ABSTRACT
THE CONCEPT of the collective unconscious stands at the very centre of the theory of Analytical Psychology. According to this, certain psychic behaviour and reaction patterns lie hidden as potentialities behind and beneath the individual psyche of each particular human being. These potential patterns cannot be explained from the personal experiences of the individual, but are the psychic sediment deposited by the development of the human soul throughout its age-long history. This concept of the collective unconscious, together with its manifestations the archetypes, is undoubtedly Jung’s greatest contribution to modern psychology. The world of the collective unconscious and of the archetypes is so rich and so protean in its manifestations that, except for those who have themselves passed through analytical experience, the subject is necessarily somewhat difficult of approach and understanding. This difficulty is indicated in the question so often levelled at Analytical Psychologists as to the practical use and therapeutic value of this concept of the collective unconscious and the archetypes. This essay is an attempt to answer this question. The distinctive mode of approach and special possibilities offered by Analytical Psychology are illustrated by the study of a dream. The value of this dream for purposes of demonstration is greatly enhanced by the fact that it set in motion a process known as active imagination. The discussion of this process will lead us still deeper into the problems opened up by the methods employed in Analytical Psychology.
