Sacrifice

One must always sacrifice something to expand one’s consciousness; consciousness itself is a sacrifice of the “natural human being.” Sacrifice can symbolize the emergence of the ego.

When Jung speaks of sacrifice, he often refers to the necessity of giving up the world of childhood, “the backward-looking longing.” (Symbols of Transformation, par. 643.)

In initiation rites, one might have been required to cut off a finger (see also Dismemberment, a common motif for sacrifice and sometimes synonymous with it), or conversely, it might have been demanded that one renounce personal desires to reach God, give up the security provided by infantile fantasies to become conscious, relinquish childhood to become an adult, or abandon habitual thought patterns for broader perspectives, and so on. One must forgo something to take the next step—make a sacrifice. (The dynamic of trial, sacrifice, initiation, and marriage is an archetypal theme that recurs in dreams.) If the time is right and the dreamer refuses to see it or fears taking the step, dreams of sacrifice often occur, frequently involving something perceived as good or innocent.

For a sacrifice to be effective, it must be conscious; it involves or is carried out in connection with an accounting before oneself. For this reason, initiation and sacrifice are linked to guilt and confession.

Unlike a gift, sacrifice implies that what is given is lost without expectation of exchange. If such an expectation existed, the sacrifice would be a magical ritual, an incantation; but instead, it is something one relinquishes, something destroyed without anticipation of return (hence why sacrifices are burned, thrown into a deep chasm, etc.).

Thanksgiving

To sacrifice means to acknowledge that what is one’s own comes from someone or something else; for example, that one is not the author of one’s own existence. Through sacrifice, one establishes a relationship with “the other.”

A related example of this relationship is our dependence on the autonomous functions of our bodies: it is not “thanks to me” that my heart beats; I am dependent on this circumstance beyond my control. Sacrificing to that which makes seeds grow, flowers bloom, and the sun rise fosters reflection and gratitude, providing a psychologically healthy connection to mysteries beyond our control on which we depend.

Choice

To make a choice is to sacrifice something. If one goes right, one forfeits the path to the left; if one chooses a career, one gives up the possibility of pursuing another; if one marries a woman, one sacrifices intimacy with other women. The unwillingness to make such sacrifices characterizes the puer aeternus, who wants to keep all paths open and thus walks none, never becoming an adult. Choices, therefore, are a kind of discernment or separatio (see Two), a fundamental prerequisite for consciousness.

Transformation

To sacrifice oneself, even to suffer, in order to undergo transformation is a recurring theme in alchemy and is particularly prominent in the visions of the alchemist Zosimos. Note also that the theme of sacrifice-transformation is pronounced in the stories of Jesus; even Odin sacrificed himself to himself to achieve enlightenment.

In both Gnostic and alchemical thought, the one who sacrifices and the one being sacrificed are the same, just as the sword that kills is also what dies—or, for that matter, as the path is also the goal.

Higher Value

Sacrifice always implies a higher purpose; it is done for something greater than oneself. Something must be lost for the sake of a higher value. One is reminded of Matthew 16:24: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” According to an alchemical instruction, the father must be burned, which refers to the necessity of sacrificing one’s history in order for the new to emerge.

Leaving Something Behind

Sacrifice can also be seen more “retroactively” as something one must leave behind (in the unconscious) in order to return. When Odin gains wisdom in his encounter with the unconscious, he must leave behind or sacrifice his eye; when Frodo has been to Mount Doom, he must leave behind or sacrifice his finger to return to Shire, and so forth.

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