Part of the series “Basic Jung: The Interpretation of Fairy Tales”
“Fairy tales are the purest and simplest expression of collective unconscious psychic processes.
Therefore their value for the scientific investigation of the unconscious exceeds that of all other material.” ~ Marie-Louise von Franz
Fairy tales are told world-wide and since Freud have been a source of interest psychologically. This is primarily due to the similarity of motifs and processes in the tales with the phenomenology of dreams. This presentation will focus on C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz’s approach to the psychological interpretation of fairy tales. The goal will be to explore the archetypal dimension of psyche, learn to better understand its language, and relate what we learn to the observable phenomena of dreams, symptoms and fantasies. Familiarity with fairy tales deepens our awareness of the archetypal processes of psychological renewal and transformation that are continuously at work in the collective unconscious.
Thomas Elsner, JD, MA, is a certified Jungian Analyst who trained at the Centre for Depth Psychology according to G.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz in Zurich. He is a faculty member of the C.G. Jung Study Center of Southern California, and adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and is in private practice in Santa Barbara.