a container for the psyche in an uncertain world

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OUR MISSION

Our Jung Society of Washington is dedicated to nourishing the human spirit and to serving the longing that comes to us in our dreams and in moments of hardship, imagination, struggle, and creativity. We support the exploration of our own psychic depths and the primal impulse for personality integration that Dr. Carl Gustav Jung called "individuation". With a psychological lens, we deepen the discussion of social issues, history, and current events. We encourage the development of greater self-awareness and creative expression—individually, in relationships, and within the community.

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American Catastrophe: “I Can’t Breathe!”

In recent weeks we all watched a handcuffed, middle-aged black man slowly die, asphyxiated by a white policeman because of a twenty-dollar bill; we watched a young black man die by shot gun, having been chased by three white men (one a former policeman) in trucks because he was running in the “wrong” neighborhood; and we read about the killing of a young black woman awakened in her home at night and shot eight times by police who had broken into the wrong apartment. Even more recently a black man, asleep in his car, was awakened and ultimately shot dead as he ran from white police. And then there are the reports of five black men, found separately, hanging — each dead in a tree — all of which were officially declared “suspected suicides.” We are shocked, sickened, disheartened, sad, distraught, and guilty.

As Jung wrote in After the Catastrophe, white people are “possessed” by feelings of superiority to people of color, and the crimes that we and our forebears have committed against our darker brothers and sisters are “legion.“

Our savage atrocities are uncountable. In the unilluminated regions of our own souls, our felt superiority secretly thrives, fed by hidden shadows. But then we see it, close up, on our screens, and we hear it. We are horrified and shamed. We suspect our own complicit guilt, our own evil, but how do we live with it?

Dare we claim it? And what if we dare not?

Our profound immorality causes profound suffering, the depth of which we can imagine only barely. Yet we cannot undo, cannot resurrect, cannot heal, or even compensate. We join our voices with those of protesters against what we have witnessed and finally confessed: Black lives matter; let them breathe!

~April Barrett, president

Jung Society of Washington

While we have learned so much from Jung's explorations of the human psyche, we are also aware that he, a Eurocentric man of his time, was not above racial stereotypes and cultural condescension. We will continue to confess and explore such contradictions in our Society's educational offerings.

~Board of Directors

Jung Society of Washington

Our programs are being offered online, via the Zoom platform, until further notice due to COVID-19.

Links will be sent out at least 24 hours before the program starts. If you have not received the Zoom link for a program you have paid for 24 hours before its start time, please reach out directly to natalia@jung.org , thank you.

You can take a look at our mini quick guide about Zoom here - HOW TO USE ZOOM

Please note, by agreeing to enroll in an online program offered by the Jung Society of Washington, you are also agreeing to comply with our terms. This means that you cannot record (through internal or external devices) the audio, visuals (photos), or video of the program. The intellectual property belongs to the Jung Society of Washington, and we ask you not to violate this policy. Also, we highly value the anonymity of the content of the program, of the presenters, and of individuals present in the program, and hope that everyone can contribute to a respectful and trust-building online environment. Thank you!

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COMING UP SOON...

Friday, July 10th | 7:30-9:00pm est

JUNG AND ASTROLOGY: How the Ancient Symbolism of Astrology Helped Inform C.G. Jung’s Most Important Ideas, An Evening With Janet Kane

“Astrology represents the sum of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity – C. G. Jung

In C. G. Jung’s Collected Works, as well as his other writing, one can see many references to astrological symbols and hermetic concepts, which can be seen as sources for his ideas. Some of these ideas include the archetypes, his theory of psychological types, the persona, individuation, and synchronicity. Liz Greene, a modern professional astrologer and Jungian analyst believes that the future of psychology lay in rebuilding the lost connection between modern man, these ancient esoteric ideas and the cosmos.

