The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals: Lectures Given at the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich 1954-1958

In The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals Barbara Hannah a student and a close friend of C.G. Jung presents lectures on the symbolic meaning of several domestic and wild animals. According to Jung the animal is sublime and in fact represents the divine side of the human psyche. He believed that animals live much more in contact with a secret order in nature itself and--far more than human beings--live in close contact with absolute knowledge of the unconscious. In contrast to humankind the animal is the living being that follows its own inner laws beyond good and evil--and is in this sense superior.Hannahs previously published lectures were on the cat dog and horse. These lectures add material on the serpent the lion the cow and the bull illustrating how in the light of consciousness the archetypal images of animals can be positive and helpful. Here Hannah shows how our animal nature can become the psychic source of renewal and natural wholeness.The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals is volume 2 in the Polarities of the Psyche series edited by Emmanuel Kennedy-Xypolitas. This series focuses on the broad theme of the opposites in the psyche. In 2004 Chiron published the first volume Lectures on Jungs Aion by Barbara Hannah and Marie-Louise von Franz. The next volume planned is Barbara Hannahs Animus: The Spirit of Inner Truth in Women.This volume and its companions in the series are invaluable resources for a deeper understanding of Jungs ideas on archetypes in the human psyche.Barbara Hannah (1891-1986) was born in England. She went to ZUrich in 1929 to study with Carl Jung and lived in Switzerland the rest of her life. A close associate of Jung until his death she was a practicing psychotherapist and lecturer at the C.G. Jung Institute. Her books available from Chiron include The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals; Encounters with the Soul; Jung His Life and Work: A Biographical Memoir; and Striving Toward Wholeness.