is the square of three. In
Christian tradition it represents the dynamic aspect of the Trinity, namely the
Holy Ghost. M-L v Franz shows that in the fairytales "the
number nine is found in the symbolism of hell, the underworld and the realm of
the dead" (cf. v Franz, 1997, p.135). In this context it
represents the chtonic Trinity and the pre-Christian pantheon. But, as I argued
above, the "dark Trinity" can also represent the "dark night of
the soul", on lines of St. John of the Cross.
Pauli
had no associations to the name Aucker. It is an authentic surname, but the
mythological connotations are probably more important. A similar name "Auker"
appears in the Egyptian Book of the Dead: Hail, An-a-f, who
comest forth from Auker, I have not scorned [or treated with contempt] the god
of my town (Book 3, transl.
Wallis Budge). There are always different variants of spelling of
ancient Egyptian names. The most common spelling of this god is "Aker".
Aker is an earth god. He is one of the oldest Egyptian gods, and the
guardian of the resurrection mystery (cf. v Franz, 1987, p.16). This is the same
mystery as referred to in John 12:24: ...unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
The old Egyptians likened the hard, tough seed coat to the coffin. The inner
second coat, which is thin and membranous (tegmen), was equated with the mummy
wrappings. When the seed, in the form of the mummy, is buried in the earth, new
life will soon sprout.
It's not illogical that the earth god,
responsible of death and resurrection, should appear in Sweden. The name derives
from 'svedjeland', a place where one practiced the agricultural method of
burning down the vegetation, and then sowing in the fertile ashes. In old texts
Sweden is referred to as 'Svitjod', which means 'scorched earth' (=
'svedd jord'. This etymologization has been contested in recent years,
but it could be relevant in the context of the dream). The word 'sved' is common
in Swedish place names, and so is the name Åker, which means tilled land.
In the pagan era, places named Åker ('å' = 'au') were centres of
fertility cults.
These trinitarian symbols point Pauli away from
Jung's quaternarian world. The trinitarian mystery involves self-denial to the
effect that pleasures and worldly attachment are refused. Instead one's time and
devotion are committed to God, who is beyond all worldly things. The method of
Christian mysticism is explicated in historical works such as The Cloud of
Unknowing and the Dark Night of the Soul. Again, Pauli's dreams have
pointed him towards the mystery of spiritual death.
An ace of clubs lies before the dreamer. A seven appears beside it (Jung, 1980, par.97).
The ace of clubs refers back to the dream of clovers/distorted
crosses. To Jung it points to the Christian symbol, which will be succeeded by
the seven transformative stages of alchemy, culminating in the
solificatio. Pauli, true to his extraversion, came to view the black
crosslike shape as the "shadow cast by the Christian cross - in
other words [the] dark side of Christianity" probably referring to
the ominous political events taking place in Europe (cf. Meier,
2001, p.17 and Lindorff, 2004, pp.53-54).
An interpretation on the
subjective level could hint at a spiritual process taking place within the "dark
side of Christianity", and not necessarily a succession to a spiritual path
of pagan origins, that is to say, alchemy. What, then, is signified by the "shadow
cast by the Christian cross"? Looking at this symbol in connection with its
many correlates in the coming years, it could well be the arduous spiritual path
of mortification, devised by St John and his medieval forerunners
of the via negationis: to step by step leave the creatural and to
disrobe all attributes, thus reaching beyond existence, and non-existence. In
Interior Castle, Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) describes the
mystical path as consisting of seven steps. It is interesting to see how Pauli,
as if overcompensating the impact of the symbol, interprets the 'seven' as "the
birth of the anima", representing the very opposite of the via
negationis. (See also my interpretation of the "ace of clubs"
dream here.)
Pauli often makes dream
interpretations along metaphysical lines, discussing the interrelations of
psyche and matter. I think this trinitarian form of thinking merely serves to
compensate the quaternarian anima-world and generally misses the point, namely
the underlying current of mortification in the way of mors mystica.
First I am travelling in a train with Herr Bohr. Then I get off the train [...] Now I look for a railroad station in order to travel to the left [...] As I get on I see immediately "the dark young woman", surrounded by strangers. [The] people say: "The next station is Esslingen; we are almost there." I wake up very upset because we have traveled to such a totally uninteresting and dull location (cf. Lindorff, 2004, p.124).
