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kurtiskozel's review against another edition
4.0
I've been reading this book for about 2.5 years now, and it's been a good companion, even and especially when put down.
This book asks a lot of the reader. He will quote Latin without translation and myth-figures without myth and expects you to have at least some familiarity with all of it. I'm flattered to think he had so much faith in humanity.
My honest critique of the book is his prose, as usual. He constantly goes too fast, too dense. He has his moments of simple beauty, but they are easily missed between his multi-page diatribes on why jellyfish do and/or do not count as piscean archetypes.
In a way, he writes and thinks in the same way a bee collects honey. He visits one culture after another and, when enough has stuck to him, he regurgitates the flowing liquid back out and arranges it in a semi-solid lattice-work of themes. It's thick and dense, but the sweetness justifies the consumption.
This book asks a lot of the reader. He will quote Latin without translation and myth-figures without myth and expects you to have at least some familiarity with all of it. I'm flattered to think he had so much faith in humanity.
My honest critique of the book is his prose, as usual. He constantly goes too fast, too dense. He has his moments of simple beauty, but they are easily missed between his multi-page diatribes on why jellyfish do and/or do not count as piscean archetypes.
In a way, he writes and thinks in the same way a bee collects honey. He visits one culture after another and, when enough has stuck to him, he regurgitates the flowing liquid back out and arranges it in a semi-solid lattice-work of themes. It's thick and dense, but the sweetness justifies the consumption.
theesotericcamel's review against another edition
4.0
Written as he was working on his magnum opus "Mysterium Coniunctionis," this book examines the image and symbolism of Christ, as a representation of the Self. The self is an archetype of an ideal man with a cognition of their whole nature. A man that knows itself very well, and through this knowledge is capable of extraordinary things. Christ is only one instance of this archetype, but Jung argues that it was the evolution of Christ's image through Christianity that has led us to our present materialism and spiritual drought, at least where Western thought is involved. He traces this evolution of Christ symbolism along with the unfolding of the astrological Age of Pisces, and makes some interesting observations connecting Christ to fish symbolism.
He begins by briefly looking at the Shadow and the Anima/Animus archetypes, as components of the Self. He then continues with the Fish Symbolism and traces it through Pagan, Gnostic, Catholic, and Alchemical lenses. He argues that Alchemy was in many ways, the continuation of Gnostic thought, which saw existence in a very dualistic manner. In Gnosticism, Christ literally embodied this dualistic nature, which was later suppressed by the Catholic interpretation of Christ and God. Gnosticism and Alchemy are in turn, early attempts at man trying to understand the self, or to put it simply, early psychology.
I always find reading Jung to be nourishing of my mind and spirit. But I do find him to be rather Western-centrist. He often assumes his readers are too. He also studied various Eastern philosophies, but argues that we should not adopt them if we were not born into them because we will not be able to comprehend such a different world view. He thinks Christianity is complex enough it it's own right, and has become quite the psychological apologist for it. Personally, I can appreciate the beauty of the symbolism of Christianity, but see no harm in following another faith if you find it more meaningful to you.
He begins by briefly looking at the Shadow and the Anima/Animus archetypes, as components of the Self. He then continues with the Fish Symbolism and traces it through Pagan, Gnostic, Catholic, and Alchemical lenses. He argues that Alchemy was in many ways, the continuation of Gnostic thought, which saw existence in a very dualistic manner. In Gnosticism, Christ literally embodied this dualistic nature, which was later suppressed by the Catholic interpretation of Christ and God. Gnosticism and Alchemy are in turn, early attempts at man trying to understand the self, or to put it simply, early psychology.
I always find reading Jung to be nourishing of my mind and spirit. But I do find him to be rather Western-centrist. He often assumes his readers are too. He also studied various Eastern philosophies, but argues that we should not adopt them if we were not born into them because we will not be able to comprehend such a different world view. He thinks Christianity is complex enough it it's own right, and has become quite the psychological apologist for it. Personally, I can appreciate the beauty of the symbolism of Christianity, but see no harm in following another faith if you find it more meaningful to you.
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