It is as if we did not know, or else continually forgot, that everything of which we are conscious is an image, and that image is psyche – CW 13, para. 75
“Image is psyche” is Jung’s radical, breakthrough idea. It is the core concept, thread and runs through his entire work. In this course, we shall explore “image is psyche” as the skeleton key to understanding Jungian psychology and human experience in its psychological, spiritual, and social unfolding. “Image is psyche” is also the means and medium through which human experience may be healed and transformed.
In order to get to an understanding and conscious experience of this central realm of the image, we shall start with setting out Jung’s discovery and understanding of “image is psyche.” Here we find the method by which Jungian psychology heals. Second, we shall look at, as an example, the image of fire as it manifests itself across a range of human possibilities–from eros to the mystical. Lastly, the social images that inhabit us will be explored. There are the images that threaten to rend us asunder and also the images–old and emergent–which offer us hope and a way of living together in authentic relatedness.
The class format will include presentation (with image, poetry, music, and texts) and discussion; class resources will be emailed.
Week I. Image is Psyche: Jung’s Discovery and Psychological Method
Week II. The Image of Fire: Transformations of an Elemental Image
Week III. Social Images: From Splitting to Wholeness
