In 1944, C. G. Jung experienced a series of visions which he later described as "the most tremendous things I have ever experienced." Central to these visions was the "mystic marriage as it appears in the Kabbalistic tradition", and Jung’s experience of himself as "Rabbi Simon ben Jochai," the presumed author of the sacred Kabbalistic text, the Zohar. Kabbalistic Visions explores Jung’s 1944 Kabbalistic visions, the impact of Jewish mysticism on Jungian psychology, Jung’s archetypal interpretation of Kabbalistic symbolism, and his claim late in life that a Hasidic rabbi, the Maggid of Mezhirech, anticipated his entire psychology. This book places Jung’s encounter with the Kabbalah in the context of the earlier visions and meditations of his Red Book, his abiding interests in Gnosticism and alchemy, and what many regard to be his Anti-Semitism and flirtation with National Socialism. Kabbalistic Visions is the first full-length study of Jung and Jewish mysticism in any language and the first book to present a comprehensive Jungian/archetypal interpretation of Kabbalistic symbolism.
Preface
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: Kabbalah and Depth Psychology
CHAPTER 2: Kabbalah and Alchemy
CHAPTER 3: The Wedding and Eros Symbolism
CHAPTER 4: The Coincidence of Opposites in the Kabbalah and Jungian Psychology
CHAPTER 5: The "Shadow" and the "Other Side"
CHAPTER 6: Adam Kadmon and the Sefirot
CHAPTER 7: Fragmentation and Restoration
CHAPTER 8: The Raising of the Sparks
CHAPTER 9: Kabbalah and the Development of the Psyche
CHAPTER 10: Carl Jung, Anti-Semitism, and National Socialism
CHAPTER 11: Jung’s Kabbalistic Visions
CHAPTER 12: Philosophical and Theological Issues
Appendix
Notes
Index
Biography
Sanford L. Drob, PhD, teaches at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA, and the C.G. Jung Institute in New York. His most recent book is Archetype of the Absolute: The Unity of Opposites in Mysticism, Philosophy and Psychology. He is a visual artist whose paintings on archetypal themes can be viewed at www.sanforddrobart.com.
"Sanford Drob’s book is a scholarly and provocative analysis of Jung’s "lingering shadows," the extent to which Jung’s dark and unresolved personal complexes about Judaism affected his psychology. Drob’s analysis of Jung’s late-life Kabbalistic visions finds Jung to be in the midst of a reparative and transformative process that surprisingly links him to a long line of Jewish mystical thinkers. In this important, far-reaching, and well-researched work, Drob re-visions our understanding of Jung and his psychology, including an analysis of the intimate interplay of the archetypal images shared by alchemy and the Kabbalah. I am certain that its publication will ignite continuing dialogue and debate."- Stanton Marlan, PhD, Jungian Analyst
"At last! An in-depth, thoughtful, book bridging the worlds of Kabbalah and Depth Pyschology. Sanford Drob has provided us with a clearly defined understanding of the archetypal patterns linking Kabbalah and the psychology of C.G. Jung (and Freud) - from the world of Alchemy to the amplification of Symbols. Dr. Drob shows he is equally at ease in both worlds- not an easy task- and has provided us with an indispensable new source for appreciating the connection between the world of the Kabbalah and that of Analytical Psychology." - Aryeh Maidenbaum, PhD, Director, NY Center for Jungian Studies
"...Jung finds his greatest closure in the Kabbalah, the last deep harbor of his odyssey...Sanford Drob’s masterful presentation of the intricacies of the Kabbalah allows Jungians to understand at last the ramifications of Jung’s crucial metanoia." - Jung Journal
