Ninian L Nijhuis
Ninian L. Nijhuis holds a BA in Law and a LL.M. in International Public Law from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. In October of 2021, she graduated Cum Laude at the University of Amsterdam in the Research MA Religious Studies. Ninian’s main focus is on Western Esotericism and her key fields of interests are Jungian psychology, sidereal astrology, mysticism, spirituality and its connections to science. Furthermore, she is Head of Social Media at the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP) and currently works as a sidereal astrologer and coach. Since September of 2021, Ninian has started training with the NAAP to become an IAAP accredited Jungian Psychoanalyst.
Supervisors: Dr. Marco Pasi
Supervisors: Dr. Marco Pasi
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Firstly, the thesis elaborates on the character of Jung and how his upbringing and personal life led him to the writing of the Black Books, the Red Book, and how this shaped his later professional work. Secondly, the concept of madness is discussed as a construct in Western History. In the discussion, some of history’s many theories and narratives in which madness has been constructed and conceptualized are presented. This follows a red thread through history in the uncovering of the historical idea of madness and its connection to the divine, one which is weaved intricately through ancient myth, philosophy and medicine, religious lore, the subjective tales of those who lived through it, and the works of those who sought its rationalization and objectivization. The historical contextualization of (divine) madness then forms the framework in which Jung’s understanding of madness and divine madness is explained and presented in his Black Books, Red book, and professional work. This journey takes the reader through Jung’s own “myth” – one filled with moments of struggle, fear, hesitation, but also bliss, insight, and psychological healing. It is through the Black Book fantasies, the Red Book’s commentary, and his professional work that the understanding of Jung’s concept of madness and its divine counterpart becomes visible - an understanding based on the principle of balance, self-discovery, and creative expression. As a last step before the conclusion, it goes deeper on the connection between madness and creativity in Jung’s work, as well as, current academic research. In the conclusion, it is then explained how the idea of ‘madness’ – which has been used in Western history and medicine as a term for the demarcation of a broad scope of so called abnormal mental states (psychopathology) – is challenged by Jung’s work. According to a Jungian understanding, ‘madness’ is argued as only applicable to those mental states in which the experiencer suffers as a result of said mental state to the extent that one’s life is significantly impaired. ‘Divine madness,’ on the other hand, is argued as more akin to genuine religious experience, devoid of personal psychopathology. In addition, the present research presents an understanding in which the potentiality of divine madness lays hidden within pathological madness – a potentiality which can be revealed through the psychological healing on the road towards self-discovery.
Book Reviews
Talks
In this interview, Ninian and I discuss sidereal astrology, and how it differs from tropical astrology (the system that most people in the West are familiar with). Ninian shares the history of astrology and of these two systems; why these systems became separated (with tropical astrology the most popular form in the West, and sidereal astrology in the East); and how sidereal astrology made a 'comeback' in the West via Cyril Fagan and others.
Ninian also shares her personal journey and views with regard to astrology, her research interest on an academic level, and how she uses sidereal astrology together with Jungian psychology in her own work.
Interview Highlights:
Ninian begins by talking about the recently published Black Books and Red Book by Jung, and how the Black Books acted as journals to explore Jung's own consciousness. She then discusses the fantasy Jung had about a 'madhouse', who Jung 'met' in the fantasy, and what Jung was trying to 'sort out' in all of this. This leads to a discussion about pathological madness and divine madness, what distinguishes the two, and how Jung perceived religious experience. Ninian also touches on Jung's struggle to balance his professional life and his spiritual/religious life, his emphasis on an "attitude of openness" and his ideas of how a person can have a "self-regulating consciousness."
Conference Presentations
This paper was presented at the ‘Esotericism and the Varieties of Transformation’ student conference on 26-27 July, 2021
Firstly, the thesis elaborates on the character of Jung and how his upbringing and personal life led him to the writing of the Black Books, the Red Book, and how this shaped his later professional work. Secondly, the concept of madness is discussed as a construct in Western History. In the discussion, some of history’s many theories and narratives in which madness has been constructed and conceptualized are presented. This follows a red thread through history in the uncovering of the historical idea of madness and its connection to the divine, one which is weaved intricately through ancient myth, philosophy and medicine, religious lore, the subjective tales of those who lived through it, and the works of those who sought its rationalization and objectivization. The historical contextualization of (divine) madness then forms the framework in which Jung’s understanding of madness and divine madness is explained and presented in his Black Books, Red book, and professional work. This journey takes the reader through Jung’s own “myth” – one filled with moments of struggle, fear, hesitation, but also bliss, insight, and psychological healing. It is through the Black Book fantasies, the Red Book’s commentary, and his professional work that the understanding of Jung’s concept of madness and its divine counterpart becomes visible - an understanding based on the principle of balance, self-discovery, and creative expression. As a last step before the conclusion, it goes deeper on the connection between madness and creativity in Jung’s work, as well as, current academic research. In the conclusion, it is then explained how the idea of ‘madness’ – which has been used in Western history and medicine as a term for the demarcation of a broad scope of so called abnormal mental states (psychopathology) – is challenged by Jung’s work. According to a Jungian understanding, ‘madness’ is argued as only applicable to those mental states in which the experiencer suffers as a result of said mental state to the extent that one’s life is significantly impaired. ‘Divine madness,’ on the other hand, is argued as more akin to genuine religious experience, devoid of personal psychopathology. In addition, the present research presents an understanding in which the potentiality of divine madness lays hidden within pathological madness – a potentiality which can be revealed through the psychological healing on the road towards self-discovery.
In this interview, Ninian and I discuss sidereal astrology, and how it differs from tropical astrology (the system that most people in the West are familiar with). Ninian shares the history of astrology and of these two systems; why these systems became separated (with tropical astrology the most popular form in the West, and sidereal astrology in the East); and how sidereal astrology made a 'comeback' in the West via Cyril Fagan and others.
Ninian also shares her personal journey and views with regard to astrology, her research interest on an academic level, and how she uses sidereal astrology together with Jungian psychology in her own work.
Interview Highlights:
Ninian begins by talking about the recently published Black Books and Red Book by Jung, and how the Black Books acted as journals to explore Jung's own consciousness. She then discusses the fantasy Jung had about a 'madhouse', who Jung 'met' in the fantasy, and what Jung was trying to 'sort out' in all of this. This leads to a discussion about pathological madness and divine madness, what distinguishes the two, and how Jung perceived religious experience. Ninian also touches on Jung's struggle to balance his professional life and his spiritual/religious life, his emphasis on an "attitude of openness" and his ideas of how a person can have a "self-regulating consciousness."
This paper was presented at the ‘Esotericism and the Varieties of Transformation’ student conference on 26-27 July, 2021