fei75766_ch04_107-148.indd 135  02/19/20 09:00 AM
Chapter 4    Jung: Analytical Psychology135
Thethird category includes earliest dreams remembered. These dreams can
betraced back toabout age3or4andcontain mythological andsymbolic images 
andmotifs thatcould nothavereasonably been experienced bytheindividual child. 
These early childhood dreams often contain archetypal motifs andsymbols suchas
thehero, thewiseoldman, thetree,thefish,andthemandala. Jung (1948/1960b) 
wrote ofthese images andmotifs: “Their frequent appearance inindividual case
material, aswellastheir universal distribution, prove thatthehuman psyche is
unique andsubjective orpersonal onlyinpart, andfortherestiscollective and
objective” (p.291).
Jung(1961) presented avivid illustration inoneofhisearliest dreams, which 
tookplace before his4thbirthday. Hedreamed hewasinameadow when suddenly 
hesawadarkrectangular holeintheground. Fearfully, hedescended aflight ofstairs 
andatthebottom encountered adoorway witharound archcovered byaheavy green 
curtain. Behind thecurtain wasadimly litroom witharedcarpet running from the
entrance toalowplatform. Ontheplatform wasathrone andonthethrone wasan
elongated object thatappeared toJungtobealarge treetrunk, butinfactitwasmade 
ofskinandflesh, witharound head andeyeontop.Filled withterror, theyoung boy
heard hismother say,“Yes, justlookathim.Thatistheman-eater!” Thiscomment 
frightened himevenmore andjolted himawake.
Jungthought often about thedream, but30years would passbefore theobvi-
ousphallus became apparent tohim.Anadditional number ofyears wererequired 
before hecould accept thedream asanexpression ofhiscollective unconscious rather 
thantheproduct ofapersonal memory trace. Inhisowninterpretation ofthedream, 
therectangular holerepresented death; thegreen curtain symbolized themystery of
Earth withhergreen vegetation; theredcarpet signified blood; andthetree,resting 
majestically onathrone, wastheerect penis, anatomically accurate inevery detail. 
After interpreting thedream, Jungwasforced toconclude thatno31/2-year-old boy
could produce suchuniversally symbolic material solely from hisownexperiences. 
Acollective unconscious, common tothespecies, washisexplanation (Jung, 1961).
Active Imagination
Atechnique Jung usedduring hisownself-analysis aswellaswithmany ofhis
patients wasactive imagination. Thismethod requires aperson tobegin withany
impression—a dream image, vision, picture, orfantasy—and toconcentrate untilthe
impression begins to“move.” Theperson must follow these images towherever 
theyleadandthencourageously facethese autonomous images andfreely commu -
nicate withthem.
Thepurpose ofactive imagination istoreveal archetypal images emerging 
from theunconscious. Itcanbeauseful technique forpeople whowant tobecome 
better acquainted withtheircollective andpersonal unconscious andwhoarewill-
ingtoovercome theresistance thatordinarily blocks open communication withthe
unconscious. Jungbelieved thatactive imagination hasanadvantage overdream 
analysis inthatitsimages areproduced during aconscious stateofmind, thusmaking 
them more clear andreproducible. Thefeeling toneisalsoquite specific, andordi-
narily aperson haslittledifficulty reproducing thevision orremembering themood 
(Jung, 1937/1959).Final PDF to printer