Grounded in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages, alchemy formed a bridge: on the one hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.
Carl JungRead
Dreams are symbolic in order that they cannot be understood; in order that the wish, which is the source of the dream, may remain unknown.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dreams often conceal our true desires, making them difficult to interpret.
Carl Jung suggests that dreams serve as a representation of our deeper wishes and desires, but their symbolic nature keeps these wishes obscured from our consciousness. This implies that understanding our dreams requires us to delve into the complexities of our subconscious mind, where our true motivations and feelings reside, often hidden beneath layers of symbolism.
Themes
DreamsSubconsciousSymbolismWishesDesires
In practice
Example use cases
In a therapy session to explore the meaning of dreams.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes βThe majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
Carl JungRead
Complexes are psychic contents which are outside the control of the conscious mind. They have been split off from consciousness and lead a separate existence in the unconscious, being at all times ready to hinder or to reinforce the conscious intentions.
Carl JungRead
We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
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From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any aesthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex.
Carl JungRead
I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
Carl JungRead
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What is better adapted than the festive use of wine in the first place to test and in the second place to train the character of a man, if care be taken in the use of it? What is there cheaper or more innocent?
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No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.
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Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering and self-mastery.
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