The Journey into the Unknown: A Jungian Analysis

The Journey into the Unknown: A Jungian Analysis

We’ve picked apart the Orpheus and Eurydice myth and have looked at it from a lot of angles, but what if the message of the story isn’t about our relationships and roles with others? What if it’s not about religion or what it means to be an artist? What if the underlying meaning lies within us? What if, like in dream interpretation, we play all the parts? We are Orpheus. We are also Eurydice and the descent into the underworld is merely a journey to our own subconscious?

This is how Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung (1875-1961) would look at the story. Jung was a student of Freud and developed a keen interest in mythology and what it has to say about the human psyche. To our egos, Orpheus’ journey is a tragedy, but looking at a bigger picture, Orpheus represents our abilities to charm our subconscious[i]; the journey, although at first unsuccessful, is an opportunity to learn.

In simplified terms, Orpheus represents our conscious thoughts, Eurydice and the underworld, our subconscious thoughts. Orpheus is our practical and controlling ego, Eurydice, our soul. The story is about trying to reconnect with our soul to bring into balance the male and female parts of ourselves. Not until Orpheus is dismembered, until he subjugates his ego completely can he, bit by bit, enter the underworld and be united with his soul.

So does this apply to us today? I think in our increasingly disconnected and noisy world, we are quite separated from our souls. What can Orpheus’ journey teach us about our own?

·         Don’t fear the unknown; we have to face the dark to find the light.

·         Don’t look back; we have to trust the process and try not to control it.

·         In our journey everything works for our good – even dismemberment was good in the end for Orpheus. The worst possible event of his life is what ended up giving it the most meaning: it turned him into a prophet, an oracle and reunited him with Eurydice.

 Everything that happens to us and to those we love is just another step on the journey. We can reject it as bad or we can take it in and learn. Jung said in his book The Secret of the Golden Flower,

So now I intend to play the game of life, being receptive to whatever comes to me, good and bad, sun and shadow that are forever alternating, and in this way, also accepting my own nature with its negative and positive sides. Thus everything becomes more alive to me. What a fool I was!  How I tried to force everything to go according to the way I thought it ought to be. 

This one story holds endless messages – that’s what makes myths so great. Each person will connect with the story in a different way.

What will become of your journey into the unknown? Only you can determine that.

---

[i] Zabriskie, Beverly. “Orpheus and Eurydice: A Creative Agony.” Journal of Analytical Psychology 45 ( 2000): 427-447. Print.