SELF, ARCHETYPE OF GOD
The Self is the name Jung used for God or the God image (archetype). The name is partly based on his meditation of Indian Vedic literature and in particular the Hindu deity, Atman. In Chapter Ten, our last section of the book we discuss some of Jung's symbols for wholeness: the mandala and the UFO. To this we add another mandala symbol, the Crop Circle.
THE SELF AND THE MANDALA
| Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning circle. Jung
said that the mandala "...is the path to the center, to individuation."
Mandala's are probably one of the most ancient archetypes. They are found in
almost every culture and society throughout the history of civilization.
Creating a mandala is a good way to begin to understanding where we are at in
relationship to the psyche. Like dreams, the colors, symbols and forms within a
mandala mark our psychological and spiritual evolution or stagnation.
The mandala--LEFT--entitled "The Wheel of Life" is by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). The middle picture is a mandala done by a female patient of Jung. As part of her therapy she painted a series of mandalas. The four phases of the moon and other symbols are included in this mandala. The RIGHT picture is a Tibetan Kalachakra sand mandala. In Tibetan the word for mandala is kyilkhor, meaning 'center.' Kalachakra means 'wheel of time.' It represents the totality of past, present and future in an ever flowing dynamic leading humanity to illumination or full individuation in the Self. In the center of the mandala Kalachakra and his consort Vishvamata are united in a coniunctio of perpetual bliss.
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THE SELF AND UFOS
| UFOS are also a modern symbol for wholeness. They are contemporary mandalas translated into a scientific and technological archetypal image. Like the retelling of an ancient story into current language, the UFO phenomena communicates directly to our soul. Like the wholeness of the Self, they are surrounded by an aura of mystery. They have become a 'carrier' for many of our emotional projections including awe, fear, hope, etc. Our perspective of the UFO is a reflection of how we collectively feel about ourselves. The movie still on the far left is from the 1950's "The Day The World Stood Still" and center is a UFO from the 1996 movie, "Independence Day." | ||
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THE SELF AND CROP CIRCLES
| An even more modern mandala phenomenon than UFOS
is the Crop Circle.
Some of the first reported crop circles occurred around the Glastonbury/Avebury countryside of southern England in the late 1970's though mid 1980's. They are now found in many countries including the USA, U.K., Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, and Belgium. The initial location of the first discoveries is the mythic home of King Arthur and the Round Table--painting LEFT by Walter Crane--as well as the Holy Grail--CENTER painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These are both symbols of the God image. As an expression of the Self, the crop circle represents one of the missing collective element of the UFO--which is earth and the feminine ground. The UFO which Jung calls, "...a typical child of the age of technology" has evolved over the past two and a half decades from a relatively positive archetypal expression of wonder and hope into one of heavy shadow projection (see above picture). This is a reflection of the influence of Negative Logos upon our culture. The development of this collective archetypal image from grey air ship (e.g. UFO) to golden earth mandala tells us something about the urgent need in global society for a conscious reconnection between masculine Logos and the feminine principle of Eros. It is these two principles working together that allow us to perceive the totality of the Self. RIGHT photo is of a 1986 crop circle near Avebury. According to researcher Pat Delgado, the diameter measures were "almost a true circle." |
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THE SELF AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE GOD IMAGE
| At the end
of chapter 10 of our book we examine the question of the mutual evolution of
man and god. Perhaps one
of the most remarkable and controversial books that C. G. Jung ever
authored was his Answer To Job, based on the 18th book of the Old
Testament . In the old testament story Job, a wealthy, pious and
guiltless man, becomes a scapegoat in a quarrel between Yahweh and Satan.
Yahweh agrees and allows Satan to hurl seemingly endless misery into
Job's life: loss of family members, worldly goods, health and the
disapproval of his wife and friends. Yet, Job
persists and endures despite the best efforts of Satan and Yahweh to destroy
him.
In an insightful psychological dissertation, Jung exposes the inconsistencies of Yahweh, whose light and dark sides become very apparent in his dealings with Job. Yahweh does not represent the super consciousness of a god, but rather unconsciousness of an animal. Yahweh wants to become Job--god wants to become man. The two are co-evolving together. Influenced by the events of World War II, Answer To Job is an attempt to come to some sort of new understanding about the relationship between man and god. Below is a Gustave Doré black and white engraving entitled, "Job and His Friends." |
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