Jung and the New Age

This is possibly the most generally interesting of the four books on Jung reviewed here. The author makes a good case that the New Age compensates elements neglected by Western religion, namely the sacred feminine, the Earth Mother, the Goddess, the body, nature, instincts, ecstasy and mysticism. These pose a challenge to monotheistic religions to respond so as to incorporate these elements in a way that overcomes their current one-sidedness and leads to a new synthesis. In another sense, though, as the author points out, the New Age does not compensate our consumerist society but offers a form of spiritual consumerism, packaged ancient wisdom or 'McSpirit' fast food that panders to the ego and does not require patient and arduous transformative discipline. He therefore argues for an authentic new age. Jung is caught up by this and the author spends the bulk of the book disentangling Jung from those who misinterpret him for their own purposes. In his conclusion - the choice of wholeness – the author discusses a synthesis of God and Gaia (Jung was an early commentator on the rise of the feminine principle) and that of the ego and soul. Both Church and University are opposed to New Age impulses (the second in the name of Enlightenment Reason) but neither can defend itself against the future and a new dynamic will eventually emerge. This is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the cultural significance of New Age spirituality in relation to depth psychology.