The Archetypal Drama of the Western Self Richard Tarnas |
| "We are living in what the Greeks called the kairos - the right moment - for a 'metamorphosis of the gods,' of the fundamental principles and symbols. . . . So much is at stake and so much depends on the psychological constitution of the modern human." C. G. Jung In the history of Western thought, the mythic and archetypal understanding of reality has undergone a series of dramatic shifts - from its luminous origins in the ancient mythological imagination and the Platonic tradition, through its eclipse by the modern mind, to its recovery by Jung and depth psychology in the twentieth century. The narrative of that evolution not only illuminates the developing character of the Western self, it holds great significance for the future of our planet. We are only beginning to recognize how much depends on the fate of myth in Western civilization, and on making conscious the powerful archetypal forces that impel the modern self in its activities on the world stage. |