Carl Jung's "Red Book": The Astrology Behind the Publication of Jung's Most Personal Work

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist that helped bring forth the birth and development of psychology. In 1914 he began a journal in which he described his personal journey, his "confrontation with the unconscious," as he called it. From 1914 to 1930 he wrote in this Liber Novus (new book) with a red binding and cover, which he simply called his "Red Book." It has remained mostly unseen, even during his life and certainly after his death, until it was taken from a safe deposit box in Zurich in November of 2007. It's long-awaited publication date is October 7th, 2009.

The astrological signatures, both on their own in the sky as well as impacting Carl Jung's natal chart, do not disappoint. I'll discuss a few of them here and welcome comments and further insights from your own research and observations.

1913-1914: the Red Book's Beginning

Certainly the time period of 1914-1930 is vast and yields many powerful transits and progressions impacting Jung's natal chart. However, it was interesting to note that in 1914, the year he began the journal, Jupiter crossed his ascendant early in the year, transiting his first house for the remainder of that year. Jupiter, a planet associated with growth and realizing one's potential, correlates with Jung's desire for personal growth, as it traveled through his first house of Self. Jupiter is also traditionally associated with one's philosophy and the pursuit of truth, something that signified the initiation into Jung's dive into his pursuit of the truth in and of himself. This period of time also encompassed the classic Uranus opposition, which brings a confrontation with what one truly is and a course correction if one feels they are not on their true path.

In 1913, Jung appeared to begin coming apart, experiencing inner visions that were disturbing. This was during the period that found his progressed moon in the 8th house and Uranus crossing his Ascendant. The progressed moon shows where one's emotional attention is, and often correlates with internal and external changes that drive a person to deal with new emotional experiences that are coming up. In the 8th house, we confront our fears and often find ourselves dealing with our own darkness, as Jung did. It would have been especially powerful for Jung as his south node and Jupiter also reside in his natal 8th house, so as his progressed moon moved over each, he would have to confront any old soul patterns of security and let them go. Even though his progressed moon was in Libra, a sign of partnership, confronting demons having to do with habitual ways of hiding himself in partnership would have been up to deal with during this time, possibly having him feeling paradoxically alone as he made his descent into his own madness. See my assessment of his natal chart in part 2 for more about his south node.

As his progressed moon passed over Jupiter, well into 1914 at that point, he would be prompted to free fall into his own beliefs and let go of beliefs that no longer served him, even if they were comfortable and had worked in the past. He was birthing new truth from the fires of his own psyche. Uranus also crossed his ascendant in 1913, liberating and even divorcing him from the persona he'd adopted up until that point, the face he presented to the world as well as how he acted upon it, and he was set adrift to find his own path back (Uranus often shocks us by separating us from something that does not serve our highest individual truth).

November 26th, 2007: the Red Book is Removed from the Safe Deposit Box

An article was published on September 16th in the New York Times by Sara Corbett. She tells the story of Jung and the Red Book's removal from it's safe deposit box, as well as its journey toward publication. I had the pleasure of communicating with Sara and she generously provided me with the exact date of its removal, which was November 26th in the morning in Zurich, Switzerland. That day, Jupiter (a planet of truth and philosophy) was approaching Pluto (in this case, representing that which is hidden). A conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius signals Jung's truth coming to light in a powerful way - truth emerging from it's hiding place, often in a way that is challenging to hear because Pluto represents things that are hidden often for a reason, such as a fear of facing something that may shake us to our core.

True Black Moon Lilith had just passed over Mercury in Scorpio the day before. The symbolism of Lilith goes back to Christianity's Adam whose first wife was Lilith. She has been demonized but like many things that have suffered bad publicity, it is often out of fear and misunderstanding. Lilith represents the true wild, that which is untamed and is not about being appropriate or palatable to fit into polite and careful society. It is about a reunion with part of the natural self. Mercury represents communication, quite directly writing in this case, and in Scorpio the theme of the dark and hidden coming to light continues. The fact that Lilith was the trigger indicates to me that what will be revealed in the Red Book is certainly not going to be comfortable, tidy, and polite information. It is howling from the depths, Lilith representing the wild being released and Mercury giving it voice. (For more on Lilith, see the work of Tom Jacobs).

