Joseph L. Henderson (1903–2007)

Sometimes, the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

This is, ultimately, two books, one on psychology by Joseph Lewis Henderson and one on mythology by Maud Oakes. The latter is supposed to provide support for the former, but it can be read on its own.

I'm not sure the former can be read at all, at least by ordinary mortals. Certainly it struck me as simply bizarre. Too many dreams, too little analytical data, and too few suggestions for something useful. To be sure, I'm not a show more psychologist. I picked up the book hoping it would help me to understand why people seem to be attracted to a certain type of story. I was looking specifically at tales with some similarity to what Joseph Campbell called "the monomyth." You won't find it here.

I was eventually reduced to skimming the psychology section, desperately looking for something that made sense. I never did.

The mythology section is better. I wish it had more background information, and I would quibble with the selection. But at least it gathers quite a few myths on topics such as resurrection. For that, it's a useful book. So I'd give the myths section perhaps three and a half stars (a good folklorist could surely have done better). The other gets at most two.

If you still want to read it, I'd suggest trying the myths first; they might make it easier to understand the other. show less

Written by Joseph L. Henderson, one of the first generation of Jungian analysts, and Dyane N. Sherwood, a practising analyst, this book is a striking and unique contribution to the resurgence of interest in alchemy for its way of representing the phenomenology of creative experience. Transformation of the Psyche is organized around 22 illuminated paintings from the early Renaissance alchemical manuscript the Splendor Solis, and is further illustrated by over 50 colour figures. The images of show more the Splendor Solis are possibly the most beautiful and evocative alchemical paintings to be found anywhere, and they are widely known to students of alchemy. Jung reproduced several Splendor Solis images in his works, yet prior to this book no one has explored the symbolism of the paintings as a series in relation to the process of depth psychological transformation. This book is the first scholarly study of the paintings in their entirety, and of the mythological and historical allusions contained within the images. Transformation of the Psyche does not simply explain or analyze the pictures, but invites the reader to participate in the creative and transforming process evoked by these images.
Transformation of the Psyche is a truly unique book that will be of immense value and interest to analysts and psychotherapists, as well as scholars of mediaeval and renaissance intellectual history and students of spiritual disciplines. Source: Publisher show less

Will be interesting to fans of mythological studies.

Death > Mythology/Death > Religious aspects > Comparative/studies/Regeneration (Theology) > Comparative studies/Resurrection > Comparative studies