Image: Dance at Molenbeek by Pieter Brueghel

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“In his essays on world events (CW 10), Jung was at pains to point out that society is vulnerable to psychic epidemics, since we no longer have any forms to humanize or contain our nonrational impulses. In these essays he argued not only that we can expect an increase in neurotic or mentally disturbed individuals, but that the social fabric itself is disturbed, and increasingly prone to acts of madness, violence and irrationality.”

~ David Tacey, 'How to Read Jung'

[Thanks Ian Sanders]

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The empty community of greed propped up by the cult of corporate personhood selects ever more severely for dark traits, until “empathy” is forever vanquished, silently and thoroughly replaced by a completely pervasive, all-encompassing, viciously relentless malignant narcissism that knows no beauty, harmony, or sustenance, only cold, violent, murderous destruction as its sole sad “strength” - treating humans, animals, plants, and all abundantly bountiful creatures, creations, and spontaneously arising magical beings inhabiting our vast fertile earth as two-dimensional objects to be ruthlessly cannibalized, wholly suffocated and subsumed into a grandiose false reality fabricated, eternally reinforced and constantly reified by utterly traumatized toddlers in order to escape the truth - too painful to face - that they will never know love, only bitter competition to the death for corporeal survival and oneupsmanship, DARVOing til the end, mercilessly killing their own family and flesh (their very own selves) preemptively for sport and “supply” with no reproach, due process, or comeuppance, leaving none for all and all for none.

Something’s gotta give

“Great Innovations never come from above; they come invariably from below, just as trees never grow from the sky downward, but upward from the earth.”

— C. G. Jung, The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man

“Jung was aware that any new experience of the sacred would not be regarded as sacred by tradition. The rising spirit would be in tension with tradition since the spirit would compensate, but perhaps also complement, the existing canon. It is a creative spirit, reminding us that revelations of the sacred are not absolute, are conditioned by time and place, and in need of renewal. Every revelation of the sacred needs to be modified by a new spirit that speaks from a different position. The modern person who is open to the spirit has to hold fast against the attacks of conservatives and remain true to the new vision. In the same way that it was felt that no good could come from Nazareth, so authorities in our time find fault with new spiritual developments and debunk them. Jung felt that this was one of the recurring, and therefore archetypal, themes of civilization.”

— David Tacey, The Darkening Spirit

“The savior is either the insignificant thing itself or else

arises out of it. Over and over again in the ‘metamorphosis of the gods’

he rises up as the prophet or first-born of a new generation and appears

unexpectedly in the unlikeliest of places and

in ambiguous form.”

— C. G. Jung, Collected Works, 9

Image: 'The Court Jester' by John Watson Nicol

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“[Jung] is saying that to have one’s soul and be in the world at the same time, one needs to be a little crazy. The idea of an interior self is a ‘crazy idea’ to a world that seeks only material security and social adjustment. An element of craziness or eccentricity keeps us sane by dislodging us from an egocentric position, enabling us to maintain a relationship with the whole personality. A great deal of psychiatry advocates social adjustment at all costs, and Jung was opposed to any conditioning that leads to a betrayal of soul. He recommended that the values of society should be critiqued rather than replicated, and that we cultivate a little madness and some secret space, so that the soul can flourish.”

~ David Tacey, 'How To Read Jung'

David Tacey on the daily need of the soul. From, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘨.

~ David Tacey, How to Read Jung

Interview with David Tacey on Carl Jung, Mysticism, and the and the Politics of Religion

Carl Jung Depth Psychology Facebook Group Interview with David Tacey on Carl Jung, Mysticism, and the and the Politics of Religion Dr. David Tacey is a professor in literature and depth psychology at La Trobe University, Melbourne. He is the author of eight books, including Jung and the New Age (2001), The Spirituality Revolution (2003) and How to Read Jung (2006).He was born in Melbourne and…

In this episode TZL's Sean McGrath, Associate Professor of Philosophy in Memorial University of Newfoundland and author of Dark Ground of Spirit: Schelling and the Unconscious, discusses with David Tacey- Associate Professor of English at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia and distinguished author of multiple books and articles on Jung, Psychoanalysis and spirituality- the status of Jungian ideas in the University and in training institutes today.

In the second part of this podcast interview, David Tacey speaks about his relationship with his former analyst, James Hillman, while situating his own work work within a broad field of references including other seminal figures of the field of Analytical Psychology.

More about David Tacey:

David Tacey is a Professor of English at La Trobe University in Australia and a world renowned authority on Jung and spirituality. He studied under the late James Hillman and is the author of twelve influential books, including The Darkening Spirit: Jung, Spirituality  and Religion (2013), Gods and Diseases: Making Sense of our Physical and Mental Well Being (2011) and How to Read Jung (2006). Professor Tacey is an interdisciplinary researcher whose teaching and writing encompasses the areas of psychoanalysis, religion, spirituality studies, and literary approaches to psychology. A frequent commentator on issues of spirituality in the Australia media, Professor Tacey's understanding of Jung's relevance for contemporary culture is particularly informed by his careful readings of post-modernism. His writings have been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and French.

More about Sean McGrath: