| For anyone who has an interest in Jungian psychology and taking the path to individuation, this book is a must. While C.G. Jung is undoubtably one of the most important figures in the 20th century, his writings can be hard to understand if one hasn't already been exposed to analytical psychology, mythology, alchemy, Latin, and/or ancient Greek. This book takes the reader from Jung's theory of the Collective Unconscious and goes step by step through archetypes, archetypal images (and the difference between the two), the shadow, the animus and anima, and interpreting mythology with these things in mind. It shows, quite logically, how mythology links us to the collective unconscious and how learning about mythology is really learning about ourselves and the human experience. It's also nice to hear the theories of other Jungians, people who have taken his work into other areas, like fairy tales, politics, and everyday life. The stories we all know, whether we learned them in church, from our parents at bedtime, or sitting in a movie theater, are stories of us and learning some basic Jungian vocabulary and theory makes these stories resonate with the timelessness in all of us. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about his- or herself and the unseen forces at work in our minds and the world around us. This book has opened a bigger, enthralling new world to me, one that will keep me engrossed for quite a while to come. |
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) was never more insightful and intriguing than when he discussed mythology. The key to understanding the Jungian approach to mythology lies in the concept of the image, which provides the basis for his theory of the unconscious. By emphasizing the image over the word, Jungian psychology distinguishes itself dramatically from Freudian, Lacanian, and other psychologies that stress the task of interpreting the language- the words- of the unconscious.
In Jung and the Jungians on Myth, Steven Walker carefully leads the reader through the essential lines of thought in Jungian psychology before developing his method for using Jungian ideas to approach mythological texts. Whether one is sympathetic toward Jung's ideas or critical of them, one will find in Walker's discussion a lucid introduction to Jungian perspectives on myth and psychology. |
