Signs of Immortality. A Jungian Perspective on Grieving, Funeral Rituals, and the Realm of the Dead

This new edition, dedicated to the processes of grieving, funeral rites, and myths of immortality, offers an examination of these themes from Jungian, intercultural, and interdisciplinary perspectives, as well as from the viewpoint of depth psychology. The book is primarily written by graduates and qualified specialists from the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich. The themes of the book are particularly relevant against the backdrop of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters, when many people died without a proper farewell, and thus without a commemoration corresponding to their life path. The authors of the collection address a wide range of topics: from clinical observations of grief during prolonged mourning to the hidden meanings of funeral rituals in cyclical and linear time, as well as the reasons why some deceased are deprived of ancestor status. The book also explores unconscious processes such as dreams, archetypes, and cultural complexes belonging to the personal and collective unconscious. This collection is of great interest to researchers in various disciplines: Jungian analysts, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, anthropologists, and cultural studies scholars. It will be useful for students and anyone interested in the processes of grieving, transition rituals, the history of funeral practices, as well as the artistic and symbolic significance of the realm of the dead.