Guest Editor's Introduction to Volume 10

Abstract

Before introducing this year's volume I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the death of Don Fredericksen. We in the Jungian Society for Scholarly Studies community have been deeply saddened by his passing. Don was a special friend to many and an irreplaceable community member. He hosted JSSS conferences three times at Cornell, acted as plenary speaker on more than one occasion, and served as secretary for a number of years. Always he inspired thinking anew. On a personal note, I knew Don only briefly but had the good fortune to enjoy his presentation and analysis of the movie Walkabout at the IAJS conference in Phoenix in 2014. Later in the conference we shared a glass of wine, some dancing, and a wonderful late-night conversation about Jung, the Jungian communities, consciousness and our love for our wives and families. We will truly miss Don.

In memory of Don we begin this years Journal with a poem dedicated to him by Joel Weishaus, Feeling for stones.

This year editors are pleased to announce that the Jungian Journal of Scholarly Studies is again available on Kindle and other portable devices. As guest editor of this year’s journal I have the pleasure of introducing the two essays included in this volume. The first is by Matthew Fike entitled, “Encountering the Anima in Africa: H. Rider Haggard’s She.” In this erudite paper Fike explores the role of Ayesha, one of the main characters in H. Rider Haggard’s She, as a "classic anima figure." This book was one of Jung’s favorite novels, and can be used to help us understand how anima projection can contribute to the individuation process. As Fike notes, "She depicts the perils of directly confronting the anima archetype and the collective unconscious.”

The second paper in this volume is by Sukey Fontelieu and is entitled, “Metaphorical Use of Alchemy’s Retort, Prima Materia, and the Philosopher’s Stone in Psychotherapy.” In this paper Fontelieu describes her personal experience with the usefulness of alchemical understandings of the “retort,” “prima materia," and the "philosopher's stone" in being an effective psychotherapist. Fontelieu describes how both the alchemist and the psychotherapist aspire to a quality of presence that supports the transformative process.

Peter T. Dunlap
Guest Editor