"It is often tragic to see how blatantly a man bungles his own life and the lives of others yet remains totally incapable of seeing how much the whole tragedy originates in himself, and how he continually feeds it and keeps it going." C.G. Jung
Old Man in Sorrow : Vincent van Gogh
The above quote is from "Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self" (1951). This passage highlights self-inflicted tragedies as rooted in unconscious factors, suggesting that recognizing and integrating these is vital for growth. Implication: Tragedies are necessary for self-awareness, as they force individuals to confront their shadow, a key aspect of Jungian psychology. While Carl Jung discussed the need for sorrow and tragedies in human lives across several works, emphasizing their role in personal growth and wisdom, it appears that key discussions appear in "Aion" (1951) written primarily between 1947 and 1950, with the bulk of the work occurring around 1948–1949.
In this period Jung’s progressed solar arc direction was: Pluto conjunct radix Sun [3le] opposite the asteroid Orpheus on the Ascendant [3aq]. In 1946-1947, the above direction was triggered by transiting Saturn moving over his radix Sun.
Orpheus, a legendary Greek musician, is strongly associated with sorrow due to the tragic myth of his love for Eurydice, where he failed to bring her back from the underworld, leading to profound grief.The story suggests his sorrow deepened with her loss, and his eventual violent death further cemented this association.
The astrological Orpheus and Pluto keyphrases are:
ORPHEUS: Sad, sweet or haunting music, lyrics or poetry; dirges; sense of mourning and loss; grief (for what you don't have-what has gone out of your life what might have been or what was); contact with death
PLUTO: Control needs; psychological power; pushed to Authenticity; a person's "bottom line" (and primitive defenses;) the phoenix potential; encountering what is beyond control; Higher Will; elimination of the unnecessary; major change.
Martha Wescott interprets the combination as below:
From the Orpheus-Pluto interaction times when people are obsessed with death or their own mortality. And Orpheus can be "withdrawal to grieve," so, in combination with Pluto this means that there is a time of aloneness to heal...and to work with inner scars...and to forgive. Since Pluto is "throwing out what is no longer needed," some sorrow may occasion an elimination of what is outworn, what isn't really essential to the life. Pluto tends to create "a jolt" that reverberates clear down past the belly button; with Orpheus in the picture, I think you'll see that others feel "pushed to their own personal limits" because of a loss--they have to go through things on almost a soul or core level--and that, really, was part of the reason that the loss occurred and was to be part of their life experience. You may be aware of the way that losses (of others, of life, of what had been a part of one's life) really force one to deal with strong, raw emotions--and in some cases, emotions that had stayed underground for a long, long time. It's as though some sorrow is an important part of a catharsis--and may force growth and forgiveness. Orpheus isn't only Death; it's depression and sadness, and, importantly, it's the awareness that one's life span is limited. So this is a year when, yes, you'll see deep depression--and some of that is the processing of losses that have slept too long beneath the surface.
Jung had a heart attack in 1944 followed by a second one in 1946, leading him to resign from his position for a quieter life. This health issue likely caused personal stress during 1945-1950 when he was working on Aion.
Creative individuals like Jung often interpret personal difficulties and sorrows as part of the universal human experience, suggesting that tragedy and emotional release (catharsis) are essential for gaining wisdom.
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