Medicine Wheel and Mandala. The Circle as a Symbol of Philosophy of Life of Great Plains´ Native Americans and C.G. Jung´s Theory of Types.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15135/2016.4.2.49-59Abstract
This article focuses on a multidisciplinary dialogue between C. G. Jung’s Theory of the Psychological Types and the Medicine Wheel of the Power of the Individual Self for the Plains Indians.
Meeting with the indigenous tribes impacts C.G. Jung´s concepts. In „Memories, Dreams, Reflexions“ (Jung, 1989) he describes his meeting with the Native Americans. These experiences brought to his mind the influence of „[...] the cultural consciousness of the white man“ (ibid., p.247). The cosmopolitan philosophy of life and the religious traditions of the Natives find their expression in the Medicine Wheel. The circle is a symbol and a tool for sun dances, vision quests, astronomical observatory, a guide in life, a guidance for healing - finally it opens the gateway to cosmic spiritual power, both for the community and the individual. It is the measurement for the individual´s way of life, the basis of decision-making for self-discovery. In his theoretical concepts, Jung also used the circle symbol in the mandala form. He took the mandala not just for a road to the unconscious, but also for a symbol of his theory of typology.
Comparing C. G. Jung’s „Theory of Psychological Types“ and the „Medicine Wheel of the Power of the Individual Self“ indicates a link between Jung´s typology and the holistic approach of the Self of the Native Americans and the western psychology, psychoanalysis and psychotherapeutic disciplines.
Die Resultate dieses Vergleichs deuten an, dass Jungs Typologie ein Verbindungsglied zwischen der ganzheitlichen Sichtweise des Selbst der Native Americans und der westlichen Psychologie, Psychoanalyse und psychotherapeutischen Disziplinen sein kann.
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