First, I want to thank all my friends for their sympathy and compassion shown in my post before my surgery.
However, as I read it myself, I wasn’t sure my suffering might be misunderstood, leading everyone to think I was yowling due to physical pain. I need to mention that I wrote about my soul’s suffering! To put it bluntly, I was concerned about my kidneys, which were the primary focus for the doctors, and whether they would function or if I would need dialysis. Having transported many such patients to their therapy in my job, I know it is not a life worth living. Therefore, I would refuse any treatment like this and allow my own body to poison me to death. But I am not alone, and I can’t imagine how my family—wife, son, or grandchildren—could ever endure this tragedy.
Anyway, I’m past the surgery now and free from those horrible catheters. However, there is some uncertainty in my blood, which causes my blood levels to fluctuate. It seems I’m over the hill, though, and if these blood levels also stabilise, I’ll be over the rainbow!!
Finally, I will only let you preview one scene while I experienced it myself; surprisingly, this happened the day after I returned home. When I came home the first day, I was utterly exhausted. I had something to eat and then slept. On the second day, my wife had to go to work, so I was alone, lying on the couch for a while. I noticed a lovely sunny evening on the terrace, and I decided to step outside and enjoy sitting on the bench in front of the garden.
As I listened to the silence of nature, I closed my eyes. Suddenly, something rushed into my mind—some memory, some dream—in which I had once wished to be free of those catheters, sitting on the bench at home. There, I began to cry! It surprised me because I have always found it challenging to cry, but this time, my tears flowed like a waterfall! At that moment, I understood how heavy my suffering was.
I am now trying to regain my energy, as I lost it entirely this year. I wish you all health and prosperity. 🙏
Regarding foresight, few individuals possess this ability, or perhaps it exists in everyone, yet most fail to recognise it. I knew some of my relatives, and one of my aunts had mastered it. She had seen ghosts in her large, old house, conversed with them, and could perceive events (in dreams) before they occurred. My brother Al also possessed such a gift, particularly in the final years of his life when he underwent surgery on his head to remove a tumour. I do not know if it is a gift, a curse, or a blessing; nonetheless, I would treasure that.
I, myself, have a small example: I had a dream in which one of my customers, an elderly woman I had driven to the doctor for many years but could no longer assist because she needed special transport, urgently called me to ask if I could pick her up and take her to her doctor. I wondered why I had dreamt of her after all this time. Two days after my dream, while driving a guest from her neighbourhood, she told me she recognised me as the person who had driven her friend from next door for a long time and asked if I knew she had passed away. I said no and asked when it had happened. She replied it was the night before last, the same night I had dreamt of her!
Dream analysis stands or falls with [the hypothesis of the unconscious]. Without it, the dream appears to be merely a freak of nature, a meaningless conglomerate of memory fragments left over from the day’s happenings. ~Carl Jung “Modern Man in Search of a Soul”, p.2, Psychology Press
Now, let us read about one of the great minds in this field: Carl Gustav Jung. He was among the most sensitive and intuitive visionaries of all time. Here, he talks about his dreams, odd and extraordinary dreams. Once, he was even afraid that he had schizophrenia.
<Although it is from The Red Book, which everyone might have or may have even read, I believe many still do not notice the fineness in the “Introduction” at the beginning of the book, as I find it fascinating.>
From Carl Jung’s “The Red Book, Liber Novus: A Reader’s Edition,” by Sonu Shamdasani. (Introduction)
In 1912, Jung had some significant dreams that he did not understand. He gave particular importance to two of these, which, as he felt, showed the limitations of Freud’s conceptions of dreams. The first follows:
I was in a southern town, on a rising street with narrow half-landings. It was twelve o’clock midday–bright sunshine. An old Austrian customs guard or someone similar passes by me, lost in thought. Someone says, “That is one who cannot die. He died already 30 – 40 years ago but has not yet managed to decompose.”
I was very surprised. Here, a striking figure came, a knight of powerful build clad in yellowish armour. He looks solid and inscrutable, and nothing impresses him. On his back, he carries a red Maltese cross. He has continued to exist since the 12th century, and he takes the same route daily between 12 and 1 o’clock midday. No one marvelled at these two apparitions, but I was extremely surprised.
I hold back my interpretive skills. As regards the old Austrian, Freud occurred to me; as regards the knight, I myself.
Inside, a voice calls, “It is all empty and disgusting.” I must bear it. (Black Book 2, pp. 25-26)
Jung found this dream oppressive and bewildering, and Freud was unable to interpret it.
(In 1925, he gave the following interpretation to this dream: “The meaning of the dream lies in the principle of the ancestral figure: not the Austrian officer – obviously he stood for the Freudian theory – but the other, the Crusader, is an archetypal figure, a Christian symbol living for the twelfth century, a symbol that does not really live today, but on the other hand in not wholly dead either. It comes out of the time of Meister Eckhart, the time of the culture of the Knights, when many ideas blossomed, only to be killed again, but they are coming to life again now. However, when I had this dream, I did not know this interpretation” (Introduction to Jungian Psychology, p. 42).
