The Red Book (Jung)

The Red Book is a red leatherbound folio manuscript during this time, concluded that the period represented
crafted by the Swiss physician and psychologist Carl Gus- a psychotic episode.[8] According to Sonu Shamdasani,
tav Jung between 1915 and about 1930. It recounts and Storrs opinion is untenable in light of currently available
comments upon the authors imaginative experiences be- documentation.[9]
tween 1913 and 1916, and is based on manuscripts rst
During the years Jung engaged with his nocturnal work
drafted by Jung in 191415 and 1917.[1] Despite being on Liber Novus, he continued to function in his daytime
nominated as the central work in Jungs oeuvre,[2] it was activities without any evident impairment.[10] He main-
not published or made otherwise accessible for study until tained a busy professional practice, seeing on average ve
2009. patients a day. He lectured, wrote, and remained active
In October 2009, with the cooperation of Jungs estate in professional associations.[11] Throughout this period he
and after 13 years of exhaustive editorial work by Sonu also served as an ocer in the Swiss army and was on
Shamdasani, The Red Book: Liber Novus was published active duty over several extended periods between 1914
by W. W. Norton in a facsimile edition, complete with an and 1918, the years of World War I in which Jung was
English translation, a comprehensive introduction written composing Liber Novus.[12] Jung was not psychotic by
by Shamdasani, three appendices, and over 1500 edito- any accepted clinical criteria during the period he cre-
rial notes.[3] Editions and translations in several other lan- ated Liber Novus. Nonetheless, what he was doing during
guages soon followed. these years dees facile categorization.
In December 2012, Norton additionally released a Jung referred to his imaginative or visionary venture dur-
Readers Edition of the work; this smaller format edi- ing these years as my most dicult experiment.[13] This
tion includes the complete translated text of The Red experiment involved a voluntary confrontation with the
Book: Liber Novus along with the introduction and notes unconscious through willful engagement of what Jung
prepared by Shamdasani, but it omits the facsimile repro- later termed mythopoetic imagination.[14][15] In his in-
duction of Jungs original calligraphic manuscript.[4] troduction to Liber Novus, Shamdasani explains:
While the work has in past years been descriptively called
simply The Red Book, Jung did emboss a formal ti- From December 1913 onward, he carried
tle on the spine of his leather-bound folio: he titled on in the same procedure: deliberately evoking
the work Liber Novus (in Latin, the New Book). His a fantasy in a waking state, and then entering
manuscript is now increasingly cited as Liber Novus, and into it as into a drama. These fantasies may
under this title implicitly includes draft material intended be understood as a type of dramatized thinking
for but never nally transcribed into the red leather folio in pictorial form.... In retrospect, he recalled
proper.[5] that his scientic question was to see what took
place when he switched o consciousness. The
example of dreams indicated the existence of
background activity, and he wanted to give this
1 Context and composition a possibility of emerging, just as one does when
taking mescaline.[16]
Jung was associated with Freud for a period of ap-
proximately six years, beginning in 1907. Over those Jung initially recorded his visions, or fantasies, or
years, their relationship became increasingly acrimo- imaginations all terms used by Jung to describe his
nious. When the nal break of the relationship came in activity[17] in a series of six journals now known col-
1913, Jung retreated from many of his professional activ-
lectively as the "Black Books".[18] This journal record
ities to intensely reconsider his personal and professional
begins on 12 November 1913, and continues with in-
path.[6] The creative activity that produced Liber Novustensity through the summer of 1914; subsequent entries
came in this period, from 1913 to about 1917. were added up through at least the 1930s.[19] Biographer
Biographers and critics have disagreed whether these Barbara Hannah, who was close to Jung throughout the
years in Jungs life should be seen as a creative ill- last three decades of his life, compared Jungs imaginative
ness, a period of introspection, a psychotic break, or experiences recounted in his journals to the encounter of
simply madness.[7] Anthony Storr, reecting on Jungs Menelaus with Proteus in the Odyssey. Jung, she said,
own judgment that he was menaced by a psychosis" made it a rule never to let a gure or gures that he en-

