---
product_id: 88862722
title: "Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 5 – Symbols of Transformation"
price: "63156CFA"
currency: XOF
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 6
url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/88862722-collected-works-of-c-g-jung-volume-5-symbols-transformation
store_origin: SN
region: Senegal
---

# Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 5 – Symbols of Transformation

**Price:** 63156CFA
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 5 – Symbols of Transformation
- **How much does it cost?** 63156CFA with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/88862722-collected-works-of-c-g-jung-volume-5-symbols-transformation)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

Buy Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 5 – Symbols of Transformation 2nd ed. by Jung, C. G., Adler, Gerhard, Hull, R. F.c. (ISBN: 9780691018157) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

Review: Excellent - Excellent book. Love Jung's work
Review: Jung's intention behind writing this book and otherwise investigating this field was to expand the symbolic expressions that arise from the unconscious beyond the scope of Freud's pansexualism. For the most part Jung deferred to Freud's interpretation of dreams, but radically opposed Freud's exclusive reliance on sexuality as the sole cause of unconscious impulses. "Symbols of Transformation" is Jung's attempt at explaining a variety of other-than-sexual causes for the symbols and impulses that arise from the unconscious. By discussing these unconscious forces, Jung relies upon his theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypes, which he deals with more explicitly in volume 9/1. Jung begins with a short chapter on two modes of thinking which explain the means through which unconscious archetypes can intrude upon conscious. The first mode of thinking he mentions is directed thinking, which is defined by taking thoughts and ideas meaningful to the individual and translating them into objectively relay-able symbols, or in our case, words. This type of thought he claims is discursive and tends to be quite exhausting. The applications and merits of this type of thought are self-evident. The next form of thinking he addresses is dreaming or fantasy-thinking. In this type of thought, images come and go as they please. The verbal constraints found in directed thinking vanish and instead, images and feelings. This form of thinking is effortless, spontaneous and seemingly guided by unconscious motives (18). Jung writes that the advantages modern man has over his ancestors is that he has learned to focus his energies onto directed thinking, while the earlier humans who had the same intellectual capacities (although less material knowledge) emphasized this fantasy-thinking. It was this early preponderance on fantasy-thinking that caused early humans to invest so heavily in mythology. Their myths were the living manifestations of the societies focus on fantasy thinking. Whatever it was that pre-occupied the unconscious of the early society quickly manifested itself in the sphere of mythology. These unconscious motivations are what Jung will call archetypes. He finds that the same archetypes that can be inferred from mythology are the exact same archetypes found in the psyche of people today. Just as their motivations crafted myths, Jung believes they still influence us today. Jung later picks up on the archetype of sexuality, which he believed Freud used so nebulously that it lost all meaning (135). Jung does to a degree recognize that sexual energy or more generally as he used the term, libido had overtly sexual sources. He writes that music most assuredly had sexual origins, but to place music in the same category as sex today would be absurd. Jung writes that the sexual energy was divorced from the physiologically act and applied to secondary sexual situations. In the case of music, one's dance or drumming could secure them a mate. Jung also suggests that reinvested energy may be what causes animals to build nests and care for their young. As the original energy caused the production of ova and spermatozoa, animals that could direct their energy to safe-guarding the environment of their offspring led to advantages in child production. I am not sure how well these theories mesh up with evolutionary biology, but this is how Jung understood it. This reallocation of sexual energy Jung also attributes to the origin of art. This freed energy simply sought a abstract expression beyond its original biological intention. In this sense, Jung is expanding Freud's definition of libido beyond its strictly sexual origin to account for any bodily impulse that encourages the individual to act. Such impulses Jung identified as the source of neurotic behavior. Spontaneous rhythmic behavior Jung (as well as Freud) attributed to rhythmic suckling of children that finds other applications upon sexual maturity. Jung mentions a case of a young girl beset by such an affliction coupled with sexual compulsions. Jung explained it as sexual energy redirecting itself though rhythmic behavior, which he finds to be a common means of dissipating energy (but in the case of the girl, the rhythm could not fully release her energy). He goes on to write that a dog scratching at a locked door or a man stroking his beard when thinking are both ways of expressing energy when the individual's intended object cannot be achieved. When the expression of libido is completely blocked, Jung claims that all manner of aberrant behavior manifests unconsciously. If this energy is not properly released, neuroses arise. The remainder of the book addresses various examples of archetypal images found in mythology and the unconscious impulses associated with them, such as the hero as a manifestation of the idealized unconscious, the voyage as roughly spiritual awakening and water as the unconscious. I feel that many of these examples are difficult to follow due to their seemingly esoteric nature. If one is well versed in obscure Greek mythology, perhaps they would read a bit more easily, but I found that his sometimes brainy, abstract meanderings ultimately detracted from his argument. Regardless, by thus juxtaposing the impulses and archetypes of the unconscious, Jung allows his reader to draw his/her own conclusions about how well mythology is a symbolic expression for the yearnings of the unconscious. By following the myths, we can see how earlier thinkers mapped out the unconscious mind, letting us know what to seek and what to avoid in getting to know the Self. As is a common critique of Jung, I wished he would have been more explicit with his correlations rather than leaving the actual connecting of the dots up to the reader.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 558,693 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 424 in Carl Jung 1,007 in Theory of Psychoanalysis 1,095 in Science & Religion |
| Customer reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (130) |
| Dimensions  | 15.88 x 3.81 x 22.86 cm |
| Edition  | 2nd ed. |
| ISBN-10  | 0691018154 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0691018157 |
| Item weight  | 930 g |
| Language  | English |
| Part of series  | Collected Works of C.G. Jung |
| Print length  | 664 pages |
| Publication date  | 17 Sept. 1992 |
| Publisher  | Princeton University Press |

