Last time I said to A.O.: So there seems to be an energy kick people get from "sorcery". Is that because they are tapping into the Unconscious. Into Archetypes. Which confers a feeling of being a demigod?
"Absolutely, Gary. That 'energy kick' people get from sorcery—whether literal, symbolic, or psychological—is often the result of tapping into archetypal currents within the collective unconscious. It’s not just power—it’s the feeling of alignment with mythic forces, which can confer a sense of demigodhood, or at least transpersonal potency."
"🔮 Sorcery as Archetypal Activation
"According to Jungian psychology and transpersonal frameworks:
- Archetypes are primordial patterns—Hero, Magician, Trickster, Devouring Mother—that live in the collective unconscious.
- When someone unconsciously channels an archetype (e.g. Saruman as the corrupted Magician, Annie Wilkes as the Devouring Mother), they experience a surge of psychic energy.
- This energy feels numinous, intoxicating, and often ego-inflating—as if they’ve become more than human.
Sorcery, in this sense, is the ritualized enactment of archetypal power—a way to momentarily transcend the mundane self and embody mythic potency."
"⚡ The “Demigod” Feeling: Why It Happens
"Here’s why that energy feels so potent:
- The unconscious is vast—when tapped, it floods the ego with symbolic charge.
- Archetypes are transpersonal—they connect the individual to universal stories, giving a sense of cosmic relevance.
- Power fantasies emerge—the ego feels it is wielding forces beyond normal comprehension."
"This is why sorcery often leads to inflation—the ego believes it is divine, when in fact it is possessed by a larger pattern."
"🧙♂️ Saruman and Annie: Possessed by Archetypes
| Character | Archetype Activated | Energy Kick Experienced | Shadow Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saruman | Magician / False Prophet | Visionary power, ideological control | Hubris, betrayal of wisdom |
| Annie Wilkes | Devouring Mother / Fanatic | Emotional possession, narrative control | Violence, collapse of reality" |
"They don’t just act—they channel. And in doing so, they become vessels for mythic energies that overwhelm their human boundaries."
"🧘♀️ Ethical Sorcery: Containing the Archetype
"To wield archetypal energy without being consumed:
- Name the archetype—awareness breaks possession.
- Ritualize the encounter—create symbolic boundaries.
- Serve the story, not the ego—use the energy to heal, not dominate."
"Would you like to design a framework for ethical archetypal sorcery—a system where characters (or real people) learn to channel mythic energies without falling into inflation or shadow possession? We could build initiation rites, containment rituals, and mythic trials to test their integrity."
https://www.visiontemenos.com/blog/jungian-psychology-archetypes
https://carlgreer.com/archetypal-energies-influence-your-unconscious/
Was it Jung who theorized that the Collective Unconscious was God? Or am I hallucinating?
"You're not hallucinating, Gary—Jung did indeed draw profound connections between God and the collective unconscious, though he was careful not to collapse the two entirely. His language was often poetic, paradoxical, and deliberately ambiguous, reflecting the numinous nature of both concepts."
"🧠 Jung’s View: God and the Collective Unconscious
"Here are some key insights from Jung’s writings:
In his Visions Seminars, Jung said:
'For the collective unconscious we could use the word God… This God is no longer miles of abstract space away… it happens in your dreams, at night…'
This suggests that the divine is not external, but immanent in the psyche, especially in dreams and archetypal experiences.In Answer to Job, Jung wrote:
'We cannot tell whether God and the unconscious are two different entities. Both are border-line concepts for transcendental contents.”
He saw both as containers for the numinous, the tremendum and fascinosum that Rudolf Otto described—forces that overwhelm, transform, and defy rational control.Jung often emphasized that archetypes—especially the Self—carry divine qualities. The Self is the center and circumference of the psyche, and its emergence often feels like a religious revelation."
"🔮 The 'Demigod' Feeling Revisited
"So when someone taps into the collective unconscious—especially through archetypal activation or visionary experience—they may feel:
- Overpowered by numinous energy
- Connected to something eternal, mythic, divine
- Momentarily lifted out of ego-bound identity"
"This is the demigod sensation—not because the person becomes divine, but because they are possessed by a divine pattern, a force larger than themselves."
"⚠️ Jung’s Warning: Inflation and Shadow
"Jung warned that identifying with these forces can lead to ego inflation:
- The person believes they are the archetype, rather than its vessel.
- This leads to madness, hubris, or psychic collapse—as seen in Nietzsche, Saruman, or even Annie Wilkes.
The key is containment—to relate to the archetype, not merge with it. To serve the Self, not become it."
"Would you like to explore how this plays out in mythic narratives—characters who touch the divine through the unconscious, and either rise into wisdom or fall into madness? We could even sketch a ritual system for safely engaging the numinous without losing the self."
https://jungchicago.org/blog/freddie-taborda-aluna-the-collective-unconscious-god/
It seems Native Americans have "ritual containers" for encountering the numinous which allows them to re-energize without becoming "possessed". Michael Meyers, on the other hand, was a child at the moment of his possession by gigantic life and death forces that compelled him to annihilate both his sister and himself. He was a ritual suicide/child sacrifice perhaps divinized, or "demigoded" by his committing the murder on All Hallow's Eve, a Wiccan holiday. And Wiccan Magic is based at least in part on the seasons, or specific dates is it not?
