self destruction
In the wake of Assagioli thought, I felt stimulating action on the egg archetypal figure, used by the psychologist to represent the human being and his psyche like a kind of microcosm. It is no coincidence that the egg is universally recognized as the symbol of the primordial reality that embraces life and the multiplicity of beings. Its shape, moreover, devoid of corners and edges, symbolizes harmony and homogeneity.
The iconic ovoid perfection is now shattered by eggshell portions which, transformed into sharp splinters, like executors of a ruthless self-destruction program, threaten the integrity of the inner substance. Protruding and sharp edges violently alter the original character of the archetypal model, now symbol of distress and disorientation.
Humanity is betrayed and attacked by the same systems that were supposed to protect it. The same elements that compose it: men. Lost in the same places that once offered a valuable point of reference and a safe refuge.
But not all is lost. Maybe the torment, expressed by disquieting metamorphosis, is only a due step, a transitional phase. An opportunity to reawaken from numbness and light the spark of what Hillman calls "active imagination." It "triggers the need to adhere to reality in another way. It pushes in all directions, so that the phenomena are shown to our understanding and our participation. " Only in this way the afflictions will be transformed into "creative possibilities, auditing cells, potential germs."
That's when, from that ovoid nest, we see rise, from its own ashes, the mythical phoenix and recognize, with renewed awareness, in egg archetype, the symbol of generation and resurrection.
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