C.G. Jung: “For those whom the mystery has faded…”

[Luna Arjuna]

I am not, however, addressing myself to the happy possessors of faith, but to those many people for whom the light has gone out, the mystery has faded, and God is dead.

C.G. Jung

Psychology and Religion: West and East

Paragraph 148

After the heart attack 20 years ago, a cardiac psychologist I consulted with suggested that, among other things, I needed to find a spiritual direction. I had no experiential idea of what she meant; I was raised in a family that gave lip service to Christianity, but not at a feeling or deep level. Among other things, the kneeling was painful, and I learned if I hid my shoes I could avoid church.

As much as anything working with stones has connected me most to matters of the spirit. There was no rational reason to spend twenty years moving stones that has resulted in the manifestation of the spiral labyrinth, yet some strong force beyond my conscious understanding directed me to do the necessary work.

About the image:

Painted by Jung around 1917-19. The celebrant holds a serpent in one hand, and a dove in the other, both apparently emitting fire. Above is the equal armed cross, encircled in serpent forms. To the right Philemon is represented holding the Septem Sermones, and to the left is Ka. (The Art of C. G. Jung, Cat. 54, p 126)