Around half a year later, Jung had another dream:
I dreamt at that time (it was shortly after Christmas 1912) that I was sitting with my children in a marvellous and richly furnished castle apartment – an open columned hall – we were sitting at a round table, whose top was a marvellous dark green stone. Suddenly, a gull or a dove flew in and sprang lightly onto the table. I admonished the children to be quiet so they would not scare away the beautiful white bird. Suddenly, this bird turned into a child of eight years, a small blond child, and ran around playing with my children in the marvellous columned colonnades. Then, the child suddenly turned into the gull or dove. She said the following to me: “Only in the first hour of the night can I become human while the male dove is busy with the twelve dead.” With these words, the bird flew away, and I awoke. (Black Book 2, pp. 17-18)
In Black Book 2, Jung noted that it was this dream that made him decide to embark on a relationship with a woman he had met three years earlier (Toni Wolff, Ibid., p. 17). In 1925, he remarked that this dream “was the beginning of a conviction that the unconscious did not consist of inert material only, but that there was something living down there (Introduction to Jungian Psychology, p. 42). He added that he thought of the story of the Tabula Smaragdina (emerald tablet), the twelve apostles, the signs of the Zodiac, and so on, but that he “could make nothing out of the dream except that there was a tremendous animation of the unconscious. I knew no technique for getting to the bottom of this activity; all I could do was just wait, keep on living, and watch the fantasies.”
I include this footnote to highlight his insatiable greed and relentless pursuit to decipher the meaning behind his dream and how he developed the interpretation.
Ibid., pp. 40-41. E. A. Benner noted Jung’s comments on this dream: “At first, he thought ‘twelve dead men’ referred to the twelve days before Christmas, for that is the dark time of the year, when traditionally witches are about. To say ‘before Christmas’ is to say before the sun lives again, for Christmas day is at the turning point of the year when the sun’s birth was celebrated in the Mithraic religion… Only much later did he relate the dream to Hermes and the twelve doves” (Meeting with Jung: Conversations recorded by E.A. Brenner during the years 1946-1961 [London: Anchor Press,1982; Zürich, Daimon Verlag, 1985], p. 93). In 1951, in “The Psychological Aspects of the Kore”, Jung presented some material from Liber Novus (describing them all as part of a dream series) in an anonymous form (“case Z.”), tracing the transformations of the anima. He noted that this dream “shows the anima as a elflike, i.e., only partially human. She can just as well be a bird, which means that she may belong wholly to nature and can vanish (i.e., become unconscious) from the human sphere (i.e., consciousness)” (CW9, I, § 371). See also Memories, pp. 195-96.
These dreams led him to analyse his childhood memories, but this did not resolve anything. He realised that he needed to recover the emotional tone of childhood. He recalled that as a child, he used to like to build houses and other structures, and he took this up again.
While he was engaged in this self-analytic activity, he continued to develop his theoretical work. At the Munich Psycho-Analytical Congress in September 1913, he spoke on psychological types. He argued that there were two basic movements of the libido: extraversion, in which the subject’s interest was oriented towards the outer world, and introversion, in which the subject’s interest was directed inward. Following from this, he posited two types of people, characterised by the predominance of one of these tendencies. The psychologies of Freud and Adler were examples of the fact that psychologies often took what was true of their type as generally valid. Hence, what was required was a psychology that did justice to both of these types (“On the question of psychological types,” CW 6).
Although this captivating story continues, I will share it in parts to facilitate understanding and enjoyment. Thank you for taking the time to read!
PS: In case someone interested, I will try to write about my new condition in a separate post. 🙏💖
The burial chamber was below ground and housed and protected the body and spirit. The mortuary chapel was above ground and was accessible to visitors who would perform rites and make offerings of food and drink for the dead person.
Egyptian burial chambers resembled secret galleries meant to remain unseen, filled with stunning artwork for an elite audience—the gods. Art could transport individuals, connecting the mortal and the immortal, freeing them from the silence of death.
Tomb art was sacred and magical, controlling chaotic forces threatening universal order. Whether mass-produced or commissioned, painting, sculpture, carving, and writing upheld order by invoking the gods to ensure safe passage and eternal sustenance for the deceased in the afterlife. Tombs in ancient Egypt
However, despite all this, here is a brilliant article by Marie Grillot about an undamaged treasure of ancient Egypt.
Mask of General Oundebaounded – gold – 21st Dynasty Discovered in his tomb (NRT III) in Tanis in 1946 by Pierre Montet and his team Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 87753
The untouched tomb of General Oundebaounded was discovered in Tanis in 1946 by the team of Pierre Montet, known as “The Man from Tanis. “
It was Pierre Lézine, an architect newly arrived on the mission, who noticed a particular spot in the tomb of Psusennes I where the thickness of a wall appeared abnormal.
Under the initially sceptical eye of his colleagues, he undertook additional surveys that confirmed his intuitions.
