Rock Art and Golems
Thomas R. Hersh
Los Angeles, California
Published in: Rock Art Papers, Volume 9. Edited by Ken Hedges, San Diego Museum Papers No. 28. Copyright © 1992.
San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 E1 Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101. (171-182.)
A Jungian Approach to the Golem Tradition
According to G. Scholem (1974, p. 351), a golem "is a creature, particularly a human being, made in an artificial way by virtue of a magic act, through the use of holy names." The possibility of making such a creature is connected with the "magical exegesis of the Sefer Yezirah and with the ideas of the creative power of speech and of the letters." It is the purpose of this paper to analyze the golem tradition in terms of modern psychological ideas, in particular, the ideas of C. G. Jung.
Short idea (66): An educated man I know thinks the idea of "ghosts" is a primitive superstition. Last year his mother died. Recently he dreamed his mother and another dead relative came to him inquiring if he had taken care of the paper work required for them to move to another state or country. He said he had. Even in the waking state after this dream in which he dutifully carried out an obligation to the dead, he didn't think twice about looking down on and ridiculing those he heard saying they saw a ghost or communicated with the dead. How do you explain this apparent contradiction?
(Psychological Paradoxes & Puzzles — 3)
A Contradiction in the Thinking of a Thinker
A Psychological Angle on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Mrs. Muir and her ghost (public domain)
Halloween season is here, and T.V. stations are playing films they feel are relevant to this season which includes films about ghosts. There are a number of romances involving ghosts, and one that stands out for its romantic appeal and not for its ability to frighten is the 1947 classic, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
Read more: A Psychological Angle on "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir"