On psychologizing Deity and misinterpreting Jung. (Where is my mind?)

Carl Jung’s ideas are a topic for discussion in the world of Paganism.  When the historical basis for hard polytheism was challenged in the 1960’s, believers latched onto Jung’s ideas of archetypes to legitimize their faith.  The lasting implication is a rift in  Neopagan philosophy.

Yoda:  Archetype?  Thought-form?  Expression of the unknowable?  Psychic entity?

So who’s right?  Do deity actually exist or are they merely a part of our personal or collective unconscious?  If I were to conduct a poll of 100 Neopagans, I imagine that approximately half would advocate hard polytheism, which is to say Deity actually exist outside the human mind.  The other half would argue that deity are symbolic, archetypal, or are only real within the mind. 

This appears huge divergence in ideology.  Let’s consider a metaphor to show that this situation is more likely complex than truly dichotomous. 

How do I know that I am at my desk typing this post?  Well in my mind, I have a model of both my desk and myself.  I can only know an event through my own internal model of the event.

Here the situation becomes more complex.  In this mental model, my psychic representation also has a mind—it’s mind’ception, a mind within a mind. 

Artist Credit:  Amanda Saker

This paradox raises further questions.  Is my mind in the universe? Or is the universe in my mind?   The most correct answer is probably: both.  Robert Anton Wilson argues that the true nature of the universe is both transcendent and immanent.  It is simultaneously internal and external.  My mind is in the universe and the universe, as I know it, is in my mind.


Following this reasoning, psychological entities are equally as “real” as the material entities that we assume exist externally but are only know through internal perception. This is what Jung means in saying “What most overlook or seem unable to understand is the fact that I regard the psyche as real.” (Collected Works, P. 751.)

To the skeptics who say “that it’s all in your head.” You’re right. My gods and goddesses exist in my head— but so does the rest of the universe. Deity are just as real as anything else in the mind… which is everything.

In this way, Yoda is a real and fictional entity. He's a real, fictional entity. He's a mental representation just like your mom, the president, or you.