The asteroid Pallas was conjunct the north node in Pisces, which is an asteroid that can represent the joining of both the female and male, the intellect and the intuition. The Sun was in Sagittarius, and the Moon in Gemini, both signs representing the pursuit of knowledge.

Jung's resurgence in the collective awareness seems to be highlighted in the transiting and progressed planets interacting with his own natal chart. The Sun had just crossed his Midheaven and was squaring his Ascendant. The Midheaven is the point in the chart that represents how we shine in the world in a larger sense, something that's often explored in terms of one's career but not exclusively. Steven Forrest calls it not just your job, but your "cosmic job description;" it's the work that you're meant to do in the world. When the Midheaven is triggered by a moving planet, it can often signal a development that pushes that person into the public's eye, calling attention to a role we play in the world. That certainly seems to be the case here, but with the Sun squaring his ascendant at the same time, and Mercury (the information planet) opposing Jung's own natal Pluto (one's own unconscious mind), the revelation seems certain to challenge what we knew of Jung and our public impression of him as opposed to the private truth of him as a human. Were he alive he might feel a bit exposed!

Mars has just recently crossed his own Mercury in his 6th house and squared his nodes, indicating the push to Get His Voice Out There and reveal the 'grunt work' (6th house) and emotional effort he'd poured into the book's creation. His progressed Mercury had just crossed his Midheaven, illustrating how it's time for his evolving voice to become public and contribute to his great work, his legacy. Apparently Jung still has something to say! His progressed Midheaven was also forming a conjunction to his north node in Aries in the 2nd house; his evolving role in the world has caught up with the work his soul originally came here to do: claim his power as his own resource, without standing in anyone's shadow but having the courage to stand on his own.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I'll discuss the astrological conditions surrounding the October 7th publication date of the Red Book, and a natal analysis of Carl Jung himself.

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For those who want to work directly with the chart data:

Jung's birth data is given as July 26, 1875 at 7:32 pm in Kesswil, Switzerland. Astro.com gives Kesswil a time zone of -00:30, which yields a chart with 1-1/2 degrees Aquarius Rising according to their calculations, but according to WinStar yields 4 degrees Aquarius Rising, which is used here. AstroDataBank verifies the birth time with an "A" rating (birth time from memory).

All progressed charts have been calculated with the location of Kusnacht, Switzerland, since that is Jung's earthly resting place.

Comments

[Redloche]

Hi Amy,

I really resonated with the descriptions of these transits! I have definitely been coming into a new truth and some awareness.

Here are the matches:

- Recently, Jupiter (now at 23-degrees Pisces) crossed over my descendant at 22-degrees Pisces (though for Jung it was the ascendant). If I were to swap your analysis of first house transit for a seventh house transit, I would read this as potentially, a pursuit of my truth in and of “other” (relationships).

- You also mention Jung’s progressed moon in the 8th and Uranus crossing his ascendant.
My progressed moon recently moved out of the 8th house, after a “dark night of the soul” period in the past few years. (That 8th house transit definitively marked a change in my life, and in my philosophies. Everything has shifted.) Also, Uranus (currently at 28-degrees Pisces), like Jupiter, recently crossed my 22-degrees Pisces ascendant.

- And then you mention how the above transits would have been especially powerful for Jung, with his south node and Aries also in his natal 8th house. I also have Jupiter in the 8th house. And my south node is the 9th – my progressed moon has either already rolled over it, or will soon!

