Creation Myths [Paperback]

Marie-Louise Von Franz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Creation myths are the deepest and most important of all myths because they are concerned with both the basic patterns of existence and the ultimate meaning of life. In this book, an eminent Jungian analyst examines the recurring motifs that appear in creation myths from around the world and shows what they teach us about the mysteries of creativity, the cycles of renewal in human life, and the birth of consciousness in the individual psyche. Among the topics discussed are:

   •  Why the creative process is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear of the unknown.
   •  The meaning of creation motifs such as the egg, the seed, the primordial being, the creative fire, the separation of heaven and earth, and the four stages of creation.
   •  Creation symbolism in the alchemical opus of medieval tradition.
   •  How creation-myth motifs appear in the dreams of people who are on the verge of a leap forward in consciousness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a book all should read. In doing so, one will expand the mind to different levels of thought and in relationship to our contemporary life in such an interesting and scholarly fashion."— Spiritual Frontiers



"[Von Franz] ranges authoritatively over the myths of many cultures and succeeds in explaining widespread archetypal images that inform the collective unconscious and contribute to our ability to create as individual human beings."— Parabola

About the Author

Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998) was the foremost student of C. G. Jung, with whom she worked closely from 1934 until his death in 1961. A founder of the C. G. Jung Institute of Zurich, she published widely on subjects including alchemy, dreams, fairy tales, personality types, and psychotherapy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; Revised edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570626065
• ISBN-13: 978-1570626067
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very readable!, June 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Creation Myths (Paperback)

Although this is a transcription from lectures it deserves the highest grade because M-L von Franz here combines here erudition and interpretative faculty to produce very thought-provoking interpretations of creation myths from all over the world. Von Franz introduces her own theories within the framework of Jungian psychology. C.G. Jung said that M-L von Franz was the one theorist that had accomplished the most congenial development of his own ideas. This book is no exception. It conveys some new ideas, while keeping the reader fascinated from cover to cover. Von Franz subdivides the myths into different categories like: "the first victim", "the two creators", "germs and eggs", etc. and interprets the different categories accordingly. She explains that the incipient of many creation stories seem to be a state of pre-conscious wholeness which is broken in two when "subject" and "object" are created. The book can be read by the layman without foreknowledge of Jungian psychology, but is equally interesting to the professional as creation myths often appear in the individual's unconscious. It also serves as a good mythological reference as particularly interesting creation myths are picked out. This is a fine piece which does not reduce the creation myths into grey two-dimensionality, but holds their mystery in high esteem. /Mats W

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insight into the Creative Process, August 11, 2000

By 

Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creation Myths (Paperback)

Marie-Louise von Franz is the most pre-eminent of Carl Jung's disciples, and one of the most respected expositors of Jungian psychology. This Jungian analysis of creation myths is one of her masterpieces. In the Jungian view, creation deals with the threshold between the conscious and the Unconscious. When we create a new "world" for ourselves (by a change in job, relationship, residence, life-status, etc.), we are at this inner threshold. This book uses images from ancient mythological systems to illustrate how a psychologically healthy person approaches the creative process. Although the theme may initially seem esoteric, the author is discussing issues that strike us all at our core.