The Astrological World of Jung’s 'Liber Novus'

Book excerpt: C. G. Jung’s The Red Book: Liber Novus, published posthumously in 2009, explores Jung’s own journey from an inner state of alienation and depression to the restoration of his soul, as well as offering a prophetic narrative of the collective human psyche as it journeys from unconsciousness to a greater awareness of its own inner dichotomy of good and evil. Jung utilised astrological symbols throughout to help him comprehend the personal as well as universal meanings of his visions. In The Astrological World of Jung’s Liber Novus, Liz Greene explores the planetary journey Jung portrayed in this remarkable work and investigates the ways in which he used astrological images and themes as an interpretive lens to help him understand the nature of his visions and the deeper psychological meaning behind them. Greene’s analysis includes a number of mythic and archetypal elements, including the stories of Salome, Siegfried and Elijah, and demonstrates that astrology, as Jung understood and worked with it, is unquestionably one of the most important foundation stones of analytical psychology, and an essential part of understanding his legacy. This unique study will appeal to analytical psychologists and Jungian psychotherapists, students and academics of Jungian and post-Jungian theory, the history of psychology, archetypal thought, mythology and folklore, the history of New Age movements, esotericism and psychological astrology.