cover image On Dreams and Death

On Dreams and Death

Marie-Louise von Franz, Von Franz Marie Louise. Shambhala Publications, $17.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-394-55249-1

This intriguing multi-case study by a Swiss psychoanalyst who was a friend and colleague of Carl Jung uses myths, contemporary death experiences, parapsychology and Western alchemical traditions in an attempt to establish a psychic relationship between dreams and instincts and the fact of impending death. The author proposes that universal or ""collective unconscious"" symbolism and psychological structures appearing in the dreams of near-death patients represent the ""voice of nature within us,"" which prepares the conscious mind for death; she puts forth further testimony to suggest that there is a continuation of psychic life after death. Through its discussion of such symbolic structures of ""vegetation,"" ""death weddings"" and ""passage through fire and water,"" the book contributes significantly to the fields of Jungian psychology and mythology. A final chapter on modern physics and parapsychology will be of particular interest to followers of ""New Age"" science. (May 15)