Active Imagination

This paper outlines the fundamental precepts and practices of East-West spiritual counseling, which combines therapeutic approaches and theoretical frameworks found in Jungian depth psychology and Tibetan Buddhist Tantra. Emphasis is given to fostering direct, experiential contact with manifestations of the sacred, and imaginal exercises such as active imagination play an essential role in this process.

Our journey through life is encoded in our bodies just as the rings of a tree encode the life-story of that tree. If we grow up in an emotionally supportive environment our posture will be secure, our movements fluid, and our speech expressive. We will also be at ease with our bodies, and enjoy an open connection between body and psyche.

If we grow up in the wake of emotional trauma, it is a different story. Our bodies take on the postures, movements, and ways of speaking that seem to offer us protection: we may puff ourselves up or make ourselves small, overeat or starve, yell or stutter. Once established, these bodily defences limit our experience of ourselves and the world. Additionally, they often create painful physical symptoms.

Equally damaging is the disembodiment that accompanies childhood trauma. Emotions are primarily bodily responses, so by cutting off from our bodies we can distance ourselves from unbearable pain. We are not necessarily conscious of our disembodiment, but there are consequences. We cannot pick up the subtle feelings that reflect our bodies' emotional states and which could act as a compass during life. We have little access to the images that arise in our bodies which could help to guide our journey. We see our bodies as objects and tend to blame at least some of our pain on their imagined inadequacy.

Healing trauma requires that we work directly with our bodies to release what they hold, and forge the connections between body and psyche that will enable us to live an embodied life. There are many creative ways to do this work, including authentic movement, voice-work, yoga and working with masks.

This book presents serial killers as having disorders of imagination, imagopathy, seen through deficiencies such as failure of empathy, rigid fantasies, and unresolved projections. This disorder is a form of failed alchemy. This study challenges long-held assumptions that the Jungian concept of individuation is a purely healthful drive. Serial killers are unable to form insight after projecting untenable material onto their victims. Criminal profilers must therefore effect that insight, using active imagination, informed by their own reactions, on violent crime scene imagery. This book posits sexual homicides as irrational shadow images in our rationalistic modern culture. Consequently, profilers bridge conscious and unconscious for both inexorably splintered killers and the culture at large.
After establishing the dark fictional and non-fictional landscape of criminal profiling, Jungian Crime Scene Analysis examines how two experts, John Douglas and Robert Ressler, tacitly apply imaginal techniques in order to gather evidence about their quarries. Jungian approaches to active imagination and countertransference help to define this forensic project, grounded in the archetypal psychology concept of image.

Building on C. G. Jung's early understanding of dance as a form of active imagination, Dreamdancing (Stromsted 1984) brings together the inner world of body sensation, feelings, dreams and images; moving through dreams can help us experience the body/psyche connection. Just as the sensing body provides immediate access to all of life's experiences, our dreams, in turn, reflect the vitality of the body and the condition of our psychic, spiritual life. Analysis involves attuning to these messages, in the other, and within ourselves, hearing the soul's call and working with obstacles to its fulfilment. Elements from this practice may enhance your clinical practice by providing an increased sense of comfort with and appreciation for your own bodily wisdom and feeling responses. Expanded ways of seeing and enhanced awareness of the somatic foundations of the intersubjective relationship can deepen empathy and effectiveness in working with others, while providing avenues for self care and renewal.

[AMAZON LINK BELOW TO BOOK ITSELF -- TOC and book intro in downloadable .pdf] 

"It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it." --John Steinbeck Scientific research confirms what people have always known: answers, ideas, and inspiration do come to us in dreams. Harvard psychologist and world-renowned dream specialist Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D., offers this rich collection of examples of how the world's most creative practitioners in art, music, film, science, literature and other fields have used the revelations of their dream life to inform their work. Dr. Barrett offers insights showing us how to encourage lucid, meaningful dreaming, and how to apply the meanings of our dreams to solving problems--from the everyday to the extraordinary. This is the stuff dreams are made of. In the visual arts, Jasper Johns couldn't find his unique artistic vision until he dreamed it in the form of a large American flag. Salvador Dali and his colleagues built the startling new genre of surrealism out of dreams. Kubla Kahn dreamed the design for his stately pleasure dome; thousands of years later, Lucy Davis, chief architect at a major firm, continues the tradition of dreaming designs into life in her extraordinary buildings. Film is a fertile avenue for dreams: "Twice I have transferred dreams to film exactly as I had dreamed them," confides director Ingmar Bergman, as have Federico Fellini, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Robert Altman, and John Sayles. From Mary Shelley's terrible nightmare, which became Frankenstein, to Stephen King's haunting dream as a little boy, which led to his first bestseller, countless writers have consulted the Committee. Musicians from Beethoven to Billy Joel and Paul McCartney have whistled the Committee's tunes. In science, physiologist Otto Loewi dreamed the medical experiment that earned him the Nobel Prize. In sports, Marion Jones dreamed she'd broken a world record, then brought the dream to life. Gandhi translated his dream of resistance into a movement that changed the world. Since Freud, we take it for granted that our dreams reflect our past. In The Committee of Sleep, Barrett reveals how dreams can also tell us about our future potential--and how to reach it.

V práci chci formulovat novou metodu výkladu mýtu, která vychází z terapeutických metod, které Jung popsal a využíval. Sepsáním následující práce se také pokusím o závan čerstvého vzduchu mezi tradiční interpretační východiska, vnesení nového dynamického postupu mezi proudy, které už pár let provází stagnace. Zvykli jsme si mýty vykládat jako něco mrtvého, často jsou pro nás jen součástí zaniklých náboženských tradic. Stále zapomínáme na to, že jsme to "my a příběh ", co při interpretaci mýtu předkládáme dalším čtenářům. V následujícím textu budu studovat mýtus jako samostatnou živou substanci, jejíž prvky se obměňují a neustále k nám ve svých proměnách pronikají nejen v příbězích. Představená metoda bude záhy aplikována na text mýtu Tochmarc Étaíne.