## Images

![Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 5 – Symbols of Transformation - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51KsH9-tx0L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent
*by W***D on 6 September 2017*

Excellent book. Love Jung's work

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by E***D on 11 December 2009*

Jung's intention behind writing this book and otherwise investigating this field was to expand the symbolic expressions that arise from the unconscious beyond the scope of Freud's pansexualism. For the most part Jung deferred to Freud's interpretation of dreams, but radically opposed Freud's exclusive reliance on sexuality as the sole cause of unconscious impulses. "Symbols of Transformation" is Jung's attempt at explaining a variety of other-than-sexual causes for the symbols and impulses that arise from the unconscious. By discussing these unconscious forces, Jung relies upon his theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypes, which he deals with more explicitly in volume 9/1. Jung begins with a short chapter on two modes of thinking which explain the means through which unconscious archetypes can intrude upon conscious. The first mode of thinking he mentions is directed thinking, which is defined by taking thoughts and ideas meaningful to the individual and translating them into objectively relay-able symbols, or in our case, words. This type of thought he claims is discursive and tends to be quite exhausting. The applications and merits of this type of thought are self-evident. The next form of thinking he addresses is dreaming or fantasy-thinking. In this type of thought, images come and go as they please. The verbal constraints found in directed thinking vanish and instead, images and feelings. This form of thinking is effortless, spontaneous and seemingly guided by unconscious motives (18). Jung writes that the advantages modern man has over his ancestors is that he has learned to focus his energies onto directed thinking, while the earlier humans who had the same intellectual capacities (although less material knowledge) emphasized this fantasy-thinking. It was this early preponderance on fantasy-thinking that caused early humans to invest so heavily in mythology. Their myths were the living manifestations of the societies focus on fantasy thinking. Whatever it was that pre-occupied the unconscious of the early society quickly manifested itself in the sphere of mythology. These unconscious motivations are what Jung will call archetypes. He finds that the same archetypes that can be inferred from mythology are the exact same archetypes found in the psyche of people today. Just as their motivations crafted myths, Jung believes they still influence us today. Jung later picks up on the archetype of sexuality, which he believed Freud used so nebulously that it lost all meaning (135). Jung does to a degree recognize that sexual energy or more generally as he used the term, libido had overtly sexual sources. He writes that music most assuredly had sexual origins, but to place music in the same category as sex today would be absurd. Jung writes that the sexual energy was divorced from the physiologically act and applied to secondary sexual situations. In the case of music, one's dance or drumming could secure them a mate. Jung also suggests that reinvested energy may be what causes animals to build nests and care for their young. As the original energy caused the production of ova and spermatozoa, animals that could direct their energy to safe-guarding the environment of their offspring led to advantages in child production. I am not sure how well these theories mesh up with evolutionary biology, but this is how Jung understood it. This reallocation of sexual energy Jung also attributes to the origin of art. This freed energy simply sought a abstract expression beyond its original biological intention. In this sense, Jung is expanding Freud's definition of libido beyond its strictly sexual origin to account for any bodily impulse that encourages the individual to act. Such impulses Jung identified as the source of neurotic behavior. Spontaneous rhythmic behavior Jung (as well as Freud) attributed to rhythmic