- During these transits, it you indicated that Jung was dealing with his Libra progressed moon “confronting demons having to do with habitual ways of hiding himself in relationship, possibly having him feeling paradoxically alone as he made his descent into his own madness.” For me, the moon has been exactly the opposite – in Aries, and then later Taurus. So if I take what you noted about Libra, and flip it (at least for my Aries experience), I would have been confronting demons having to do with habitual ways of hiding myself in my own identity. That sounds odd at first, but it’s true!! I have been coming out of a shell of alienation – of feeling like the “only one” who has the thoughts and insights and awareness and realizations I do. I’m not the only one! In fact, just this morning, I was thanking my 8th house “dark night” for clearing out old out-moded stifling relationships, and making room for these wonderful new ones! The gratitude largely being attributed to how much I’m growing in this new opportunity to speak without requiring translation. I can say all my outlandish ideas and thoughts and metaphors, and no one stares back at me blankly! I keep feeling like the ugly duckling who finally found other swans.

I guess then, the Taurean translation would be “confronting demons having to do with habitual ways of hiding myself in my possessions, or what I perceive myself to externally possess. I think I’m still learning this one.

You also note that as his progressed moon rolled over his Jupiter, he would have “been prompted to free fall into his own beliefs”. I almost think he would have free fallen somehow into the beliefs of “other” with everything happening in Libra. With me, I think I fell more solidly into my own beliefs, of myself – with the Aries energy. Maybe the “solidly” is the Taurean part!

As far as the impact of a Uranus conjunct Ascendant – where you note “liberating and even divorcing him from the persona he'd adopted up until that point, the face he presented to the world as well as how he acted upon it, and he was set adrift to find his own path back (Uranus often shocks us by separating us from something that does not serve our highest individual truth)” … for me, with Uranus conjunct Descendant (occurring last in December 2009), I would take your notes and flip them again, to be something like “liberating my perception of “Other” from the image I’d projected upon “Other” and how I acted upon it and left to find my own path back to some new vision. This has occurred. Really in big not world-view level way, but in a universal-existence view level way. So incredible, these insights.

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Sorry for such a long reply. HOWEVER, your post resonated so strongly with me. And Jung has also resonated with me before. AND, if I can offer my experiences as any kind of relative “bar”, your interpretations are pretty accurate. :)

~ Christie

[Amy Herring]

Hi Jeff - thanks for commenting! I do not know the date of that vision - let us know what you find out!

[Jeff Power]

Hi Amy, fascinating work! I am just beggining to research Jungs 1939 vision of the Alchemical Christ (or Plutonic Christ)as I suspect it was in some way compensatory to the unleashing of the Atomic bomb.The Manhattan project begun in 1939.I know that in 1939 Pluto in Leo moves into a trine with Jupiter and conjuncts his Sun, Uranus conjuncts his natal Uranus and Saturn his natal Neptune. I am curious as to either the exact date of the vision or more precise time of the year? Regardless it was a pretty amzing year for an amazing Psyche.

[Amy Herring]

Thanks so much for reading and commenting everyone!!

[jessica shepherd]

Precise and elegant astro-analysis, Amy! I love hearing about posthumous progressed aspects at times such as these. It's great evidence that the soul not only leaves a legacy, but is perhaps still hanging around. The soul lives on ;)

[Elizabeth Spring]

Amy~ Your posts on Jung and the Red Book are excellent and for those who have had their interest stimulated, I'd suggest reading his autobiography: "Memories, Dreams, and Reflections". His family unfortunately heavily edited this book as well, however the chapters having to do with his encounter with the unconscious through his breakdown are really excellent. Amy, your analysis of the charts is truly amazing, and at this point I don't have anything to add. However I'm going to go to NYC to hear the lecture and see the book, and will comment more then. For those who'd like to hear a radio broadcast on what's happening, it's here: http://CarlJungsRedBook.blogspot.com ~ elizabeth spring

[Will McGown]

My interest in Carl Jung led me to study astrology. Since I have Lilith conjunct my ascendant, I appreciated your comments about this point on Jung's chart.
Amazon just notified me today that the Hardcover of the Red Book will be available on December 4th at a cost of $105 plus. I surmise the color drawings by Jung add a lot of value to the writings.

[Michele Bailey-Lessirard]

Thanks Amy, I've heard about Jung's Red Book for several years from various shamanic teachers in the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. Good to have an astrologer's insights, eager to read part 2.