In “The Discovery of the Treasures of Tanis”, Georges Goyon recounts: “It was then that a tiny room appeared, with no exit, containing, intact, as if embedded in its socket, a beautiful pink granite sarcophagus. The limestone walls were covered with brightly coloured paintings depicting ritual scenes and inscriptions.” This sarcophagus would turn out to be a ‘re-use’: having initially been dedicated to a priest of Amun of Thebes, it had been modified for its new ‘occupant’…
Detail of the east wall of the Oundebaounded burial chamber (NRT III) – Montet Archives, 1946
Pierre Montet explains: “The Oundebaounded vault contained only the sarcophagus and the four canopic jars. Everything was in the sarcophagus. The mummy, dressed in its finery, was first enclosed in a silver coffin, and this in a gilded wooden coffin. When the gilded wooden coffin had been introduced into the granite basin, three paterae and a cup were placed on the lid, as well as a sword, a sceptre, and several walking sticks. The extreme humidity that reigns throughout the necropolis caused the complete destruction of everything made of wood. The gilded wooden coffin was nothing more than a pile of dead leaves. The silver coffin itself was partly eaten away.”
The pink granite sarcophagus of Oundebaounded (left), on display outside the French Mission house in Tanis
On his face was this magnificent mask, reminiscent of Sheshonq II’s. 22 cm high, it is carved from a thick sheet of gold and decorated with glass paste inlays. In ancient Egypt, gold was imbued with power: this metal was not only assimilated to the flesh of the gods, but it was also supposed to ensure the protection of the deceased.
Mask of General Oundebaounded – gold – 21st Dynasty Discovered in his tomb (NRT III) in Tanis in 1946 by Pierre Montet and his team Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 87753
In “The Wonders of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo,” Silvia Einaudi gives this beautiful description: “The mask covered the face, neck, and ears of the sovereign, and stopped at the forehead where six perforated tabs allowed it to be attached to the mummy’s head. The eyes, miraculously intact, are made of glass paste of different colours inserted into the metal cavities: white for the eyeball and black for the pupil. The eyebrows and the outline of the eyes were made using the same technique. The nose is almost perfectly shaped. The lips are narrow and full. The ears are not symmetrical, and the left is more prominent than the right. The mask is an idealised portrait of Oundebaounded, depicted as a young man with a serene and tranquil expression, underlined by a barely marked smile.
Examination of the General’s mummy revealed that he had joined the Ialou Fields when he was about fifty years old. Georges Goyon specifies that he was: “of slender build, perhaps of Nubian race, as evidenced by the long bones and relatively small head.”
General Oundebaounded’s swimming hook – silver and gold – 21st Dynasty Discovered in his tomb (NRT III) in Tanis in 1946 by Pierre Montet and his team Exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo – JE 87742
For eternity, he was surrounded by gold jewellery, amulets, precious dishes (among them the magnificent patera with swimmers), statuettes, … all of an extreme quality and a wealth worthy of a pharaoh… Who was he to enjoy such recognition?
The name of this close government associate was not unknown to the mission members, as several of his funerary statuettes, made of bronze and earthenware, had been found, as early as 1939, near the sarcophagus of the Pharaoh Sheshonq. Furthermore, a sword bearing his name had also been deposited near Psusennes.
Georges Goyon presents him to us thus: “He was not a person of royal blood, but a high priest of Khonsu and Chief of the Archers of Pharaoh. He was also invested with the important title of Superior of the Prophets-of-all-the-gods, which seemed to correspond to that of minister of worship. It was King Psusennes I who had elevated him to these high functions…. One of his most curious titles was that of “Sole-appointed-to-the-praise-of-the-great”, whose duty was to present the holders to the king during the reward ceremonies.”
Mask of General Oundebaounded – gold – 21st Dynasty Discovered in his tomb (NRT III) in Tanis in 1946 by Pierre Montet and his team Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 87753
One can imagine the aura Oundebaounded must have held at court, and thus understand why he was buried so close to the sovereigns…
The entire treasure contained in his tomb was sent shortly after, under police escort, to the Cairo Museum. The funerary mask was recorded in the Journal of Entries under reference JE 87753.
It is interesting to note that Pierre Montet reports that statuettes – ushabtis – bearing the General’s name were found on the antiques market. “Sixteen servants were nevertheless soon recovered in the trade… In total, we currently know of around forty listed in other Institutes and private collections.”
Georges Goyon, The Discovery of the Treasures of Tanis, 1987 Tanis: Gold of the Pharaohs, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, March 26 – July 20, 1987 Francesco Tiradritti, Treasures of Egypt – The Wonders of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo National Geographic, Treasures of Ancient Egypt at the Cairo Museum
Next week, I have my surgery appointment, and before I go under the surgeon’s knife, as the Germans say, I wanted to say “a short” goodbye. Since I know most of you are doing very well, as I receive your posts every day, every hour, you can send your positive thoughts towards my surgical table in between!
There are no words to describe the suffering and pain I endured, as I understand that one must experience it oneself to truly grasp its affliction. I hope that none of you experience that! What I can say with certainty is that I have gained invaluable insights. I learned about my weaknesses and the extent of my power. I have discovered how low one can go and where the steps are to climb up.
It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasure of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. ~Joseph Campbell
I learned about my deep depression, where tiny fairies would converse with me. I’ve learned to remain resilient despite all challenges, echoing Ernest Hemingway’s words: “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Additionally, one of his characters, Harry Morgan, states in “To Have and Have Not”: “A man alone ain’t got no chance,” yet he persistently strives to do his best! Of course, I had support from my adorable wife, son, and a few friends. Nevertheless, during my most challenging times, it was ultimately up to me to endure that pain alone. I’m very stubborn about seeking help!
As I conclude my post, I would like to acknowledge my mentor, Dr. Jung, and his perspective on suffering:
Your ideas bring you up against a general cultural problem, which is infinitely complicated.
What is true in one place is untrue in another.
“Suffering is the swiftest steed that bears you to perfection,” and the contrary is also true.
“Breaking in” can be discipline, and this is needed for the emotional chaos of man, though at the same time it can kill the living spirit, as we have seen only too often.
In my opinion, there is no magical word that could finally unravel this whole complex of questions; nor is there any method of thinking or living or acting which would eliminate suffering and unhappiness.
If a man’s life consists half of happiness and half of unhappiness, this is probably the optimum that can be reached, and it remains forever an unresolved question whether suffering is educative or demoralising.
In any case, it would be wrong to give oneself up to relativism and indifferentism.
Whatever can be bettered in a given place at a given time should certainly be done, for it would be sheer folly to do otherwise.
Man’s fate has always swung between day and night.
There is nothing we can do to change this.
Yours sincerely,
C.G. Jung ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 248.
I hope everyone enjoys a tranquil and relaxing time; take care and stay healthy. 🙏💖🌹
Ägyptisches Museum (Egyptian Museum), Berlin (Wikimedia)
Queen Tiye, recognised for her intellect and formidable character, earned the respect of foreign dignitaries, who were keen to interact with her directly. She maintained an active presence in foreign relations and became the first Egyptian queen whose name was inscribed on official documents.
Head of Queen Tiye. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 38257
Here is an impressive presentation by Marie Grillot about a captivating piece of art represented by a magnificent statue that resonates with us through her story.
Wishing you all the best for the Easter holidays. 💖🙏
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the Temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 38257
In 1905, the English Egyptologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie led an expedition to the Sinai Peninsula. He was particularly interested in the site of the temple of Serabit el-Khadim. Built during the reign of Snefu for workers who came to work in the turquoise mines, it remained in use until the New Kingdom. The sanctuary is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, “mistress of turquoise,” and the eastern falcon god Sopdu.
The excavation season is expected to yield the discovery of a small female head, measuring 7.2 cm, in a very dark stone.
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the Temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 38257
Here is an excerpt from W.M.F. Petrie’s description in his 1906 report “Researches in Sinai”: “A queen has left here one of the most striking portraits ever carved in Egypt. The very famous Queen Thyi, wife of the great Amenhotep III, was hitherto known from a few carved reliefs, but not yet from such a portrait in the round. Strangely, such a remote spot should have preserved this representation, which we have identified from the cartouche in the middle of the crown. The schistose stone is dark green steatite.
The entire statuette must have measured about a foot in height. Unfortunately, we have found no fragments other than the head. The great dignity of the face is combined with a fascinating uprightness. The delicacy of the contours of the eyes and cheekbones testifies to the quality of execution. The lips, whose curious curve curves downwards, are complete and delicate, yet express a disdain devoid of malice. They are, most certainly, a likeness to the truth… The ear is pierced, as is also the case with her son Akhenaten. The crown she wore was probably with gold inlays. The two-winged cobras stretch their length in loops around the head, until they meet at the back; while in the middle of the forehead, they support the cartouche with the name of the great queen of Upper and Lower Egypt. This piece alone was worth all the rest of our earnings for the year; it is now in the Cairo Museum.”
“Head of statuette of Queen Tiye – Dark green steatite” (Egyptian Museum, Cairo JE 38257) published here by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in “Researches in Sinai” (1906), plate 133 – p. 127
In his book “Essays on Egyptian Art” published in 1912, Gaston Maspero describes it thus: “The right wing of the wig is missing, and the nose has suffered from an unfortunate shock on the left nostril, without however losing the essential part of its shape: a cartouche engraved on the front of the hairstyle tells us the name, and the piece gives, at first glance, the conviction of a portrait likeness. It is not flattering. If we are to believe him, Tiyi presented the racial characteristics of the Berberines or the women of the Egyptian desert, small eyes slanted towards the temples, noses with a wide tip and disdainful nostrils, a heavy and sullen mouth, with drooping corners and whose lower lip is pulled back by a receding chin.”
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the Temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo JE 38257 – Published here by Gaston Maspero in “Essays on Egyptian Art”, 1912
What femininity, what willpower, what pride, and what presence! The personality that emanates from this little face is visibly inspiring… And it is touching, even moving, to see how much each Egyptologist is keen to decipher it…
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the Temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 38257 – Museum photo
Thus, for Mohamed Saleh and Hourig Sourouzian (“Official Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo”): “The oval face with high cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes and a thick, almost disillusioned mouth is that of a determined and serious woman, who exudes a high spirituality despite her apparent youth.”
