Jung’s Red Book is jokingly referred to as the unread Book because its calligraphic text is in German and the English translation is dense and basically codified. The vast majority who have bought the book haven’t read it but enjoy looking at the fascinating images Jung painted. When Jung’s mysterious manuscript was eventually published in 2009, it caused a stir, especially in the Jungian community. The original 5,000 printed copies of The Red Book were priced at $200 each and sold out in a matter of days. It is without a doubt a stunningly beautiful book that represents a carefully reconstructed and annotated facsimile of Jung’s original red leather-bound folio, which he originally titled Liber Novus.
This Saturday workshop will continue the Friday evening lecture exploration of the mysteries of The Red Book and focus on Jung’s theory of active imagination—a technique he used in the book’s creation and later employed with patients to engage unconscious contents. It is an introspective process of observing and creatively dialoguing with spontaneous inner images. In the workshop we will use this technique to gain further insight into Jung’s text and paintings.