Pain, Suffering

To be tormented, anguished, or tortured is, not least in biblical contexts, an expression of purification and resurrection; as if burning away one's sins. The symbolic expression is closely related to sacrifice. "Rebirth is always associated with the image of pain." (Dream Interpretation Ancient and Modern, p. 212.) In nearly all initiation rites, some form of pain occurs. These rites take one to a "higher state," a developmental stage, and this transition seems archetypally connected to torment; similarly, great, often but not necessarily painful experiences are important for our development as human beings – to a greater or lesser extent, we age.

Only by enduring the pain of fire can the alchemist determine if the stone is the true stone. This is, according to Jung, a leitmotif running through the entire alchemical tradition. (Alchemical Studies, par. 94.) The commonly found torture-like elements in alchemical writings could be a description of how they handled their material, an allegory of the passion story, or an illustration of the painful transformation process. 

The search for truth, coming to self-awareness, and growing with life's difficulties simply hurts; a torment that can be illustrated in dreams. The alchemists expressed the danger of "the work," under which many perished, went mad, were deceived by the devil, and so on. Jung comments: "The dangers that threatened the alchemists were evidently psychological." (Alchemical Studies, par. 139.)

In fairy tales and legends, it is a common motif that the hero must passively endure torment, as a way of giving up his masculine agency to release his feminine side, according to von Franz. (Animus and Anima in Fairy Tales, p. 102f.)

Allowing oneself to suffer draws one closer to God, as He is always with the one who suffers. Simply put, avoiding all of life's torments can stifle the inner, living world; while openness to inner conflicts and difficult situations gives the inner world freer play and is thus entirely necessary for personal development. "Suffering is the fastest horse to perfection," as Meister Eckhart said.

Popular posts from this blog

Forget About the Archetype - It's the Complex

A good post on Reddit expresses criticism towards people seeking answers to their personal problems in Jung’s archetype theory, arguing that they misunderstand Jung’s fundamental theoretical framework, particularly the process of individuation. The post became popular, receiving many upvotes and quickly garnering several fairly lengthy, often well thought-out responses. But what struck me was that the writer didn’t mention complexes a single time in the nearly 600-word post, and no one else did either in their comments. This prompted me to write a short post highlighting the point that when people share their thoughts on Jung in relation to their own or others’ psychology, it is actually, in most cases, about complexes—not archetypes. A couple of days later, the thread had 54 comments and 246 upvotes, which are rather high numbers in this forum for a serious post that sticks to the topic of Jungian psychology. However, my post hadn't received any comments or upvotes. Still no-one e...
Read more

Shadow Work – A Critical Commentary

When browsing public channels on various platforms that deal with Jungian psychology, one is struck by how frequently “shadow work” appears.  It seems to be mostly young men, who don’t appear to have studied Jung to any significant extent, who are fascinated by and encourage this "work." As someone who has studied Jung and Jungian literature for a long time, I don’t recognize this focus on so-called shadow work in the sources at all. It actually seems to be a modern internet phenomenon rather than something genuinely Jungian. Yes, it is of course true that the “shadow” is a central concept in Jungian psychology, and it is true that Jung stated that it is "a therapeutic necessity for the ego to confront its shadow" (CW 14, par. 514) – but this shadow work they speak of, where does it come from? Because it certainly doesn’t come from Jung or any influential Jungians. What is the shadow according to Jung? It is simply hidden or unconscious aspects of ourselves that we...
Read more

3. The Muster of Rohan; 4. The Siege of Gondor

Since neither Frodo, Gandalf or Aragorn participates in the events of this chapter, there is very little symbolic significance. We may note that Théoden’s army meets Éowyn at Dunharrow, an ancient fortress to which the people have fled under her leadership. During supper, Merry asks about Aragorn and the Paths of the Dead, but no one—neither Théoden, Éomer or Éowyn—understands why he chose to take this hopeless road. No one knows of the Stone of Erech or the “peril in the south.” “Woe that so valiant a man should trifle with death in this dire hour!” Éomer exclaims. The reason for Aragorn’s reticence is probably that his initiation is an intensely private matter, a secret pure and simple. Théoden intends to leave both Éowyn and Merry behind here—neither of them is suited to battle, he believes. But when the host later rides toward Gondor, Éowyn and Merry ride with it in secret. Both refuse to be left in a place where their respective callings would remain unfulfilled. 4. The Siege of G...
Read more