Carl Jung's Aion: An Exploration of the Phenomenology of the Self

Broos963: I have to admit, many parts of this book were completely incomrehensible to me. My five stars are for the parts of the book that I was able to understand, which completely blew my mind, perhaps even changed my life and view of the world.

Be warned, this is not an easy book to read. I would not read this book without Edinger's companion lectures.

United States on Aug 18, 2023

MariaMaria: Service was good and the book was well-received. The cover was a little beat up but I don't mind, the pages were as good as new.

United States on Sep 11, 2021

H Patrick Decarbuccia: Wow, all is said in Aion. I would not recommend it as an introduction to Jung but if you are already well versed with his thinking, this book will take you to a higher level of awareness.

United States on Mar 20, 2021

Marie: always a good read

Canada on Oct 26, 2020

Trovan: Important stuff

Canada on Sep 18, 2020

John: This a phenomenal but incredibly advanced work that many people (including myself) simply won't be able to grasp without the helping hand of commentaries and, if you're fortunate enough personal experiences with the phenomena Jung discusses.

The beginning is a basic rundown of concepts that form the cornerstones of Jung's "archetypes." After this Jung gets his "toothbrush and pick" ready to dig into some very arcane alchemical and gnostic ideas that, without some outside elaboration, are sure to put you to sleep or dissuade you from venturing further into the work. For this reason I recommend Edingers "Aion Lectures" as companion material.

Once you have some background on these incredibly obscure and alien ideas, a lightbulb will switch on in your head and you will understand the theoretical magnitude of the work. Jung essentially psychoanalizes the previous 2000 years of western history to convey to you SOME of the aspects of his "collective unconscious."

It is an absolutely brilliant exhibition of Jungs intuition, pattern recognition and his sheer mental perseverance. I would absolutely reccomend this book. It took me over a year to finish it, but by the end...

United States on Jun 12, 2020

Gary: Jung presents his theories of the collective subconscious and the relationship to the ego in a lucid and compelling manner. I find it interesting to read Jung himself and then read books by people about his theories. I often feel like they miss several of his main points. For example, I have read authors that discuss his use of archetypes, yet they typically gloss over the self and the integration symbols that represent the unification and individuation of the psyche. Jung was a Protestant and saw the archetypes as potentially pagan in a negative manner, and saw the lack of correctly understanding the divine/human symbol as leading backwards into a more brutish existence, as seen in several world events.

United States on May 13, 2020

Samuel W De Graff: If I was forced to have a complaint about this book it would be that you should be well versed in history, literature, mythology, psychology, and the occult to get the most out of Jung. His writing is quite dense, and assumes a base line of knowledge as a context for understanding it. I found it inspired me to research any references he made that I wasn't familiar with. Calling Jung 'astute' is a gross understatement.

Canada on Jan 11, 2020

S.E.: Only the first part of this book is explaining Jung's views on the Self, anima/animus and the inconscious, maybe 1/4 of it. So don't expect a practical guide for understanding and therapy.
Most chapters detail the historical and cultural origins and symbols of these concepts and archetypes in Christian, Jewish, Gnostic, and Alchemist theories.
I'd say the book is maybe excellent as a reference for historical research on the subject, but a bit short about more recent Jungian concepts.
The e-Book is +/- 270 pages, followed by 200 + pages of bibliography, index, etc.

France on Apr 29, 2019

barry amis: great

United Kingdom on Jul 13, 2015