The Bible and the Psyche: Individuation Symbolism in the Old Testament

P.J. Kemp was a journalist living in Brigham, Quebec.

Individuation, in simplest terms, is the process by which a person achieves inner wholeness and unity. The opposing forces which make up our personalities, rather than ceasing to exist with individuation, instead become willing and co-operative servants to the leading force, the Self. To reach this state requires a process analogous to the lengthy and painful sojourn of the Israelites in the desert.

This is the thesis of Edward F. Edinger’s fascinating book. Drawing heavily on Jungian psychology as a base, Edinger details how the entire Old Testament can be read not only as metaphor but as parallel of the evolution of the human soul.

Thus God, as well as Supreme Being, becomes the symbol of Self, the “I Am That I Am” in each of us, or divine spark. This Self, a mysterious, elusive, largely subconscious force, is yet the foundation of our psyches. Because of its largely amorphous nature, the Self seeks definition and development through the agency of the experiences of the physical body. But because physicality has its own undeniable powers and needs, the Self and these other assorted forces are constantly clashing — as did the Old Testament God and his chosen agents, the Israelites.

Edinger cites familiar Biblical episodes and interprets them into Jungian psychological concepts. Thus, for instance, the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt symbolizes the individual’s often ambivalent rejection of the materialistic world, and his or her equally ambivalent and painful embarkation on Self-awareness, as depicted by the aimless wandering in the desert.

The process of individuation is a process whereby “God is justified by man” — or the Self comes to fruition through the various experiences, desires, and disciplines of our physical existence. This idea may shock those who have been taught to believe the opposite, but Edinger presents his arguments so clearly, with such a wealth of explanatory references, and with logic, that it’s an idea deserving further examination and consideration.

The Bible and the Psyche is a valuable aid to understanding and putting into context the archaic and obscure events of the Bible, as well as understanding ourselves in relation to the world.