In “The Wonders of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo,” Francesco Tiradritti provides the following interpretation: “The corners of the mouth, curved downwards, give the whole face an air of gravity that was often interpreted as an allusion to the decisive and inflexible temperament of Tiyi.”
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the Temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo JE 38257 (museum photo)
Jean-Pierre Corteggiani’s analysis (“Egypt of the Pharaohs at the Cairo Museum”) is also not devoid of realism: “There is something haughty, if not contemptuous, in this young and energetic face of a woman who is both highly aware of her rank and proud to have managed to occupy it.”
There are many known representations of the queen, the most famous of which are those in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin (ÄM 21834 – yew wood head found in 1904 in Medinet Gourab), those in the Louvre (N 2312, E 25493 – glazed steatite – Salt Collection), as well as those in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (26.7.1396 yellow jasper, discovered in Amarna from the Carnarvon Collection), without forgetting, of course, the imposing statuary group where she appears seated alongside her husband and with three of their daughters (atrium of the Cairo Museum – ref. GM 610 – JE 33906).
Head of Queen Tiye – yew wood statue in the round discovered in 1904 in Medinet Gourab Berlin Museum – ÄM 21834 (museum photo)
Tiyi lived in the New Kingdom; she was the daughter of Youya and Touya, whom Pierre Tallet (“12 Queens of Egypt Who Changed History”) describes as follows: “Youya was from Akhmim in Middle Egypt and held the titles of director of the royal stables and divine father; her mother Touya was a ‘royal ornament’ and singer of Amun.” She was therefore close to the Court…
“In the palace, rumour had preceded the event: Tiyi would be queen… she was and assumed this role with exceptional talent,” relates Christian Leblanc in his “Queens of the Nile.” And he continues: “Announced beyond the borders by an issue of large commemorative scarabs, the marriage of Tiyi with Amenhotep III was celebrated with great pomp in Memphis… Very quickly, Tiyi had a great influence on the government of the country. Through her strong personality, she exercised a role as confidante and political advisor to her husband.” It appears that her role also continued during the reign of her son, Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaten.
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the Temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo – JE 38257
The one who was adorned with so many laudatory titles: “Noble lady”, “Great favourite”, “Great royal wife”, “Sovereign of the Two lands”, “Who fills the palace with love”, died between the 12th and 15th year of her son’s reign.
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye – dark green schistose steatite – New Kingdom – 18th Dynasty Discovered in 1905 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie in the temple of Serabit el-Khadim (Sinai) Egyptian Museum, Cairo JE 38257 – museum photo
The quality of this stone portrait is therefore “up to” the great lady that she was… We must salute the sculptor who was able to render her character traits so accurately and so finely and who, in a way, helps us to better “perceive” the subtle personality of the sovereign…
Presented under number 4257 of the “Visitor’s Guide to the Cairo Museum” (Gaston Maspero, 1915), it was recorded in the museum’s Journal of Entries under reference JE 38257.
Sorry, it’s me again! I intended to share a brief message on Facebook, and I thought, why not just do it on my site, too? So here it is: We must look deeply around us and think twice. I send you all immense gratitude and wish you a lovely weekend.😁🤗💖🙏🦋🌹
Title image; Art by Andrew Ferez
From Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 7: Two Essays in Analytical Psychology,
I must recall at this point a serious misunderstanding to which my readers often succumb, and doctors most commonly. They invariably assume, for reasons unknown, that I never write about anything except my method of treatment. This is far from being the case. I write about psychology. I must, therefore, expressly emphasize that my method of treatment does not consist in causing my patients to indulge in strange fantasies for the purpose of changing their personality and other nonsense of that kind. I merely put it on record that there are certain cases where such a development occurs, not because I force anyone to it, but because it springs from inner necessity. For many of my patients, these things are and must remain double Dutch. Indeed, even if it were possible for them to tread this path, it would be a disastrously wrong turning, and I would be the first to hold them back. The way of the transcendent function is an individual destiny. But on no account should one imagine that this way is equivalent to the life of a psychic anchorite, to alienation from the world. Quite the contrary, for such a way is possible and profitable only when the specific worldly tasks which these individuals set themselves are carried out in reality. Fantasies are no substitute for living; they are fruits of the spirit which fall to him who pays his tribute to life.
The shirker experiences nothing but his own morbid fear, and it yields him no meaning. Nor will this way ever be known to the man who has found his way back to Mother Church. There is no doubt that the mysterium magnum is hidden in her forms, and in these, he can live his life sensibly. Finally, the normal man will never be burdened, either, with this knowledge, for he is everlastingly content with the little that lies within his reach. Wherefore I entreat my reader to understand that I write about things which actually happen and am not propounding methods of treatment. ~Carl Jung, CW 7, Pages 223-224
“Whoever fights with monsters should be careful not to become a monster himself. When you gaze long into an abyss, it also gazes into you.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche, Jenseits von Gut und Böse (1886) ch. 4, no. 146
Actually, I need to rest and post less frequently than before, but this short essay by adorable Laura London, an excellent Jungian expert at X (formerly Twitter), invigorated me. I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.
