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Psychological Perspectives: A
Quarterly Journal of Jungian
Thought
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authors and subscription information:
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To cite this article: Robin Robertson (1999) A Guide to the Writings of Edward F.
Edinger, Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought, 39:1,
47-59
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A Guide to the Writings of
Edward E Edincrer
Robin Robertson
has lost a second great creative force: Edward F. Edinger. Both have left
behind rich collections of their writings and lectures to which we can still
turn for their wisdom. As I did in discussing von Franz’s work, I am restrict-
ing myself to Edinger’s published books. Again, as with von Franz, a num-
ber of Edinger’s books have been transcribed from lectures or assembled
from previously published articles.
His first and perhaps greatest book, Ego und Archetype: Indioiduutioii
and the Religious Function ofthe Psyche (Shambhala, 1992),was originally pub-
lished in 1972. It begins with a paraphrase by Jung of a statement by
Ignatius Loyola:
Man’s consciousness was created to the end that it may (1) rec-
ognize its descent from a higher unity; (2) pay due and careful
regard to this source; (3) execute its commands intelligently and
responsibly; and (4) thereby afford the psyche as a whole the
optimum degree of life and development. (p. xv)
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One could not better define the essence of Edinger’s view of Jungian psy-
chology. Ego and Archetype is a rich and complex work that has often offered
me, and I’m sure others, comfort from the suffering which is everyone’s
companion on the journey of individuation. Suffering becomes holy when
it has a purpose. In Edinger’s words, “It is impossible for the ego to experi-
ence the Self as something separate as long as the ego is unconsciously iden-
tified with the Self. This explains the need for the alienation experience as a
prelude to the religious experience” (p. 52).
In Ego and Archetype, Edinger first introduced his famed diagram of
the ego-Self axis which depicts the stages of development of the individu-
ated ego. The stage pictured in Figure 1is described this way: “In the early
stages of psychological development, God is hidden-in the cleverest hid-
ing place of all-in identification with oneself, one’s own ego” (p. 102).
During the following stages, the ego gradually emerges from its identifica-
tion with the Self yet keeps the connection intact. This is largely done
through the removal of projections in our relationships with the people and
things of the outer world. “We must exclude all merely apparent relation-
ship which is actually based on projection and unconscious identification”
(p. 170).At the endpoint of this process,
These are also the central motifs of both the process of individuation and
alchemy, the former which runs through all Edinger’s work, and the latter
which Edinger will study more directly in later books.
THEGODSWITHIN
Tlzc Eteriznl Draina: The Iiiner Meatiiizg of Greek Mythology (Shambhala,
1994) was assembled from two series of lectures Edinger gave in the 1970s,
one in New York City and one in California. This is an extended examina-
tion of the third stage of development of the God-image: ”hierarchical poly-
theism.’’ The important thing to remember is that each of the stages is still
A Giride to the Writings of Edward E Edinger 51
alive inside the psyche. We have to be equally able to connect to the most
primitive as well as the most advanced.
Edinger notes that, “As we consider the basic images of Greek
mythology, we should ask what the particular images could mean in our
own individual lives.” If we make an attempt to understand how these
myths relate to our own lives, “we will start to build a personal connection
to the myth; particular myths, at least, will be living themselves out in one’s
own life. Asking these questions will be rewarded every now and then by
a shock of recognition that says: ’This is my myth. This is myself I am see-
ing here”’ (p. 3).
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OURRELATIONSHIP
TO GOD
was the first to realize that ”the essential new idea is that the purpose of
hiiniaii lift, is the creation of co~~scio~isiiess”(p. 17) without wholly accepting
Jung’s life as an exemplar of the individuated life.
In another essay from this collection, “Depth Psychology as the New
Dispensation: Reflections on Jung’s Aiiszver to Job,” Edinger continues an
examination he began in Ego a i d Archetype, which he extends in more detail
in two later books: Encounter zuifh the Self: A Ji~ngianCommentnry 011 William
Blnke’s I/lustratiu/ij of the Book of Job (Inner City, 1986), and Traiisfovnintion of
the G o d - l m a ~ eA: HEluciifation of lung’s Answer to Job (Inner City, 1992). (The
latter is a transcription of lectures given at the C. G. Jung Institute of Los
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Angeles in the fall of 1989.) Ideally, all three should be studied together,
along with lung’sAtrszurr fo lob and the actual Book of Job from the Bible. I’ll
move back and forth between Edinger‘s three books in the discussion that
follows.
