C.G. Jung Society, Seattle C.G. Jung Society, SeattleLecture: Friday, October 26, 7 to 9 p.m.
Antioch University, Room 100, 2326 Sixth Ave., Seattle (Directions)
$15 members, $25 nonmembers
Cosponsor: Antioch University, Seattle
2 CEUs
Workshop: Saturday, October 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Room 202, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle
$50 members, $60 nonmembers
Cosponsor: Antioch University, Seattle
5 CEUs
To learn about preregistering for the workshop, see Preregistration Policy and Form.
Jung began to examine astrology as early as 1911, when he mentioned
his inquiries in a letter to Freud. (“My evenings are taken up very
largely with astrology. I make horoscopic calculations
in order to
find a clue to the core of psychological truth. Some remarkable
things have turned up. . . .”)
That interest gradually developed into a major focus of investigation, and in his later years
Jung devoted himself with considerable passion to astrological research. “Astrology,” he
stated, “represents the sum of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity.” Insights from
these studies influenced many of his most significant theoretical formulations in the final,
extraordinarily fruitful phase of his life’s work, including archetypal theory, synchronicity,
and the philosophy of history. Since his death, reports from his family and others close to him
have revealed that in his last decades Jung came to employ the analysis of birth charts and
transits as a regular and integral aspect of his clinical work with patients.
Yet astrology runs so directly counter to the long-established cosmology that encompasses the modern world view that one can well appreciate Jung’s reluctance to make more public the extent of his use of astrology; he had already pushed the envelope about as far as possible. For the same reason we can understand the resistance of many Jungian analysts to further exploration of the astrological direction their founder had pursued.
However, recently published research by Richard Tarnas, Stanislav Grof, and others gives new support for Jung’s intuition of the value of astrology and of the trans-psychic (or “psychoid”) nature of the archetypes. These observations suggest the existence of an extraordinarily consistent synchronistic correspondence between planetary movements and the archetypal patterns of human experience, reflecting something like a cosmic anima mundi in which the human being participates.
In Friday evening’s lecture, Richard Tarnas will summarize the nature of this evidence, discuss the new light it sheds on the human psyche and the unfolding drama of history, and explore the implications it holds for Jungian psychology. Saturday will be devoted to a more in-depth survey of the observed archetypal correlations, the relevant principles of astrological analysis, and the new horizon of possibility this perspective opens up for facilitating both individuation and collective self-awareness.
Richard Tarnas is professor of philosophy and psychology at
the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he founded its
graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness.
He also teaches on the faculty of the Pacifica Graduate Institute.
In 1991 Richard Tarnas published The Passion of the Western
Mind, regarded by many scholars such as Joseph Campbell and
Huston Smith as one of the finest histories of Western thought
ever written. This work serves as a preparatory foundation for a
second book containing a more revolutionary perspective. Cosmos
and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View challenges the basic
assumptions of the modern world view and points towards a new
understanding of the human role in an ensouled cosmos. Based
on thirty years of research, this book presents evidence that
suggests the existence of a systematic correspondence between
planetary movements and the archetypal patterns of human experience. Cosmos and Psyche:
Intimations of a New World View won the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and
Medical Network in England.
This program has been approved for 7 CEU’s by the Washington Chapter, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists and Licensed Mental Health Counselors. Provider number is #1975-157. The cost to receive a certificate is as follows: 7.0 units for lecture and workshop $15; 2.0 units for the Friday lecture $10; 5.0 units for the Saturday workshop $10.
Updated: 13 October, 2007
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