1
2 2 CREATION AND PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

countered leave until they had told him why they had ap-
peared to him.[20]
After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Jung
perceived that his visionary experience was not only of
personal relevance, but entwined with a crucial cultural
moment. In late-1914 and 1915 he compiled the visions
from the journals, along with his additional commentary
on each imaginative episode, into an initial manuscript.
This manuscript was the beginning of Liber Novus.[21]
In 1915 Jung began artfully transcribing this draft text
into the illuminated calligraphic volume that would sub-
sequently become known as the Red Book. In 1917 he
compiled a further supplementary manuscript of vision-
ary material and commentary, which he titled Scruti-
The Red Book resting on Jungs desk
nies"; this also was apparently intended for transcription
into his red folio volume, the Red Book.[22] Although
Jung labored on the artful transcription of this corpus of
manuscript material into the calligraphic folio of the Red
Book for sixteen years, he never completed the task. Only
approximately two-thirds of Jungs manuscript text was
transcribed into the Red Book by 1930, when he aban-
contain what is now entitled Liber Primus (the First
doned further work on the calligraphic transcription of
Book) of Liber Novus were composed on sheets of
his draft material into the Red Book.[23] The published
parchment in a highly illuminated medieval style. How-
edition of The Red Book: Liber Novus includes all of
ever, as Jung proceeded working with the parchment
Jungs manuscript material prepared for Liber Novus, and
sheets, it became apparent that their surface was not
not just the portion of the text transcribed by Jung into the
holding his paint properly and that his ink was bleeding
calligraphic red book volume.[24]
through. These rst seven leaves (fourteen pages, recto
In 1957, near the end of his life, Jung spoke to Aniela and verso) now show heavy chipping of paint, as will be
Ja about the Red Book and the process which yielded noted on close examination of the facsimile edition re-
it; in that interview he stated: productions.
In 1915, Jung commissioned the folio-sized and red
The years when I pursued the inner im-
leatherbound volume now known as the Red Book.[26]
ages, were the most important time of my life.
The bound volume contained approximately 600 blank
Everything else is to be derived from this. It
pages of paper of a quality suitable for Jungs ink and
began at that time, and the later details hardly
paint. The folio-sized volume, 11.57 inches (29.4 cm) by
matter anymore. My entire life consisted in
15.35 inches (39.0 cm), is bound in ne red leather with
elaborating what had burst forth from the un-
gilt accents. Though Jung and others usually referred to
conscious and ooded me like an enigmatic
the book simply as the Red Book, he had the top of the
stream and threatened to break me. That was
spine of the book stamped in gilt with the books formal
the stu and material for more than only one
title, Liber Novus (The New Book).
life. Everything later was merely the outer clas-
sication, scientic elaboration, and the inte- Jung subsequently interleaved the seven original parch-
gration into life. But the numinous beginning, ment sheets at the beginning of the bound volume. Af-
which contained everything, was then.[25] ter receiving the bound volume in 1915, he began tran-
scribing his text and illustrations directly onto the bound
pages. Over the next many years, Jung ultimately lled
2 Creation and physical descrip- only 191 of the approximately 600 pages bound in the
Red Book folio.[27] About a third of the manuscript ma-
tion terial he had written was never entered into the illumi-
nated Red Book. Inside the book now are 205 completed
Jung worked his text and images in the Red Book us- pages of text and illustrations (including the loose parch-
ing calligraphic pen, multicolored ink, and gouache paint. ment sheets), all from Jungs hand: 53 full-page images,
The text is written in German but includes quotations 71 pages with both text and artwork, and 81 pages entirely
from the Vulgate in Latin, a few inscriptions and names of calligraphic text.
written in Latin and Greek, and a brief marginal quotation The Red Book is currently held, along with other valuable
from the Bhagavad Gita given in English. and private items from Jungs archive, in a bank vault in
The initial seven folios (or leaves) of the book which Zurich.

