Reading Jung's The Red Book - Ep. 5

INTO THE DESERT

The power of Jung’s approach becomes a little more clear as we move into these later chapters. Jung is quite explicitly at war with his inherited cultural values. While it is one thing to recognize this, it is very much more difficult to try and reimagine one’s values - and hence one’s understanding of the self. Jung tries to murder the image of the hero - casting himself as an honorless assassin. He also articulates the powerful insight that the message Jesus teaches us is that we can torture and kill the gods. 

Siegfried from the Niebelungenlied:

Now Siegfried was of noble birth, a prince without peer,

His fame had spread so widely, all held him dear.

His strength was like no other; his deeds could not be missed,

For he had conquered dragons and the Nibelung's treasure list.

In Burgundy’s bright court, his presence was a light,

With golden hair and armor, he dazzled every knight.

The ladies gazed in wonder, the men sang of his skill,

For none could match bold Siegfried’s grace and will.

As an exercise, make a list of all of the key values you sense in our culture - the importance of wealth for instance - and then try and embrace not just rejecting those values but actually overthrowing them. While it is generally fairly straightforward to make such a list, to actually internally transform ourselves, as Jung is striving to do, is extremely difficult.

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