For many, contemplating and analyzing death is uncomfortable or even frightening. However, when we psychologically examine the world around us, we observe everything as dualistic, such as warm and cold, dark and light, love and hate, joy and grief… and, of course, life and death; neither can exist without the other!
There is no reason for many young people to think about death, except for some like me who are confronted with it by losing a part of their parent or both. However, as we reach a certain age, this challenge becomes unavoidable. Fear is not a solution, as we will inevitably confront the other side. Therefore, it is better to attempt to understand or envision it as much as possible. Reading this essay soothes the soul!
This quote from Jung is one of my favourites because it offers a breakthrough in our understanding of death.
Now, let’s read a tiny Colletti of Jung’s explanation on this issue, with heartfelt thanks to Laura London, which also included an introduction to an excellent book by Richard Wilhelm.
“From 1929 to 1934, #Jung presented his more mature thoughts about the mystery of death in three separate essays.⁵ In one of these essays, he stated that ‘anyone should draw the conclusion that the psyche, in its deepest reaches, participates in a form of existence beyond space and time, and thus partakes of what is inadequately and symbolically described as ‘eternity’’ [CW 8, par. 815]. Because of this, he also stated that as a doctor, I make every effort to strengthen the belief in immortality, especially with older patients … For … death is not an end but a goal, and life’s inclination towards death begins as soon as the meridian is passed’ [CW 13, par. 68]. Jung argued that the crisis of the second half of life is a sign that ‘nature prepares itself for death’ [CW 8, par. 808], hence, ‘it is hygienic … to discover in death a goal towards which one can strive’ [CW 8, par. 792], since ‘dying … has its onset long before actual death’ [CW 8, par. 809]. Jung concluded that ‘the #unconscious is all the more interested in how one dies; that is, whether the attitude of #consciousness is adjusted to dying or not’ [par. 809]. Death, then, became not only a goal for Jung but also a reality that could enrich life. Death begins before it happens, in midlife, so how one lives with death and how one approaches that goal became for Jung of paramount importance. In 1928, Jung received a copy of The Secret of the Golden Flower, a Chinese Taoist-alchemical text that, together with a dream he had which was set in Liverpool [Memories, Dreams, Reflections, pp. 220–223], confirmed to him that the goal of the #individuation process is the self, ‘the archetype of wholeness’ [CW 9ii, par. 351].”
⁵ “Commentary on ‘The Secret of the Golden Flower’” (1929); “The Stages of Life” (1930); “The Soul and Death” (1934).
~Luis Moris, Jungian psychoanalyst, “Jung’s Confrontation with Death: An Introduction, Confronting Death, pp. 7-8
🌼 You can watch my interview with Jungian psychoanalyst Luis Moris, editor of the book Confronting Death, in Episode 139 of Speaking of Jung.
“Now, from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out loudly, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? ‘ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:45-47 (also Mark 15:33-34)
No, I have not become religious, nor am I comparing myself to Jesus on the cross! I’ve just always been fortunate that my guardian angel has protected and supported me through troubling times. But this year, I feel she has ultimately let me down, and I wonder why! After much consideration, I have decided to provide a brief update—not because I seek sympathy or believe everyone is wondering where I am! It is simply to maintain our connection. I also apologise for my infrequent presence on your sites, such as likes, comments, etc.
This illustration depicts a man wearing a robe and carrying a urine bag hooked to a catheter.
Well, everything seemed stable to me, which gave me hope—but it turned out not to be! I have struggled with a catheter in my stomach for the last two months, and after visiting the doctor to replace it, everything went awry, and I had to be taken to hospital with a fever of 40 degrees. There, I underwent several treatments with antibiotics and had two additional catheters placed in my kidneys; now, I have to do a threesome several times!
My PSA blood levels have risen in the hospital, causing a significant delay. The doctors need to determine whether these levels are due to my inflammation or if I have prostate cancer. I left the hospital a few weeks ago and am currently at home. Although my blood levels were down last week, they have increased again, necessitating a sample to be taken from my prostate. A neighbour suggested that these three catheters could also cause inflammation, which might be the cause. Still, I assume that testing for suspected cancer is more beneficial for the doctors, right?
The latest update is that, after consulting with the other doctors at the hospital, my doctor called to inform me that my PSA level is not overly concerning just yet. They plan to proceed with the surgery as scheduled, which will take place at the end of April. This means I will need to struggle with my three catheters for the next six weeks!
Look after yourselves everyone, and have a great time!
I must confess I dream of such an encounter with a divine goddess, and I should not be a king!
This relief adorns the well-preserved tomb of King Seti I (KV17) in the Valley of the Kings. Hathor, Lady of the West, welcomes Seti and presents her menat necklace as a symbol of protection. Her wig is adorned with cow horns, her sacred animal, and a solar disk indicating her status as Ra’s daughter. The hieroglyphic text above identifies her using a falcon symbol in a temple, reading Hwt-Hr, meaning ‘House of Horus’.
