• Title/Summary/Keyword: Psychic transformation

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Transference and Individuation Process in 'Rosarium Philosophorum' ('현자의 장미원'에 나타난 전이와 개성화 과정)

  • Sang Ick Lee
    • Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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    • v.33 no.2
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    • pp.99-140
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    • 2018
  • After a careful review on the concept of transference from the perspective of analytical psychology with Jung's view in the center, the author had proposed that an interpretation for the whole series of 'Rosarium Philosophorum' including its posterior part to which Jung didn't refer in 'The Psychology of The Transference' be carried out for the genuine understanding of transference. The symbolic meaning of the twenty woodcuts' pictures in 'Rosarium Philosophorum' could be interpreted as the alchemical stages of blackening, whitening, yellowing, reddening and etc. The transformation through each stage could be associated with the process of psychotherapy as well as individuation process and the meaning of transference could be elucidated as a kind of initiating process for the individuation process. The eastern traditional thoughts on psychic transformation and human development were also compared. The individuation process would be coexistent with the development of human relationship including the therapeutic relationship and the concept of human (人 and 人間) in the eastern traditional thoughts would have many meaningful implications for further studies.

Iconological analysis on imaginary animals in traditional culture - Focused on four auspicious animals(四靈獸) in Korean folk paintings - (전통문화에 수용된 상상 동물의 도상해석학적 분석 - 사령수(四靈獸) 민화를 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Ji Young
    • The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.130-144
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    • 2017
  • The purpose of this study is to apply iconology to discover the symbolic system of imaginary animals focused on four representative auspicious animals in Korean folk paintings. Study methods included literature review of folk paintings, iconological analytics books, and articles. A total of 16 folk paintings of four auspicious animals in the Joseon Dynasty were analyzed using Panofsky's iconology. The four auspicious animals were Yong(dragon), Bonghwang(the eastern version of the phoenix), Shingoo (divine turtle), and Kirin(one-horned combination of a dragon and horse). According to iconological analysis, Yong is a typical symbol of royal authority, a deity of water as an object of respect with a remarkable talent of transformation, and in iconographical interpretation, represents reverence for transcendent power. Bonhwang is the symbol of a king, sun worship, the emblem of nobility and integrity, and in iconographical interpretation, the psychic bing in the sky. Shingoo is fortune prophecy, longevity and immortality, an envoy of deity, and according to iconographical interpretation, the organic view of the world. Kirin is a divine benign creature, a symbol of talent and honor, mediator between sky and earth, and in iconographical interpretation, an expression of Confucian ideology. This study produced three results. First, the four auspicious animals projected the human hope to overcome human limitations through divine creatures with mythical abilities. Second, they reflected everyday common hopes and values of pursuing fortunes and happiness. Third, the four auspicious animals' iconology was not independent of each other; it seemed to be common to and combined with each other.

A Perspective of Analytical Psychology on 'Yeondo', a Prayer for Souls in Purgatory of Korean Catholic Church (한국 천주교 '연도(煉禱)'의 분석심리학적 고찰)

  • Chun Ja Yeo
    • Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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    • v.31 no.1
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    • pp.1-40
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    • 2016
  • This thesis is a study on the symbolism of 'Yeondo', a prayer for the souls in purgatory of Korean Catholic Church as a 'psychic container' for the spiritual transformation in the psyche from a perspective of analytical psychology. Yeondo' could be the 'rites of passage' of the last judgement for the souls in purgatory which is in between the heaven and the hell. And both the bereaved and the dead go through the stages of separation, transition and incorporation which are the schema of the 'rites of passage'. In particular, they have a special sense of solidarity at the stage of transition, a middle state. The symbolic process of 'Yeondo' is a spiritual transformation of recovery of paradise which could access by the confusion of death, purification and the rebirth. A spiritual reborn process of death and rebirth takes place by contacting the collective unconscious. In 'Yeondo', the death is not the end of life but the beginning of the eternal life. The confusion and disintegration caused by death can be purified and start incorporating. The rites of a paradise recovery has the meaning of trying constantly for the recovery of a wholeness. Praying for the blessing of God and a help from saints in paradise for the sake of the dead means to require conscious cooperation for the Self-realization. Integrating and recognizing unconscious also means something beyond the conscious. The blessed souls in purgatory recovers the paradise experiencing specific purifying process heading towards Self. Going into the center, abyss of unconscious will be recognized as an absolute part of oneself. One becomes the inner man, the transformed personality who is reached by the path of self-knowledge, the kingdom of heaven within oneself and can have the transpersonal energy, which enables to access to God's world and union with God. All desire and the will become one with God. In the final analysis, praying for the blessing of God and a help from saints in paradise for the sake of the dead becomes the path for the more and more conscious expansion of the alive. Therefore, 'Yeondo' as an initiation is the individuation process of the alive and the dead to reflect on themselves.

An Interpretation of the Fairy Tale "The King's Ass's Ear's" From the Perspective of Analytical Psychology (민담 <임금님 귀는 당나귀 귀>의 분석심리학적 이해)

  • Seungsub Lee
    • Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.161-200
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    • 2023
  • The fairy tale 'The King's Ass's Ears' is a simple story about a king and a barber. The king's 'Ass's ears' is discovered by the barber, who becomes sick due to his inability to reveal the secret. He eventually confesses the secret in a deep pit and covers it with soil, but a reed grows in that spot and reveals the secret when it sways in the wind. This fairy tale is registered in Stith Thompson's narrative type AT 782 as 'King Midas and His Ass's Ears', corresponding to a well-known story of King Gyeongmun in Korea, as it is published in elementary textbooks. When something becomes conscious, its automatic mechanical tendency leads to obsolete and rigid. To avoid rigidity in our conscious life, we need continuous renewal via contact with the flow of mental events in our unconscious. From the aspect of analytical psychology, the King's 'Ass's ears' enables irrational contact with the fundamental emotions lost in the flow of life. The barber symbolizes spiritual transformation, and the reed swaying in the wind symbolizes the revelation of secretive knowledge associated with the divine. The king can hear the sound of all creation and become one with it, which was the will of the divine. The Self, as the psychic totality of an individual and paradoxically also represents the regulating center of the collective unconscious, continually seeks to merge and transform with the lost primal layer of humanity, which has now become distant and discarded due to the development of human consciousness.

An Interpretation of the Korean Fairy-Tale "Borrowed Fortune From Heaven" From the Perspective of Analytical Psychology (한국민담 <하늘에서 빌려온 복>에 대한 분석심리학적 이해)

  • Kihong Baek
    • Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.112-160
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    • 2023
  • This study examined the Korean folklore "Borrowed Fortune from Heaven" from the perspective of Analytical Psychology, considering it a manifestation of the human psyche, and tried to gain a deeper understanding of what happens in our mind. Through the exploration, the researcher was able to re-identify the ongoing psychological process operating in the depths of our mind, pertaining to the emergence of a new dimension of consciousness. Particularly the researcher was able to gain some insights into how the potential psychic elements for the new consciousness are prepared in the unconscious, how they get integrated into the conscious life, and what is essential for the accomplishment of the process. The tale begins with a poor woodcutter who, in order to escape from poverty, starts gathering twice as much firewood. However, the newly acquired amount disappears overnight, so the woodcutter gets perplexed and curious about where it goes and who is taking it. He seeks to find out the truth, which leads him to an unexpected journey to Heaven. There he learns the truth concerning his very tiny amount of fortune, and discovers another big fortune for an unborn person. By pleading with the ruler of Heaven, the woodcutter borrows that grand fortune, on the condition that he must return it to the owner when the time comes. After that, the woodcutter's life undergoes a series of changes, in which he finally becomes a wealthy farmer, but gradually is reminded more and more that the destined time is approaching. In the end, the fortune is completely transferred to the original owner, resulting in a dramatic twist and the creation of a new life circumstances. The overall plot can be understood as a reflection of the psychological process aiming at the evolution of consciousness through renewal. In this context, the woodcutter can be considered a psychic element that undergoes a continuous transformation in preparation for participating in the upcoming new consciousness. In other words, the changes brought about by this figure can be interpreted as a gradual and increasingly detailed foreshadowing of what the forthcoming new consciousness would be like. Interestingly, as the destined time approaches, the protagonist's anguish in conflict reaches its climax, despite his good performance in his role until then. This effectively portrays the difficulty of achieving a new dimension of consciousness, which requires moving past the last step. All the events in the story ultimately converge at this point. After all, the resolution occurs when the protagonist lets go of everything he has and follows the will of Heaven. This implies what is essential for the renewal of consciousness. Only by completely complying with the entire mind, the potential constituents of the new consciousness that should play important roles in a renewal and evolution of consciousness through experiencing, can participate in the ultimate outcome. As long as they remain trapped in any intermediate stage, the totality of the psyche would develop another detour aiming at the final destination, which means the beginning of another period of suffering carrying a purposeful meaning. The tale suggests that this truth will be applied everywhere that renewal of consciousness is directed, whether for an individual or a society.