In Trnnsforiizntioii of the God-lmnge Edinger explains how Jung came to
write Ansiiw to lob:
Edinger adds that “Esther Harding told me that during his illness a figure sat
on his bedpost and dictated Aizszoer to Job to him” (p. 17). He tells us Jung’s
own estimate of the work: “In his old age, Jung remarked that he wished he
could rewrite all of his books except this one. With this book he was com-
pletely satisfied” (“Depth Psychology as the New Dispensation,” p. 60).
As Amiuer to Job was for Jung, Blake’s study of Job’s story in twenty-
one pictures was his last completed major work. Edinger tells us: ”Blake’s
rendering of the job Story shows us the effect of this archetypal image on
the unconscious of a modern, or almost modern man. . . . In these pictures
the objective psyche speaks directly to us” (p. 12).
Let us briefly recall the story of Job in relation to Blake’s first few pic-
tures. Job was God’s most beloved servant, a man of prosperity and con-
tentment. In Blake’s first picture Job and his family “are gathered together
under the tree of life in a state of prayer” (p. 17). At their feet sleep their
animals, n-hile their musical instruments hang from the tree. Edinger
sharply notes that “both instinctual and spiritual-cultural energes are not
functioning” (p. 17). In Blake’s second picture Satan appears in a ”stream of
A Guide to the Writings of Edzoard E Ediizger 53
fire” to tempt God. Edinger notes that ”Satan represents the return of ban-
ished energy and desire” (pp. 20-21). Satan argues that Job would not Love
God so much if things were less rosy for him in his life. That is all it takes for
Yahweh to subject Job to a series of increasing deprivations, including the
destruction of his children and their families. In Blake’s picture Job and his
family are totally engulfed by Satan’s fiery energy. “Psychologically, this
might correspond to the onset of bad dreams and neurotic symptoms in an
individual” (p. 23).
Job’s situation matches that experienced by any of us when some-
thing terrible happens in life. We ask ourselves: “Why did this happen to
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me? Why did God permit this terrible thing to happen?” Edinger presents
five different ways to answer that question:
. . . since Job did not fall victim to the proposition that all good
is from God and all bad from man, he was able to see God and
recognize his behavior to be that ”of any unconscious being
who cannot be judged morally. Yahweh is a phenomenon and, as
Job says, ’not a Man’.’’ (“Depth Psychology as the New Dispen-
sation,’’ p. 69)
wrong.”
ALCHEMICAL
SYMBOLISM IN THE PSYCHE
Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Edinger wrote a series of
seminal articles on seven alchemical processes; the articles were later col-
lected into a single volume, Anatom!/ of the Ps?yclze: Alchenizcal Synzbolisrn in
Ps!/~hofhen7py (Open Court, 1985). If Ego arrd Archetype isn’t Edinger’s great-
est single volume, then Anntomy of the Psyche is. It is hard to i m a p e anyone
working either with hisher own dreams or the dreams of a patient who
would not find this an invaluable reference. How can something as arcane
as alchemv be useful in dealing with the psychology of the unconscious?
Here’s Edinger’s answer:
ter around the core image. The charts are an important part of
my method because I want to emphasize the structural nature
of each symbol system. (ibid)
These charts are unique study tools for anyone interested in the psy-
che. Time and again I’ve taken an element of a dream, looked it u p in the
A Guide to the Writings of Edward E Edinger 55
index to Aviatomy of the Psyche, then read what Edinger had to say about it in
the context of the alchemical process(es) in which it figures. Then I look it
u p in the appropriate chart (or charts). By doing so, I can usually define not
only what alchemical (hence, psychological) stage is being addressed, but
what will come next. This is because you can follow the progression of sym-
bols between alchemical operations. This is as close to a true “dream book”
as it is possible to have, given the complexity of the psyche. If readers new
to Edinger read only this book, they will have gained a great deal of insight
into the psyche.
