At present I am attending a weekend seminar with Stefan Hoeller. The subject is the Red Book, specifically the third section having to do with prophecies. Although I have a copy of the Red Book I must confess to not having read much of it; thus, this seminar. Apparently, Jung foretold three prophesies: war, magic, religion. Two world wars certainly attest to the accuracy of the first prediction. Magic comes next in the aftermath of these wars by way revolutionary inventions. The atomic bomb, the computer and advances in telecommunications are some examples. Firnally, there is the need for a new religion, one that allows wisdom to become a human experience, not just a belief. We are far from seeing this realized. Instead we have lost touch with the old religions and have not yet found a new form that "binds together" the essential elements of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism (the three biggest religions). I am eager to open that big Red Book waiting for me at home and read more of Jung's prophetic work. He was one who knew...
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Congratulations- you're going to love this book. I wish I could go to the seminar you're attending. I am sure they will tell you all about it. You're right about the predictions in the book and you will understand Jung's personal journey better. He wrote most of this while firming up most of the concepts of his psychology. You will see them in the book, but not as they read in the volumes of the collected works! There is more active imagination used than dreams, that being the point that here is where he first wrote of the technique.
There is so much there and while you read through it, the Images are notated for you to look at. That was probably the most exciting part. The birth of the new god is depicted more in the sense of a totally individuated person or archetype of the Self, but the two (god/self) are inexplicably contaminated with each other. At any rate, it is a rich gold mine for anyone interested in the development of Jungian psychology.
Thom wrote:
"Although I have a copy of the Red Book I must confess to not having read much of it; thus, this seminar. Apparently, Jung foretold three prophesies: war, magic, religion. Two world wars certainly attest to the accuracy of the first prediction. Magic comes next in the aftermath of these wars by way revolutionary inventions. The atomic bomb, the computer and advances in telecommunications are some examples. Firnally, there is the need for a new religion, one that allows wisdom to become a human experience, not just a belief."
I've wondered if Jung wasn't just prophesying the real-time lived present moment of a modern man (himself) who sees the reality of the situation (the reality of the warring part of himself), like Jung did, and simultaneously sees and moves into the reality of a living-way into a deeper level wholeness (and a laying down of arms) through a blend of the contacting (and working with) the soul-oriented magic of the ancients with a spirit-oriented religion of modernity ... also like Jung did.
It seems to me that war and magic will always be very old and religion will always be new (and must be made new in each moment by the one who lives with/in the living real-time reality of the three). So while it may appear that Jung was making prophecies for the times ahead -- I think that his realization was that as one is living and breathing the inner work of tending to Soul and making room for Spirt, then one can only prophesy the present -- the reality of war, magic and religion within one's own greater Self in real-time -- and must constantly re-make religion (a "new religion") afresh in each moment in which one approaches, with the skill of the true artist, the awesome work of facing the horror of the war and the beauty of the magic which lives in each of us. So, yes, I think Jung was only foretelling the reality of the present moment in himself -- which is the same present moment for each of one of us who is doing/living the inner alchemical work.
Speaking of the "horror of the war and the beauty of the magic" (a.k.a. married life!) , my wife just surprised me this past Valentine's Day with a copy of The Red Book. I have only had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful images inside the book so far.
The missing element for most people in modern soul-sick culture is magic. There is plenty of war and religion that fills (most) modern people' consciousness but very little, if any, magic. And if one does experience magic, it is only fleeting rather than a lived, and tended-to, living reality. And I suppose that the other thing that is missing in a soul-sick culture is the felt and acknowledged/expressed real-time grief that comes with the reality of war. I think most modern people just don't feel they have the stamina to keep up with the constant flow of grief that is the bottomless undercurrent of living in a war-torn world and so it is suppressed through all kinds of means of addiction.
You may be right in saying that Jung's so-called prophesies were little more than a man in touch with his times. But then there is also the possibility that unbeknownst to Jung was that he was experiencing synchronicity. He would later coin the term and define it as an acausal connecting principle that carries meaning. A synchronicity typically occurs during times of heightened emotion and chaotic circumstance. Jung was in the midst of an extraordinary meltdown following his separation with Freud and the world was growing increasingly chaotic; both obviously are highly emotionally charged events on both the individual and collective level. The conditions were ripe for a series of synchronicities. At the same time there was a prophetic element in that these synchronicities were displaced over time; that Jung took the time to record his inner experiences speaks to the power of self-belief nurtured by increasing evidence over a long period of time that his initial visions accorded to outside circumstances. This is the ultimate "magic" of the Red Book!
Three Prophecies:
http://carljungdepthpsychology.blogspot.com/2011/10/three-prophecie...
"I agree and I think Jung as well. In fact, he said that such a development would take on the order of six hundreds years."
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Ever read "Ages in Chaos" by Immanuel Velikovsky? We are on the threshold of a major "mid life crisis" or "diminishing of self" that will open the door rapidly. The ego that basks in self actualization will never experience self transcendence. It takes a motivational event to grow spiritually. Kind of like plowing the soil in a field in order to allow the new seed to thrive.
Although I haven't read Velikovsky's book ( and thus cannot comment on his views) and I am aware of Jung's prediction, I am much less optimistic. We are in a state of globalization - codeword for the One Thing - and part of this revolution is on plain view in the Middle East. There are many ways to frame the conflict, but the one that seems to capture a good deal of it is simply this: concrete vs abstract. In virtually every religion and many political systems, there are those who think concretely - the orthodox that are rigid, self-righteous and inflexible - and those who are "mystical." Neither camp own the whole truth. Just like steel is a hard metal, it must be tempered in order to be both strong and flexible ( the masculine and feminine). I don't see this happening in religious/political worlds for a long time. There is no guarantee that the collective psyche can endure the strife needed to transcend and integrate these opposites. But, if we never begin, we will never know what is possible. Six hundred years may be a conservative estimate!
It's happening already.
"Finally, there is the need for a new religion, one that allows wisdom to become a human experience, not just a belief. We are far from seeing this realized."
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We are on the threshold of this right now. It's what Jung, as well as many others have been searching for and never found. They were looking in the right direction, they just didn't go far enough within. It's very difficult when you stay in the intellect.
I also have the rarely opened Red Book in my chamber, so I must only comment in reference to your quick summary.of the prophecies. You mention that we have lost touch with the old religions and I fully agree with you, including the original numinous beginnings of the three religions you mention (at least here in the West). Sadly, I do see a return by many New Agers to the practices and images of the older religions without the necessary cultural connection or understanding of the true sacredness of those images and practices. In this way I believe even such religious looking practices are really just another form of magic. I think the challenge is to seek and invite those numinous experiences into the "light of day" by genuinely witnessing to the Other's experiences. In my most optimistic, I desire not a new religion but a "new" way of Being.
I agree and I think Jung as well. In fact, he said that such a development would take on the order of six hundreds years.