A purpose for this study is to explore creative interventions that can help women on their individuation path, based on personal exploration. This exploration utilizes the Jungian concepts of myth and archetypes, in connection to Jean Shinoda Bolen's work (2014) on archetypes and myths of seven Greek goddesses. The paper applied an existential and transpersonal therapy approach in addition to Carl Jung's psychoanalytic theory as a framework when analysing the artwork. Internal pathways of the self were explored through feminine archetypes of the Greek goddesses, art making and analysis of the artwork. For this arts-based inquiry researcher used Moustakas (1990) design, methodology and applications for heuristic research. Data was collected and analysed over seven weeks as a response to the archetype and it included; active imagination, dialoguing, making art, archetypal reflectivity, writing poetry and a journal about the process. Every week included theoretical and practical exploration of one archetype. Processes included understanding the persona, understanding the duality of each archetype, and a self-exploration of shadow work. Exploration used the sacred power of the feminine, rituals, myths, creativity and its transformative power in the process of becoming whole and to promote ownership of an individual's whole Self, and the balance of self-work and internal process. Findings from this study indicate that this process can help adult woman with: self-awareness and self-discovery, individuation, and feminine identity development.

The article deals with the Jungian training of future analysts in Hong Kong and the diffusion of the analytical thought in East Asia. It outlines some of the topics that have been a specific object of the Hong Kong Institute of Analytical Psychology (HKIAP).􏰆􏰠􏰜􏰆􏰠􏰜 􏰒􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰓􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰔􏰎􏰌􏰄􏰇􏰄􏰍􏰄􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰕􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰖􏰌􏰽􏰟􏰠􏰏􏰉􏰏􏰙􏰽 􏰑􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕􏰖􏰗 􏰇􏰌 􏰂 􏰱􏰜􏰛􏰜􏰉􏰏􏰚􏰇􏰎􏰙 􏰾􏰃􏰏􏰍􏰚 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰔􏰎􏰄􏰜􏰃􏰎􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰕􏰌􏰌􏰏􏰟􏰇􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰡􏰏􏰃 􏰕􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰖􏰌􏰽􏰟􏰠􏰏􏰉􏰏􏰙􏰽 􏰑􏰔􏰕􏰕􏰖􏰗􏰨 􏰔􏰄 􏰊􏰜􏰂􏰉􏰌 􏰶􏰇􏰄􏰠 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰄􏰃􏰂􏰇􏰎􏰇􏰎􏰙 􏰏􏰡 􏰡􏰍􏰄􏰍􏰃􏰜 􏱀􏰍􏰎􏰙􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰂􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰌􏰄􏰌 􏰇􏰎 􏰒􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰓􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰊􏰇􏰡􏰡􏰍􏰌􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰂􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰄􏰠􏰏􏰍􏰙􏰠 􏰇􏰎 􏰦􏰂􏰌􏰄 􏰕􏰌􏰇􏰂􏰨 􏰁􏰂􏰃􏰄􏰂 􏰆􏰇􏰈􏰂􏰉􏰊􏰇 􏰇􏰌 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰐􏰇􏰂􏰇􏰌􏰏􏰎 􏰖􏰜􏰃􏰌􏰏􏰎 􏰈􏰜􏰄􏰶􏰜􏰜􏰎 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰔􏰕􏰕􏰖 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕􏰖 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰇􏰌 􏰃􏰜􏰌􏰚􏰏􏰎􏰌􏰇􏰈􏰉􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜􏰏􏰃􏰜􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰟􏰉􏰇􏰎􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰛􏰇􏰄􏰇􏰜􏰌 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰙􏰃􏰏􏰍􏰚􏰨 􏰆􏰠􏰜 􏰂􏰃􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰉􏰜 􏰏􏰍􏰄􏰉􏰇􏰎􏰜􏰌 􏰌􏰏􏰢􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰄􏰏􏰚􏰇􏰟􏰌 􏰄􏰠􏰂􏰄􏰞 􏰂􏰢􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰏􏰄􏰠􏰜􏰃􏰌􏰞 􏰠􏰂􏰛􏰜 􏰈􏰜􏰜􏰎 􏰂 􏰌􏰚􏰜􏰥 􏰟􏰇􏰡􏰇􏰟 􏰏􏰈􏰤􏰜􏰟􏰄 􏰏􏰡 􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕􏰖􏰪 􏰂 􏰃􏰜􏰡􏰉􏰜􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰏􏰎 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏱀􏰍􏰎􏰙􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰚􏰏􏰌􏰄􏰥􏱀􏰍􏰎􏰙􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰇􏰊􏰜􏰎􏰄􏰇􏰄􏰽 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰇􏰄􏰌 􏰃􏰜􏰉􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰌􏰠􏰇􏰚 􏰶􏰇􏰄􏰠 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰇􏰎􏰊􏰇􏰛􏰇􏰊􏰍􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰚􏰃􏰏􏰟􏰜􏰌􏰌 􏰇􏰎 􏰂 􏰢􏰍􏰉􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰍􏰉􏰄􏰍􏰃􏰂􏰉 􏰟􏰏􏰎􏰄􏰜􏱁􏰄 􏰌􏰍􏰟􏰠 􏰂􏰌 􏰒􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰓􏰏􏰎􏰙􏰫 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰜􏱁􏰚􏰜􏰃􏰇􏰜􏰎􏰟􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰂􏰎 􏰏􏰎􏰥􏰙􏰏􏰇􏰎􏰙 􏰕􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰛􏰜 􏰔􏰢􏰂􏰙􏰇􏰎􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰦􏱁􏰚􏰜􏰃􏰇􏰜􏰎􏰄􏰇􏰂􏰉 􏰾􏰃􏰏􏰍􏰚 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰍􏰌􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰄􏰜􏰟􏰠􏰎􏰇􏱂􏰍􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏱃􏰕􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰛􏰜 􏰱􏰜􏰜􏰚 􏱄􏰃􏰇􏰄􏰇􏰎􏰙􏱅 􏰄􏰏 􏰊􏰜􏰛􏰜􏰉􏰏􏰚 􏰂􏰎 􏰇􏰢􏰂􏰙􏰇􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰚􏰚􏰃􏰏􏰂􏰟􏰠 􏰄􏰏 􏰚􏰌􏰽􏰟􏰠􏰇􏰟 􏰊􏰽􏰎􏰂􏰢􏰇􏰟􏰌􏰫 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰌􏰄􏰍􏰊􏰽 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰵􏰠􏰇􏰎􏰜􏰌􏰜 􏰙􏰜􏰎􏰊􏰜􏰃 􏰟􏰏􏰢􏰚􏰉􏰜􏱁 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰇􏰄􏰌 􏰇􏰢􏰚􏰉􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰌 􏰏􏰎 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰇􏰎􏰄􏰜􏰃􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰃􏰜􏰉􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰃􏰜􏰂􏰉􏰇􏰄􏰽 􏰏􏰡 􏰦􏰂􏰌􏰄􏰜􏰃􏰎 􏰕􏰌􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰶􏰏􏰢􏰜􏰎 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰢􏰜􏰎􏰨􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰓􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰔􏰎􏰌􏰄􏰇􏰄􏰍􏰄􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰕􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰖􏰌􏰽􏰟􏰠􏰏􏰉􏰏􏰙􏰽 􏰑􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕􏰖􏰗 􏰇􏰌 􏰂 􏰱􏰜􏰛􏰜􏰉􏰏􏰚􏰇􏰎􏰙 􏰾􏰃􏰏􏰍􏰚 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰔􏰎􏰄􏰜􏰃􏰎􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰕􏰌􏰌􏰏􏰟􏰇􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰡􏰏􏰃 􏰕􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰖􏰌􏰽􏰟􏰠􏰏􏰉􏰏􏰙􏰽 􏰑􏰔􏰕􏰕􏰖􏰗􏰨 􏰔􏰄 􏰊􏰜􏰂􏰉􏰌 􏰶􏰇􏰄􏰠 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰄􏰃􏰂􏰇􏰎􏰇􏰎􏰙 􏰏􏰡 􏰡􏰍􏰄􏰍􏰃􏰜 􏱀􏰍􏰎􏰙􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰂􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰌􏰄􏰌 􏰇􏰎 􏰒􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰓􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰊􏰇􏰡􏰡􏰍􏰌􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰂􏰎􏰂􏰉􏰽􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰄􏰠􏰏􏰍􏰙􏰠 􏰇􏰎 􏰦􏰂􏰌􏰄 􏰕􏰌􏰇􏰂􏰨 􏰁􏰂􏰃􏰄􏰂 􏰆􏰇􏰈􏰂􏰉􏰊􏰇 􏰇􏰌 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰐􏰇􏰂􏰇􏰌􏰏􏰎 􏰖􏰜􏰃􏰌􏰏􏰎 􏰈􏰜􏰄􏰶􏰜􏰜􏰎 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰔􏰕􏰕􏰖 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕􏰖 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰇􏰌 􏰃􏰜􏰌􏰚􏰏􏰎􏰌􏰇􏰈􏰉􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜􏰏􏰃􏰜􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰟􏰉􏰇􏰎􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰛􏰇􏰄􏰇􏰜􏰌 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰙􏰃􏰏􏰍􏰚􏰨 􏰆􏰠􏰜 􏰂􏰃􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰉􏰜 􏰏􏰍􏰄􏰉􏰇􏰎􏰜􏰌 􏰌􏰏􏰢􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰄􏰏􏰚􏰇􏰟􏰌 􏰄􏰠􏰂􏰄􏰞 􏰂􏰢􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰏􏰄􏰠􏰜􏰃􏰌􏰞 􏰠􏰂􏰛􏰜 􏰈􏰜􏰜􏰎 􏰂 􏰌􏰚􏰜􏰥 􏰟􏰇􏰡􏰇􏰟 􏰏􏰈􏰤􏰜􏰟􏰄 􏰏􏰡 􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕􏰖􏰪 􏰂 􏰃􏰜􏰡􏰉􏰜􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰏􏰎 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏱀􏰍􏰎􏰙􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰚􏰏􏰌􏰄􏰥􏱀􏰍􏰎􏰙􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰇􏰊􏰜􏰎􏰄􏰇􏰄􏰽 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰇􏰄􏰌 􏰃􏰜􏰉􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰌􏰠􏰇􏰚 􏰶􏰇􏰄􏰠 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰇􏰎􏰊􏰇􏰛􏰇􏰊􏰍􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰚􏰃􏰏􏰟􏰜􏰌􏰌 􏰇􏰎 􏰂 􏰢􏰍􏰉􏰄􏰇􏰟􏰍􏰉􏰄􏰍􏰃􏰂􏰉 􏰟􏰏􏰎􏰄􏰜􏱁􏰄 􏰌􏰍􏰟􏰠 􏰂􏰌 􏰒􏰏􏰎􏰙 􏰓􏰏􏰎􏰙􏰫 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰜􏱁􏰚􏰜􏰃􏰇􏰜􏰎􏰟􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰂􏰎 􏰏􏰎􏰥􏰙􏰏􏰇􏰎􏰙 􏰕􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰛􏰜 􏰔􏰢􏰂􏰙􏰇􏰎􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎 􏰦􏱁􏰚􏰜􏰃􏰇􏰜􏰎􏰄􏰇􏰂􏰉 􏰾􏰃􏰏􏰍􏰚 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰍􏰌􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰄􏰜􏰟􏰠􏰎􏰇􏱂􏰍􏰜 􏰏􏰡 􏱃􏰕􏰟􏰄􏰇􏰛􏰜 􏰱􏰜􏰜􏰚 􏱄􏰃􏰇􏰄􏰇􏰎􏰙􏱅 􏰄􏰏 􏰊􏰜􏰛􏰜􏰉􏰏􏰚 􏰂􏰎 􏰇􏰢􏰂􏰙􏰇􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰚􏰚􏰃􏰏􏰂􏰟􏰠 􏰄􏰏 􏰚􏰌􏰽􏰟􏰠􏰇􏰟 􏰊􏰽􏰎􏰂􏰢􏰇􏰟􏰌􏰫 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰌􏰄􏰍􏰊􏰽 􏰏􏰡 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰵􏰠􏰇􏰎􏰜􏰌􏰜 􏰙􏰜􏰎􏰊􏰜􏰃 􏰟􏰏􏰢􏰚􏰉􏰜􏱁 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰇􏰄􏰌 􏰇􏰢􏰚􏰉􏰇􏰟􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰌 􏰏􏰎 􏰄􏰠􏰜 􏰇􏰎􏰄􏰜􏰃􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰃􏰜􏰉􏰂􏰄􏰇􏰏􏰎􏰂􏰉 􏰃􏰜􏰂􏰉􏰇􏰄􏰽 􏰏􏰡 􏰦􏰂􏰌􏰄􏰜􏰃􏰎 􏰕􏰌􏰇􏰂􏰎 􏰶􏰏􏰢􏰜􏰎 􏰂􏰎􏰊 􏰢􏰜􏰎􏰨

The researcher aims to examine her own creative identity as a photographer by producing a series of photographic self-portraits that seeks to develop her visions of the future. Through reflecting on her vocation as an artist and immersing herself in the study of active imagination, the researcher/photographer proposes to explore the realm of art therapy practices and to generate a self-educational experience that promotes an encounter with her own symbols of transformation in order to gain a new awareness of her creative self. The narrative of this practice of self-portraiture will possibly provide others in the field of photography (artists, educators and students) with an empowering methodology of creative inquiry towards authorship in their practice, one that prospects the alignment of the development of the self as an individuation process with the abilities and capacity to engage
with the photographic medium.

Over the years my work has taken me into a deeper investigation of how to re-inhabit ourselves and live a life guided by embodied wisdom, responding to the question: "Once we have experienced wounding, trauma, or loss that has resulted in a subjective experience of having left the body, how do we get back in?" My long-term work as a dance therapist with a depth analytic approach that integrates somatic processes, Jungian dreamwork, and creative arts therapy approaches has taught me that there are many roads to healing. My concern is that having been raised for so many generations according to patriarchal images of spiritual "ascent," together with the quest for personal and individualistic power, our technologically advanced and acquisitive culture has caused us to nearly forget its vital counterpart: the feminine path to individuation through "descent."

The following essay sketches varieties of imagination operative in the best architectural work. It was published in Warehouse Journal, a student-edited journal produced annually by the Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba. Student editors for Warehouse 25 were, Alena Rieger and Ally Pereira-Edwards.

This volume situates contemporary guided imagery practices within the tradition of Jungian depth psychology; It offers practitioners of guided imagery with 1) an imaginal ontology supporting phenomenological exploration of the inner world and 2) an empirically based epistemological foundation valorizing Inner Guide techniques, and 3) offers Jungian depth psychology a more clearly articulated structure for accessing, exploring, and integrating imaginal experiences in a relational context.

The prehistoric artists of Chauvet Cave likely never imagined their drawings would be discovered 35,000 years later, inspiring scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. Scholarship thus far has focused primarily on artistic techniques and material cultural remnants. Although these quantitative studies have revealed important data suggesting the cave’s use as a ritual space, the history and ceremonies of these ancient humans remain a mystery. This article demonstrates that depth psychology may be a valuable discipline for gaining further understanding of the cave’s ancient images. Depth psychologists have argued that the modern human unconscious retains vestiges of the archaic human psyche. In order to explore that premise, the author applies C. G. Jung’s technique of active imagination to selected Paleolithic images from within Chauvet Cave, amplifying the resulting materials in order to better contextualize them within the collective unconscious. Although this qualitative exploration cannot conclusively establish an accurate portrayal of what specific rituals were performed within the ancient cave, it offers potential insight into archaic elements that persist within the modern human psyche. The 1994 rediscovery of Chauvet Cave thus becomes not just a clue to our past, but a remarkable window upon our present.

Based in the tenets of Jungian depth-psychology and theory of the collective unconscious, this discussion explains how and why active imagination can be used as a tool for engaging the transpersonal domain for the purpose of psychological healing, and the ways in which core-shamanism can be complimentary to this practice. Evidence for the existence of and contents of the collective unconscious is presented based on psychological and anthropological empirical precedents. The comparison between Jung's active imagination technique and shamanic journeying has been made before by Ryan (2002) and Thomason (2010), however, this analysis offers an in depth examination of the theory and practice of active imagination and how it corresponds to the methods inherent to shamanism.

