C.G. Jung, on the Archetype of the Spirit

The figure of the wise old man can appear so plastically, not only in dreams but also in visionary meditation (or what we call “active imagination”), that, as is sometimes apparently the case in India, it takes over the role of a guru.

The wise old man appears in dreams in the guise of a magician, doctor, priest, teacher, professor, grandfather, or any other person possessing authority.

The archetype of spirit in the shape of a man, hobgoblin, or animal always appears in a situation where insight, understanding, good advice, determination, planning, etc., are needed but cannot be mustered on one’s own resources.

The archetype compensates this state of spiritual deficiency by contents designed to fill the gap.

Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious

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