Carl G. Jung and the loving serpent

*note* Interesting article about the mysterious ring from Carl G. Jung's finger...quote" When asked about the ring on his finger during an interview, he said...

" It (the ring) is Egyptian. Here the serpent is carved, which symbolizes Christ. Above it, the face of a woman; below the number 8, which is the symbol of the Infinite, of the Labyrinth, and the Road to the Unconscious. I have changed one or two things on the ring so that the symbol will be Christian. All these symbols are absolutely alive within me, and each one of them creates a reaction within my soul."..

-added by Danny-

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World renowned Swiss born psychiatrist, Carl G. Jung (1875-1961), was one of the finest explorers of the ever mysterious human mind. He was a pioneer in the field of human psychology and an expert in interpreting the symbols that our subconscious brain uses when communicating with our higher, awakened consciousness. So remarkable was Jung’s insight into human psychology that his numerous books were translated in several languages and distributed around the world.

Carl Jung’s work introduced the world to the concepts of synchronicity and the three part psyche (ego, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious). Over the years, his books and articles have shared with us his deep understanding of aspects of human psychology and their relationships with spiritual nature.

According to Jung, the most fundamental symbols that our brain uses to communicate subconscious messages are known as Archetypes. Some of these primordial symbolic images are:

• the Ego (me, myself and I)

• the Anima-Animus (gender role playing)

• the Persona, (the image a person "acts out" or outwardly projects)

• the invitingly mysterious, yet inherently frightening, Shadow Self or veiled side of our Ego.

What this author finds most interesting about Carl Jung, the ’father of modern psychology,’ is that the serpent was one of the most important symbols that he ever discovered during his personal spiritual journey through life. To Jung, it was a reflection of the Omnipotent and Omnipresent power of "God" that lives within every human. In fact, the serpent was such an important image to him that, despite the social risks of bearing such a maligned and misunderstood symbol, he proudly displayed it on the ring that encircled his finger.

When asked about the ring on his finger during an interview, he said...

" It (the ring) is Egyptian. Here the serpent is carved, which symbolizes Christ. Above it, the face of a woman; below the number 8, which is the symbol of the Infinite, of the Labyrinth, and the Road to the Unconscious. I have changed one or two things on the ring so that the symbol will be Christian. All these symbols are absolutely alive within me, and each one of them creates a reaction within my soul."
C.G. Jung

from " Interviews and Encounters," W. McGuire and R. F. C. Hull p.468

Shamans around the world, by whatever cultural label they are called, have often spoken of how important the image of a serpent is in their worship of God and their visions of the "other side." Whether stirred from slumber by meditation or dreams, once this primordial living symbol within man is awakened, it can provoke extremely powerful emotional reactions of either paralytic fear or enduring fascination and love.

For many years, anthropologists have been puzzled as to why the serpent image was the most common symbol used by ancient man to represent the image of God. How is it that this wondrous creature came to play such a powerful role in human psychology and spirituality? Why did Carl Jung, Moses, the Freemasons, the Baptists and so many other groups of people throughout history looked upon the image of a serpent and, through handling the image without fear, represented it as a symbol of our our unquestioned love for God and our divine spirituality. Why are dreams of snakes, dragons, lizards or other reptilian animals seem so real and provocative at times?

The answer to these questions may be found in the fact that, according to evolutionary science, reptiles were at the root of a genetic matrix from which all land vertebrate life evolved. Millions of years of biological divergence from the trunk of the vertebrate "Tree of Life" resulted in a world full of back boned animals that, despite their dissimilar outward appearance, share the same parental lineage---an encoded past locked in their DNA. A code which we humans share with other land vertebrate life forms.

Considering the entire history of our human emergence into the animal world is forever recorded (repressed) deep within our genetic code, certain aspects of our ancient animal nature may lay dormant, just under the surface of our expression, ready to be drawn upon by accident or intentional focus.

By embracing the Gnostic (serpent symbolized) Christian faith, Carl Jung himself may have been intuitively drawing upon the very best of his own pre-human inheritance while searching for the source of the human soul. By spending untold thousands of hours studying tradition religions and symbolism, Jung just might have discovered why the Serpent / Dragon image was humanity’s most powerful psychological motivator; the spark that had the potential to illuminate the face of one’s own inner ID-Entity.

