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On Divination and Synchronicity: The Psychology of Meaningful Chance
- Type
- Book
- By
- Marie-Louise von Franz
- Publisher
- Inner City Books
- Source
- Inner City Books
- Published
- 1980
Von Franz on how divination systems like the I Ching work psychologically, and how synchronicity gives meaning to chance.
Marie-Louise von Franz was Jung's closest collaborator, and On Divination and Synchronicity (1980) is the clearest statement of the idea as Jung himself held it. She explains how divination systems such as the I Ching work psychologically, and how synchronicity turns chance into meaning.
The book's strength is fidelity: no later writer knew Jung's thinking as well. Its limit is the same fidelity — von Franz deepens the theory without testing it. For anyone who wants the original idea without a century of reinterpretation layered on top, this short volume is the standard route.
The meaning
Written by the person who knew Jung's thinking best, it is the clearest statement of the idea as Jung himself held it.
The skeptic
The book assumes the psychological value of divination rather than demonstrating any mechanism behind it.
About the author
Jung's closest collaborator and a renowned Jungian analyst in her own right.
Key takeaways
- Von Franz explains how divination and the I Ching fit Jung's framework.
- The clearest statement of synchronicity from Jung's closest collaborator.
- A short, focused classic for understanding the original idea.