Aion: Researches Into the Phenomenology of the Self

– Carl G. Jung

Aion: Researches Into the Phenomenology of the Self is one of Carl G. Jung’s major works. In this book he is concerned with the relationship between psychology, alchemy and religion. I find the ideas and concepts in Aion truly fascinating, but at the same time plenty frightening. I’m to say the least overwhelmed by this book, and still struggles to brigde the various source materials and to follow the thread of Jung’s thought. I’ve found both Dr Edward Edinger’s book on the Aion lectures from 1996 and Max Derrat’s Aion series on Youtube, very helpful in the process of understanding the materials in Aion.

Even though there is no secret that the book is beyond difficult to read, I highly recommend it – if you are concerned with the relationship between psychology, alchemy and religion. In other words, if you want to understand more of the profound, unconscious parts of yourself and the world.

An excerpt from the book:

“– The alchemists strove for a total union of opposites in symbolic form, and this they regarded as the indispensable condition for the healing of all ills. Hence they sought to find ways and means to produce that substance in which all opposites were united. – “

In the book, Aion, Jung explores how Christianity came about when it did, and the identification of the figure of Christ with the archetype of the Self. The problem of opposites, or the unity of opposites, is a recurring tema in many of Jung’s books, and Aion is no different. Here, he dwells into the problem of opposites, particularly good and evil – and examines the opposites in different symbolism, both in alchemy and religion. As a study of the archetype of the self, Aion complements another book I highly recommend from Jung: The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.

Read. Reflect. Repeat.

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