Graduate Research Library: A Library Guide to Jung's Collected Works: Wise Man/Woman

Reference publications: Wise Man/Woman

"Wise old man". In Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts by Sharp, D. (Ed.).
Call Number: BF109.J8S53 1991
ISBN: 9780919123489
Publication Date: 1991
Ebook available as a free download from the publisher
Wise old man: "An archetypal image of meaning and wisdom."

The figure of the wise old man can appear so plastically, not only in dreams but also in visionary meditation (or what we call "active imagination"), that . . . it takes over the role of a guru. The wise old man appears in dreams in the guise of a magician, doctor, priest, teacher, professor, grandfather, or any person possessing authority. ["The Phenomenology of the Spirit in Fairytales," CW 9i, par. 398.]
In Jung's terminology, the wise old man is a personification of the masculine spirit. In a man's psychology, the anima is related to the wise old man as daughter to father. In a woman, the wise old man is an aspect of the animus. The feminine equivalent in both men and women is the Great Mother. (Sharp, 1991) [Read more]

"Wise Man or Woman". In Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore by Josepha Sherman
ISBN: 9780765680471
Publication Date: 2008
Wise Man or Woman: "They stand in the shadows of kings, point the way to questing heroes, and shelter the dispossessed and help them regain their birthright. They teach valuable lessons to those willing to learn, and inflict punishment upon the stubborn and steadfastly ignorant. Sometimes, they are gods or fairies in disguise. They are the wise man and wise woman, and the importance of their role in story cannot be overlooked." (p. 506) [Read more]
"Wise Old Man" in Storytelling Encyclopedia by David A. Leeming (Ed.)
Call Number: Lambert library: REF GR72.S76 1997
ISBN: 9781573560252
Publication Date: 1997
Wise Old Man: "Protective figure who provides aid to the hero as he or she departs. After the hero receives “the call to adventure,” the first stage of the hero-journey or quest often involves an encounter with a wise old man or a helpful crone who plays a protective role. Whether the wise old man provides wisdom, encouragement, useful information, or an amulet, his role is to help the hero arrive at the next stage of the journey. This guide may be a wizard, hermit, teacher, shepherd, seer, or priest." (Leeming 1997, p. 493) [Read more]
"Wisdom" In Encyclopedia of psychology and religion (3rd ed.) by Philip Browning Helsel
ISBN: 9780387718026
Publication Date: 2020
Wisdom: "Wisdom is a virtue that combines understanding with the prudent application of knowledge; it is often perceived to be a product of right relation with the Divine. In psychospiritual terms, wisdom melds both acceptance and insight and thereby results in judicious action. Often, wisdom is characterized as having a feminine dimension. It has also been associated with elders at the end of life. Throughout the ages, wise ones have been revered not only by their peers but also by successive generations who recognized the wisdom of previous generations as timeless wisdom." (p. 2490) [Read more]

"Wise Old Man" in A Guided Tour of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung by Robert H. Hopcke
Call Number: REF BF173 .J85 H66
ISBN: 9781570624056
Publication Date: 1999
Wise Old Man: "'Knowledge, reflection, wisdom, cleverness and intuition,' Jung writes of the qualities associated with the archetypal figure he came to call the Wise Old Man. As another face of the archetypal masculine, a face quite distinct from the face of the Hero or the Father, the Wise Old Man is a universal figure in the rich body of world religion and mythology, a figure with whom Jung had direct inner contact in various forms throughout his life." (Hopcke, p. 117) [Read more]
"Wise Old Man/Woman: Various Motifs" In Archetypes and motifs in folklore and literature: A handbook by Esther Clinton; Jane Garry & Hasan M. El-Shamy (Eds.)
Call Number: Lambert: GR72.56 .A73 2005
ISBN: 9780765622129
Publication Date: 2005
"Sometimes a wizard, hermit, teacher, shepherd, seer, priest, or crone, the wise old man or woman bestows wisdom, useful knowledge, or a charm that is beneficial to the hero (Leeming 1997, 493). In "The Phenomenology of Spirit in Fairytales," Jung defines the wise old man as a spiritual archetype in "the guise of a magician, doctor, priest, teacher, professor, grandfather, or any other person possessing authority," who always appears when "insight, understanding, good advice, determination, planning, etc., are needed but cannot be mustered on one's own resources" (Jung 1990, 216). " [Read more]

