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Within the imagery of the Tarot the Fool is the first card. It is he who initiates the journey. The head in the clouds, he is dangerously close to the precipice, followed only by his canine companion. There is no way around it, I cannot escape feeling foolish when I enter new territory, when I start something new. I am there now. There are two books on my mind. One of them is the book. It arrived yesterday in the mail. I don’t know what I was expecting, but certainly not this. An eleven pound package?! This was clearly not the usual paperback that ends up on my doorstep. I must have had a neat, little red paperback in my mind. I know this is beyond foolish, it is idiotic. No, I have not made it to the Rubin Museum yet, yes, I regrettably missed all the introductory lectures. I just had this private little fantasy of Jung’s Red Book, which I was looking forward to holding in my hands. And here it is. Huge, red, heavy, (nine pounds, I put it on the scale) ominous, beautiful, weighty. Definitely not designed for small New York apartments. Both my apartment and I seem to shrink in its presence. (I am supposed to be the one who does the shrinking). The self-imposed task of working myself through the book has a dizzying effect. Once opened the book reveals imagery that takes my breath away. And I only dare to get a glimpse of them, I cannot yet look too closely. I see Jung’s intricate longhand in German and Latin, the intensity of his focus revealed in the details of his paintings and drawings. I put the book on a the top shelf of a book case. The only spot where it will fit.
The other book on my mind is one I am not even sure it exists. I hope it does. I am in need of it and I will look for it online. Its title should be something like Blogging for Dummies. I need to learn the ropes. Categories? Tags? Links? I like the idea of writing and publishing my musings in cyberspace. It is like forming a thought and letting it drift back into the collective psyche. Maybe somewhere, somebody will come across it and pick up the thread. I will go now and search for this book. I just hope it is not another nine pounder. That would be more than I can handle. And then…let the journey begin.
The long awaited publication of C.G. Jung’s Red Book is heralded as a monumental moment in the Jungian world. Even the NYT, usually very critical of all Jungian things, offered a much more favorable view of his work in a recent article. It has been said that this book will change the way Jungians relate to their work. It has been said that this book will provide unprecedented insight into Jung’s inner world and into the development of the School of Analytical Psychology from Jung’s most intimate psychic experiences documented in this book. I have ordered my copy and had I been at home when UPS tried to deliver I would be pouring over its first changes by now.
The Red Book is said to lead us into new psychic territory. Every day can be a new beginning. Today I decided to enter into new territory by putting my meanderings of engaging and making sense of Jung’s Red Book into a blog. One page at a time. A private piece of Jung’s world, until recently fiercely guarded by his family, has been opened up to the public. This is my way to reciprocate. I have never blogged before, I am a very private person and as a practicing psychoanalyst I am trained to maintain neutrality. But so much that laid hidden needs to break forward and outward in these plutonian times. For whatever it is worth, cyberspace feels like the right place for it. How to handle, navigate, understand and learn all the technical intricacies of being a blogger will probably be as humbling and challenging as working myself through this book. But I look forward to both. All comments from fellow explorers of inner space are welcome.
Heidekolb's Blog 