b2917017   
   XPost: alt.magick, alt.traditional.witchcraft, alt.witchcraft   
   XPost: alt.pagan.magick, alt.psychology.jung   
   From: dalton@nfld.com   
      
   On Aug 27, 2024, Mina wrote   
   (in article ):   
      
   > Lately I've been intrigued at the connection between Witchcraft/Magick   
   > and Jungian shadow work, which had always been separate interests for   
   > me, but have discovered recently they are amazingly compatible! Though   
   > Jung makes a lot of comparisons and analysis to Catholicism's rituals,   
   > he often states that anything can be a ritual, as long as it aids in the   
   > goal of integrating the shadow through the process of action.   
   >   
   > I have found it to be popular in the witchcraft community, and it seems   
   > that people have been utilising it as part of their practice for some   
   > time now. People seem to not be aware or understand it origins with   
   > Jung, which deeply saddens me, as much of his work on dream   
   > interpretations and divination is still used by the community to this   
   > day. The ideas behind cultural ethos and the collective unconscious   
   > certainly ring true to me, even in this day and age.   
   >   
   > Furthermore, people seem to confuse a lot of his work with Freud's, who   
   > was adamantly against him, and often had radically differing opinions on   
   > the same subjects. Jung is incredibly compatible with   
   > Paganism/Witchcraft, I feel, unlike Freud. In the same way that Buddhism   
   > is frequently very compatible with many main stream religions, and can   
   > regularly be done in conjunction, I feel the same can be said for Jung   
   > and witchcraft, magick, or Paganism.   
   >   
   > His acknowledgment of archetypes is very in line with what those of us   
   > who are Pagan would consider to be natural forces, gods/goddesses, or   
   > spirits. Throw in concepts like Mindfulness and meditation, and I   
   > honestly believe Paganism to be one of the healthiest   
   > religions/spiritual practices, due primarily to the level of   
   > introspection it promotes. It's freeing and non-restrictive, forces one   
   > to confront their flaws and strengths in a healthy manner, get out in   
   > nature, and connect with their community over good food etc. All things   
   > recommended for a healthy way of life, both mentally and physically.   
   >   
   > Obviously, at the heart of it all, any religion or spiritual practice   
   > should provide these things. But more often then not, I hear many   
   > stories from my more secular religious friends about the struggles they   
   > have wrestling with their religion, and it's community (probably due to   
   > the lack of an integrating of the shadow). I frequently feel unable to   
   > relate, as I find Pagans and magickal folk, to be some of the most down   
   > to earth and accepting people. I'm sure that Paganism, and Witchcraft to   
   > some extent, must suffer from these issues in some regard, but probably   
   > not very often due to its unorganised and casual nature. A feature that   
   > typically seems to be to its benefit, rather than its hindrance.   
   >   
   > All in all, I very much recommend shadow work, it can be highly   
   > beneficial interpersonally, and magickly. Giving a place for the traits   
   > often not accepted by society, allowing them a space and time to come   
   > out without negative impact, can help to keep you more focused on the   
   > things that matter free of that weight. I very much encourage research   
   > into Jungian psychology, and further reading, as it is a very heavy topic.   
   >   
   > My recommendation is to start with a specific concept such as shadow   
   > work or dream interpretation, and to find a book written by a respected   
   > Jungian psychoanalysis/psychologist. They typically give a good overview   
   > of his rather large body of work. Reading raw Jung to learn about one   
   > topic he has written on is often an expensive, and timely pursuit, as it   
   > will be scattered across a multitude of texts. Thus, why I urge you to   
   > buy one book that is essentially a compilation on one of the topics he   
   > discussed and founded.   
      
   Thanks, that was interesting.   
      
   I have added alt.psychology.jung to the Newsgroups line.   
      
   A while ago I determined that Jung had dream interpretation   
   (for his own dreams and the dreams of others) special ability,   
   plus that Donald Trump also has that ability, though I have   
   no evidence of that yet.   
      
   --   
   David Dalton dalton@nfld.com https://www.nfld.com/~dalton (home page)   
   https://www.nfld.com/~dalton/dtales.html Salmon on the Thorns (mystic page)   
   “And the cart is on a wheel; And the wheel is on a hill; And the   
   hill is shifting sand; And inside these laws we stand" (Ferron)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)