The Seven Sermons to the Dead was written by C. G. Jung in the context of his experimentation with the unconscious, leading to The Black Books and subsequently to the creation of Liber Novus (The Red Book). The text of this dramatic reading is recorded in the third book of Liber Novus, following Liber Primus and Liber Secundus, called Scrutinies.
The Sermons weave together two themes which had emerged separately for Jung: a cosmological vision revealed to him by his soul on 16th January 1916; and repeated encounters with the Dead which culminated in a parapsychological event at his house in Küsnacht. The Dead needed acceptance and salvation. The response was a seven part education of the Dead by Jung’s inner teacher Philemon, in which the path of individuation is introduced to them.
Our year of focus on The Seven Sermons would be incomplete without an immersive experience of the Sermons as spoken word. We believe that speaking the text out loud while listening together in a group, will bring the material to life in a way that cannot be achieved by silent reading. For Jung himself, this was a matter of lived experience.
Tonight’s readers are:
Philemon: Robert Macdonald (Jungian Analyst, IGAP)
C. G. Jung: Max Noak (Jungian Analyst, SAP, Harvest Editor )
Soul: Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi (Jungian Analyst, GAP)
The Dead:
Gail Bennett (Jungian Analyst, GAP, Harvest Editor, Club Vice Chair);
Stephan von Bismarck (Club Treasurer)
Stella von Boch (Jungian Analyst, IGAP, Club Chair)
Violin: Eulalie Charland