Psychological Effects of Pathworking from Problems on the Path of Return by Mark Stavish, M.A. in Vol 3 No 1 of Caduceus.

“While many therapists and esotericists are familiar with the writings of Carl Jung and have applied them in some form to their respective work, the realm of therapy that is most important to esoteric students during practical alchemical and ritual work is more closely akin to Freud than Jung. Depth psychology is often overlooked in the rush to the mountaintop, and Jung has been gutted by many of his would be advocates of his psychoanalytical content. Yet even both of these systems combined will only give a glimpse into the interior worlds, as they lack effective techniques for the kind of initiation that most esotericists seek.” [via]

Consider also:

  1. “‘To the left of the house of Hades under a graceful white cypress a well offers spring water. Don’t drink there. Find the well by the lake of memory. Guardians protect the cold water. Tell them: …’ — The Hymn of Orpheus”
  2. “The effects of pathworking are to greater or lesser degree well documented. Once the basic concepts of what each sphere represents in terms of psychological elements on the Tree of Life is understood, then the links which they form are realized either through ritual, mythological metaphor, meditation, or a combination of the above. However, in the rush to realize magical powers, altered states of awareness, celestial beings, and interior worlds, one of the most significant and important facts of pathworking and all magical work in general is often overlooked.”
  3. “The majority of all so-called magical, mystical, alchemical, or esoteric work, as much as 90% of it, is nothing more than glorified psychotherapy.”
  4. “Despite this lack of effective interface between the parent art and science of occultism and its insolent step-child psychology, some inroads have been made to bridge the gap both in terms of technique and theoretical understanding.”
  5. “Each of us carries within us the seeds for healthy and unhealthy uses of the forces we are made from and contain. Whenever we approach a particular sphere of spheres, we also approach their reflection in the qlippoth, as the qlippoth are nothing more than imbalanced force or an excess of a particular virtue, so much that it becomes a vice.”