Journal
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 68, Issue 5, Pages 894-912Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12954
Keywords
ancient Persia; individuation; Jung; mandala; Mithraism; Persian art; Zoroastrianism
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This article investigates the importance of the archetypal mandala symbol in Persian religio-aesthetic history, showing its significance in various expressions of sacred arts from ancient times to traditional architecture today. It illustrates how this symbol, influenced by different religions, articulates fundamental truths about the divine interplay with humanity.
Jung wrote extensively about the archetypal mandala symbol as an expression in many cultures of the centrality and nature of the interplay between human consciousness and divine consciousness. This article investigates-how in Persia, for millennia-the archetypal symbol of the mandala has been widespread in many expressions of the sacred arts. My research outlines the importance of the archetypal mandala symbol in Persian religio-aesthetic history from the first unearthed stone carvings of Persia's ancient foundations until the more recent, breathtakingly marvellous ceilings of traditional Persian architecture today. From the artistic expressions of first religious beliefs of ancient Persia-Mithraism-and through the development of the Zoroastrian faith until the subsequent rise of Christianity and then Islam, Persian sacred art illustrates the Jungian idea that wholeness sought in the journey of individuation is often expressed through archetypal symbols of circles that articulate basic truths about the divine interplay with humanity.
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