THE RELEVANCE OF MYTHOLOGY IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY - Diane Finiello Zervas and Gill Kind

Mythology fascinated Jung from an early age. It became an important subject as he became interested in psychoanalysis, one of the means by which the psyche could be explored. Jung used myth extensively in Symbols and Transformations of the Libido. He discovered his own myth during his confrontation with the unconscious, which became Liber Novus and The Red Book.

For Jung mythology remains a driving force in the psyche that harnesses the energy of the Collective Unconscious and makes it available to Consciousness. It can be used clinically to help individuals to cope with life transitions and crises as well as their psychological illnesses.

‘The gods have become diseases. Zeus no longer rules Olympus, but rather the solar plexus and produces curious specimens for the doctor's consulting-room or disorders the brains of politicians and journalists who unwittingly let loose psychic epidemics upon the world. ' C. G. Jung, CW13, §54