suckling of children that finds other applications upon sexual maturity. Jung mentions a case of a young girl beset by such an affliction coupled with sexual compulsions. Jung explained it as sexual energy redirecting itself though rhythmic behavior, which he finds to be a common means of dissipating energy (but in the case of the girl, the rhythm could not fully release her energy). He goes on to write that a dog scratching at a locked door or a man stroking his beard when thinking are both ways of expressing energy when the individual's intended object cannot be achieved. When the expression of libido is completely blocked, Jung claims that all manner of aberrant behavior manifests unconsciously. If this energy is not properly released, neuroses arise. The remainder of the book addresses various examples of archetypal images found in mythology and the unconscious impulses associated with them, such as the hero as a manifestation of the idealized unconscious, the voyage as roughly spiritual awakening and water as the unconscious. I feel that many of these examples are difficult to follow due to their seemingly esoteric nature. If one is well versed in obscure Greek mythology, perhaps they would read a bit more easily, but I found that his sometimes brainy, abstract meanderings ultimately detracted from his argument. Regardless, by thus juxtaposing the impulses and archetypes of the unconscious, Jung allows his reader to draw his/her own conclusions about how well mythology is a symbolic expression for the yearnings of the unconscious. By following the myths, we can see how earlier thinkers mapped out the unconscious mind, letting us know what to seek and what to avoid in getting to know the Self. As is a common critique of Jung, I wished he would have been more explicit with his correlations rather than leaving the actual connecting of the dots up to the reader.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by F***N on 29 July 2024*

The book is somewhat dated and one cannot always agree with Jung in his conclusions. But in this very well researched tome he offers deep insights into the nature and workings of the symbols and archetypes found in literature, ritual, a variety of cultures across the world, world religions, and how these spontaneously arise from the human unconscious, and play significant roles in our dreams, psychology, and mental illness, and may be useful in therapy. I would strongly recommend the revised edition over the original title Psychology of the Unconscious, as this revised edition represents Jung's end-of-life understanding of these materials. Personal talk therapy seems underappreciated today, when much of psychiatry seems reduced to pill prescriptions, cconvenient, but only partially, though significantly effective, leaving clients without much needed counseling support. Jung spent his whole life seeking for clues regarding the origins and nature of schizophrenia, and remained essentially unable to explain fully why persons suffering from this most severe of mental illnesses could often not be treated successfully with intelligent talk therapy in comparison with patients presenting with milder forms of mental disturbance, despite the fact that if anything, the content of their delusions and dreams was often even more than otherwise related to the archetypal symbolism he analyses in this book, and others that he penned. Unfortunately, Jung, possessed of extraordinary intelligence and insight, died just before great breakthroughs were made in the science of genetics, or he might have found the missing clues there.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Symbols of Transformation (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.5)
- The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1) (The Collected Works of C. G. Jung)
- Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 2)

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/88862722-collected-works-of-c-g-jung-volume-5-symbols-transformation](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/88862722-collected-works-of-c-g-jung-volume-5-symbols-transformation)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Senegal*
*Store origin: SN*
*Last updated: 2026-03-04*