Jung on the Wise Man/Woman archetype

Jung's essays on the Wise Man archetype from the Collected Works:

(essays need correct citations added -KCC)

The phenomenology of the spirit in fairytales (pp. 207-254)
Jung, C. G. (1969). The phenomenology of the spirit in fairytales (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 9 pt. 1. Archetypes and the collective unconscious (2nd ed., pp. 207-254). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1948) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.207
Paracelsus (pp. 3-12)

Jung, C. G. (1967). Paracelsus (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 15. Spirit in man, art, and literature (pp. 3-12). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1966) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850884
Paracelsus the physician (pp. 13-30)

JJung, C. G. (1966). Paracelsus the physician (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 15. Spirit in man, art, and literature (pp. 13-30). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1941) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850884.13
Concerning rebirth (pp. 111-147)

J Jung, C. G. (1969). Concerning rebirth (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 9 pt. 1. Archetypes and the collective unconscious (2nd ed., pp. 113-147). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1950) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.113
Aion, The structure and dynamics of the self (pp. 204-226)

Jung, C. G. (1967). The structure and dynamics of the self (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 9.2. Aion (pp. 204-226). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1955) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850938.83

Additional resources on the Wise Man/Woman archetype

Books: Wise Man/Woman archetype
Articles: Wise Man/Woman archetype

Print books and Ebooks on the Wise Man/Woman archetype available from the library:

