This paper lays out the concept of soul from the alchemical standpoint of anima mundi or world soul, and in particular, the cultural soul of America, and relates it to the new science of complexity. We then look at how the contemporary phenomenon of “Trump” in the American political psyche serves as an alchemical “emergence” from the interaction of multiple systems in the cultural psyche. Self-interested power drive, misogyny, xenophobia, racism, elitism, entitlement, aristocracy make their appearance as predominant aspects of the American psyche obfuscated by the received narrative of democracy, as the emergent symbolic image of “wholeness:” in America becomes aesthetically more complex.
Why Does Jordan Peterson Appeal to Many People? — Glen Slater, Peter Dunlap, Deldon McNeely, William Schoenl
Jordan Peterson, a psychologist at the University of Toronto who was influenced by Jung, has become very popular on the internet and through his recent book 12 Rules for Life (2018). Through interviews with three knowledgeable Jungian psychologists this article offers some reasons why he appeals to many people. The psychologists respond to the interview questions: 1) What are reasons for his appeal? 2) Why did his disagreement with a new Canadian law requiring use of preferred personal pronouns first bring him to widespread public attention and appeal to people? and 3) Why do many young males find him appealing?
Healing Nightmares: An Encounter with Hope — Drew Smith
Dreams are elusive creatures. They flow in and out of our nighttime, affecting our quality of sleep, our memories, affecting our moods the next day. Sometimes they stay with us for hours after we wake, just hanging out like a familiar friend. Other times they play ephemeral and are whisked away just we open our eyes, like a whisper we didn’t quite hear. And then, there are those unnerving dreams that choose to linger behind and crouch in the dark corners of our mind; the horrible ones that lie waiting just below the surface, that refuse to leave no matter how vehemently we demand they go. These are the nightmares. And their residual effects can disturb us for years. But according to Aizenstat (2011), there are “inherent healing properties” within dream images” (p. 189). Does this also include the nightmare? And if so, what do my nightmares want to heal within me?
The Architecture of Buildings and Minds — Eric Greene
Psychology and architecture are linked. The foundational concept for this link is the same. It can be traced back to the origins of modernity. To show this, I will attempt to adumbrate the development of architecture and psychology. Both post-modern critiques of architecture and psychotherapy are pointing the way forward to rethink the city in terms of its relationships, not its isolation, in order to create a more psychologically habitable world. Our world can make us sick, and by internalizing all of the world’s problems, we continue to contribute to its sickness, instead of acting to find its cure.
Book Reviews — David Tacey, Craig Stephenson, Deborah Howell
In Memoriam: Marion Woodman (1928—2018) — Eva Rider
In Memoriam: Fr. John Patrick Dourley (1936—2018)— Rosemary Murray-Lachapelle
Contributor Biographies
