The Christ Within
On a walk during a recent stay in Mérida we passed one of many old churches. Above the front entrance to this church was a stained glass window proclaiming Jesus. The city is filled with churches from simple “Christian” churches to a number built in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Spaniards. Though I am not particularly religious in a church sense, there is quite a pull to some of the images and the space and architecture of these old churches. That said, it is in the detail that I find resonances.
Jesus, in a Jungian sense is an archetype that points to the “Self” within the “self”. Okay, maybe that doesn’t make sense to most people, but I hope that I can explain it enough so that you can understand how it resonates within me. In a number of locations in the bible one comes across the words with proclaim about finding “Christ” within. Christ represents the godhead, the Imago Dei, that lies within each person. Sometimes religion ascribes the soul as that aspect though in Jungian terms, that would be somewhat inaccurate. I say somewhat as all aspects, all archetypes all become just aspects of the whole, the holy, that oneness of conscious and unconscious both personal and collective.
Jesus is a representation of the collective unconscious that points to the potential for all to achieve a state of being the best one can be. As one travels a journey of individuation, one becomes more and more conscious, more aware of the nature of self in relation to other and in relation the collective and in relation to what I can only say is the sum of all that is and all that isn’t, that which religions call god.
I seem to remember Jung, in Psychology and Religion – West and East, making a point of Jesus being depicted like this – as the Sun (with the rays coming out of his head). I think he also said that Jesus was frequently found at the “centre”, i.e. in mandalas and such, for example in dreams, but that Jung observed that it seemed increasingly common to dream of mandalas with nothing in the centre. Any elaborations/thoughts(/corrections) on this?
Jardar
1 Mar 09 at 8:02 AM
You are correct in noting that Christ has been found at the centre of some mandalas. I would carefully note that this is not the case with most mandalas. Mandalas are found in all cultures. I have not noted many mandalas that are empty at the centre. You are likely aware that the mandala one looks at says more about the creator of the mandala than it does about anything else. Thanks for joining in the dialogues here.
retiredeagle
1 Mar 09 at 8:27 AM
Hey I love this blog. I can see the time and effort put into this.. Thanks!
Emma
1 Mar 09 at 12:10 PM
Yes of course, I should have mentioned that. Jesus would hardly be found in the centre in non-christian cultures =)
It may be that memory serves me wrong, but I am quite sure Jung says in Psychology and Religion that he has observed an increasing numbers of mandalas being empty in the middle.
You’re welcome=) I really enjoy your pictures, so it is rather I who should thank you. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to explore your blog to a great extent yet, but I’m looking forward to doing so!
Jardar
2 Mar 09 at 10:56 AM
The comment about mandalas saying more about their creator than anything else is something similar to what I say about dream interpretation: that it says more about the interpreter than the dream.
When I draw a mandala I usually start in the middle and work outwards.
viv66
2 Mar 09 at 2:47 PM