In search of the ‘Eco-Symbolic’: An application of the Jungian concept of the symbol to meaningful encounter with the other-than-human

In 1934 Jung wrote that early man, having not yet separated his experience into antithetical parts, lived in a world where “spirit and matter still interpenetrate each other, and his gods still wander through forest and field” (CW8, para. 682). He suggested that within the unconscious it is possible to discern the remnants of this archaic mode of thought, with its characteristic tendency to interpret environmental phenomena from a symbolic perspective (CW8, para. 309, CW18, para. 585, and elsewhere). Although, for Jung, the symbol is generally treated as an inner product of the psyche, practitioners of ecopsychology and other nature-based practices often report how elements of the natural environment can mirror or express the inner concerns of the individual in ways that recall the symbolic products of dream, fantasy, creative activity and myth. These encounters can be profound and impactful and may carry with them the sense of a psyche emplaced in dynamic interrelationship with the other-than-human world. Through conceptual research and empirical study, I investigate whether Jung’s descriptions of the symbol can provide an effective way to interpret such meaningful encounters with the phenomena of the natural environment. My findings are discussed in relation to their relevance for depth psychology, their potential to inform effective nature-based practice and for how they might contribute to our understanding of the relationship between psyche and its containing environment.