Within the depth-psychology corpus, ‘Equinox’ functions less as an astronomical datum than as a symbolic hinge-point marking the intersection of opposing cosmic forces — light and darkness, ascent and descent, individual and collective time. The term appears most substantively in three registers. First, in Jung’s aeonological writings, particularly Aion and Memories, Dreams, Reflections, the spring equinox serves as the astronomical anchor for synchronistic interpretations of cultural history: the entrance of the vernal equinox into Pisces is read as objectively correspondent to the life of Christ, making the equinox a calendar of the collective psyche’s transformations. Second, in Rudhyar’s psychologically inflected astrology, the equinoctial cycle — subsumed under the larger ‘Great Polar Cycle’ of the precession of the equinoxes — becomes a metric of civilizational selfhood, distinguishing the individual’s axial-rotation unit from the collective’s orbital and precessional units. Third, in Campbell’s mythological surveys, the equinox functions iconographically, as the zodiacal crossing-point encoded in the chimeric guardian figures of ancient Near Eastern art. Eliade’s index references to the autumnal equinox situate it within New Year ceremonialism and the regeneration of cosmic time. Tension runs throughout between equinox as literal astronomical marker and equinox as depth-symbolic threshold of transformation.
A synchronicity exists between the life of Christ and the objective astronomical event, the entrance of the spring equinox into the sign of Pisces.
Jung identifies the vernal equinox’s precession into Pisces as synchronistically correspondent to the advent of Christ, making the equinox the structural axis of his aeonological psychology.
, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1963thesis
The reference is to the astrological conception of the Platonic month, or aeon, of Pisces, which is based on the precession of the equinoxes.
The editorial note to the Red Book explicates the Platonic month as derived from the precession of the equinoxes, grounding Jung’s aeonological symbolism in this astronomical phenomenon.
, The Red Book: Liber Novus, 2009thesis
There is another basic cycle: the cycle of the precession of the equinoxes. It should rather be called the ‘Great Polar Cycle.’
Rudhyar reframes the precession of the equinoxes as a ‘Great Polar Cycle,’ distinguishing it as the collective Race-spirit’s overarching temporal unit distinct from individual and annual rhythms.
Bull of the spring equinox, and Eagle (later, Scorpion) of the autumnal equinox… features suggesting the four zodiacal signs of the spring and autumn equinoxes, summer and winter solstices.
Campbell decodes ancient Near Eastern chimeric guardian figures as symbolic composites of the four zodiacal stations — including both equinoxes — inscribed into sacred iconography when Taurus held the vernal point.
, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion, 1986thesis
So far as the argument of the precession is concerned, this is no objection to the validity of astrology but rather to the primitive theory that the stars themselves r
Jung defends astrology against the precession objection, arguing that equinoctial precession challenges naive stellar causation rather than astrological symbolism as such.
, Letters Volume 2, 1951-1961, 1975supporting
So far as the argument of the precession is concerned, this is no objection to the validity of astrology but rather to the primitive theory that the stars themselves r
In an earlier letter, Jung similarly reframes precession as epistemologically neutral with respect to astrological validity, separating symbolic significance from literal stellar influence.
, Letters Volume 1: 1906-1950, 1973supporting
autumn: equinox, 268, 4287; first day, 267
The index to Symbols of Transformation records the autumnal equinox as a symbolic reference point within the mythological and sacrificial material treated in that volume.
, Symbols of Transformation, 1952supporting
autumnal equinox, 55
Eliade’s index situates the autumnal equinox within his treatment of New Year ceremonialism and the ritual regeneration of cosmic time.
, The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History, 1954supporting
equinoxes, 406; see also astrology
The index to Dream Analysis cross-references equinoxes under astrology, indicating their appearance in Jung’s seminars as part of a broader discussion of celestial symbolism.
, Dream Analysis: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1928-1930, 1984aside
the gyration of the Poles is determined by a combination of factors: mainly, the rotation of the planet around its axis and the gravitational pull of the Sun (and the Moon) upon the bulging equatorial belt
Rudhyar’s mechanical explanation of polar gyration contextualizes the precessional cycle that underlies equinoctial shift, relating it to the interplay of individual and collective astrological approaches.
(Fairfax, Calif.: Vernal Equinox Press, 1987), a Jungian exploration of the Waite-Rider deck with a foreword by Joseph Campbell.
A bibliographic note cites Vernal Equinox Press as publisher of a Jungian tarot study, registering the equinox as a named threshold in the milieu of Jungian symbolic publication.
, Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation, 2004aside