A Blue Fire

by James Hillman, Thomas Moore (Editor)

A vitally important introduction to the theories of one of the most original thinkers in psychology today, A Blue Fire gathers selected passages from many of Hillman's seminal essays on archetypal psychology.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Mythology, Psychoanalysis, Mysticism, Spirituality

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

James Hillman (1926-2011) was an American psychologist. He served in the US Navy Hospital Corps from 1944 to 1946, after which he attended the Sorbonne in Paris, studying English Literature, and Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a degree in mental and moral science in 1950.

In 1959, he received his PhD from the University of Zurich, as well as his analyst's diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute and founded a movement toward archetypal psychology, was then appointed as Director of Studies at the institute, a position he held until 1969.

In 1970, Hillman became editor of Spring Publications, a publishing company devoted to advancing Archetypal Psychology as well as publishing books on mythology, philosophy and art. His magnum opus, Re-visioning Psychology, was written in 1975 and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Hillman then helped co-found the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture in 1978.

Retired into private practice, writing and traveling to lecture, until his death at his home in Connecticut on October 27, 2011 from bone cancer.

Reviews

[Steve Owen]

Seems to correspond well with Zizek's call to "enjoy your symptom." For Hillman this means that to know our true selves we must know our ailments, and to accept that our selfs always contain ailment. By seeking to know our sickness without desiring to transcend and defeat it, we can learn about ourselves and the ailments of society. In this process, we grow more empathetic by accepting that everything is afflicted to some degree, and we grow free from the intolerant fantasies of normalcy and health.

[S Suzanne]

As some others noted, Hillman is very cerebral and can be pompous (I do not always agree with him)
This is not a breezy book at all. But Hillman is a stunningly original thinker, and I come back and dip into this now and then.

He is an offshoot from Jung- but definitely does not see eye to eye with Jung on everything. It has been a while since I read this, but it is a book I underline and return to.

I love his fresh use of archetypes and myth - here is a passage:

"Like Persephone, we are both repelled and attracted, sometimes seizing only half the experience, struggling like her against being carried down by the dream, other times in its embrace and ruling from its throne."

He also wrote a book I love called Dreams and the Underworld...

[Susan]

There are quick reads, and then there are books that one can return to for new insights over a life-time. A Blue Fire is such a book. I dip into the ideas found in A Blue Fire every few years and discover I understand more about what Hillman describes. The section on World Soul is especially interesting to me. Learning to see the soul in both the natural world and our created world of objects and spaces gives new meaning to the idea of environmental awareness.

[Mandy]

I love books that make me think and make me want to read more on a subject. This book definitely does both. It's a collection of excerpts from Hillman's work. It covers a wide variety of aspects of archetypal and soul psychology, and the editor has arranged it in a way that the topics progress logically. This was very useful to me as I have practically no background in psychology studies. At times it made me pensive; at times I didn't understand it at all. I always wanted to keep reading it, but it took me a while because I would hit points where I needed to put it down for a while and read something else while I processed whatever bit I had read.

[Morgan Blackledge]

A Blue Fire is an anthology of James Hillman’s writing on archetypal psychology. Hillman is concerned with themes that broadly include the soul (roughly defined as the deeply felt, utterly unique essence of self), the interconnectedness of the world and soul, and the significance of archetype, mythology and beauty in our lives.

The book is a collection of Hillman's essays on issues that include: the poetic basis of mind, psychological polytheism, dreams, and love.

This book isn’t easy in that it intentionally challenges ways of thinking that are rarely challenged. But it isn’t particularly difficult either. Hillmans writing is entertaining and appropriate for anyone interested in psychology, mythology, or the deeper aspects of human experience.

In sum.

I LOVE HILLMAN.

Amazing 🤩

[Ryan]

It is amazing that the best introductions to an authors work come at the end of their career. This compilation, edited by one of Hillman’s better known followers, is a great introduction to Hillman’s psychological theory. Moore’s selections adequately highlights the major themes in Archetypal Psychology: the soul, archetypes, the imagination, polytheism, alchemy and dreams.

[Andrew]

This was very intriguing and challenging. Hillman's ideas branch out from other's work and then jump to their own tree. He provides a unique perspective and his demeanor is great. I love how he doesn't use typical words that others do because they make him feel weird, too American, or too waspy. Words like commit or witness. His outlook is great and becomes even more interesting when he looks at modern day society like the house or maps as opposed to only looking at the person. Looking forward to reading more by him.

[Aneta Guleva]

A wonderful read from the brilliant mind of James Hillman. Many scrutinizing aspects of the psyche seen through Hillman captured my curiosity. I would note the ones relaying to the importance of the myth not only in literature but how myths inhabit the dynamic human psyche that is conditioned by societal norms, family, school, etc. I enjoyed the parts how he writes about the unknown, the unconscious, death, dream, and myth vs Christianity, as the dominant religion in the Western world.

[Gregory Tilden]

After reading the Dream and the Underworld, this book set a foundation which I didn't have before. Loved it, Hillman brings such a fresh non-materialistic view of psychology. Related to some parts more than others. I can only hope that future generations of psychologists will lean more towards the poetic basis of mind, incorporating imagination and mythology as tools for understanding.