3 Publication and display
During Jungs life, several people saw his Red Book
it was often present in his oce but only a very few
individuals who were personally trusted by Jung had an
opportunity to read it. After Jungs death in 1961, Jungs
heirs held the book as a private legacy, and refused access
to it by scholars or other interested parties.[28]
After many years of careful deliberations, the estate of C.
G. Jung nally decided in 2000 to allow publication of the
work, and thereafter began preparations for the publica-
tion. The decision to publish was apparently aided by pre-
sentations made by Sonu Shamdasani, who had already
discovered substantial private transcriptions of portions
of the Red Book in archival repositories.[29] Editorial ef-
forts and preparation for publication were underwritten
by major funding from the Philemon Foundation.
On occasion of the publication in October 2009, the
Rubin Museum of Art in New York City displayed the
original book along with three of Jungs original Black [8] Storr, Anthony (1996). Feet of Clay: Saints, Sinners and
Book journals and several other related artifacts; this ex-
hibit was open from 7 October 2009 to 25 January 2010.
The Red Book was subsequently exhibited at the Hammer
Museum in Los Angeles from April 11 June 6, 2010. [9] Shamdasani, Sonu (2005). Jung Stripped Bare By His
It was the center of a major display and conference at
the Library of Congress from June 17 September 25,
2010.[30] Thereafter, the Red Book has been the focus
of museum displays in Zurich, Geneva, Paris, and other
[10] On the nocturnal work, see Liber Novus, pg. 211. Jung
major cities.
4 See also
The Black Books
Seven Sermons to the Dead
5 References
[1] Lance S. Owens and Stephan A. Hoeller, Carl Gus-
tav Jung and The Red Book: Liber Novus, Encyclope-
dia of Psychology and Religion, 2nd edition, (Springer
Reference, 2014) ISBN 978-1-4614-6085-5 , p. 1, on-
line edition, https://www.academia.edu/6922901/C._G.
_Jung_and_the_Red_Book
[2] Jung, C. G., The Red Book: Liber Novus. Ed. S. Sham-
dasani, tr. M. Kyburz, J. Peck and S. Shamdasani. New
York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06567-1. p. 221.
Hereafter cited as Liber Novus.
[3] The Red Book: Liber Novus. Ed. S. Shamdasani, tr. M.
Kyburz, J. Peck and S. Shamdasani. New York: W. W.
Norton, 2009. ISBN 978-0-393-06567-1.
[4] The Red Book: A Readers Edition. Ed. S. Shamdasani, tr.
M. Kyburz, J. Peck and S. Shamdasani. New York: W.
W. Norton, 2012. ISBN 978-0393089080. Note that in
3
this edition several footnotes are updated and typograph-
ical errors found in the original printings of the facsimile
edition are corrected.
[5] Lance S. Owens and Stephan A. Hoeller, Carl Gus-
tav Jung and The Red Book: Liber Novus, Encyclo-
pedia of Psychology and Religion, 2nd edition (Springer
Reference, 2014) ISBN 978-1-4614-6085-5, p. 1, on-
line edition, https://www.academia.edu/6922901/C._G.
_Jung_and_the_Red_Book
[6] Shamdasani gives a detailed review Jungs development
and his divergence from Freud during this period in: Sonu
Shamdasani, C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books, W. W.
Norton, 2012, pp. 49-60. ISBN 978-0393073676
[7] Lance S. Owens, The Hermeneutics of Vision: C. G.
Jung and Liber Novus, The Gnostic: A Journal of Gnos-
ticism, Western Esotericism and Spirituality Issue 3, July
2010. ISBN 978-1906834043 Online edition, p. 2 https:
//www.academia.edu/6922849/The_Hermeneutics_of_
Vision_C._G._Jung_and_Liber_Novus
Madmen, A Study of Gurus. p. 89. ISBN 0-684-82818-9.
Paul Stern made similar claims in his biography of Jung,
C. G. Jung: The Haunted Prophet ISBN 978-0440547440
Biographers, Even. ISBN 1-85575-317-0. , pp. 71-3.
Shamdasani rebuts the assertions made by both Anthony
Storr and Paul Stern about Jungs supposed psychosis.
writes in Liber Novus that during the day, I gave all my
love and submission to things, to men, and to the thoughts
of this time. I went into the desert only at night. Thus can
you dierentiate sick and divine delusion. Whoever does
the one and does without the other you may call sick since
he is out of balance. Liber Novus, pg. 238.
[11] Lance S. Owens, The Hermeneutics of Vi-
sion: C. G. Jung and Liber Novus, The Gnos-
tic: A Journal of Gnosticism, Western Esoteri-
cism and Spirituality Issue 3, July 2010. ISBN
978-1906834043 Online edition, pg. 11 https:
//www.academia.edu/6922849/The_Hermeneutics_of_
Vision_C._G._Jung_and_Liber_Novus
[12] Shamdasani oers extensive documentation about Jungs
normal professional and social functioning during this pe-
riod in his introduction to Liber Novus, p. 221.
[13] Liber Novus, pp. 198-202.
[14] Liber Novus, pg. 208.
[15] Jung, Carl Gustav (1961). Aniela Jae, ed. Memories,
Dreams, Reections. pp. 178194.
[16] Liber Novus, pg. 200.
[17] Owens, Hermeneutics of Vision, pp. 11-13.
[18] Shamdasani explains the nature of the Black Books, and
provides high-resolution photographs of these journals in:
Shamdasani, C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books, pp. 63-
73.
4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

[19] The Black Books are currently being edited for publi-
cation: The Black Books of C.G. Jung (1913-1932), ed.
Sonu Shamdasani, (Stiftung der Werke von C. G. Jung &
W. W. Norton & Company), publication date pending.
[20] Hannah, Barbara (1976). Jung: His Life and Work. p.
115. ISBN 0-87773-615-4.
[21] See Shamdasanis introduction to the Red Book: Liber
Novus for detailed explanation of this eort: Liber Novus,
pp. 198-203.
[22] Liber Novus, pg. 331.
7 External links
C. G. Jung and the Red Book: Liber Novus An
in-depth encyclopedia article on Jung and the Red
Book.
The Holy Grail of the Unconscious New York Times
Magazine feature by Sara Corbett
C.G. Jung and The Red Book A series of eighteen
audio lectures on 'Jung and The Red Book: Liber
Novus, presented by Lance Owens MD.