This dream is similar to v Franz's Einsiedeln dream.
Etymologically, the names Esslingen and Einsiedeln, both refer to 'lonely'
places, I believe. Like v Franz, Pauli is discontent with his
dream. But, in truth, it hits the nail on the head. The introverted trinitarian
path implies the death of the soul; to throw off all worldly attachment. St.
John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and other medieval
mystics, explain that an aridity arises in the soul when the soul is purged and
quenched. Pauli, and v Franz, have no taste for walking this
saddening and tormenting path. Still, their dreams clearly point in that
direction.
Even nature reminded Pauli of the Trinity. According to his
colleague Marcus Fierz, Pauli experienced a change of mind when
they, in 1946, saw three suns in the sky at Zürichhorn (cf. Lindorff,
2004, p.76).
Conclusion
On the whole, Jung's three reputable
analysands benefitted much from their association with Jung, but his personal
convictions would also come to inhibit them. Henderson tried to tackle the
problem by realizing the second half of the godhead, and thereby both poles in
the state of individuation (vid. Henderson, 1967).
Von
Franz, so it seems, fulfilled her "Arabic alchemy", but never did the "Christian
alchemy", representative of the realm of the trinitarian God. Much like
Pauli, she compensates the quaternarian worldview by engaging in metaphysical
speculations of a trinitarian nature (vid. v Franz, 1974). She
came to endorse transcendental notions involving the 'unus mundus', the unfallen
world at the first day of creation. Her achievement is admirable, but her dreams
continued to challenge her consciousness in that they tried to emancipate her
from C.G. Jung, the man who had "the same illness as she".
Symbols of 'mors mystica' point towards a more radical solution than
the views upheld by Jung and
v Franz. The renouncement of nearly all worldly involvement would
be the radical course of individuation hinted at in the dreams. But Jung's
thoughts of 'completeness' postulate that the worldly and the spiritual can go
hand in hand.
Conclusively, in the analytical relationship, a
detrimental consequence of a continued relation could be that the analyst's
unconscious problem is communicated to the patient. In Pauli's case, we can
surmise that he took over Jung's problem. Jung could not guide him, because he
was himself blind in the realm of the introverted trinitarian spirit.
Notes
(1) Self-analysis, and to
use dream analysis and active imagination to this end, is a necessary
prerequisite of the spiritual path. Jung's more ambitious agenda for the
integration of the unconscious, which he views as a spiritual way to redemption,
is explicated in "Three Essays", and elsewhere. It concerns the
integration of archetypal complexes, in proper order. First the shadow, then the
anima, followed by the wise man, behind which stands the self. To this end the
method of 'active imagination' shall be applied. This method allows the
unconscious to respond directly.
The question is, how many people
actually follow this through? It reminds me of Immanuel Kant's
project. How many people have managed to put his moral philosophy into practice?
I suspect no one! The danger implicit in Jung's method is that the archetypes of
anima/animus, etc., are employed in a fantasy project where the artistic and
aesthetic factors are dominant, and a true moral engagement recedes in the
background. In that case Jung's project becomes like Kant's ambitious ideas
which, today, play no role at all. In case of Jung, the degenerative effect of
post-Jungians could be a logical consequence of the aesthetic seed within Jung's
thought itself. If this is true, relating to the archetype of the "wise man"
is likely to develop into a fantasy activity, on lines of New Age.
Such a playing activity could, in the long run, lead to stagnation, the
disciple becoming stuck in an illusion. This is why Christian mystics regarded
it an amateur stage. It is certain that it plays a role on an intermediate
level, while it is a phase that the proselyte must pass through. Like Pauli
dreamt that, with him, the 2 turned to 3, so shall he pass through this phase.
In Pauli's dream, Jung's 2 never turned to 3, seemingly because he remained in
the land of Merlin, "surrounded by women and children".
(2) The
transference-countertransference phenomenon in therapy is not simply a "projection".
It often creates an unconscious bond between the two so that their souls, to a
degree, "meld". On account of this a very strong psychological
dependency can develop between analyst and analysand. This can create much
problems, but it also creates a motivation to continue deeper into the relation.
(3) Henderson discusses the archetype of Initiation
(his idea) and says that there are different initiation thresholds for the
initiand to cross over in his journey through life, mother goddess, father god,
etc. However, the shamanic type of initiation extends beyond this and includes
the myth of transcendency.
(4) Jung's own view of St. John was
clear. James Kirsch once asked him whether John's "dark night of the soul"
was a process of individuation, and he replied, "John of the
Cross' "Dark Night of the Soul" has nothing to do with this.
Rather, integration is a conscious confrontation, a dialectical process..."
(Letters, Vol.2, p.159).
(5) I
understand 'mortification' as the subjection and denial of the passions of the
soul, including the bodily aspect. Mortification: the subjection and
denial of bodily passions and appetites by abstinence or self-inflicted pain or
discomfort (Webster's Dictionary).
(6)
"...[Meditation] is a discursive action wrought by means of images, forms
and figures that are fashioned and imagined by the said senses, as when we
imagine Christ crucified, or bound to the column, or at another of the stations;
or when we imagine God seated upon a throne with great majesty; or when we
consider and imagine glory to be like a most beauteous light, etc.; or when we
imagine all kinds of other things, whether Divine or human, that can belong to
the imagination. All these imaginings must be cast out from the Soul, which will
remain in darkness as far as this sense is concerned, that it may attain to
Divine union [...]
For, although these considerations and forms and
manners of meditation are necessary to beginners, in order that they may
gradually feed and enkindle their souls with love by means of sense, as we shall
say hereafter, and although they thus serve them as remote means to union with
God, through which a soul has commonly to pass in order to reach the goal and
abode of spiritual repose, yet they must merely pass through them, and not
remain ever in them, for in such a manner they would never reach their goal,
which does not resemble these remote means, neither has aught to do with them.
The stairs of a staircase have naught to do with the top of it and the abode to
which it leads, yet are means to the reaching of both [...]
And just so the soul that is to attain in this life to the union of
that supreme repose and blessing, by means of all these stairs of meditations,
forms and ideas, must pass though them and have done with them, since they have
no resemblance and bear no proportion to the goal to which they lead, which is
God [...]
Great, therefore, is the error of many spiritual persons
who have practised approaching God by means of images and forms and meditations,
as befits beginners. God would now lead them on to further spiritual blessings,
which are interior and invisible, by taking from them the pleasure and sweetness
of discursive meditation; but they cannot, or dare not, or know not how to
detach themselves from those palpable methods to which they have grown
accustomed. They continually labour to retain them, desiring to proceed, as
before, by the way of consideration and meditation upon forms, for they think
that it must be so with them always. They labour greatly to this end and find
little sweetness or none; rather the aridity and weariness and disquiet of their
souls are increased and grow, in proportion as they labour for that earlier
sweetness. They cannot find this in that earlier manner, for the soul no longer
enjoys that food of sense, as we have said; it needs not this but another food,
which is more delicate, more interior and partaking less of the nature of sense;
it consists not in labouring with the imagination, but in setting the soul at
rest, and allowing it to remain in its quiet and repose, which is more
spiritual." (Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book 2, Ch.12).
(7) Teresa of Avila, St John's
contemporary, showed more confidence in active imagination. For a comparison
between the spiritual techniques of Jung and Teresa of Avila, see
Welch, 1982.
The works of St John, and especially his friend and
colleague Teresa, show that they viewed spontaneous expressions of the
unconscious as beneficial. But John's foremost concern was that one must get
past this phase and enter into the Dark Night of the Soul. In this, he followed
the mystical tradition of the medieval ages. This is the phase of depression and
dispiritedness which the alchemists called the 'nigredo', and which was very
central to alchemy. To take Jung's work on alchemy seriously, and to realize
that this is not a form of New Age ritualistic playing activity, then it's
necessary to realize the very thoroughgoing nature of the nigredo. It's the
sloughing off of all attachment to the world, in order for the soul to be born
afresh.
