Structure of the psyche

I think that what Jung is referring to is that images come from stars, sun and moon as well as inorganic represented by earth, air, fire and water, and also reptilian (cold blooded creatures).  Down deep in our unconscious are the foundations  of life prior to when human (warm blooded) creations came into being.  So we receive images from these layers of our unconscious because they form the structure of our psyche.  When I first realized that my unconscious held all the history of mankind (and now history of life), I felt comforted to know that I had a simple, true, individual place in the whole history of life.

When images of snake, black pearl, or whatever, I know I am in touch with ancient history and that the image has something to share with me about my life now.  Finding the meaning of these symbols is fascinating to me, and I enjoy search until I find a meaning that completes my search for I feel a relationship to the image.

Symbols: sun and moon

On page 404 of Jung's Seminar on Dream Analysis, he states the sun and moon have something to do with the structure of the mind.  To me, that is a powerful statement, one that I don't completely understand.  I do understand that we have projected qualities onto the sun and moon such as sun being masculine and active and rational and the moon being mystery, irrational, feminine, and passive.  And certainly these characteristics are part of my own individual makeup. Even if I don't completely understand what he means, I do relate to the characteristics of each and can find relevant aspects in my own psychology.

I like that Jung searches through our past, both near and far, to uncover deeper and deeper associations to images.  It brings a certain richness and depth to those images that come to me in my dreams.  And, then I can find the certain characteristics of these images which touch me with their meaning.  In order to travel these paths, I have to yield up my scientific demands and my Western way of approaching meaning.  That is not easy to do because it is so ingrained in me.  My friend, Pat, has been helping me with this understanding and how challenging these views are to my scientific frame of reference.