Monday, 25 August 2014

A Guide To Jung Symbols

By Deanne Shepard


We interpret the world through the stories around us, the dreams we have and the way we discuss them with the people around us. However there are certain recurring themes, images and motifs that appear to be universal. A lot of these concepts were first defined by the psychiatrist Jung and Jungian or Jung symbols are still often referred to today.

A good example is mythology. In a lot of major mythologies and religions there are certain stories that recur. A lot of them will look at how the world was first created or they foretell the end of the world. In these stories recurring images such as floods or fire will appear in order to symbolise the end of one order and the beginning of another.

In this theory it is believed that these symbols were often a part of our collective understanding and that on a certain subconscious level we all recognise them. Often we recognise these particular subconscious images regardless of whether we are aware of this or not. It was on this basis that Jung developed a lot of his theories.

The idea is that there are certain culturally transcendent images known as archetypes. For example almost all cultures have some kind of myth involving a flood. A lot of religions have a story where a central figure overcomes an older order and decries its corruption before establishing a new order. While the content of the story and the characters involved may be different the essential concept appears to be unshifting and universal.

Freud was also interested in symbolism. However his theory mainly centred on the idea that these represented repressed memories and desires. Often these desires were dark and had to be confronted in order to keep people away from carrying out these darker desires. However this was not how Jung interpreted it.

One big crucial difference between how the Jungian psychologists interpreted symbols and how Freudians interpreted them is the idea of the shadow. While Freud saw this purely in terms of sexuality the Jungian interpretation is arguably more complex. There is the idea that in effect our so called darker sides are merely a part of a whole and are not necessarily good or bad. Jung essentially argued that men have a female side and women have a male side as well and there could be good or bad in both.

What he argued is that these symbols were more ways in which people made sense of the world around them and their personal journey. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that certain themes and motifs would repeat themselves. A good example of this is superheroes. These characters combine the idea of asserting your identity with the desire for power, flight and so forth that all seem to be appealing fantasies for people around the world.

There is a wide array of archetypes and there are a number of sites that list them all. In simple terms all of them stem from people looking to understand themselves and what is happening in the world around them. It is worth looking online to learn about Jungian theories and articles in more depth as well as offering a new way to interpret the stories that you love as well as providing psychological insight.




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