This volume presents the bricolage of Philemon, depicted as a superannuated white beard, a prophet, and a sage who links and mediates the relationship between the living (i.e., Jung's ego image) and the dead (i.e., non-ego images). Philemon is communicative, knowledgeable, and wise. He gave voice to Jung's mythopoetic cosmology, which Jung conceptually elaborated in his Collected Works. In contrast to research participants who pursued imaginal beings to realize transpersonal dimensions of consciousness, Imaginal beings and overwhelming imagery pursued Jung relentlessly. It was as if the objective psyche sought to enlist Jung as a medium to give voice to its radical cultural imperative to restore a symbolic sensibility lost in the shift from a religious to a scientific world view and reinstate humanity's place in the natural order. These seeker/sought dynamics distinguish between participants' experiences of Consonance and Calm vs. Jung's Confrontation and Conflict with the unconscious. Shared superordinate themes include:
Positive Qualities of Advisors.
Personal Transformation.
Positive Effects of Imagery.
Parallel Methods.
Transpersonal/Spiritual/Numinous imagery.

This volume presents Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) research comparing research participants' Inner Guide experiences with Jung's encounters with Philemon, his inner guide. To compare participant experiences with Jung's imaginal engagements, I reviewed Jung's experiments in confrontation with the unconscious in Memories Dreams, Reflections, and The Red Book (i.e., Liber Novus). Research questions asked (1) "What themes and patterns emerge in student descriptions of their inner guide imagery?" and (2) "how do participant accounts relate to Jung's imaginal engagement with personified archetypes?"

The researcher aims to examine her own creative identity as a photographer by producing a series of photographic self-portraits that seeks to develop her visions of the future. Through reflecting on her vocation as an artist and immersing herself in the study of active imagination, the researcher/photographer proposes to explore the realm of art therapy practices and to generate a self-educational experience that promotes an encounter with her own symbols of transformation in order to gain a new awareness of her creative self. The narrative of this practice of self-portraiture will possibly provide others in the field of photography (artists, educators and students) with an empowering methodology of creative inquiry towards authorship in their practice, one that prospects the alignment of the development of the self as an individuation process with the abilities and capacity to engage with the photographic medium.

Countervailing the Industrial Revolution’s spiritual alienation and loss of symbolic perspective, a romantic current arose in German Idealism that elevated human imagination to a superordinate, world-making power. In this context, Jung’s analytical psychology and his method of active imagination compensated the prevailing scientific rationalism of the day and legitimized that imagery, images, and imagination can produce knowledge. This volume situates Jungian and archetypal psychological views of images and imagination in the context of Western philosophy, and it traces the various ways imagination has been imagined through its polysemous evolution in Western thought.

The article brings to light many points of agreement between Jungian psychology and the Neoplatonic worldview of Late Antiquity. Also the worldview of Emanuel Swedenborg is compared with Jungian ideas. Swedenborg ought to be regarded as Jung's true spiritual father. The technique of active imagination, practiced by Swedenborg and Jung, is reevaluated. The ideal of worldly fulfilment is criticized. The idealistic world of Neoplatonism belongs in the unconscious, but not in the outer world.

Keywords: Neoplatonism, Swedenborg, Proclus, C.G. Jung, unus mundus, active imagination, synchronicity, correspondence, spiritual influx, analytical psychology.

As our growing community reflects on the history, lineages, and psychological, spiritual, and artistic streams that nourish the practice of Authentic Movement, this article illuminates elements from my work with Joan Chodorow, Janet Adler, and the BodySoul Rhythms® approach developed by Jungian Analyst Marion Woodman, dancer Mary Hamilton, and voice and mask teacher Ann Skinner, specifically their ‘Dance of Three’. Applications to transference relationships in psychotherapy, the importance of the witness, and Woodman’s focus on the healing power of imagery and the growth of embodied feminine consciousness are also discussed. The seeds of one’s life path can often be found in early childhood; here we see a return to the vital soul spark I discovered while dancing in the fields, how it flourished in Authentic Movement, and how it continues to unfold.

Jung's Red Book is remarkable: visually stunning, imposing (both the original and the facsimile), mysterious, illuminating the development both of C. G. Jung as an individual and of Jungian psychology as a movement. From another perspective, as I argue, The Red Book is unexceptional (except for its aesthetic quality) for it is a typical product of a series of theurgical operations such as have been practiced for thousands of years. As such, The Red Book is especially valuable for our postmodern age, because it is an example of how the spirit of the depths can be encountered and accommodated in our time.  This is an abridged preprint of a chapter to appear in Stein & Arzt (Eds.), Jung's Red Book for our Time, Vol. IV (Chiron, 2020).

This essay considers the historical antecedents to Jung’s engagement with the imagination, pulling together some of the threads that influenced him in shaping his theories. More specifically, it discusses how his experiments with active imagination, a type of dramatised thinking, explored at length in The Red Book (2009), was to become one of depth psychology’s most important empirical tools for investigating unconscious psychic process.

The essay moves from German Romantic culture in the period between the end of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century – when the parallel of ‘daylight’ rationality and the deeper ‘nightside’ were kindred themes at the heart of intellectual debate – to Jung’s encounter with the spiritualist phenomenon and his friendship with the Swiss psychologist and psychic researcher Théodore Flournoy (1854-1920), whose non-ordinary states and ‘imagination créatrice’ brought Jung greater insight into the landscape of the subliminal mind.

The visionary events depicted in The Red Book, coupled with Jung’s scientific reflections and psychological commentaries, can be seen on the one hand as a continuation of the theme of daylight and night-state consciousness explored by his predecessors; on the other hand as a pioneering endeavour, an unprecedented attempt to form an intellectual conception of a new unexplored field of experience, which has had a profound, transformational impact on twentieth-century thought.

