The Aion Lectures: Exploring the Self in C.G. Jung's Aion

207 Pages·1996·17.075 MB·English

by  Edward F. Edinger

The Aion Lectures
. ,
The Aion Lectures
Exploring the Self in
e.G.
Jung's Aion
Edward F. Edinger
Edited by Deborah A. Wesley
Marie-Louise von Franz, Honorary Patron
Studies In Jungian Psychology
by Jungian Analysts
Daryl Sharp, General Editor
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Edinger, Edward F. (Edward Ferdinand), 1922-
The Aion lectures: exploring the self in C.G. Jung's Aion
(Studies in Jungian psychology by Jungian analysts; 71)
Based on an edited transcript of lectures delivered at the
e.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, 1988-89.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-919123-72-4
1. Jung, C.G. (Carl Gustav), 1875-1961. Aion:
Beitrage zur Symbolik des Selbst. 2. Symbolism.
3. Psychology, Religious. 4. Self.
I. Wesley, Deborah A. II. Title. Ill. Series.
BF175.4.R44E35 1996 150.19'54 C95-931871-2
Copyright © 1996 by Edward F. Edinger.
All rights reserved.
INNER CITY BOOKS
Box 1271, Station Q. Toronto. Canada M4T 2P4
Telephone [phone]
FAX [phone]
Honorary Patron: Marie-Louise von Franz.
Publisher and General Editor: Daryl Sharp.
Senior Editor: Victoria Cowan.
INNER CITY BOOKS was founded in 1980 to promote the
understanding and practical application of the work of e.G. lung.
Cover: The Mithraic god Aion (detail of illustration below. page 10).
Index by Daryl Sharp
Printed and bound in Canada by
University of Toronto Press Incorporated
Contents
Illustrations and Credits 7
Editor's Foreword 8
Author's Note 9
Preface 11
1 Introduction 15
2 Jung's Foreword toAion 19
3 Pal'lllraphs 1·12 22
TheEgo 22
4 Pal'lllraphs 13-42 26
The Shadow 26
The Syzygy: Anima and Animus 28
5 Paragraphs 43·67 34
The Self 34
6 Paragraphs 68·80 44
Christ, A Symbol of the Self 44
7 Paragraphs 81·104 50
Christ, A Symbol of the Self (cont.) 50
8 Paragraphs 105·126 56
Christ, A Symbol of the Self (cont.) 56
9 Paragraphs 127·138 65
The Sign of the Fishes 65
10 Paragraphs 139·149 72
The Sign of the Fishes (cont.) 72
11 Paragraphs 150·161 80
The Prophecies of Nostradamus 80
12 Paragraphs 162·176 88
The Historical Significance of the Fish 88
13 Paragraphs 177·192 95
The Historical Significance of the Fish (cont.) 95
The Ambivalence of the Fish Symbol 99
5
6 Contents
14 Paragraphs 193·212 104
The Fish in Alchemy 104
15 Paragraphs 213·235 111
The Fish in Alchemy (cont.) 111
16 Paragraphs 236·247 118
The "Big Fish" Dream 118
The Alchemical Interpretation of the Fish 121
17 Paragraphs 248-266 126
The Writings of Gerhard Dorn 126
18 Paragraphs 267·286 134
The Psychology of Christian Alchemical Symbolism 134
19 Paragraphs 287·305 139
Gnostic Symbols of the Self 139
20 Paragraphs 306-327 148
Gnostic Symbols of the Self (cont.) 148
21 Paragraphs 328·346 ISS
Gnostic Symbols of the Self (cont.) ISS
22 Paragraphs 347·365 161
The Structure and Dynamics of the Self 161
23 Paragraphs 366·380 169
The Structure and Dynamics of the Self (cont.) 169
24 Paragraphs 381·401 178
The Structure and Dynamics of the Self (cont.) 178
25 Paragraphs 402-429 186
The Structure and Dynamics of the Self (cont.) 186
Text Corrections and Additions to Aion 194
Bibliography 19S
Index 198
See final page for other books by Edward F. Edinger
Illustrations and Credits
The Mithraic god Aion frontispiece
1 "Aion" Cluster. 14
2 Precession of the Equinoxes. 20
3 Reflux flask. 27
4 Syzygy. 29
5 Diagram of the Psyche. 31
6 Stages of the Ego-Self Relationship (from Ego and Archetype). 36
7 The Psychic Life Cycle (after Ego and Archetype). 37
8 Stalcs of Rcligious Projection (from Ego and Archetype). 38-39
9 Opposites Related to the Christ-image (from Aion). 57
10 The Threefold Sonship of Basilides. 59
11 Basilides' Conception of the Universe. 61
12 Pattern of the Pisces Aeon. 70
13 Movement of the Sun through Pisces. 79
14 William Blake's Behemoth and Leviathan. 96
