Jung, Jungian Psychology, and The Dark Night

I am not a psychologist nor am I a psychiatrist, I am however an Astrologer that understands and inherently appreciates the human condition. Many of my colleagues are however psychologists, and that they somehow feel the need to try and mold their psychological strictures into Astrological ones baffles me. This is of course a game that has been played by mankind throughout history. It is a matter of the ego, not the one that is so loosely used in both professional and layman circles but the one that is the executive of the personality.

It was Freud who laid out the structure of the psychic energy distributions of the personality known as the i.d., the ego, and the super-ego; in that order. However it was Jung that stood head and shoulders above his mentor and teacher Dr. Freud, and other psychoanalysts of the early 20th century. Eventually it was the student that surpassed the master, and the welcomed one that we might imagine in a Hollywood movie. Some things never change when it comes to pride and ego.

Dr Carl Gustav Jung felt embarrassed by the 'isms', or "coined" words attributed him. Dr Jung did not want to be remembered for what even today is thought to be superior to the rest of psychoanalysis, or what is now called "Jungian Psychology." He did not want attributed him the phrase "Jungianism." In fact Dr Jung did not want anybody to be a "Jungian." Dr. Jung stated that "I want people above all to be themselves." Jung also stated, "Should I be found one day only to have created another 'ism' then I will have failed in all I tried to do."

There seemingly are not enough people out in the world today that can appreciate this point of view. It was the "work" of healing broken minds and bodies that captivated and drove Dr. Jung forward, and forward he moved until the end of his life. Upon finding out that ultimately he was indeed decorated with 'isms' and the "coining" of words that he is known for today must have been a dark night of the soul for him. Rather than the influence in treatment of the fragmented minds that he attended, Dr. Jung left the world as he entered it....... alone.

There have been many men and women that suffered this same indignation when it was found that they are, or will be, remembered more for what they considered less in their life's work than what they considered was "more." So, is it the ego that runs roughshod over the works of entire lives, or is it the perspective in which they will be remembered? In a sense this happens to us all whether it be through the eyes of our children or the collective memories of our communities. For better or for worse we have no real control over our legacies, that is left for those that remember us.

Perhaps Dr. Freud felt that his own accomplishments would be overshadowed by Dr. Jung, this young upstart psychiatrist who so boldly introduced himself to the recalcitrant Freud. Either way, it is clear to many that Freud died a very unhappy man even though he was thought of as Demigod during most of his lifetime. While Dr. Jung did not not want such a trivial distraction bestowed upon him. I suppose the ego will not allow any of us the satisfaction of believing what it is we would like others to remember us by on a personal level.

However it is or whatever it is, our lives and our jobs, whether raising a family or running Wall Street, it should always be well done and with the best of intentions. For this then can never be taken away from us.