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Friday, July 24th | 7:30-9:00pm est

JUNG AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL, a special program with Julie Bondanza

On July 24, in honor of Jung’s birthday, and to celebrate the present-day significance of Jung’s ideas and words for the recondite and difficult problems facing us today, Dr. Julie Bondanza will present on Jung and the Problem of Evil.

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Three Wednesdays, July 29th - August 12 | 7:30-9:30pm est

IPHIGENEIA AT AULIS, a Course With Bonnie Damron

It is said that history repeats itself. I would restate the idea that is at the core of this sentiment. It is not that history repeats, but rather, it is the patterns enacted in historical events that repeat.

Euripides (480 BCE—406 BCE), along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, was a preeminent Athenian tragedian, and the youngest of the three great dramatists. Many of his plays tell of the murder or sacrifice of royal children, either as part of the immediate drama, or as backstory. They include Medea, Children of Heracles, Hippolytus, Andromache, Hecube, Thyestes, The Trojan Woman, Erichtheus, Antigone, The Bacchae, and our play, Iphigeneia at Aulis. These killings are often, though not exclusively, the killing of girls and young women. What might account for the propensity of the deaths of so many royal children, especially princesses, and in particular, the sacrificial murder of the princess Iphigeneia? What, from Euripides’ view of the world and in his poetic mind, might be being murdered by Athens at the time he lived and wrote? Given that patterns repeat in history, how might his powerful metaphor be a mirror held up as a harbinger for us, and our historical time? Let’s explore.

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Four weekends over a year, starting October 31 | 10:30 - 2:30 est

CELTIC CALENDAR, CELTIC MYTH, a Day With Series with Kathryn Cook-Deegan and Elaine King

Gratitude to the Unknown Instructors

What they undertook to do

They brought to pass;

All things hang like a drop of dew

Upon a blade of grass.

— W.B. Yeats

(Re)discover agency and resonance in these pandemic times by exploring a rhythmic ride with the ancient Celtic calendar. Over the course of the year – a 12 month period – set aside weekends for the 4 seasonal punctuation marks and celebrations of the mythic Gaelic year – Samhain (new year), Imbolc (early spring), Beltane (early summer) and Lughnasa (hot.hot.hot.) Be part of a virtual community, co-led by two psychotherapists committed to the (heart)work at hand, replete with thoughtful readings, in anticipation of shared reflections - bolstered by earth and nature. We explore inner landscapes affixed to a scaffolding of past days and times.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ALL PROGRAMS

ONLINE COURSES

To view our programs on Teachable, please click the link below

https://www.jungmasterclass.com/

become a member

By joining the Jung Society of Washington, you are taking an important step to connect with our inspiring community of educators and learners. Our members receive several benefits: discounts for most of our programs, free articles, video and audio recordings in the Member's Area, Jung Society Library borrowing privileges and more.

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WHAT DO PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY

“It is wonderful to have a place where there is deep, soulful sharing with others.”

“I am very grateful to the Jung Society.”

“I felt very rewarded by participation in this program and all the possibility for further discussion and exploration it provoked.”

“I have enjoyed all the workshops.”

“I'm really enjoying the new energy and enthusiasm and push for new programming.”

“I love how the society is expanding its programming and thriving!”

“I feel that the Society is doing a great job of bringing us opportunities for learning and interaction with other members.”

Library

Our Jung Society Library has been formed over several decades thanks to generous contributions of the members of Jung Society of Washington. It now contains more than 3000 books, including Carl G. Jung The Collected Works and classics of Jungian studies. It is a serious, scholarly collection with many rare and unusual items, but it also contains more general and popular works, as well as a fair amount of relevant cultural materials. Become a Member of the Jung Society and get library borrowing privileges.

LIBRARY

Jungian
analysts

Jung Society of Washington works in close collaboration with the local Jungian Analysts. Many of them are the Faculty that leads classes and programs at the Jung Society. If you are interested in connecting with the analysts please visit JAWA (Jungian Analysts of Washington Association) website by clicking the logo below.