Individuation in Fairy Tales

by Marie-Louise von Franz

With a text revised and corrected by the author, this definitive edition of Individuation in Fairy Tales is rich with insights from religion, literature, and myth. Dr. von Franz focuses on the symbolism of the bird motif in six fairy tales of Europe and "The White Parrot" (Spain), "The Bath Bagerd" (Persia), "Princess Hassan Pasha" (Turkestan), "The Bid Flower Triller" (Iran), "The Nightingale Giser" (Balkans), and "The Bird Wehmus" (Austria). She explores the themes of psychological and spiritual transformation in the varied images of birds, such as the phoenix, the parrot, and the griffin. Special attention is given to the connection between fairy tales and alchemy and to the guidance that fairy tales give to therapeutic work.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mythology, Fairy Tales, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Adult

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Marie-Louise von Franz was a Swiss Jungian psychologist and scholar.

Von Franz worked with Carl Jung, whom she met in 1933 and knew until his death in 1961. Jung believed in the unity of the psychological and material worlds, i.e., they are one and the same, just different manifestations. He also believed that this concept of the unus mundus could be investigated through research on the archetypes of the natural numbers. Due to his age, he turned the problem over to von Franz. Two of her books, Number and Time and Psyche and Matter, deal with this research.

Von Franz, in 1968, was the first to publish that the mathematical structure of DNA is analogous to that of the I Ching. She cites the reference to the publication in an expanded essay "Symbols of the Unus Mundus," published in her book Psyche and Matter. In addition to her many books, Von Franz recorded a series of films in 1987 titled The Way of the Dream with her student Fraser Boa.

Von Franz founded the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. In The Way of the Dream she claims to have interpreted over 65,000 dreams. Von Franz also wrote over 20 volumes on Analytical psychology, most notably on fairy tales as they relate to Archetypal or Depth Psychology, most specifically by amplification of the themes and characters. She also wrote on subjects such as alchemy, discussed from the Jungian, psychological perspective, and active imagination, which could be described as conscious dreaming. In Man and His Symbols, von Franz described active imagination as follows: "Active imagination is a certain way of meditating imaginatively, by which one may deliberately enter into contact with the unconscious and make a conscious connection with psychic phenomena."

Reviews

[Mary Overton]

“In general, one can say that the water of life, or what is symbolized by it, is what man has always sought. We had it in paradise, but lost it. Symbolically it expresses this psychological experience which one could describe as the feeling that life is flowing in a meaningful way…. There are ups and downs, but you feel, to use a more technical modern simile, that your plane is riding approximately on the radar beam. You are where you belong, and then you have this absolutely marvelous feeling of being alive. Even the vicissitudes and difficulties of fate and human life can be accepted if one has basically this contact with the flow of libido in the unconscious, which is why we make all this effort about dream interpretation, because only by it can we tell where the flow of unconscious libido is moving and try to adapt our conscious movement to it, for then we feel alive. Then, even if not much happens in our lives, or we have a boring job to do, or all sorts of frustrations, we feel inwardly alive.
“…. Generally people project the flow of life into outer objects, they think that if they had a different wife and more money, or something like that, then they would have it, but that is a pure projection which you can see best if someone has all that, for then you realize that that is not it! What people really seek, even if they project it sometimes onto outer objects, is the feeling of being alive. That is the highest thing one can reach, during this life at least, and therefore it has always been a simile for any kind of religious mystical experience, because that conveys this feeling most…. Medieval mystics, for instance, would tell you that the inner experience of God was the well of life, and the Zen Buddhists say that when they find samadhi it is like drinking a cup of cool water after thirsting in the desert.” pp. 41-42

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yesterday, I went to Coyote Hills, a regional park with a wheelchair accessible boardwalk over the marshlands. I saw many kinds of ducks, geese, vultures, hawks and a single egret. I really enjoyed seeing all of those birds. This book has many tales about birds and how the birds in fairy tales lead people to individuate. This is a great book.

[Bridgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about the bird motif in fairy tales as related to the individuation process. Other material was covered, as well.

[Liam Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped me to better understand the discovery of the Self.

[Domenic Ciampa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revelatory, though this is to be expected with her work.

[Dounia Rezki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livre très instructif regorge de pépites sur les symboles dans l'imaginaire collectif, fait référence à plusieurs plans et grilles d'interprétation, se lit assez facilement
Un livre qui met enfin en évidence et en valeur les contes en expliquant leur réelle fonction à travers les civilisations, j'aime bien aussi les parallèles entre les versions Occident / Orient

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read. She does an outstanding job describing how fairy tales play into the process of individuation. In comparing various similar tales from different regions she also demonstrates the role they play in populations, as a sort of dream, compensating for collective conscious attitudes, a healing mechanism for the dominant religious attitudes.

[Aytac Koray Koc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author is much more knowledgeable about the matter than she describes. I wish she could write a little bit more.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

[Rama · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Wisdom has always been taught through the medium of parables and stories.” — Marie-Louise von Franz

It’s a deeply insightful book, though not one I would recommend to everyone. This is far from a casual read; it requires preparation and a solid grasp of Jungian psychology to truly appreciate the nuanced connections between alchemy, science, and religion.

Totally worth the read

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Oscar Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent overview of the process of individuation as symbolized by the bird in a variety of fairy tales. Some interesting insights.

[Nara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. I read it and I want to learn more about it.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!