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Marie-Luise von Franz

Creation Myths Paperback – May 1, 2001

by Marie-Louise von Franz (Author)

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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.

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Shambhala
Publication date

May 1, 2001
Dimensions

5.4 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1570626065
ISBN-13

978-1570626067
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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

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shambhala; Revised ed. edition (May 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1570626065
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1570626067
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #390,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #227 in Jungian Psychology (Books)
- #354 in Mythology (Books)
- #484 in Popular Psychology Creativity & Genius

Customer Reviews:
32 ratings

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Late night visitor

Fabulous!!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2020

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There are two kinds of writers of technical information. Those who write to impress and those who write to inform. Marie-Louise Von Franz is the second kind. No sixty five word long sentences, no vague abstract language. Just the facts man, just the facts. A background in Jungian psychology helps. She is my favorite writer along with Aniela Jaffe and Erich Neumann. Although, Neumann can get a little full of himself.

Helpful

ToscaZ

I Love This Author!

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2012

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Marie-Louise Von Franz writes about mythology with such intelligence, deep psychological insight and warmth that you are completely drawn in. More than any other writer on mythology, she approaches myths with a profound sense of awe and wonder, not only for the deep wisdom in the myths themselves, but for the humanity that gives them their many different expressions. After reading this book, if you do not see 'being in the world' with new eyes as something marvellous, the most precious of gifts, you are not fully alive. That's how strongly I feel about this book, and about this compassionate, erudite woman.

5 people found this helpful

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Julie4Churros

This is a well written book which captivates my interest ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2016

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This is a well written book which captivates my interest in how creation myths influence our attitudes about life. Well worth the read.

One person found this helpful

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Teresa Porzecanski

a must

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2018

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You understand mankind

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helen k mcallister

metaphors for the truths that can guide us

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2014

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everyone should know these myths so they won't literalize all the major religions and drive themselves nuts.

3 people found this helpful

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Neal J. Pollock

Far more here than the title suggests--fantastic!

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2014

This is a beautifully written work by Carl Jung's primary disciple who writes in an easily understood manner, though some background in Jungian psychology would be helpful in approaching this material. The book includes many creation myths from various cultures including American Indian, Germanic, Indian, etc. with a few references to modern myths. The author relates these myths not only to each other and to certain overarching principles of psychology but also to Alchemy, dreams, neuroses, schizophrenia, and other psychological processes. IMHO the many similarities elucidated parallel both General Systems Theory (GST) and biogenetic/recapitulation theory. The myths as a whole apparently describe the psychological growth process of individuals (individuation in Jungian terms)--reminiscent of the Hermetic Law: "As above, so below; as below, so above" i.e. the macrocosm and microcosm reflect each other--much like a hologram or the relationship between the ego and the Self. As von Franz mentions, the acorn "contains" the oak; applying this to humans, each cell has the DNA of the whole being--each is a whole in potentia (e.g. via cloning).

More specifically, von Franz provides extensive & highly illuminating discussions on the psychological projection process, the nature of schizophrenia (and its treatment), important differences between the Feeling & Thinking functions for research & therapy, the nature of "the archetypal" (as in creation myths) as related to the Collective Unconscious, the relationship between complexes & the ego, the relationship between preconscious & unconscious, & the psychological interpretation of myth & dream.

This volume includes numerous quotations worth preserving and studying, including:

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROGRESS
p. 2: Wherever known reality stops, where we touch the unknown, there we project an archetypal image... The snake which bites its own tail, the Ouroboros motif, comes up where man reaches the end of his conscious knowledge.
p. 5: They [creation myths] represent unconscious and preconscious processes which describe not the origin of our cosmos, but the origin of man's conscious awareness of the world.
p. 35: The story of the origin of the world, and the origin of awareness of the world, are absolutely coinciding factors.
p. 244: It is only when I begin to have an inner uneasiness, a feeling that what I assert about this object is not quite right, when I have a kind of bad conscience about what I say, that I develop a state of mind in which I can ask myself, 'Is this a projection? What would it be if the object were different?' [cognitive dissonance yielding a new paradigm or viewpoint--see p. 160 quote below]

CREATIVITY & UNDERSTANDING
p. 37: People who tend to have those creative depressions, if they can anticipate them by playing, need not have the depression, and whenever one can induce a person in such a heavy depression to start playing in some way, the state of depression is lifted and once.
p. 247: In psychology one cannot and must not approach these contacts with the thinking function alone. For a psychological interpretation we need the feeling function, which considers the feeling tone of an archetypal image as well as its logical connections with other images. [context~ F as well as content ~T]
p. 277: Most creative people, as you probably know, have a tendency to playfulness; they produce, even in their spare time, funny little ideas and all sorts of creative playfulness.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS & RESISTANCE TO GROWTH
p. 72: The washing obsession, washing 40 times a day, or something like that. Obviously people who have such an obsession should wash, not the dirt on their hands, but their psychic shadow.
p. 160: Every step forward toward building up more consciousness destroys a previous living balance [psychological paradigm]...and is one of the reasons why one is very attached and loyal to his neurosis and has generally great feeling trouble in separating from his former neurotic situation. One of the great therapeutic difficulties is that there is a certain instinctive resistance to being cured.
p. 193: Some people out of unconscious anxiety have a constant word diarrhea. They are afraid of something and constantly have to fill the empty space around them with a lot of hot air--because silence would bring up the real thing, which is terrifying because unknown.
p. 277: A lot of energy characterized by the giant and Titan forms. One must never forget that man's greatest passion, greater than any other, is probably laziness, and to overcome the passion of laziness one needs a lot of energy.

10 people found this helpful

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Michael P. McGarry

Insight into the Creative Process

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2000

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.

29 people found this helpful

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Cee Cee

"Creation Myths" is more a psychology book than a collection of stories...

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015

The author approaches the psychology behind the creation myths and then give sample stories. The story choices are good, but the psychology is a little dense for me. I was following along pretty well, and then she started in with some complex theories without stating any examples that would help clarify her point and she completely lost me. However, I only wanted the stories anyway so I just skipped all the dense analyses. This book is not what I was expecting, but not a complete loss either.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

n a jones

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2016

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excellent

Perceptive Reader

Frustrating

Reviewed in India on January 28, 2020

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This book was a classic example of an honest shopkeeper selling me something that sounds like something that I needed, but is something drastically different.
I was (am!) looking for a book that compares various creation myths prevailing in societies that are geographically and culturally different from each other. With the help of such comparison, I had hoped, the turning points of development of human mind and body can be understood in a more sociological perspective. Instead, I ended up with a book that 'explains' creation myths in terms of Jung's theories!
That wouldn't have been bad. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be pedantic to the point of being soporific. Worse, the entire narrative structure was aimed at fitting facts into preconceived structures rather than developing a new picture. Harari has done it in style. But this book, probably because it was borne out of lectures aimed at a particular group, miserably fails in making the stories vibrate or vibrant.
Perhaps, to the target audience, it serves the purpose. Hence so many high ratings.
As far as I am concerned, this was a waste of money. I would search for a more comprehensive and lucid book in future.

Stacey J

von Franz is incredibly insightful and pithy

Reviewed in Canada on June 20, 2019

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No one could discuss Creation Myths from a Jungian perspective with the insight and breadth of knowledge M.L. von Franz has.

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