The ancient tenet of "Know Thyself," to "Seek the Kingdom of God within" and even the modern word "Insight" all point those on the spiritual path in the same direction: inwards. By recognizing or re-imagining ourselves as descendants of the ancient reptiles, we might be able to rekindle a relationship between who we are today and the animal we used to be, but have been conditioned to fear, namely the reptiles of the ancient past.

Could Carl Jung have realized through his studies that the ancient Hebrew, Egyptian, Aztec, Hopi and Far Eastern priest-kings (amongst others) either knowingly or unknowingly evolved snake symbolism so as to promote psychological and possibly psychical stimulation? Although we may never know for sure, the symbol of a serpent on Jung’s ring and his own comments as to their meaning in his life quite obviously touched something deep within him and spiritually propelled him along his journey though life.

Carl Jung rejected the traditional (old fashioned) interpretation of the serpent’s role in Christian religion and embraced it as a symbol of the power of Jesus within his soul. Could a man so educated in human psychology and religious symbolism, so respected throughout the world by millions of people, have been secretly entertaining evil in his heart? No, it’s much more than that. Jung found a secret that religious leaders and secret societies have withheld from the ’common man’ for far too long. His peaceful, patient nature, along with his courage to search beyond the borders of entrained perception, provided him a window through which he leaned the benefit and powerful side of our mysterious and provocative reptilian subconscious.

It is interesting to note that, according to the ancient Tibetan Book of the Dead, the darker side of one’s own nature (their "Shadow") sometimes reveals itself in the serpentine form in the afterlife. It becomes a form of mirror through which a person can encounter the feelings or thoughts they repressed when alive. In other words, the frightening serpentine forms we see in the afterlife, are not symbols of evil, as western tradition has conditioned us to believe, but they are symbol of all that we fear to see in ourselves.

Tibetan priests teach people who are about to die that, unless they act neutral or passive towards these reptilian forms in the afterlife, they will become engaged in conflict with something that can never be ignored or destroyed and they will forever be trapped in that particular stage of the afterlife.

"You will hate them! You will panic! You will faint! Your own visions having become devils, you will wander in the life cycle."
The Tibetan Book of the Dead

Translation: Robert Thurman, Bantam 1994. p162

If this psychological mirroring is true after death, then it might also apply to our "Dream life." So, if you or someone you know constantly dreams of dragons, snakes, lizards, or even Reptoids, it might be wise to follow this ancient Tibetan advice. Don’t fear these reptilian images, but rather recognize them, not as foreign or independent life forms, but as reflections of your own Self ID-Entity which must be embraced to reach total spiritual balance.

When our conscious mind shuts down during sleep, our subconscious reptilian ’R-Complex’ brain (which regulates respiration and heart rate) rules the darkness of our dreams. It could be that in some dreams we have, the most powerful, healing and loving archetypal symbol that Jung discovered occasionally stirs to life, emerges from the cave of our subconscious and acts as a stimulant to psychological and spiritual transformation.

There is no greater form of personal transformation than from a physical reality to a non-physical afterlife. In considering this remarkable journey in which we all will embark one day, two things come to this author’s mind:

First, the scientific fact that free energy in a vacuum never travels in a straight line. It always moves forward while oscillating as a waveform. This forward, oscillating motion results in an elongated spiral or vortex of energy. The ancients somehow intuited this knowledge and symbolized it as a serpent moving along the deep waters of space.

Secondly, numerous ancient cultures picture the "Tree of Life" as having serpents entwined around its trunk or at its roots. While the leaves reach out to receive the energy of the sun, the roots receive the nutrition of the soil and water. One cannot exist without the other. In life we often acknowledge the leaves, but ignore the roots of our existence.

So, as Carl Gustav Jung exhaled his final breath, his life energy was released from his physical form and he embarked on an even more fascinating journey than life. He ventured forth, at peace knowing that...

The image of the serpent has been corrupted by the will of man,
yet beyond the scope of his vision, it readies itself at his root,
preparing to return him to the Godhead upon his death.