THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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(Jung 1947, p. 213).
projection, which Jung defines as:
Archetypes gain actual representation through the process of
The expulsion ofa subjective content into an object; it is the opposite
ofintrojection. Accordingly, it is a process ofdissimilation, by which
a subjective content becomes alienated from the subject and is, so to
speak, embodied in the object (1921b, p. 457).
Archetypal images are readily apparent in religions, mythologies, legends, dreams,
hallucinations, fantasies and fairy tales. It is important to note that although archetypes
are universal and invariant, archetypal images are not, and may thus manifest
differently according to time and context. Archetypal contents, therefore, are
represented by historical, culture-specific images (Samuels, 1985). Thus, the tendency
to experience ourselves as influenced by supernatural forces beyond our control is an
archetypal invariant, but the personified images assigned to these forces vary widely
across time and culture, as manifest in our culturally divergent symbols and religious
mythologies: "The metamorphosis of the Gods in our outward and inward worlds is
inexhaustible, and never ceases" (Jacobi, 1959, p. 118).
11.5 The archetypal foundations of religion
Jung understands all deities to be personified representations ofunconscious archetypal
possibilities: "Because of its instinctual nature, the archetype underlies the feelingtoned
complexes and shares their autonomy. It is also the psychic precondition of
religious assertions and is responsible for the anthropomorphism of all God-images"
(Jung, 1958, p. 449). The significance of the collective unconscious in differentiating
Jung's model of mind from Freud's may be seen in comparing Jung's earlier and later
thought on religion. As noted previously, Jung's earliest thoughts on religion do not
differ significantly from Freud's. His original intention, notes Heisig (1979), "is not to
divinize the libidinal substratum, but rather to psychologize that which men project as
divine" (p. 26). God and the Devil are projected personal unconscious residues of
polarised infantile experiences ofparental figures: