Alchemy: The chemistry from prehistory until the 17th century, in which laboratory experiments were combined with intuitive, pictorial, partly religious experiences about nature and man. Many symbols which we recognize today as contents of the unconscious were project onto matter, onto the prima materia. The alchemist sought the "secret of God" in the primary material and, in doing so, developed methods and process which resemble those of modern depth psychology.
Alter ego: (Latin) The other aspect of oneself, a second ego; also, one's doppelgänger.
Amplification: Expansion of dream content through personal associations and comparison of dream images with images from mythology, religion, and so on, which resemble the dream content.
Anima: Personification of the feminine nature in the unconscious of a man; the contrasexual soul image, the image of the feminine which is internalized in the male psyche.
Animus: Personification of the masculine nature in the unconscious of a woman. The animus is often recognized in projection onto spiritual authorities; in this way, a woman's inner image of masculinity finds expression,
Archetypes: Structural elements or dominants in the psyche which are in themselves indescribable, but which express themselves as dream and fantasy images and as fantasy motifs in consciousness; primordial images.
Behaviorism: School of psychology that limits itself to the objectively observable and to measurable behavior, dispensing with any description of the contents of consciousness which emerge only by way of introspection.,
Collective unconscious: The deeper levels of the unconscious, which Jung recognizes as containing the totality of all archetypes which reflect experiences common to all men. The forms of the archetypal structures (not their content) are hereditary and are comparable to the i inborn behavior patterns of animals, such as nest building, bee dancing, courtship, and so forth.
Compensation: Counterbalance; in a psychological sense, the appearance of an opposite attitude in behavior which is too one-sided.
Complementarity: Completion; psychologically, the assimilation of an element which has previously been lacking and through which wholeness is attained.
Coniunctio: (Latin) Union, connection by love.
Constellation: A time-bound grouping of events.
Daimon: Originally, a value-free, driving force, a spiritual energy which leads to the creative formation of individuality; for Socrates, an inspiring and guiding spirit.
Demiurge: (Greek-Latin) The artisan of the universe, creator of all worlds (especially in Plato and the Gnostics).
Djinn: Supernatural spirit, Arabic for "demon".
Extroversion, extroverted: Directed outwardly. A psychic attitude, characterized by a concentration of interest on objects; easily susceptible to outer influences.
Heretic: (Greek-Latin) One who deviates from official Church dogma.
Individuation: "Individuation means becoming an 'in-dividual,' and, insofar as 'individuality' embraces our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness, it also implies becoming one's own self." -- C. G. Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, par. 266.
Inferior function: In Jung's topology, that function of the four functions of behavior (thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition) which has not been developed and hence has remained inferior. It is the opposite of the strongest or superior function (for instance, with a thinking personality feeling is usually less developed).
Inflation: An overexpansion of the personality through identification with an archetype or, in pathological cases, with a historical or religious figure, which exceeds individual limitations.
Introversion, introverted: Directed inwardly; a concentration of energy on inner-psychic processes, oriented to an inner evaluation of experience.
Libido: (Latin, "desire," "love") In Jung's terminology, the psychic energy that underlies all psychic manifestations (drives, aspirations, etc.)
Logos: (Greek-Latin) Meaningful word, logical decision or judgment, human intellect; divine reason, world reason, God's Word as the force which created the world; revelation.
Lysis: (Greek) In dream theory, the resolution or ending events of the dream.
Mandala: (Sanskrit) Literally "circle". An image inserted in a circle or polygon which facilitates meditation and is intended to represent certain spiritual dynamics. Mandalas are widespread in most religious traditions. In Jung's psychology they are recognized as unconscious contents which emerge into consciousness spontaneously and sere an symbols of the totality of the personality or of the Self.
Objective level: A type of dream interpretation in which persons and objects appearing in the dream are understood as having objective meaning. In such an interpretation one is concerned with the relation between the dreamer and the environment.
(See also Subjective level.)
Participation mystique: A psychological condition in which various inanimate objects and people participate with each other in a mystical manner, are connected with each other beneath the surface of consciousness.
Pneuma: (Greek) Breath. An airlike substance believed to be a dynamic principle.
Prima materia: In alchemy the primary matter which has not yet been transformed.
Psychoid: Psyche-like, quasi-psycic. For Jung, characteristic of the unobservable deep layer of the collective unconscious and its contents.
Self: Center and circumference of the total psyche, that is, the conscious and unconscious personality of man.
Shadow: In analytical psychology, the neglected qualities of the personality in the conscious process of integration, consisting of partly repressed, partly unlived traits which, for social , ethical, educational or other reasons, have been excluded from conscious experience and therefore have fallen in to the unconscious. The shadow is in a compensatory relation to consciousness; it can therefore function positively as well as negatively.
Subjective level: A specific method of dream interpretation in which figures and situations that appear in the dream are interpreted as partial aspects of the dreamer himself. The subjective level of interpretation is concerned with the relation of the dreamer to his inner world. (See also Objective level.)
Synchronicity: A concept coined by Jung. It denotes a meaningful coincidence or correspondence of two or more outer and inner events. It signifies the meaningful concurrence of a physical and a psychic event which are connected not causally but by meaning.
Tao: (Chinese) Usually translated as "way," "universal meaning," "World Ground." That which keeps the world meaningfully together in its innermost parts.
Typology: A model of classification based on the predominance of psychic activity of certain distinct ways of understanding and perceiving; for Jung, it is connected with the two attitudes, namely extroversion and introversion, and the four functions: thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition. For example, a thinking type experiences the world and attempts to understand it through his thinking function which is more highly developed than his other function. Cf. C. G. Jung, Psychological Types.[b]