The Snake, the Dragon and the Tree

Impossible as it may seem, this book begins with a young woman's personal experience in her Garden of Eden, including a conversation with the speaking snake. It unfolds with actual dreams and fantasies about her internal world, accompanied by the Jungian psychoanalyst's account of her awakening process. As she had both hysterical and schizoid symptoms, these had to be handled discretely. Over 30 of her colour paintings are included - The Ghost Man Piping in the Snakes, The Girl Chained in the Air, The Burning and Divided Head and The Flaming Dragon Man are examples of their subject matter. There had originally been 300 such paintings over the eight-year period, of which 33 served as turning points in her personal development. (About 1,000 dreams had been discussed during the analysis.) The author supplements his explanations with 40 black and white illustrations from various cultures, periods of time and religions. These serve to amplify his conclusions, as do his own commentaries. Inclusion of these universal images had been suggested by Dr Jung, many of them originating in the alchemical order of things. The book includes a Foreword of original inspiration, index, bibliography, glossary of terms, and a few interesting notes.