Routledge - The Descent of the Soul and the Archaic Book

Explore the profound motif of katabasis in this scholarly work from Routledge. The Descent of the Soul and the Archaic examines the concept of a descent into an imaginal underworld and its significance for writers from ancient times to the modern era. This text places a strong focus on how these themes connect to psychoanalytic theory. Building on the foundational insights of Jung regarding katabasis and nekyia, this collection presents these concepts as models for deep self-descent and the subsequent healing process. The contributors analyze how ancient and modern notions of the self are shaped through a descent into deeper levels of imaginal experience. This book provides a specialized look at the intersection of classical motifs and depth psychology, making it a valuable resource for those studying the psychological dimensions of the human experience.