Needless to say, this experience is very demanding, as it
will utterly destroy one's personal life. St John speaks about the
nigredo as a very distressing and radical process. He reveals the painful truth
about the mystical path: this is only for the hard kernel, the élite.
Gathering around Merlin, as displayed in Pauli's dreams, and to remain in the
land of 'quartarius', is not misguided. However, if the proselyte feels that the
"aridity" arises in the soul, then he should know how to tackle this
very difficult problem, and not try to keep the soul artificially alive.
(8) The following perspective expressed in a letter
to Freud is unfledged, but it illustrates Jung's quaternarian standpoint while
the Christian myth is interpreted exclusively in archaic terms:
"...I
imagine a far finer and more comprehensive task for [psychoanalysis] than
alliance with an ethical fraternity. I think we must give it time to infiltrate
into people from many centers, to revivify among intellectuals a feeling for
symbol and myth, ever so gently to transform Christ back into the soothsaying
god of the vine, which he was, and in this way absorb those ecstatic instinctual
forces of Christianity for the one purpose of making the cult and the
sacred myth what they once were -- a drunken feast of joy where
man regained the ethos and holiness of an animal. That was the beauty and
purpose of classical religion, and from which God knows what temporary
biological needs has turned into a Misery Institute. Yet what infinite rapture
and wantonness lie dormant in our religion, waiting to be led back to their true
destination! A genuine and proper ethical development cannot abandon
Christianity but must grow up within it, must bring to fruition its hymn of
love, the agony and ecstasy over the dying and resurgent god, the mystic power
of the wine, the awesome antropophagy of the Last Supper -- only
this ethical development can serve the vital forces of religion."
(McGuire: Freud/Jung letters, letter 178J).
Addendum
In the history of Christian mysticism, there are many examples of concretistic misinterpretation, such as self-flagellation. The fact that Jung and von Franz disparaged the medieval form of spirituality is understandable. In this article I have argued that they threw the baby out with the bathwater. Christianity is underestimated as a mystery religion and personal spiritual path. Still, after two millennia, Western man unconsciously declines the path of the "Man of Sorrows". The spirit has died in his heart and all that remains is a false facade of moral Christian uprightness. The path of suffering, death, and crucifixion, was not to the taste of Jung either. It remains a serious problem in Jung's psychology and in the Western collective psyche.
As a curiosity, I want to relate a dream that I myself had long ago,
about Jung.
The church represents perhaps the Christian spirit or civilization.
The alcove contains the image of the self. It is being improved with a brass
decoration less plain and boring and more close to the bacchic(?) spirit. Jung
speaks German because the dream wants to relate that it is actually Jung's
spirit who is visiting. The little church is true to the Christian spirit in the
sense that it is very frugal, it speaks of simpleness. There is no gold, but
only a simple brass decoration. Arguably, Jung's spirit wants to visit
such a place, because he underestimated this aspect of the Christian spirit in
his lifetime. Jung appears shorter than expected. Presumably, it compensates for
a personal overestimation in some sense. I also have an alternative explanation
for this. It could be a symbolical equivalent to the brass, as his spirit wants
to take part in true simplicity.
Brass is an alloy of zink and copper. Thus it is a conjunctive
symbol, where the zink is Luna and Copper is Sol. While the marriage of Sol and
Luna is more commonly symbolized by (quick-) silver and gold, my dream replaces
these with baser metals. Again, it's simplicity that is being emphasized.
Whereas gold and silver are heavenly in origin, copper and zink are more earthy. I thought of the alcove with the four-partitioned image of the self
as Jung's own contribution to the church, his legacy in our civilization.
However, he wanted to come back and have something corrected, namely to remove
the brass rod below it and put the brass vine there instead.
M. Winther (2007)
References
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Pauli, W. (1955). 'The influence of Archetypal Ideas on the Scientific
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Tresan D. (2007). 'Thinking individuation forward'. Journal of
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unknown (13??). The Cloud of
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See also:
In The Complementarian Self (2011) I discuss Jung's dream about kneeling before the highest presence (here).
In Critique of Synchronicity I direct critique against the unitarian self and certain metaphysical aspects of Jung's worldview (here).
©
Mats Winther (March 2007)
