Hillman James: Kod duše

James Hillman: At the Soul

In Search of Character and Calling

The trouble with the soul is that there is either too much of it or not enough of it. Too much soul makes us more sensitive, but also more resistant. Not having enough soul deprives us of "unnecessary" dilemmas, but it is certain that in facing ourselves - and this, sooner or later, has to happen - we will not do well when we are so despondent. However, if we manage to change the perspective somewhat, the soul will appear to us not as what it brings out of balance, but as balance itself. One of the most original psychologists of the 20th century, James Hillman, will call this search for perspective, this constant concern for the soul, the code of the soul. In the book of the same name from 1996, a masterpiece of archetypal psychology, Hillman introduces us to a very unusual game which he calls the "acorn theory".

Acorn as a metaphor for a life that is wrapped up in itself, that develops its possibilities from itself the way a huge oak develops from a small acorn, or, according to one of Hegel's famous formulations, "the oak is already in the acorn", the acorn, therefore, as a metaphor is not a new invention. But in the hands of a master and how effective it is, regardless of the origin and the dangers that such a metaphor carries. On the one hand, the origin of the metaphor is organic: an acorn is an undoubted substance. However, what happens with the acorn is far from a mere "organicist" performance. The acorn appears both as a mythical symbol and as a form. That is why Hillman, studying the Aphic myths dedicated to the oak, can write the following sentence, which seems to have been carved into the oak's bark: "The oak - so ancient, huge, beautiful and strong - is especially wise. Its acorn gathers in its tiny core - condensed - all the knowledge of the tree, just as infinite ranks of wise angels can dance on the tip of a needle. Invisible beings need a minimum of space. To some, however, they can address clearly and loud; then they do it from the depths of the oaks". The soul - when the metaphor is rounded, or filled with content - is an acorn. There is a whole life in it. But to learn to read it, we must learn the language of the soul. We have to, in Hillman's terms, crack the code of the soul. This book, to that extent, teaches us a language that, basically, anyone can learn, but, on the contrary, it is known by a pitifully few people.