What I'm Reading This Week- May 31, 2010 - The Biggest Book
Quote de jour
"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind."
~James Russell Lowell
When I was notified by my library that a book I'd eagerly been waiting for months finally arrived, I wasted no time picking it up. There's big and then, there's something of mythic proportions: The Red Book - Liber Novus by Carl Jung is the biggest book I've ever held in my hands and I'm not just talking about it's size. The 205-page illuminated manuscript written and illustrated by Carl Jung between 1914 and 1930 remained secret and unpublished until 2009. The book is a personal experimental journey into the workings of the unconscious mind. During Jung's creation of the book, he developed his theories on the collective unconscious, archetypes and individuation. The illustrations are mind-blowing. The iconography is at once familiar and bizarre. I felt Jung had peered inside my head and into my dream landscapes. For anyone into mandalas, dreamwork and metaphysics will have a field day. I haven't read the translation yet, but it's clear that a meager two weeks won't be enough time to absorb the contents; it's on my "must have" list to buy.
A sample page from the illustrated book.
It's almost embarrassing to follow with the usual magazines. Talk about going from the sacred to the profane, but that's life.
"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind."
~James Russell Lowell
When I was notified by my library that a book I'd eagerly been waiting for months finally arrived, I wasted no time picking it up. There's big and then, there's something of mythic proportions: The Red Book - Liber Novus by Carl Jung is the biggest book I've ever held in my hands and I'm not just talking about it's size. The 205-page illuminated manuscript written and illustrated by Carl Jung between 1914 and 1930 remained secret and unpublished until 2009. The book is a personal experimental journey into the workings of the unconscious mind. During Jung's creation of the book, he developed his theories on the collective unconscious, archetypes and individuation. The illustrations are mind-blowing. The iconography is at once familiar and bizarre. I felt Jung had peered inside my head and into my dream landscapes. For anyone into mandalas, dreamwork and metaphysics will have a field day. I haven't read the translation yet, but it's clear that a meager two weeks won't be enough time to absorb the contents; it's on my "must have" list to buy.
A sample page from the illustrated book.
It's almost embarrassing to follow with the usual magazines. Talk about going from the sacred to the profane, but that's life.
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 5/30/2010 12:31 PM 
Categories: What I'm Reading This Week
Tags: liber novus carl jung
Categories: What I'm Reading This Week
Tags: liber novus carl jung
I'd love to get my hands on that book. It's like the ultimate secret diary!
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It's really special but it's a big book with a big price. The lowest price I could find was $122.00 including shipping.
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An impressive tome, indeed. Do you read German?
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Sadly no. There is a translation.
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