The Goddess Hathor and Seti I painted reliefs on a pillar in Seti I’s tomb, Thebes, New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX, Egypt.
We read a splendid description of this enchanting and divine encounter by the exceptional Marie Grillot. Enjoy!
Hathor and Seti I: a divine and royal face-to-face!
What intensity, what symbiosis in this divine and royal face-to-face! This “painting” of fine painted limestone, 226.5 cm high and 105 cm wide, brings together the goddess Hathor and Seti I under the sign of the sky – and elegance. As Christiane Ziegler so aptly points out in “Ancient Egypt at the Louvre”: “The scene is treated with the refinement characteristic of the time of Seti I: careful bas-relief, the richness of warm colours, transparency of pleats, the perfection of details for the stone-encrusted front or the pearl net adorning the divine tunic whose motifs take up the names of Seti I.”
This dress, punctuated with geometric patterns and bordered with alternating-coloured rectangular braid, magnificently highlights the slender body of Hathor, “patron saint of the Theban necropolis.” Ravishing finery adorns her neck and limbs: a gorget, bracelets, armillae, periscelides, all in perfect taste. Her earring caresses her cheek in the shape of an upright serpent (not without announcing the one Nefertari wore in several representations of her tomb). Her face, of absolute purity, is illuminated by a stretched eye, surrounded by kohol and surmounted by an eyebrow which corresponds precisely to the stretching of the line of eyeshadow… Her “ruffled” vertically striated wig is available in two tones. It is enhanced with a gold-coloured headband above the forehead and, a little lower down, with this red ribbon tied on the nape of the neck so particular to goddesses. Her head is surmounted by a simple mortar in the centre, which is stuck in two cow horns enclosing the solar disk. On the other side stretches a cobra, whose head can be seen on the front and the tail on the back.
Seti I, son of Ramses I, the second king of the 19th Dynasty, who reigned over the Dual Land for eleven years, is depicted in full ceremonial dress. His magnificent black wig is encircled by the rearing cobra with its coiled body. His feet are shod with gold sandals. His clothing is made of the finest linen, and his loincloth features a superb front. Bordered with ribbons are composed of vertical bands with a herringbone pattern and ends with a frieze surrounded by two cobras.
His right arm is stretched along his body, and his hand clasps the goddess’s left hand. “One will notice the very Egyptian symmetry of the composition and the unusual gesture of the joining hands” (Christiane Ziegler, “Ancient Egypt at the Louvre”). His left arm is bent, and his hand thus reaches the height of Hathor’s, who, making the same gesture, extends her menat necklace towards him as a sign of protection.
“The menat is a necklace with a counterweight, both an ornament and a musical instrument. Specific to the goddess Hathor, it served to transmit her fluid. The counterweight is clearly associated with the idea of rebirth and transition rites, while the gesture is clearly jubilee,” analyze Christiane Ziegler and Jean-Luc Bovot in “Art and Archaeology, Ancient Egypt.” This magnificent relief comes from the entrance to the fourth corridor (the transition point to the underworld) of the pharaoh’s tomb. Giovanni Battista Belzoni unearthed it in the Valley of the Kings on October 18, 1817. It extends 137 m into the Theban mountain via seven long corridors serving 10 rooms! It is certainly one of the most beautiful and “completely” decorated in the royal necropolis. C’est aussi l’une de celles où la qualité des peintures atteint la plus haute perfection… Le découvreur est subjugué par la beauté de ce qui s’offre à ses yeux : “Je jugeai, par les peintures du plafond et par les hiéroglyphes en bas-relief que l’on distinguait à travers les décombres que nous étions maîtres de l’entrée d’une tombe magnifique”. La clé de lecture des hiéroglyphes n’étant pas encore résolue, il est alors impossible de savoir à qui appartient cette demeure d’éternité. Ainsi, dans un premier temps sera-t-elle appelée “tombe Belzoni” ou encore “tombe de l’Apis”, en référence à la “carcasse de taureau embaumé avec de l’asphalte” qui y fut trouvée. C’est bien plus tard qu’elle sera attribuée au père de Ramsès II puis référencée KV 17.
With the invaluable help of Alessandro Ricci, Giovanni Battista Belzoni documented the most beautiful scenes from the hypogeum. He exhibited them, starting in May 1821, at the Egyptian Hall Piccadilly in London and then 1822 at the Chinese Baths in Paris.
Jean-François Champollion, who was among the visitors, was apparently left “speechless with admiration” when he visited the “larger-than-life main room”… It was at about the same time, on September 14, 1822, that the brilliant code-breaker exclaimed, “I HAVE MY CASE”! After years of work, he had just understood the extremely complex principle of Egyptian writing, which was at once ideographic, alphabetic and phonetic… On September 27, in his famous “Letter to Mr. Ironside”, he presented the results of his research to the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres.
