A Blue Fire

334 Pages·1990·11.258 MB·English

by  James Hillman, Thomas Moore (Editor)

THE ESSENTIAL
JAMES HILLMAN
O ne of today's most important and imaginative thinkers in psychology
here gathers together for the first time selections from many of his
seminal essays and books on archetypal psychology. Distilling the
essence of-James Hillman's writings while retaining their power, this anthology
offers readers an overview of Hillman's path-breaking approach to "imaginal"
psychology,encompassingGreekmythology,Renaissancephilosophy,thestudyof
art,history,andliteratureaswellascritical interpretationsofFreudandJung.Such
fundamentalthemesinHillman'sthoughtas"ThePoeticBasisofMind,""Dreams
and the Blood Soul," "The Divine Face ofThings," and "Psychoanalysis in the
Street" form chaptersof this book, each introduced byThomas Moore, who has
been teaching and practicing Hillman's psychology for manyyears. These intro
ductions, in addition to the thematic organization, help the reader see the
connectionsbetween Hillman'smanyrevisioningsofpsychoanalysis;andtheselec
tions, ranging from the popular essays on betrayal and suicide to Hillman's
passionate callfor therestoration ofsoul to theworld ofthings,to humorousand
biting commentson everydaylife, to finding meaning in imagesof"bad" fathers
and mothers and exploring the tension between youth and age, typifyHillman's
extraordinary sensitivity to the outer world that influences the inner world of
consciousnessand perception.
James Hillman brings soul to psychologyand modern life. With this book he
providesanintroduction tohisthoughtand presentsanangleonexperienceaimed
atrestoring passion and awarenesstoaworld out oftouchwith heart and beauty.
Formerlydirector ofstudiesattheJungInstituteinZurich,JamesHillmanlivesand
practicespsychotherapyinConnecticut.He istheauthorofmanyworks,including
Re-Visioning Psychology, TheMyth ofAnalysis, The Dream and the Underworld,
and InterViews.
Founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Imagination in West
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Thomas Mooreis a writer and psychotherapist. His
books include ThePlanetsWithinand RitualsoftheImagination.
Thispageintentionallyleftblank
THE
ESSENTIAL
JAMES
HILLMAN
A BLUE FIRE
Thomas Moore
INTRODUCED AND EDITED BY
IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AUTHOR
I~ ~~ o~:~~n~~~up
LONDONAND NEWYORK
First publishedinGreatBritain 1990
byRoutledge
27Church Road,Hove,EastSussex, BN32FA
Reprinted 1994,1998
TransferredtoDigital Printing2008
©1989James Hillman
Contribution©1989ThomasMoore
Allrights reserved.No partof thisbook maybereprintedor
reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,
orothermeans,nowknownor hereafterinvented,including
photocopyingand recording, orinanyinformationstorage or
retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers.
BritishLibrary Cataloguing inPublicationData
Acataloguerecord forthisbook isavailablefromtheBritish Library
ISBN978-0-415-05303-7(Pbk)
Publisher'sNote
Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityof
thisreprintbutpoints outthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginal
maybeapparent
Joints: whole and not whole,
connected-separate, consonant-dissonant.
-HERACLITUS
As rational metaphysics teaches that man
becomesallthings by understanding them,
imaginativemetaphysics shows that man
becomesallthings by not understanding them,
for when . . . he does not understand he . . .
becomesthem by transforming himselfinto them.
-VICO, NewScience
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments x
Prologue
I
SOUL
1 The Poetic Basis of Mind 15
SOUL 17 / ARCHETYPAL FANTASY 21 / IMAGINAL
METHOD 24 / LANGUAGE 28 / CONSCIOUSNESS 31
2 Many Gods, Many Persons 36
POLYTHEISM 38 / PERSONS 45
3 Imaginal Practice: Greeting the Angel 50
IDEAS 52 / RESPONDING TO IMAGES 55 / SENSING
IMAGES 60 / IMAGINATION, THE GROUND OF
CERTAINTY 64 / ANGELIC INTERPRETATION 67
4 Therapy: Fictions and Epiphanies
71
CARE OF THE SOUL 73 / CASE STORIES 77 /
DRAMATIC TENSIONS 82 / PSYCHOLOGICAL
FAITH 84 / THE GUIDING ANIMA 87
Contents
Vlll
WORLD
5 Anima Mundi 95
NATURE ALIVE 97 / CITY AND SOUL 104
6 The Salt of Soul, the Sulfur of Spirit
II2
PEAKS AND VALES 114 / SOUL AND SPIRIT 121 /
ALCHEMICAL SOLUTIONS 125
'*
Divertissement 131
RECIPES 131 / FANTASIAS 139
7 Pathologizing: The Wound and the Eye 142
SYMPTOMS 143 / THE MYTH OF NORMALCY 149 /
DEPRESSION 152 / WOUNDS 159 / CULTURAL
DISORDER 163
8 Psychoanalysis in the Street 166
EDUCATION 167 / WORK 171 / MONEY 173 /
TRANSPORTATION 175 / SEX 178 / WAR 180 /
TERRORISM 185
EROS
9 Mythology as Family 193
FAMILY 196 / FATHER: SATURN AND SENEX 208 /
FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS 216 / FATHERS AND
SONS 220 / MOTHERS 223 / MOTHERS AND
SONS 225 / PUER 226 / CHILD 232
Contents
IX
10 Dreams and the Blood Soul 239
WORK WITH DREAMS 241 / ANIMALS 253 /
MOTIFS 261
11 Love's Torturous Enchantments 266
LOVE'S TORTURE 268 / BETRAYAL 277 / IMAGINAL
LOVE 281
12 The Divine Face of Things 290
PSYCHIC BEAUTY 292 / ANIMAL BEAUTY 293 /
THE SHADOW OF AESTHETICS 297 / THOUGHT OF THE
HEART 299
Sources 307
Index 315