[23] In the last three years of his life, Jung returned to his folio
volume, and made an eort to nish the transcription. He
found it was beyond his ability, given his advanced age.
The transcription ends in mid-sentence. Liber Novus, pg.
360.
[24] See Shamdasanis Editorial Note": Liber Novus, pp. 225-
6.
[25] Liber Novus, p. vii.
NPR interview about the book with writer Sara Cor-
bett, author of NYT article and book on Jungs Red
Book
Preview pages from The Red Book (Prepared by the
publisher, Norton)
Philemon Foundation. Philemon Foundation. Re-
trieved 2009-09-21.

[26] High-resolution images of the Red Book appear in: Sham-

dasani, C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books, pp. 118-9.

[27] Shamdasani, C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books, pg. 119n.

[28] Bair, Deirdre (2003). Jung: A Biography. p. 745. ISBN

0-316-07665-1.

[29] Corbett, Sara (2009-09-16). The Holy Grail of the Un-

conscious. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-20.

[30] The Red Book of Carl G. Jung: Its Origins and Inuence:
June 17September 25, 2010. Library of Congress.

6 Bibliography
Jung, Carl Gustav (2009). Sonu Shamdasani, ed.
The Red Book. Liber Novus. Translated by Mark
Kyburz, John Peck and Shamdasani; introduced by
Shamdasani. Philemon Series & W. W. Norton &
Co. ISBN 978-0-393-06567-1.

Owens, Lance S (2014). C. G. Jung and the Red

Book: Liber Novus. Encyclopedia of Psychology
and Religion, 2nd ed. 2014, Springer Publications.
ISBN 978-1-4614-6085-5.

Owens, Lance S (2010). The Hermeneutics of Vi-

sion: C. G. Jung and Liber Novus. The Gnostic: A
Journal of Gnosticism, Western Esotericism and Spir-
ituality Issue 3, July 2010. ISBN 978-1906834043.

Shamdasani, Sonu (2005). Jung Stripped Bare By

His Biographers, Even. ISBN 1-85575-317-0.

Shamdasani, Sonu (2012). C. G. Jung: A Biography

in Books. ISBN 978-0393073676.
 5

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text
The Red Book (Jung) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Book_(Jung)?oldid=767430381 Contributors: Michael Hardy,
Branddobbe, Goethean, Blainster, DocWatson42, Jacoplane, Andycjp, Kaldari, Thorwald, Dbachmann, JoeSmack, Art LaPella,
FeanorStar7, Cuchullain, Yug, Afterwriting, RadioFan, BorgQueen, SmackBot, Lestrade, Zazaban, AnOddName, Alsandro, Michaelrush,
LOwens, Meco, Valkian, Kencf0618, Aeternus, Estban, Olaf Davis, Rhe br, CopperKettle, SusanLesch, Modernist, Danny lost, Ekab-
hishek, Magioladitis, Arthur B, Qutorial, Johnbod, NewEnglandYankee, Ilikeliljon, Evb-wiki, GrahamHardy, Firstorm, Katimawan2005,
Wwnorton, Der Golem, Mild Bill Hiccup, TheOldJacobite, Auntof6, Addbot, Vejvanick, Lightbot, MuZemike, Yobot, Rose bartram,
AnomieBOT, Drsamartin, E2eamon, Omnipaedista, Prezbo, TobeBot, PresChicago, CobraBot, Kitfoxxe, RjwilmsiBot, 349scarf, Bja90,
ImprovingWiki, John of Reading, Darkght, ZroBot, Pablokimon, Jacobisq, Morgan TG, Polisher of Cobwebs, Sbyock, Rains of Cas-
tamere, Loriendrew, Parzival67, Me, Myself, and I are Here, Michipedian, Heath.rezabek, Suelru, Hitcher vs. Candyman, HughMilstein,
Filedelinkerbot, Purrington, KasparBot, Yahya Talatin, Aintnobiscuit, Bender the Bot and Anonymous: 45

8.2 Images
File:The_Red_Book_-_Liber_Novus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/The_Red_Book_-_Liber_
Novus.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Private photo Original artist: LOwens

8.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0