“Death as Transformation: Carl Gustav Jung’s View on Mortality on His 65th Anniversary’

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Today, I need to write a second post to celebrate Carl Jung’s sixty-fifth anniversary, and I just couldn’t let it pass!
Carl Jung viewed death as a meaningful transition, emphasising its psychological significance in the acceptance of mortality. He saw it not merely as an end but as a vital part of the individuation process and a profound mystery inviting reflection, highlighting its spiritual dimension.

Jung believed that humans inherently recognise their mortality, which profoundly shapes the unconscious mind. He suggested that our perspectives on death shape our fears, values, creativity, and sense of purpose. Denying or repressing death can lead to psychological difficulties, whereas accepting it fosters growth and wisdom. Jung viewed death not only as a physical event but also as symbolic. Drawing on myth and religion, he noted that many cultures regard death as a transition to another state. These archetypal images reflect the collective unconscious. He believed that, like birth, death can be a form of transformation—a return to the greater whole from which life originates.
In his later works, Jung emphasised the importance of mentally and spiritually preparing for death. He encouraged individuals to confront their mortality openly and reflectively, believing this approach could foster a deeper, more meaningful existence. Jung’s perspective on death was neither overly pessimistic nor escapist; instead, he regarded it as a profound mystery and a crucial part of human life, encouraging contemplation and acceptance.

Here is a letter Jug wrote to an unknown woman during his final days, in response to her question about how he expressed his thoughts on death. I am sharing this letter with you, sourced from a post by my friend Lewis Lafontaine, with many thanks.

Carl Jung on Life after Death

Letters of C. G. Jung: Volume 2, 1951-1961

Dear Frau N., 30 May 1960

My old age and the need for rest make me fight shy of too many visitors, so I have to confine myself as far as possible to written answers.
I can answer your question about life after death just as well by letter as by word of mouth.
Actually, this question exceeds the capacity of the human mind, which cannot assert anything beyond itself.
Furthermore, all scientific statements are merely probable.
So we can only ask: Is there a probability of life after death?
The point is that, like all our concepts, time and space are not axiomatic but are statistical truths.
This is proved by the fact that the psyche does not fit entirely into these categories.
It is capable of telepathic and precognitive perceptions.
To that extent, it exists in a continuum outside time and space.
We may therefore expect post-mortem phenomena to occur, which must be regarded as authentic.
Nothing can be ascertained about existence outside time.
The comparative rarity of such phenomena suggests at all events that the forms of existence inside and outside time are so sharply divided that crossing this boundary presents the greatest difficulties.
But this does not exclude the possibility that there is an existence outside time which runs parallel with existence inside time.
Yes, we ourselves may simultaneously exist in both worlds, and occasionally we do have intimations of a twofold existence.
But what is outside time is, according to our understanding, outside change.
It possesses relative eternity.
Perhaps you know my essay “The Soul and Death .”
For its scientific foundation, I would draw your attention to my “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle,” in Jung and Pauli, The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche. Psychology.
These are my essential thoughts, and I would not express them otherwise in a talk with you.

Yours sincerely,

C.G. Jung ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 561.

Via Carl Jung Depth Psychology

How We Can Welcome Death!

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“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.