[Roger Burk]

By "soul" Hillman seems to mean the unconscious--the mass of brain function below the level of consciousness that makes itself apparent only in images in dreams and recurrent themes in folklore, though it motivates and drives all of our actions. He has no use for "Christianism," as he calls it. He says images from the "soul" should not be interpreted as standing for other things, but in some way just accepted and appreciated for what they are. However, in the one example of analysis included in this collection, he seems to assign interpretations to dream images pretty freely. Other than that, I didn't get much out of this book. Most of it is is just broad generalizations and airy descriptions without supporting detail or examples. Most of the time I had no idea what he was talking about.

[Larry Markworth]

I'm reading this for a course on Dreamtending I'm taking at Pacific Graduate Institute. Hillman has been elevated to the status of a god at the Institute. Perhaps because I have no formal training in psychology I'm finding this a very difficult read. He appears to me as a pompous intellectual who had the audacity to write about himself in the third person as in "Hillman believes in this or that." It's like fingernails on a chalk board. Too much!

[Sara-Maria]

collection of hillman's marvelous work. i was especially blown away by the section on pathology/depression.

[Anders]

This was the first book of Hillman writings I ever read. It blew me away and landed me smack in the camp of the archetypal psychology - something I have never regretted doing

[Omkara]

A beautifully well written poetic meditation on the differences which we harbor within our own self. Despite my fundamental disagreements with James Hillman in his approach to the self, I thoroughly enjoyed his poetic approach to viewing the psyche, of embracing difference and of allowing the image to live rather than have it be interpreted. However, where Hillman's approach falls short is when it comes to his approach to defining the self. If the self is rooted in difference without a unifying factor, the self would not be a self anymore. While there is utility to be had in the celebration of difference, no two differences can co-exist without a uniting factor that binds them. This, I feel is the biggest issue with approaching the self as nothing but difference as each difference within the self is always accompanied by a factor which unifies.

[Marcus Gordon]

A poetic flight into the imaginal consciousness of the human soul. Some fascinating and refreshing views on psychology, soul and the imagination. ‘We find vitality in tension, learn from paradox, gather wisdom by straddling ambivalence, and gain confidence in trusting the confusion that naturally arises from multiplicity. The sign of a soulful life is its rich texture and its complexity. The souls complexes, therefore, are not to be simply ironed out, because they are the stuff of human complexity’.

[Jason Brown]

Hillman has an unique approach, and tackles jungian concepts from unexpected angles. These selected passages cover a wide range of themes from within his works, and is very thought provoking.

It can be quite dense at times, so I would recommend anticipating a slower pace with a lot of time to contemplate. It’s definitely worth it. It’s also beneficial to know some of the core jungian concepts before diving in.

[Rudyard L.]

This was fairly good. I would have normally given it four stars since Hillman covers lots of very valid or powerful themes at once. That being said I was really annoyed that it doesn’t actually talk about the alchemical blue fire. That’s why I was reading the book since I wanted to know more about that

[Felicia Romano]

This highly edited Hillman collection is a breath of fresh air--the only Hillman book I can pick up and read without skipping over superfluous wordiness. Love Thomas Moore--his commentary is equally valuable in my opinion.

[Joe Zupancic]

Post-modern Jung. Some interesting ideas/sections and analyzation of symbols, but fundamentally flawed at the core in purporting that there is no unifying center to the self/universe.
Interesting read I guess to see where Jungian thought went post-Jung, but not much more than that.

[Daniel]

Amazing.

[Buck Wilde]

A Jungian I don't find embarrassing. Rare, but welcome.

[Don Giroux]

Super interesting shit I recommend the audiobook with some hash

[Hans]

I love James Hillman and all of his work.

[Pavel]

Not quite Jung, but Hillman has his charm.

[Shinji007]

A bunch of pedantic nonsense through and through in these pages. If he actually did analyze people, I fear they never got better. But, I am sure he made bank on them year after year.

[Ron]

Every snippett I've read of this book so far is amazing. Dreams, images from the deep, hunches are not to be reduced to ideas but, rather, to be seen (smelled, heard, felt, moved upon) as events in themselves that carry certain feelings of being in an energetic place that one can revisit or add to the pallet of tones in one's surroundings

[Dimitrios]

After so many years I keep discovering its psycho-poetic force; A source of inspiration.During a 5 week stay at a hospital for intestinal problems, it helped me embrace pain and learn from sorrow instead of avoiding it. His writing is beyond psychology; it's somewhere between mythology, poetry, psychoanalysis and dream literature...A true alchemist! :-)

[Yaaresse]

Tried reading this several times in print form. It's not uninteresting, but the font in the paperback is very small. I found it a literal headache to read. Will have to wait for the e-book.

Hillman can be a pompous pedantic sometimes, but his ideas are interesting.

[Michael]

I don't always agree with Hillman--in fact, I often disagree--but he's still one of the most illuminating and exciting thinkers I've read. I need to return to this stuff.

[Michael Dobbie]

one of my favorite jungian authors...soul, myth, healing (duality), story...