Throughout the 1980s, Edinger gave several series of lectures on
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MISCELLASEOCS
VOLUMES
The Li;~itigPsyche: A Jiiiigiaii Atinlysis in Pictures (Chiron, 1990) . . is
’I.
THEBIBLE~ Y THE
D PSYCHE
In The Bible arid the Psyche: lridizlidiintioii Symbolism in the OId Testanirkit
(Inner Cit\: 1986),Edinger further develops the idea of the evolution of the
God-image as presented in the Bible:
The first seventeen books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Esther, are
“the historical books in which Yahweh deals with Israel collectively as a
nation” (p. 12). The last seventeen, from Isaiah to Malachi, are ”the pro-
phetic books, each named after a great individual who had a personal
encounter with Yahweh and was fated to be an individual carrier of God-
consciousness” (pp. 12-13). “In the middle are the poetical-wisdom books,
with Job at their head. Job is the pivot of the Old Testament story. This is
why Jung focused his Bible commentary on J o b (p. 13).
In The Christian Archetype: A Jungian Coinnzentary on the Life of Christ
(Inner City, 1987), this evolution of the God-image takes its next natural step:
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the Holy Spirit unless we have accepted our own individual life
as Christ accepted his. (pp. 129-130)
For inanv readers, Edinger’s work may itself serve as a redemptive process.
NOTESo\ FUTCREEDISCERVOLUMES
There are several additional books compiled from Edinger‘s lectures
which are scheduled for publication in the near future. Deborah Wesley is
editing a two-volume work for Inner City called The Psyche iiz Aiztiqz/ity.
Volume one deals with Greek philosophy, and volume two discusses
Gnosticism and early Christianity. Both will appear in 1999.Also upcoming
from Inner City in 1999 are Psyche in Shnkespenre, edited by Sheila Zarrow.
George Elder has edited The Apocn‘I!pe Archetype, which Open Court will
publish in 1999 (reviewed in this issue of Pj!/c/zolagical Perspectives). Inner
City will publish three more volumes-The Ps!/che O H Stage, The Old Testnnient
Prophets, and The Bitdicnl Psnl?iis-in the year 2000. There are still other works
in early stages of preparation.
And if all this isn’t enough, there are a number of audio and video-
tapes which are included in the bibliographic list that follows. All are avail-
able from the C. G. Jung Bookstore, along with others that I haven’t listed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS
A Guide to the Writings of Edward E Edinger 59
Inner City
The Aion Lectures: Exploring the Self in C. G. Jung’s Aion (1996)
The Bible and the Psyche: Individuation Symbolism in the Old Testament (1986)
The Biblical Psalms: A Jungian Commentary (upcoming, 2000)
The Christian Archetype: A Jungian Commentary on the Life of Christ (1987)
The Creation of Consciousness: Jung’s Myth for Modern Man (1984)
Encounter with the Self;A Jungian Commentary on William Blake’s Illustrations of the
Book of Job (1986)
Goethe’s Faust: Notes for a Jungian Commentary (1990)
Melville’s Moby Dick: An American Nekyia (1995)
The Mysterium Lectures: A Journey Through C. G. Jung’s Mysterium Coniunctionis
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(1995)
The Mystery of the Coniunctio: Alchemical Image of Individuation (1994)
The Old Testament Prophets: From Isaiah to Malachi (upcoming, 2000)
The Psyche in Antiquity. Vol. 1 : Early Greek Philosophy from Tkales to Plotinus
(upcoming, 1999)
The Psyche in Antiquity. Vol. 2: Gnosticism and Early Christianityfrom Paul of Tarsus
to Augustine (upcoming, 1999)
The Psyche on Stage: Individuation Motifs in Shakespeare and Sophocles (upcoming,
2000)
Transformation of the God-lmage: A n Elucidation of Jung‘s Answer to Job (1992)
Open Court
Anatomy of the Psyche: Alchemical Symbolism in Psychotherapy (1985)
Shambhala
Ego and Archetype: lndizliduation and the Religious Function of the Psyche (1992)
The Eternal Drama: The Inner Meaning of Greek Mythology (1994)