The old wise woman: A study of active imagination by Rix Weaver
Call Number: Lambert and Ladera libraries: BF408.W355 1973
ISBN: 9780877736059
Publication Date: 1991-03-27
"This book was one of the first works made available to a general readership on the subject of Active Imagination—a technique developed by C. G. Jung in which the imaginal world is entered deliberately while awake in order to gain self-knowledge and resolve conflicts. In it, Rix Weaver presents an account of her work of Active Imagination with one of her analysands— a process that began with a dream and yielded a personal myth, recounted here with amplification and commentary."
The Wise Old Man. In Jung and the Jungians on myth by Steven Walker
Call Number: BF175.5.M95W35 1995
Publication Date: 2002
"In Jung and the Jungians on Myth, Steven Walker carefully leads the reader through the essential lines of thought in Jungian psychology before developing his method for using Jungian ideas to approach mythological texts. Whether one is sympathetic toward Jung's ideas or critical of them, one will find in Walker's discussion a lucid introduction to Jungian perspectives on myth and psychology."
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"Merlin as Wise Old Man" in Merlin: A casebook by Henrich Zimmer
ISBN: 9780815306580
Publication Date: 2003
"The growth of northern Europe’s pagan religions was arrested in its prime when their practitioners came under the sway of Christianity. It was the Church rather than Roman culture that deprived the mythology of the Celts, the Germanic peoples, and the large pre-Celtic aboriginal population of France and the British Isles of its proper sphere of existence, sapping the vital energy of the old religion. Pre-Christian mythology, despoiled of its cult and ritual, was transformed into legend and poetry; it became secularized and seemingly uprooted and unpracticed, turning into an elusive adversary for the Church. Throughout the Middle Ages, it continued to offer the tender nourishment of the soul for which the Church’s teachings of salvation could not provide anything comparable. Using the images and figures of Celtic and pre-Celtic myths and legends, medieval man dreamed out the buried youth of his people’s prehistoric days. In the cycle of Arthur and the Grail, these myths and legends were transformed into the social romances of knightly and courtly Europe. That explains the immediate appeal these subjects hold for us, the descendants of the medieval and prehistoric peoples. Brought to life by poets time and again, the legends are of the same substance which can still be found in the depths of our soul."
"Jung on myth and the mythic" In Psychology and myth (Print copy) by Hudson, William
Call Number: Lambert: REF BL304.P88 1996
ISBN: 0815322550
Publication Date: 1995
"The wise old man is a kind of fatherly authority-figure, though he is not a father. He can assume the guise of a doctor, priest, magician, teacher, or seer. ... It is his function to give helpful guidance or counsel, and he often makes his appearance at a moment of bewilderment. He has a dark or chthonic manifestation as a dwarf or animal. He can be a practitioner of black magic, and sometimes he is intentionally misleading or even threatening. The best-known figures of the wise old man mentioned by Jung are Orpheus, Merlin, Hermes Trismegistus, and Nietzsche's Zarathustra. He might have also instanced Chiron, the centaur who instructed Asclepius, Achilles, and Jason. ... This archetype was especially interesting to Jung because first Elijah and then another wise old man, whom Jung saw vividly enough to paint and whom he named Philemon, appeared to him early (c. 1914) in his confrontation with his unconscious." (p. 205)
The Grail legend (Print copy) by Emma Jung; Marie-Louise von Franz
Call Number: Lambert and Ladera libraries: PN686.G7 J813 1998
ISBN: 0691002371
Publication Date: 1998
"The Holy Grail and its quest is a legend that has had a powerful impact on our civilization and culture. The Grail itself is an ancient Celtic symbol of plenty as well as a Christian symbol of redemption and eternal life, the chalice that caught the blood of the crucified Christ. The story of the Grail sheds profound light on man's search for the supreme value of life, for that which makes life most meaningful. Writing in a clear and readable style, two leading women of the Jungian school of psychology present this legend as a living myth that is profoundly relevant to modern life. We encounter such universal figures as the Fool (the naive young Perceval), the Wise Old Man (the Hermit Gornemanz), the Virgin Maiden (Blancheflor), the Loathly Damsel, and such important themes as the Waste Land, the Trinity, and the vessel of the Grail. Weaving together narrative and interpretation, the authors show us how the legend reflects not only fundamental human problems but also the dramatic psychic events that form the background of our Christian culture. Emma Jung—analyst, writer, and wife of the famous psychologist C. G. Jung—researched and worked on this book for thirty years, until her death in 1955. Marie-Louise von Franz, also eminent in the field of depth psychology, completed the project."
Individuation in fairy rales by Marie-Louise Von Franz
Call Number: Lambert and Ladera libraries: GR550 .F7
ISBN: 9780834840836
Publication Date: 1991
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"With a text revised and corrected by the author, this definitive edition of Individuation in Fairy Tales is rich with insights from religion, literature, and myth. Dr. von Franz focuses on the symbolism of the bird motif in six fairy tales of Europe and Asia: 'The White Parrot' (Spain), 'The Bath Bagerd' (Persia), 'Princess Hassan Pasha' (Turkestan), 'The Bid Flower Triller' (Iran), 'The Nightingale Giser' (Balkans), and 'The Bird Wehmus' (Austria). She explores the themes of psychological and spiritual transformation in the varied images of birds, such as the phoenix, the parrot, and the griffin. Special attention is given to the connection between fairy tales and alchemy and to the guidance that fairy tales give to therapeutic work."

Becvar, D. S. (2005). Tracking the archetype of the wise woman/crone. ReVision, 28(1), 20–23.

"The article discusses ancient cultures, religions and mythologies, the relation of culture and religion with the development of women since ancient time. Particular focus is given to the three facets of Goddess in the development of women including the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. It also focuses on the model of consistency between beliefs and behaviors."

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Downing, C. (1991). The crone: Rites of ancient ripening. Anima, 17(2).

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Levin, C. B. (2020). Becoming wise. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 40(3), 207–217.

"This is an essay about the author’s personal journey to finding wisdom as she is growing old. Although she has the good fortune of being in good health and having longevity in her family, she knows that tomorrow is promised to no one, and she has lived most of her life. After exploring how living is changing for her as she approaches seventy-five, she goes on to memorialize her parents and claim the valuable things she internalized from them. She shows how she has become more patient and flexible in her clinical work as time has gone on, and in writing her essay, realizes that she is approaching retirement, a true fact, she says. Writing has helped her bring coherence to her life story, to feel happy with her life and feel like a wise woman who is 'free to wear purple'".

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