Aion

Name: Aion
ISBN: 9780691097596

researches into the phenomenology of the self

by Carl Gustav Jung, Gerhard Adler, R. F.C. Hull · first published 1951

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Psychology & Behavior Religion & Spirituality

Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self , originally published in German in 1951, is one of the major works of Jung's later years. The central theme of the volume is the symbolic representation of the psychic totality through the concept of the Self, whose traditional historical equivalent is the figure of Christ. Jung demonstrates his thesis by an investigation of the Allegoria Christi, especially the fish symbol, but also of Gnostic and alchemical symbolism, which he treats as phenomena of cultural assimilation. The first four chapters, on the eg

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thebillywayne · Dec 24, 2020 · Recommends

Aion by Carl Jung
on “Ask HN: What was a book that changed your life?” ↗
thebillywayne · Mar 19, 2022 · Recommends

Aion - Carl Jung
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗
ilovhn · Jun 9, 2022 · Recommends

Aion, by Carl Jung.
on “Ask HN: Books worth reading multiple times?” ↗
bathMarm0t · Jan 5, 2020 · Recommends

…conversation, held at length, over time. You asked for philosphy in another comment: Victor Frankyl: Man in search of meaning Marcus Aurelius: Meditations Jung: Development of Personality, Archetypes/Aion Nietsche: all and any For philosophical fiction: Goethe: Faust Hemingway: Death in the afternoon (this was my first glimpse into why books can provide lightness of body, displacement of time: wait…
on “Ask HN: Are books worth it?” ↗
8bitsrule · Jul 8, 2021 · Recommends

…human experiences ... his own and those of his patients. To get to some of the core ideas (without dilution), try the two books of Vol 9. Archetypes... (which arrives at key idea 'Individuation') and Aion (gets into self, ego, shadow, anima/animus). These aren't easy reads, but many have found the effort rewarding. Edit: Joseph Campbell's ideas (specially TV series The Power of Myth) might be a more…
on “Afternotes III: The Lonely Crowd Within” ↗
TheAceOfHearts · Dec 26, 2025 · Recommends

…breathtaking and I strongly suggest looking it up even if you only look at the art. Narratively, it feels a bit like rambling at times. I'd previously read Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, and Aion, and felt like those had a bit more intelligible substance. The first few chapters of Aion are excellent, but then Jung just goes on for like a dozen chapters about fish symbolism which completely lost…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗
rgrieselhuber · Oct 21, 2021 · Mentions

…were affected heavily by the notion that the philosophy was a response to an unknown cataclysm of some sort, I just wish I could track down the original source on that idea. Jung’s investigation into Aion is also connected somehow to this but it is an area I need to research further.
on “Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died” ↗
TheAceOfHearts · Sep 17, 2023 · Critical

…salt, i.e. crying. (Obviously this example is meant to be illustrative and basic.) Jung has some really interesting interpretations of symbols but he can sometimes go a bit overboard. I recently read Aion and while the first few chapters were intellectually interesting, he absolutely lost me when he went on an 8(?) chapter detour rambling about opaque fish symbolism. Admittedly, maybe I'm just a bad reader…
on “A New Age of Magic” ↗