15 Time-lapse Photo of the Northern Sky [from Anatomy o/the Psyche). 103
16 The Jelly-fish (from Jim Harter, ed., Animals) 105
17 Two Fishes in the Sea. 117
18 The Big Fish Dream. 119
19 The Paradise Quaternio Text. 140
20 The "Signs of the Father" Text. 143
21 Anthropos Quaternio (after Aion). 167
22 Shadow Quaternio (after Aion). 168
23 Paradise Quaternio (after Aion). 173
24 Lapis Quatemio (after Aion). 175
25 The True Philosophical Pelican (after Aion). 177
26 The Fourfold Quatemio (after Aion). 179
27 The Clementine Creation image. 185
28 Formula of the Self (after Aion). 189
29 16-Term Diagram of Alchemical Processes (after Aion). 191
7
Editor's Foreword
More than a few readers have picked up C.G. Jung's Aion and then put it down
again, overwhelmed by his flood of material from classical, Christian, Gnostic
and alchemical writers. It is not easy to bridge the various source materials and
to follow the thread of Jung's thought, and there has been little to help readers
through this rough terrain. Despite the importance of its subject-the changes in
the God-image during two thousand years of the Christian era-and its relevance
as this millennium comes to an end, the book has not been widely read.
Finally, in 1988-89, a guide to Aion appeared in the fonn of a series of semi
nar lectures by Edward Edinger. The audience was crammed into a lecture room
at the e.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, and consisted primarily of therapists in
training to be analysts, with a scattering of analysts and interested lay people.
The atmosphere was serious but with an undercurrent of excitement. There
were some questions and exchanges between members of the audience and Dr.
Edinger. By and large, however, those present simply listened, eager for the clar
ification being brought to Jung's difficult work. This book is based on an edited
transcript of those lectures.·
The particular forum in which the lectures were presented gave rise to a text
that actually encompasses two somewhat distinct levels. Primarily, Dr. Edinger
leads the reader through Aion chapter by chapter, explaining difficult references,
extending and discussing quotations from Jung's source material, filling in
background and supplying examples.
The reader will notice a second level. Many of Dr. Edinger's examples arise
from analytic practice, and at times one realizes that one is in the presence of a
master analyst teaching apprentices. There are numerous seminal remarks about
the nature and practice of depth analysis.
The text is supplemented by the diagrams used to illustrate the original lec
tures. They have been reconceived and redrawn from the author's original
sketches by Thornton Ladd, for whose generous help and unfailing enthusiasm I
am very grateful.
Deborah A. Wesley
Los Angeles
* Audio tapes are available from the C.G. Jung Bookstore in Los Angeles.
8
Author's Note
Truly it can be said that Jung's Aion laid the foundation for a whole new de
partment of human knowledge, a scholarly discipline that one might call
archetypal psychohistory. It is based on the application of the insights of depth
psychology to the data of cultural history. The historical process can now be
seen as the self-manifestation of the archetypes of the collective unconscious as
they emerge and develop in time and space through the actions and fantasies of
humanity.
In Aion Jung took the archetype of the God-image (the Self) as his subject
and demonstrated how it has revealed itself progressively in the course of the
Christian aeon. It is an awesome work that makes great demands on the reader.
The present book is an attempt to mitigate this difficulty and to make Aion
somewhat more accessible.
I thank Deborah Wesley warmly for her skill and devotion in editing this dif
ficult material.
Edward F. Edinger
Los Angeles
9
The Mithraic god Aion (Roman, 2nd-3rd century).