A hundred years ago, in 1913, when Jung invented active imagination, a female voice from the unconscious said to him that what he was doing was art. Jung disparaged this anima figure as "that aesthetic lady" and protested emphatically: "It is not art!"

In 20^th century modern art, there was a famous Freudian aesthetic based on free association – surrealism. Now in the 21^st century, especially after the publication of Jung's Red Book, we have an opportunity, for the first time, to develop a Jungian aesthetic based on active imagination. What exactly is the relation between art, active imagination, and the creative process?

Maria Taveras, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City and an award-winning sculptor and painter of "Dream Art." Her website is www.jungiantherapy.com.