In this lecture, Dr. Ladson Hinton will explore the symbolic meaning of the unicorn in order to expand upon Dr. C.G. Jung's concept of individuation. The unicorn cycle, as illustrated by the Lady and Unicorn tapestries, depicts the vital movement of the primal life energies. Jung equated the unicorn with the alchemical "Spirit Mercurius."
The unicorn is also connected with the cycle of seasons. This view contrasts with the myth of progress that has dominated the modern world since the Enlightenment. These two mythic perspectives--life as progress and life as a recurring cycle--are the lenses through which we experience much of our inner and outer life.
This raises many questions, among them: Is life an endlessly repeated cycle, and "progress" an illusion of the ego? What do we mean by psychological growth? Is change really an archetypally determined series of stages, which we interpret as growth? Is the true nature of individuation a paradox, which somehow contains all these perspectives?
Ladson Hinton, M.D. is president of the North Pacific Institute for Analytical Psychology in Seattle. He is a graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco and has practiced as a Jungian analyst for more than 20 years. Dr. Hinton has written and lectured on a wide variety of topics, including: the archetype of the fool, the midlife passage, the interpretation of fairy tales, the animal soul, the meaning of shame, paradoxes of love, and the Parzival legend.