Seven years later, in 1829, while he was in the Valley of the Kings with the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, he could finally enter the tomb… “In the tomb of Sety I, J.-Fr. Champollion and I. Rosellini could not resist, faced with the beauty but also the risk of seeing them amputated or destroyed, to have two painted bas-reliefs detached from the embrasures of a corridor door, which would be shared, upon their return, by the Louvre (B7/N124) and Florence (inv. no. 2468) museums. These panels, of extraordinary finesse, represent the king standing in the company of the goddess Hathor,” specifies Christian Leblanc in his “Regards croisés sur la civilisation égyptienne”. In her “Champollion”, Karine Madrigal recalls that: “To justify this act, Champollion explains to his friend Dubois that he ‘dared, in the interest of art, to carry a profane saw into the coolest of all the royal tombs of Thebes'”…
Jean-François Champollion, “The Younger,” decipherer of hieroglyphs, founder of Egyptology (Figeac, December 23, 1790 – Paris, March 4, 1832) Portrait depicting him in Egyptian dress, painted by Salvatore Cherubini in Medinet Habu, July 1829 Acquired by the Champollion Museum in Vif in June 2022
This is how this bas-relief will take the “path” to France. Jean-François Champollion will personally oversee its transport and loading in Alexandria. “On November 8, the twenty or so crates of antiquities and the sarcophagus intended for the Charles X Museum were placed in a safe place in the holds of the Astrolabe” (Alain Faure, “Le savant déchiffré”). Under the command of Verninac de Saint Maur, the corvette left the port on December 6, 1829, to sail towards the French coast. It docked in Toulon on December 23. The corvette transported the precious objects to Le Havre, where a barge finally took them to the great Parisian museum via the Seine.
Relief of Seti I and Hathor https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010009693 Jean-François Champollion, Monuments of Egypt and Nubia: plates / based on drawings executed on site under the direction of Champollion the Younger, and the handwritten descriptions he wrote, published under the auspices of Mr Guizot and Mr Thiers, Ministers of Public Instruction and the Interior, by a special commission composed of Messrs. Silvestre de Sacy, Letronne, Biot, Champollion-Figeac, Paris, Didot, 1845, plate 251 Champollion the Younger, Letters Written from Egypt and Nubia in 1828 and 1829, Publisher Didier, Paris, 1868 http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k103771z/f345.item.r=septembre%201829.texteImage Jacques Vandier, Summary Guide to the Louvre Museum, The Department of Egyptian Antiquities, Éditions des Musées Nationaux, Paris, 1961, p. 20 Bertha Porter, Rosalind L.B. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, 1.2, The Theban Necropolis. Royal Tombs and Smaller Cemeteries, Oxford, At the Clarendon Press, 1964, p. 539 http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm1-2.pdf Giovanni Battista Belzoni, Journey to Egypt and Nubia, Pygmalion, 1979 Jean Lacouture, Champollion, A Life of Enlightenment, Grasset, 1988 Jean-Jacques Fiechter, Harvest of the Gods, Julliard, 1994 Guillemette Andreu, Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya, Christiane Ziegler, Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, Louvre Museum, Hachette, Paris, 1997, p. 137-140 Guillemette Andreu, Patricia Rigault, Claude Traunecker, The ABCs of Ancient Egypt, Paris, Flammarion, 1999, p. 51 Christiane Ziegler, Sophie Labbé-Toutée, Pharaoh, Exhibition Catalogue, Paris, Arab World Institute, 15-10-2004 – 10-4-2005, Paris, Flammarion, 2004, p. 261 Alain Faure, Champollion, the Scholar Deciphered, Fayard, 2004 Christiane Ziegler, Jean-Luc Bovot, Small Manuals from the École du Louvre, Art and Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, École du Louvre, Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais, 2011, p. 227 Sylvie Guichard, Jean-François Champollion, Descriptive Notice of the Egyptian Monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Louvre Editions – Editions Khéops, Paris, 2013, p. 51 Christian Leblanc, Crossed Perspectives on Egyptian Civilization, Selected Pages of Archaeology and History, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2024 https://www.editions-harmattan.fr/catalogue/livre/regards-croises-sur-la-civilisation-egyptienne/76432 Karine Madrigal, Champollion, Ellipses, 2024 Theban Mapping Project – KV 17 – Sety I https://thebanmappingproject.com/tombs/kv-17-sety-i
I’m still grappling with the issues surrounding Organa Urinaria! Therefore, alongside sending my best regards, I am sharing this brief contribution, which includes two insightful quotes from Master Carl Jung. Make it better!🤗💖
“Individuation means becoming a ‘single, homogenous being, and in so far as ‘individuality’ embraces our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness, it “also implies becoming one’s own self. We could, therefore, translate individuation as ‘coming to selfhood’ or ‘self-realization.’ (Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, CW 7, p. 171)
“One could say, with a little exaggeration, that the persona is that which in reality one is not but which oneself as well as others think one is” (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, CW 9, pp. 122)
Image credit: world abstract Surrealism, wall art, original art by Jeramondo Djeriandi, Jg (@djeriandi)
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