Philemon first appears in the text of Liber Novus as a retired magician who instructs Jung about the craft of magic. He re-appears at the conclusion of the work in a dialogue with Jesus Christ. All other appearances of Philemon in Liber Novus (for example, Philemon as the preacher of the VII Sermons) are editorial additions made by Jung in late 1917.
What happened in 1917 that caused Jung to insert the figure of Philemon more widely into Scrutinies?
Access to Black Book 7 enables us to trace the re-emergence of Philemon in Jung’s active imaginations from 1917 to 1928. My aim in this talk is to address the question: who is Philemon and why does he matter?