An Interpretation of the Folktale 'the Servant Who Ruined the Master's House' from the Perspective of Analytical Psychology: Centering on the Trickster Archetype (민담 '주인집을 망하게 한 하인'의 분석심리학적 이해: 트릭스터 원형을 중심으로)

  • Myoungsun Roh
    • Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.184-254
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    • 2022
  • Through this thesis, the psychological meaning of the Korean folktale 'the servant who ruined the master's house' was examined. The opposition between the master and the servant is a universal matter of the human psychology. It can be seen as a conflict between the hardened existing collective consciousness and the new consciousness to compensate for and renew it. From different angles, it has become the opposition between man's spiritual and instinctive aspects, between the conscious and the unconscious, or between the ego and the shadow. In the folktale, the master tries several times to get rid of the youngest servant, but the servant uses tricks and wits to steal food, a horse, the youngest sister, and all money from the master, and finally, take his life. It ends with the marriage of the youngest sister and the servant. Enantiodromia, in which the master dies, and the servant becomes the new master, can be seen that the old collective consciousness is destroyed, and the new consciousness that has risen from the collective unconscious takes the dominant position. In an individual's psychological situation, it can be seen that the existing attitude of the ego is dissolved and transformed into a new attitude. In the middle of the story, the servant marries the youngest sister by exploiting naive people to rewrite the back letter written by the master to kill him. This aspect can be understood negatively in the moral concept of collective consciousness, but it can also be seen as a process of integrating mental elements that have been ignored in the collective consciousness of the Joseon Dynasty, symbolized by a woman, a honey seller, and a hungry Buddhist monk. The new consciousness, represented by the servant, has the characteristics of a trickster that is not bound by the existing frame, so it can encompass the psychological elements that have been ignored in the collective consciousness. Such element may represent compensation or an alternative to the collective consciousness in the late Joseon Dynasty. The master puts the servant in a leather bag and hangs it on a tree to kill the servant. However, the servant deceives a blind man; he opened his eyes while hanged. Instead of the servant, the blind man dies, and the servant is freed. As the problem of the conflict between master and servant is finally entrusted to the whole spirit (Self) symbolized by a tree, the blind man gets removed. It can be understood as an intention of the Self to distinguish and purify the elements of recklessness, stupidity, and greed included in the trickster. Through these processes, the servant, which symbolizes a new change in collective consciousness or a new attitude of ego, solves the existing problems and takes the place of the master. While listening to the cunning servant's performance, the audience feels a sense of joy and liberation. At the same time, in the part where the blind man and the master's family die instead and the servant becomes the master, they experience feelings of fear and concern about the danger and uncontrollability of the servant. The tricksters appearing in foreign analogies are also thoroughly selfish and make innocent beings deceive or die in order to satisfy their desires and escape from danger. Efforts to punish or reform these tricksters are futile and they run away. Therefore, this folktale can also be seen as having a purpose and meaning to let us know that this archetypal shadow is very dangerous and that consciousness cannot control or assimilate it, but only awe and contemplate it. Trickster is an irrational manifestation of revivifying natural energy that rises from the unconscious as a compensation for hardened existing structure and order. The phenomenon may be destructive and immoral from the standpoint of the existing collective mind, but it should be seen as a function of the collective unconscious, a more fundamental psychic function that cannot be morally defined. The servant, a figure of the trickster archetype, is a being that brings transformation and has the duality and contradiction of destructiveness and creativity. The endings of this folktale's analogies are diverse, reflecting the diversified response of the audience's mind due to the ambivalence of the trickster, and also suggesting various responses toward the problem of the trickster from the unconscious. It also shows that the trickster is a problem of inconclusive and controversial contradictions that cannot be controlled with a conscious rational attitude, and that we can only seriously contemplate the trickster archetype within us.