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Shamanism and Jungian Archetypes

Being

Being
Hi.

I am curious about possible comparisons or even correlations between concepts in Shamanism and Jungian thought, especially archetypes and the collective unconscious. That is, could the Shamanic practice of working with spirits to achieve healing and reintegrating the soul be similar to Jungian ideas such as encountering or confronting archetypes in order to heal or free a person from "complexes." Could a Shamanic journey to healing and wholeness be similar to a Jungian type journey of self-discovery, and by extension, the Jungian Individuation process? Can dreamwork be viewed as a type of Shamanic journey (perhaps through several dreams, or over the course of a season in a person's life)?

I look forward to your replies about these ideas, and perhaps other comparisons relative to these.
If you reply, please quote me, so I receive an alert.

Thanks,
Being
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Hi.

I am curious about possible comparisons or even correlations between concepts in Shamanism and Jungian thought, especially archetypes and the collective unconscious. That is, could the Shamanic practice of working with spirits to achieve healing and reintegrating the soul be similar to Jungian ideas such as encountering or confronting archetypes in order to heal or free a person from "complexes." Could a Shamanic journey to healing and wholeness be similar to a Jungian type journey of self-discovery, and by extension, the Jungian Individuation process? Can dreamwork be viewed as a type of Shamanic journey (perhaps through several dreams, or over the course of a season in a person's life)?

I look forward to your replies about these ideas, and perhaps other comparisons relative to these.
If you reply, please quote me, so I receive an alert.

Thanks,
Being

I'm not familiar with Jungian specifically; but, I am looking more into Shamanism. Many people who maybe seen as Shamans use dream work to better help heal whomever they feel needs it. For example, in the grieving process, many people, depending on how close one is to the deceased, have dreams of them. I'm assuming if the Shaman had that similar connection with the person they are healing they can mirror that person's pain in the dream and learn from their dreams in how to heal that person.

I wish I knew more on the subject to give you more of an educated answer. People use dream work for a lot of things. I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually incorporated into Shaman practices or are part of Shaman practices, I should say.

Also, can you explain more about Jungian practices? Do you practices it?
 

Being

Being
I'm not familiar with Jungian specifically; but, I am looking more into Shamanism. Many people who maybe seen as Shamans use dream work to better help heal whomever they feel needs it. For example, in the grieving process, many people, depending on how close one is to the deceased, have dreams of them. I'm assuming if the Shaman had that similar connection with the person they are healing they can mirror that person's pain in the dream and learn from their dreams in how to heal that person.

I wish I knew more on the subject to give you more of an educated answer. People use dream work for a lot of things. I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually incorporated into Shaman practices or are part of Shaman practices, I should say.

Also, can you explain more about Jungian practices? Do you practices it?

Carlita,

Thanks for replying. I'll describe Jung's views a little bit, on these particular subjects. Also, here is the link to info about Carl Jung, in case you want to read further.

Carl Jung - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not very familiar with Shamanism, but I'm becoming more interested. My understanding is that Shamans use spiritual energy (some believe actual spirits) to help people recover from trauma or illness. And to reclaim and integrate fragments of the soul.

Jung used psychoanalysis to do the same type of therapy. He believed that dreams reveal truths about the psyche. He also believed in archetypes as aspects of the psyche. And "complexes" are dysfunctional conditions, resulting from unhealthy fixations on particular archetypes. I tend to see the encounters with archetypes as life tasks we must complete or resolve. (Sometimes we inherit complexes or "curses" for example.) I've used dream therapy for myself, for about 12 to 13 years.

Jung viewed the journey to psychic wholeness as the integration of the psyche (soul). He called this healing, wholeness, maturity the "individuation process." A person comes into a sense of authentic self. Psychoanalysis and Shamanism use different methods and terminology, but it seems to me they are doing the same work. And they both use dream therapy extensively.

Carlita, if you read more about Jung's ideas and psychoanalysis, and you see some similarities to Shamanism, I'd be interested to discuss them further. We can learn more from each other.

Thanks again!
Peace,
Being
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
You're welcome. Sure! I was thinking now that I am having a lot of dreams since my grandmother passed, to use these dreams in my rituals. I feel they are natural divination tools to help understand what our mind wants to focus on--in this case, how to heal ourselves. I think Shamans do use actual spirits (or Mediums, one of the two). I have a friend from the Philipines that says when says when she visits her country she notices in hospitals "doctors" don't just treat the physical pain of the person, they also treat the spiritual pain through folk healing techniques--probably similar to Jung.. but I don't think they all are dream methods.

"Jung used psychoanalysis to do the same type of therapy. He believed that dreams reveal truths about the psyche."

I actually agree with this. I have to get some things done but I will get a chance to read more things about Jungian. The only way we could really get a true comparison with his views and Shamanism is to talk with people who deal with that (which hopefully some are reading this) and can give a more direct interpretation.


Carlita,

Thanks for replying. I'll describe Jung's views a little bit, on these particular subjects. Also, here is the link to info about Carl Jung, in case you want to read further.

Carl Jung - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not very familiar with Shamanism, but I'm becoming more interested. My understanding is that Shamans use spiritual energy (some believe actual spirits) to help people recover from trauma or illness. And to reclaim and integrate fragments of the soul.

Jung used psychoanalysis to do the same type of therapy. He believed that dreams reveal truths about the psyche. He also believed in archetypes as aspects of the psyche. And "complexes" are dysfunctional conditions, resulting from unhealthy fixations on particular archetypes. I tend to see the encounters with archetypes as life tasks we must complete or resolve. (Sometimes we inherit complexes or "curses" for example.) I've used dream therapy for myself, for about 12 to 13 years.

Jung viewed the journey to psychic wholeness as the integration of the psyche (soul). He called this healing, wholeness, maturity the "individuation process." A person comes into a sense of authentic self. Psychoanalysis and Shamanism use different methods and terminology, but it seems to me they are doing the same work. And they both use dream therapy extensively.

Carlita, if you read more about Jung's ideas and psychoanalysis, and you see some similarities to Shamanism, I'd be interested to discuss them further. We can learn more from each other.

Thanks again!
Peace,
Being
 

Rick O'Shez

Irishman bouncing off walls
I am curious about possible comparisons or even correlations between concepts in Shamanism and Jungian thought, especially archetypes and the collective unconscious.

It's a long time since I studied Jung, but it could well be a fruitful avenue to explore. If I remember correctly, Jung wrote that he had observed a commonality of archetypes across different cultures, which lent weight to his theory of the collective unconscious.
 
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