김진숙 Jin Sook Kim

DOI:10.23151/simseong.2026.41.1.001 Vol.41(No.1) 1-47, 2026

This study examines the symbolism of cyclical transformation and return in the myth of Fintan mac Bóchra from the perspectives of Celtic spirituality, Daoist thought and analytical psychology. Although preserved in several medieval Irish sources, the myth consistently unfolds as a cyclical sequence: the Great Flood, transformation first into a fish and then into a salmon, dwelling at the sacred well Tobar Segais, transformation into a stag, a hawk, and an eagle, and finally the return to human form. Fintan survives the flood by becoming a fish and remains for an extended period as a salmon in the sacred well, where he gains wisdom by eating the hazelnuts that fall from the nine sacred hazel trees. This dwelling is not merely a period of waiting or suspension but the central phase of transformation in which wisdom is gradually embodied and the ego-Self relationship deepens. After assuming the forms of a stag, a hawk and an eagle, Fintan eventually returns to human form as a witness to Ireland's origins and history. The sequence of immersion, dwelling, embodiment, expansion and return constitutes the central symbolic structure of the myth. This study interprets the myth through the cyclical worldview of Celtic spirituality, the Jungian process of individuation and the Daoist concepts of return (fan, 反) and wu wei. Transformation first into a fish and then into a salmon symbolizes immersion in the unconscious; dwelling at the sacred well signifies the maturation of the individuation process through the embodiment of wisdom; the successive animal transformations represent the embodied expansion of consciousness; and the return to human form symbolizes the integration of embodied wisdom into life and community, rather than the completion of individuation itself. The Fintan myth thus presents an archetypal model of cyclical individuation, in which wisdom embodied through dwelling at the sacred center is integrated into life and community through the return to human form. Through a comparative analysis of flood myths, this study clarifies the distinctive patterns of survival and return in the Fintan myth and elucidates the structural correspondences among Celtic spirituality, Daoist thought and analytical psychology.

핀탄 마크 보크라, 순환적 변형과 귀환, 홍수신화, 켈틱 영성, 도가사상, 분석심리학, 개성화, Fintan mac Bóchra, Cyclical transformation and return, Flood Myth, Celtic spirituality, Daoist thought, Jungian analytical psychology, Individuation

김덕규 Dukkyu Kim

DOI:10.23151/simseong.2026.41.1.048 Vol.41(No.1) 48-80, 2026

Religion originates from the experience of the numinous (das Numinosum), perceived as the manifestation of archetypes. Those who experience these specific archetypes mark particular places by carving rocks or using stones or trees, thereby expressing awe and fear; these places became sanctuaries. As a system that organized archetypal experience, religion has expressed the secret knowledge of revelation and the mysteries of the soul through majestic images, which evolved into temples embodied as sanctuaries, rituals directed toward the divine, and, furthermore, codified teachings. This paper first examines the relationship between the sanctuary and Homo religiosus based on archaeological research at Göbekli Tepe, which has proposed a new paradigm regarding the origins of religion and early civilization. It then interprets the psychological significance embedded in the structure of the Tabernacle, the fundamental sanctuary of Judeo-Christian tradition. The rituals performed within the Tabernacle―divided into three distinct areas within a rectangular structure―progress toward the center through dynamic movement, symbolically representing the process of individuation that leads to the realization of wholeness. Furthermore, the furnishings of the Tabernacle serve as instruments that facilitate sacrifices to God and communion with Him; psychologically, they may be regarded as symbolic instruments for communication with the unconscious. These furnishings include the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, the Covering of the Tabernacle, the Curtain, the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Laver, and the Enclosure. This paper interprets the characteristics and symbolic meanings of these furnishings from the perspective of analytical psychology. Finally, this paper suggests that the Tabernacle may be analogized to the psychotherapist and the therapeutic space as a sanctuary for modern people. Through the introverted movement toward God (psychologically, the Self) within the Tabernacle, human beings correct the one-sidedness of consciousness. By recognizing sin, psychologically understood as unconsciousness, healing occurs, enabling them to live in harmony with the will of God, that is, the total psyche. This may be regarded as a significant task of psychotherapy.

종교적 인간, 성소, 성막, 괴베클리 테페, 신상, 개성화, 정신치료, Homo religiosus Sanctuary Tabernacle Göbekli Tepe Image of God, Individuation, Psychotherapy

임숙근 Sook-keun Lim

DOI:10.23151/simseong.2026.41.1.081 Vol.41(No.1) 81-128, 2026

This study was motivated by a deeply personal curiosity evoked by the Danish folktale “The Pastor’s Wife.” Its protagonist is a woman: the pastor’s wife. Marie-Louise von Franz interpreted this tale primarily in terms of the animus within the process of a woman’s individuation. This paper, however, focuses on the Mother archetype and its role in a woman’s individuation. This perspective is based on the idea that all human beings are born from the mother, and that individuation may be understood as a process that unfolds countless rebirths. In terms of the development of humankind, the folktale may also be understood as compensating for the collective consciousness of its era. Protestantism in Northern Europe at that time pursued exclusively spiritual and mental values, and thus demanded an excessively strict moral and ethical stance, while neglecting or rejecting all worldly things including the feminine principle (Eros), the earth (matter and body), and evil. Such one-sidedness, however, is inevitably compensated for by the Self. In this tale, the pastor's wife, who loses her shadow by making a pact with a witch out of fear of bearing a child, may be understood as reflecting Protestantism of her era, which had lost the values of the maternal and the feminine, thereby embodying its shadow. The tale concludes with the deaths of both the pastor and his wife. Death here symbolically signifies a process of transformation in which the opposites―Hun and P’o, once separated―are newly reunited. In this sense, the story suggests that Northern European Protestantism at that time needed to be reunited with its lost feminine soul in order to undergo transformation, in response to a call from the collective unconscious. This may be understood as a message from the collective unconscious across time and space―a message that warns both contemporary Protestantism and ourselves of the danger of living without the soul, and that calls us toward transformation.

목사의 아내, 마녀, 그림자의 상실, 어머니 원형, 대극의 합일, Pastor’s wife, Witch, Loss of shadow, Mother archetype, Union of the opposites

권영민 Youngmin Kwon

DOI:10.23151/simseong.2026.41.1.129 Vol.41(No.1) 129-181, 2026

This study examines the process of suffering experienced by the heroine in the Korean folktale, “The Maiden Whose Arms Were Severed and Expelled by Her Stepmother,” from the perspective of analytical psychology. Belonging to the “Girl Without Hands”(ATU 706) tale type, this folktale is examined through a comparative analysis of Korean and cross-cultural variants in order to explore the teleological intention of the unconscious. The heroine’s journey through “loss-banishment-rebirth-reunion” suggests the stages of initiatory death and rebirth, signifying the process of individuation in which the personality is transformed through the mediation of suffering. The comparative analysis of 14 variants yielded the following results: First, regarding conflict structure, while Korean, Mongolian, and Japanese variants exhibit a “stepmother-stepdaughter” dynamic, Western variants mostly feature a confrontation between a negative maternal or feminine figure and her daughter. The direct conflict between a “birth father and daughter” was observed exclusively in the German folktale. Notably, in the Korean folktale, sharp hand-severing tools such as axes symbolically block blind dependence on, and identification with, the parental archetype within a patriarchal reality. Second, regarding bodily regeneration, while foreign variants highlight transcendent salvation by divine intervention and the experience of a new spiritual realm, the Korean folktale is grounded in the Great Mother archetype and a nature-friendly sensibility. In particular, this study examined the sociocultural and analytical psychological differences among these variants and highlights how the Korean folktale depicts a more dynamic and autonomous recovery through the maternal instinct to save the child and the “incarnation” of the mother archetype. Third, the “sons” who join the stepmother in persecuting the heroine-an element unique to this folktale-symbolize the negative animus in the unconscious that threatens the ego. The dynamic transformation from the “stepmother-sons” pair, through the “persimmon tree-only son” pair, to the “bride-son” pair illustrates the differentiation process of the animus within the female psyche. This process demonstrates a psychological development wherein Eros and Logos integrate, progressing toward the “Coniunctio Oppositorum”. Finally, this study explores how the heroine comes to embody the feminine principle of wholeness and “Self-realization”. By elucidating how loss is transformed into an opportunity for creation through a renewed encounter with the “Self(Selbst)”, this paper offers psychological implications for understanding the loss and mental suffering of modern individuals within the teleological intention of the total psyche.

손 없는 처녀, 개성화 과정, 계모-아들쌍, 부정적 아니무스, 육화, 대극 합일, The girl without hands, Individuation process, Stepmother-Sons pair, Negative animus, Incarnation, Coniunctio oppositorum