Lucid dreaming (LD) is a fun and interesting activity, but most participants have difficulties in attaining lucidity, retaining it during the dream, concentrating on the needed task and remembering the results. This motivates to search for a new way to enhance lucid dreaming via different induction techniques, including chemicals and electric brain stimulation. However, results are still unstable. An alternative approach is to reach the lucid dreaming-like states via altered state of consciousness not related to dreaming. Several methods such as guided visualization, internal dialog, creative writing, hypnosis, hypnagogia, daydreaming, DMT trips, voice dialog, shamanic journey, rebirthing, and “forcing” tulpas can help in attaining such states. One of the most promising of them is Jungian “active imagination” (AIM) technique, which allows unconscious content to build up inside some mental frames. This article explores the hypothesis of replacing lucid dreaming research with active imagination, and the conditions and ways to accomplish it.
Method: An open label pilot experiment was performed in 2004-2005 in Moscow, Russia with 100 participants.
Results: The results show that there are two groups of people: ones with “visual imagination screen” and others have “mental imagination screen”. AIM works perfectly as a replacement for lucid dreams only for the first group of people. For the second group, it created interesting content, but not visual or emotional intensity equal to enter lucid dreaming like state. No known instruments helped to move the person from one group to another. The first group consisted of young females, while the second mostly contained males with rational and mathematical type of personality.
Conclusion: AIM partly works as a replacement for LD, as it works great only for half of people, and it requires a sitter. However, AIM outperforms LD in reliability and availability in any circumstance: it could be performed even by text chat or in a crowd. It is also better than LD in retaining concentration on topic and the easiness of memorizing the results (which could be recorded). Self-performed AIM is less effective. AIM can be improved by intelligent chat bots as sitters and weak brain stimulation that can increase the probability of attaining something like hypnogogic state.

Spiritual techniques building on the psychological principle of unconscious 'integration', such as active imagination, are criticized. A one-sided flow into conscious light of unconscious content leads to stagnation and alienation from the inner Self. Light is shed on the current regress of Jungian psychology into esotericism. 'Complementation'  is defined as the complementary opposite of integration. It is characterized by a toning down of dominant consciousness. A spiritual technique that employs complementation is presented. Although it deviates from historical methods, it is comparable to the medieval contemplation of inner images. While retaining stillness and avoiding active involvement with fantasy material, focus of inner feeling and sensation is sought. The article discusses methods of dream interpretation.

Keywords : spiritual technique, complementation, spiritual writing, integration, contemplation, active imagination, esoterism, Self, dreams, C.G. Jung.

ABSTRACT
In this paper I want to pivot the topic of C.G. Jung and “reading” into a bold argument about the evolution of academic disciplines (and later about evolution itself). Relatively recent forms of academic study, such as psychology, were constructed by dividing a heritage along lines of “respectable” proto-scientific ideas and esoteric practices better forgotten and darkened. After all, how we read Jung and why, concerns not just reading The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, but also how such work might affect reading texts of all kinds. The act of reading might be defined as interpreting words and other signifying material such as dream images. Such a definition opens up large spheres of knowledge; for example hermeneutics, the study of imaginative literature, and in pre-Enlightenment eras, reading arts such as alchemy and magic.

My core proposition is that Jung proposed a method of working with unconscious images, “active imagination,” he called it, that was simultaneously an act of liberation and repression. Comparing active imagination with its historical parallel from the discipline of vernacular literary studies, “close reading,” makes visible its structure of reduction and expansion. As offered by Jung, active imagination represses its nature as an art, while proposing an expansion of reading sorely needed by literary studies. In turn, examination of close reading and its antecedents reveals a structurally similar and opposite repression, that of the creative psyche, while expanding the role of readings as an art of making. In this way we may allow psychology and literary studies to re-form each other to show both active imagination and close reading as acts of magic for the twenty-first century.

The article investigates the Neoplatonic Self notion. In the historical record the ideal of personality and the psychological notion of Self have taken many forms. Also the modern ideals of Self are discussed and criticized, such as the 'puer aeternus' (eternal youth) and the 'primal' or 'uroboric' Self. The author argues that Carl Jung's notion of Self is one-sidedly immanent—there is also a transcendental aspect of Self. In the heated debate between Porphyry and Iamblichus, both were right in their own way.

Keywords: Plotinus, Neoplatonism, primary narcissism, grandiose self, ego-Self axis, Erich Neumann, Michael Fordham, psychoanalysis, puer aeternus, Romantic era.

What does it mean to live a vital, embodied life in our modern world? How can we rediscover the sacredness of our bodies and the Eros in everyday life, given the continuing destruction of our planet, which is the physical embodiment of our inner world? What of the ensuing emptiness that no amount of consumption, material or experiential, can fill? How does one find the faith to linger in the Void long enough to discover its other side: creativity, healing, and the mysteries that take shape in the vital darkness? What follows are some of my reflections on these questions, as well as those of women and men who are actively exploring them through Authentic Movement.

Authentic Movement was originated by Mary Starks Whitehouse when she integrated her studies at the Zürich Jung Institute with her dance experience and training with German Expressionist dancer Mary Wigman and myth-inspired dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. A pioneer in the field of dance/movement therapy, Whitehouse lived and practiced in California until her death in 1979. Since then, the practice has continued to evolve. Also called “Movement in Depth” and “Active Imagination in Movement,” this approach invites a descent into the inner world of the psyche through spontaneous movement and can be practiced within the context of analytic work with individuals and in group settings.

In essence, Authentic Movement is the process of being guided into movement from within—and of being witnessed in that process. It is initiated by closing one’s eyes, waiting, and then moving in response to body-felt sensations, movement impulses, emotions, and/or images. In an attitude of curiosity and open attention, being willing to “listen” to what is present, the mover allows himself or herself to be guided by what arises spontaneously. Through sensitive tracking, the witness contains the experience of the mover, so that the mover may descend to the depths he or she is drawn to by his or her psyche. Previously unrealized potentiating images and energies can thus surface in consciousness. One can renew one’s faith in the notion that “some-thing” can come from “no-thing.”

