IAJS24 – Matthew Switzer: Jung’s Black Books, Gnosis, and Psychospiritual Responses to Empire
March 30, 2026 at 02:49AM
IAJS 2024 – Jung and Duality, Annual IAJS online Conference

Matthew Switzer
“The Dark Christ: Jung’s Black Books, Gnosis, and Psychospiritual Responses to Empire at the Ends of the Aeon”

Abstract:
This presentation delves into the dualism surrounding the legend of Simon Magus within C.G. Jung’s analytic psychology, with particular attention to Jung’s Black and Red Books. Jung imagined Simon Magus, the gnostic magician, as “hiding in Philemon,” revealing the figure’s complex significance within Jung’s spiritual and psychological explorations. The presentation covers the historical context of Jung’s engagement with Simon Magus, his portrayal in Gnostic literature, and the contemporary scholarship on Gnosticism since Jung. By tracing the magician’s appearances through myths, legends, gospels, alchemical symbolism, astrology, and dreams, we uncover the psychospiritual responses to colonization and empire that link Jung and Simon Magus across aeons. Through these investigations, we are invited to ask: Who is Simon Magus, and what can he reveal about the spiritual and psychological tensions of our time?

Bio:
Matthew Switzer is a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies, specializing in Philosophy and Religion with a focus on Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion. He holds an MA in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness, as well as a BA in World Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. A former teacher and volunteer at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, Matthew’s dissertation research focuses on Marie-Louise von Franz’s integral ecology of dreams and its implications for environmental peacebuilding. He resides in Half Moon Bay, California.
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