The concept of holding the tension of opposites is central to the Jungian journey of individuation. Our psyches are pulled between opposing forces, such as the conscious and the unconscious, light and shadow, masculine and feminine, or rationality and intuition. These opposites are archetypal in nature and cannot be fully integrated or reduced into one; they represent fundamental dualities.
From a Jungian perspective, engaging with myths, poetry, stories, music, and movement provides a profound means of accessing the deeper archetypal truths embedded in the collective unconscious.
This message came to me during a medicine hike, after spotting a snake—a Puff Adder!—crossing the road. Snake medicine teaches us how to attune to the earth’s vibrations. Unlike humans, who hear through the air, snakes hear primarily through the ground.
Traditional shamanism operates from an animistic worldview, where everything in creation is considered alive and possesses a spirit. People, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, stars, and even concepts and illnesses are believed to have souls.
Recently, at the Louvain Burn Festival, a frog found its way into our tent—a ‘Platanna’, also known as the African clawed frog or claw-toed frog. The son of the guest farm’s owner showed us how this frog moved inside its own skin, and I recognized this unique feature as its medicine.
Instinctual drives and violent affective responses are deeply embedded in the body, representing the personal shadow that threatens psychological stability and requires defense mechanisms.
When we’re anxious or feel threatened, we tend to hold our breath. This can become a habit, creating a breath-holding pattern that signals to our body that it’s not safe, which reinforces anxiety.
In some traditions, black-colored birds are revered for their spiritual significance and are seen as powerful symbols of mystery, the unknown, transformation, and connection to the divine.
Dreams show us the landscapes of our souls. Where do your dreams regularly take place? What is the felt sense of that space? How does it speak to you? According to the African indigenous perspective on dreaming, the landscapes in our dreams denote our DNA and the people we originate from.
But what happens when the stories we choose to live by lead us down dark and treacherous paths? The Netflix series “The Last Airbender" offers a compelling example of this question through the character of Admiral Zhao and his unrelenting pursuit of becoming a legend by slaying the Moon Spirit.
Carl Jung astutely observed the tendency of human beings to unwittingly perpetuate their own suffering while remaining oblivious to the root causes within themselves. Despite externalizing blame onto the world, the true origins of these narratives lie within the unconscious.
Jung believed that the psyche operates as a self-regulating system, akin to the body, aiming to maintain internal stability amidst external influences. This equilibrium involves a balance between polarities wherein the psyche integrates unconscious elements like archetypes and complexes into conscious awareness. Through self-discovery and transformation, a process Jung termed ‘individuation’, individuals seek to manifest their unique potential and achieve inner harmony, fostering a sense of wholeness.
Animal visitations in our dreams represent archetypal patterns and qualities unique to their species; thus, each animal carries an essence that we need to inquire about to understand the dream's message beyond our personal associations...
In the modern world, where urban and technological landscapes often overshadow the natural world, there is an ever-increasing disconnect between humanity and the environment that sustains us. The consequences of this detachment are far-reaching, impacting on the very essence of our well-being. Jung saw our relationship with nature as essential to the development of consciousness and wholeness (Sabini 2001). Jung stated that in the “civilization process, we have increasingly divided our consciousness from the deeper instinctive strata of the human psyche” (Jung, 1964, 36).
Carl Jung's concept of the archetype of the Self is a complex idea of embodied consciousness, symbolizing unity between body, mind, and soul. It directs us to explore and integrate the various parts of our psyche while maintaining a homeostatic balance, and serves as a guiding force on the journey of individuation.