ABSTRACT
In his Dream Analysis, Jung tells of a conversation he had in Africa with his Somali caravan driver:
He belonged to a Mohammedan sect, and I asked him about Khidr, the god of that particular cult, and the ways in which he appeared. He said: “He can appear as a common man, like me or that man over there, but you know it is Khidr, and then you have to go immediately to him, take both his hands, hold them tight and say: ‘Peace be with you’ and he will say: ‘Peace be with you’ and all your wishes will be granted. Or he can appear as a light, but not the light of a candle or a fire, but like a pure white light, and from this you recognize that it is Khidr.” Then, bending over, he picked a blade of grass and said: “Or he can appear like this.”
(Jung 1984) Jung repeats this story other times – both in Visions and in the essay “Concerning Rebirth,” where he fully examines the figure of Khidr – which demonstrates how strongly the affirmation of the Sufi caravan driver struck him. Khidr, affirms Jung, is an image of the Self, and therefore the Self can also appear in a humble blade of grass, as green as Khidr himself: “the green one,” as his name says.