The Collected Writings of Murray Stein: Volume 2: Myth and Psychology

Dr. Murray Stein's prolific career has produced a substantial body of writings, lectures, and interviews. His writings, captured in these volumes, span a wide domain of topics including Christianity, individuation, midlife, the practice of analytical psychology, and topics in contemporary society. His deep understanding of analytical psychology is much more than an academic discourse, but rather a deeply personal study of Jung that spans nearly half a century.

Volume 2 looks at Mythology through a Jungian lens. Dr. Stein examines a vast array of mythologic figures. Cronos the devouring Olympian father, Hephaistos with his powerful creativity, and Narcissus with his legendary vanity, are just a few of the archetypal figures he pursues. The passage through midlife and its mythological nuances is portrayed with astute attention to the liminal space it embodies. Mythology is ripe with transformative symbols reaching deep into our unconscious. Dr. Stein masterfully unpacks the archetypal cores from within as he guides us through this transformation.

TA B L E O F CO N T E N T S

The Devouring Father: A Myth of Repression

1. A Portrait of the Father-Devoured Personality

2. The Devouring Father in Greek Mythology

Hephaistos: A Mythic Image for the Instinct of Creativity

1. The Mythic Image of Hephaistos

2. The Underground Forge of Creativity

3. Hephaistian Art and the Feminine

4. The Hephaistian Character

5. Hephaistos and His Brother

6. The Loves of Hephaistos

7. Postscript

Narcissus: A Mythic Image for the Instinct of Reflection

1. The Story and Its Interpreters

2. Narcissus and Death

3. Narcissus and Vanitas

4. Narcissus and Reflection

5. Narcissus and Projection

6. Narcissus and Narcissism

7. Narcissus and Neoplatonism

Hera: A Mythic Image for the Instinct of Mating in Matrimony

1. Hera as Archetypal Image of the Mating Instinct

2. The Phases and Rhythms of Hera

3. Hera's Children

The Paradox of Jealousy

1. Introduction

2. Jealousy: Hera's Offspring

3. The Conflict between Hera and Aphrodite

4. The Wanderings of Hera

5. A Child of Jealousy: Harmonia

In MidLife

Chapter 1: Hermes, Guide of Souls Through Liminality

Chapter 2: Burying the Dead: The Entry into the Midlife Transition

Chapter 3: Liminality and the Soul

Chapter 4: The Return of the Repressed During Midlife Liminality

Chapter 5: The Lure to Soul-Mating in Midlife Liminality

Chapter 6: Through the Region of Hades: A Steep Descent in Midlife's Liminality

Chapter 7: On the Road of Life After Midlife

On Psychological Interpretation

1. Symbols and Interpretations

2. Three Types of Representation

3. Jung's Hermeneutical Method

4. Interpretation and the Language of Psychology

References

Index