Creative Mythology And The Individuation Process

One of Jung’s most important contributions to analytic practice has been his concept of individuation.  While he recognized the necessity of focusing on ego development, such as integrating one’s projections, taking responsibility for identifying and working through one’s complexes, his primary interest was individuation,  moving beyond the persona and understanding one’s relationship to the larger world.  To this end, he studied the mythological motifs of different cultures, acquainting himself with aspects of the collective unconscious as a means of helping patients understand and make meaning out of their internal experiences in a larger context beyond the personal.  This presentation will focus on a series of three archetypal dreams which reflect motifs from Alchemical, Arthurian, Egyptian, Classical, Celtic, and Nordic mythologies.  We will focus on ways of amplifying the patient’s dream material, including how to identify and consider the dream symbols from a personal as well as archetypal perspective.