Carl Jung Hacks the Universal Code

It is rare that lost works of genius are discovered and it is even more unusual to discover that a masterpiece has been purposefully hidden, as is the case with Carl Jung’s Red Book. Nearly 100 years old, the book spent the last quarter century locked in a Swiss safe deposit box – only to emerge from prison in 2009.

Jung’s work, which he deemed his “most difficult experiment,” is now unearthed and on display for lucky El-Layistas willing venture dangerously close to UCLA.

Although most people can dredge up some vague recollection of Jung as (along with Freud) the of analytical psychology, few are aware of his deeper, darker spiritual experiment in which he released the threads of sanity and dove – body and spirit – into his beloved collective unconscious.

Beginning in December of 1913, Jung purposefully induced a series of deep trances and hallucinatory states and then recorded his experiences in The Black Books. Dubbed “spirit writing,” his efforts coalesced into the legendary Liber Novus (New Book), which has since become known as Red Book.

The narrative – borrowing structure and story elements from Nietzsche’s Zarathustra and Dante’s Inferno – depicts Jung’s descent into hell through words, commentary and detailed paintings that will likely remind burners everywhere of ayahuasca trips. Jung should not only be credited for introducing the concept of the oversoul, but he should also be considered the granddaddy of psychedelic art. Take one look at his book and try to disagree.

Grandad of psychedelic art

Red Book, resembling a medieval illuminated manuscript, is an amazing piece – beautiful in thought, artistry and execution. For those who have long grown tired of Nietzsche’s “god is dead” (even Stephen Hawking is sick of this one) and for those who are even more exhausted by *fill in the blank* indoctrination of established *fill in the blank* or others who are grossly tainted by the too-frequent hypocrisy of new age spirituality, Jung’s quest is a refreshing and personal one: a man’s search for his individualized cosmology that exists entirely outside of society’s series of “acceptable” beliefs.

It’s difficult to deny that all of us – as humans – should take the same journey and for those of us lucky enough to live in El-Lay, it can start with the careful presentation of the real thing.

Until June 6^th, Carl Jung’s Red Book will reside @ the Armand Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd. (NE Corner of Wilshire and Westwood). 310 443-7000. Bike racks and car stalls in the back. Make a run for it and until then…

Get some sun,

Curly Ani

Check more Red Book info: John Grohol’s article

Sara Corbett’s excellent article for the NYTimes

Tagged: Carl Jung red book black books occult hack universe code freud oversoul jungian perception transcendental transcendental nietzsche hawking jung