Homecoming: Interpretation Transformation and Individuation (Studies in Religion, no. 18)

Homecoming: Interpretation, Transformation and Individuality is a constructive analysis of the function and significance of symbiotic mythological language in psychological transformations and theological understanding. It draws images and ideas from depth psychology, phenomenology, and studies in philosophical hermeneutics to develop a general epistemology of symbolism that has complementary theological and psychological applications. There is a particular focus on the function of story - consciousness, symbols of the self, and images of transformation. A movement is initiated through a symbolic wounding of ordinary consciousness into a forest of imaginal possibilities towards an expansive model of interpretation. The concepts of individuation, homecoming and self-understanding are transformed by expanding the range of their significance beyond the boundaries of psychological understanding into a complex of ideas that are also theological and philosophical. --- from book's back cover