In his 1925 seminar, Carl Jung accounts for a crucifixion fantasy where he takes the appearance of a pagan deity. The article argues that Jung misinterprets this and certain other motifs. Jung's unitarian model of the human Self harbours a multitude of opposites, which are disconsonant, such as unmixable pagan and Christian elements. The resultant Self ideal is overblown and therefore unhealthy. These elements ought to be separated into two spiritual realms, an upper and a lower, and the model of the Self ought to mirror this bipartition. Jung's own fantasies and dreams give evidence to this. Psychology's relation to trinitarian concepts of theology is discussed.

Keywords: quaternity, Self, transcendental, trinitarian, spirit, active imagination, circular distillation, complementation, integration.

In this project, the researcher aims to examine her own creative identity as
photographer by producing a series of photographic self-portraits that seeks to
develop her visions of the future. Through reflecting on her vocation as an artist and
immersing herself in the study of active imagination, the researcher/photographer
proposes to explore the realm of art therapy practices and to generate a selfeducational
experience that promotes an encounter with her own symbols of
transformation in order to gain a new awareness of her creative self. The narrative of
this practice of self-portraiture will possibly provide others in the field of photography
(artists, educators and student) with an empowering methodology of creative inquiry
towards authorship in their practice, one that prospects the alignment of the
development of the self with the abilities and capacity to engage with the
photographic medium.

The instant we enter the world in a doctor's or midwife's hands gasping for breath and crying for comfort the ground of human existence is established: we experience and are experienced. In infancy, sensation -- tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, and visual dominates our experience -- but as we develop, our perceptual encounter with the world becomes an ever-more complex sensual, cognitive, psychological, moral, and spiritual whole. We are able to "see" -- perceiving through our senses and being conscious of perception -- and "be seen" by the world around us.

Authentic Movement, originally called Movement-in-Depth by its founder, Mary Starks Whitehouse, begins with the premise that psyche and soma are inseparable. Neala Haze and Tina Stromsted established the Authentic Movement Institute (AMI) in 1993 in Berkeley, California, in order to further investigate this unity of psyche and body, making life’s primary experiences the bedrock of its investigations. Haze and
Stromsted are members of the Academy of Dance Therapists Registered; both are trained in expressive arts therapy, somatic approaches and in psychotherapy. Stromsted is a Candidate at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. They were joined by founding faculty members Joan Chodorow, a dance therapist, licensed psychotherapist and Jungian analyst, and Janet Adler, a dance therapist whose doctoral studies explored the relationship between Authentic Movement and mystical practice. Jungian analyst, Louis Stewart, also lent his expertise in active imagination, affect theory and play therapy. Senior practitioners, authors and well-respected teachers in the field, all contributed their areas of expertise to the teaching and curriculum development.

Coursework at AMI begins with an overview of the form and then takes learners into the studio to develop skills within the dyad of the mover and witness. These skills are elaborated through a multi-modal teaching model that incorporates writing, drawing, dream sharing and work in clay. Studies range from one, two or three years integrating basics in movement expression, creative arts, readings, film, and seminars on the history, theory and practice of Authentic Movement. These extended programs may be undertaken as preparation for personal and professional development in the learner’s daily life and in his or her clinical, spiritual, artistic, teaching or health care practice. An annual summer workshop is offered, and guest faculty teach courses in sensory awareness, voice, choreography, body image/issues, ecopsychology, conflict resolution, and expressive arts therapy.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss (1) the dyad – the essential "ground" of Authentic Movement (2) the origins of Authentic Movement and AMI's theoretical framework; (3) “active imagination” and symbolic play, illustrated here through freewriting and movement; and (4) expressive polarities.

How does psyche manifest in the body? The discoveries of contemporary neuroscience document the important role of non-verbal cues, rhythmic resonance, and affective attunement for healthy attachment and development (Schore 2003; Siegel 1999). This paper examines how we can bring a more embodied awareness and dimension to our analytic work, redeeming the body’s connection with the inner world and attending to the nuances in the intersubjective dance within the therapeutic relationship. Drawing on the perspective of a Jungian form of dance/movement therapy called Authentic Movement, it explores how we may augment our work with the ‘talking cure’ through the experiences of the living body.

Authentic Movement, also known as ‘Active Imagination in Movement’ or ‘Movement in Depth’, is an inner-directed movement practice that can help us to utilize non-verbal forms of awareness in individual psychotherapy, non-analytic group work, and in daily life, across cultures. The author demonstrates how elements of this form of therapy work in practice in describing the experiential session she led as part of the integrative Pre-Congress day, co-facilitated by IAAP colleagues who are among those working to develop dance/movement as a form of active imagination (Chodorow et al 2007).

Tibetan Buddhist Tantra and Jungian depth psychology represent two of the world’s most dynamic psycho-spiritual traditions. This study explores their respective insights, cosmologies, and sometimes striking similarities, with particular emphasis on the manner in which mythic imagery is employed in both disciplines as a powerful agent of healing and transformation. With spiritual transcendence serving as their primary impetus, both traditions emphasize the realm of dreams (e.g., dream analysis in depth psychology and dream yoga in Tibetan Tantra), meditative visualizations (such as the focus on wisdom figures in both disciplines), and an assortment of other practices that are designed to effect a reconciliation of opposites and the attendant union of masculine and feminine principles. The deeper meaning and implications of these precepts and practices are further explored through the lens of contemporary transpersonal theory, and the ontological status of mythic realms and entities is also examined. In the spirit of integral scholarship, a comparative methodology is employed that is elucidated by experiential accounts of mystical phenomena from the Jungian and Tibetan tantric traditions, findings from modern transpersonal research, and the author’s own highly transformative experiences.

This presentation (International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, 2019) explores the question of whether Neoplatonic and Gnostic theurgy is a practice accessible to any suitably trained person, or whether it is a rare accomplishment of exceptional individuals. On the one hand, Carl Jung's "Red Book" is the result of a unique series of theurgical operations that he conducted from 1913 to 1917, which he claimed to be source of all his ideas, but which he never repeated. In his "Catafalque," Peter Kingsley compares this singular revelation to that of prophets such as Pythagoras, Parmenides, Empedocles, Isaiah, Joachim of Fiore, and indeed Jesus. From this perspective, such divine revelations are rare and restricted to a few privileged individuals in each age. On the other hand, Jung's theurgical operations were the basis of the psychoanalytic practice of active imagination, which corresponds closely to Neoplatonic theurgy and operates on similar principles. Jungian psychologists recommend active imagination, either self-guided or under the guidance of an analyst, as a practice directed toward greater psychological integration. As Jung himself said, we should all be making our own Red Books. Ancient theurgists seem to agree: though individuals may differ in their aptitude (epitêdeiotês), in principle anyone can learn to practice theurgy and engage with divinity.

Co-Authors Joan Chodorow, Antonella Adorisio, Tina Stromsted,  Margarita Mendez, Sakuri Sakiyama, Takane Hirai
The workshop explored dance/movement as a form of active imagination, with special attention to the living body in analytic practice. By listening to the body to access and express the imagination, participants engaged inner-directed movement as a way to bridge the realms of conscious and unconscious, body and psyche, instinct and spirit, affect and image, memory and emergence. Sometimes called “Authentic Movement”, this form of active imagination focuses
attention on felt bodily sensations, impulses, multi-sensory images, feelings and emotions, which are then allowed to emerge as symbolic enactment.

The first four chapters of Genesis symbolizes the Genesis Creation Account, which illustrates how the dawn of Christianity was brought into existence. For those that read the bible via any translation of the Hebrew texts will never be able to spiritually or intellectually understand what this paper is all about. The Judea Christian Scriptures are numerically structured in a number of ways. However, I have to first point out to the reader that there is only one spiritual language [Word of God] in the world that people all over the earth can understand and that language is mathematics; though, shamefully few students do understand simple mathematics. All over the world there are hundreds of verbal languages where the majority of citizens in every culture cannot understand the language of another culture; in contrast, there is only one numerical language where every culture on earth discovers the same mathematical system. Both the Old Testament written via the Hebrew alphabet and the New Testament written in the Greek alphabet are structured numerically; thus, every alphabetic letter in both the Hebrew and Greek alphabets are numerically structured; thus, words that are created via the Hebrew or Greek alphabet have gematria (numerical) values. In addition the numerical verses are also symbolical on a numeric basis. Each verse has so many words, each day of creation have so many words that are numerically important, even the amount of words in a chapter are symbolic. The amount of times a word is used in a chapter can be extremely important numerically. There are numerical patterns in the wording of the bible that are also very important. Even the amount of chapters in the Old and New Testaments are numerically important to analyze. Throughout this paper I will discuss all this, via one way or another, illustrating how the bible is structured numerically.

Authentic Movement, also known as “active imagination in movement,” is a simple yet powerful meditative and therapeutic approach that bridges body, psyche, spirit, and relationship through expressive movement and reflective witnessing. Through the practice, participants can deepen their ability to be present with themselves and with another in a more vital, increasingly conscious relationship. The practice invites a level of perception of self and other that can evoke deep respect and empathy. Allowing natural movement to emerge within a safe, relational space, the experience may bring further visibility and form to emotions, developmental elements, and qualities that may have been previously repressed or unformed in the person’s life. This can provide a pathway toward wholeness – living a more soulful life. This workshop focused on The Dance of Three, a further application of Authentic Movement developed by Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, dancer Mary Hamilton, and voice teacher Ann Skinner in their BodySoul Rhythms® approach. A longtime practitioner and teacher of Authentic Movement and of Marion Woodman’s BodySoul Rhythms® work, the author reflects on how these practices help develop the embodied consciousness that is fundamental for healing our relations with self, other, and with the natural world.

During his many decades of research into the mystery and complexities of the human psyche, Carl Jung engaged in a concerted focus on comparative religion, ethnology, and esoteric contemplative practices. His explorations of Eastern alchemical disciplines included a deep resonance with many of the primary tenets and practices found in Taoism and Buddhism, and the tantric Buddhism of Tibet in particular would provide inspiration and confirmation for many of his psychological discoveries. This would lead him to a subsequent exploration of medieval European alchemy, which further supported and expanded upon many of his earlier postulations. In these traditions he found a profusion of various God-images that included abstract forms such as the mandala as well as personified archetypal representations such as the Buddha and Christ, and in Tibetan Tantra, as in his own psychotherapeutic methods, such mythic imagery was employed through creative visualization as a dynamic means of healing and transformation. This study provides an overview of Jung's encounter with these traditions and presents a crosscultural analysis of the transformative alchemical practices found in both Jungian depth psychology and Tibetan Buddhism, which serves to further enunciate the vital contributions Jung made toward advancing the ever-evolving contemporary dialogue between the sacred esoteric disciplines of East and West.

Jung’s term “individuation” refers to the process of becoming psychologically "individuus," that is, undivided or indivisible; it could almost serve as a translation of henôsis. Moreover, practices in analytical psychology, such has active imagination, have direct analogies in theurgy and are directed toward similar ends. In this paper I explore these parallels in order to understand better the means and ends of ancient theurgical practice. In particular, I discuss the experience and effect of henôsis from the perspective of analytical psychology.