Carl Jung on symbolic rebirth: Why personal transformation can feel like an ending | Hindustan Times

Carl Jung on symbolic rebirth: Why personal transformation can feel like an ending (Pexels) Symbolic rebirth describes a change in how you understand yourself. Carl Jung explores how images of death and rebirth appear in myths & religious traditions.Have you ever reached a point where the life you once wanted no longer feels right? Perhaps a relationship has changed, your career no longer excites you, or the goals that once mattered have lost their meaning. Such moments can leave you wondering who you are becoming.

Jungian psychology offers one way to understand this experience through the idea of symbolic rebirth. A paper published on October 13, 2026, in the Journal of Analytical Psychology explores this concept through the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and a case involving a man facing a midlife marital crisis. The author, Merab Kintsurashvili, examines how dreams and ancient Egyptian symbolism relate to psychological change.

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Symbolic rebirth describes a change in how you understand yourself. It does not mean physical rebirth. Instead, it offers a way to think about leaving behind an old identity, belief or role that no longer fits your life.

Carl Jung explored how images of death and rebirth appear in myths, dreams and religious traditions. In this framework, an ending can represent a shift in your inner life rather than simply a loss.

For example, leaving a career you once loved may force you to question how much of your identity depended on your job. The experience can feel unsettling, but it may also give you room to explore new values and priorities.

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Change does not always bring immediate relief. When you leave behind a familiar relationship, routine or ambition, you may also lose the comfort and certainty it once provided.

This process through the experience of a businessman whose carefully structured life begins to unravel during a marital crisis. His dreams become part of the psychological process examined by the author.

Carl Jung believed dreams could offer insight into aspects of the mind that you may not fully recognise in everyday life. His approach treated dream images as possible symbols of inner conflicts, fears and changes.

In the paper, Kintsurashvili connects the man's dreams with the ancient Egyptian solar myth of transformation. The article explores how these images relate to the stages of his psychological journey.

However, dreams do not provide a fixed message or predict your future. Their meaning can depend on your experiences, culture and personal associations.

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You do not need to interpret every dream or search for a hidden message in every setback. Instead, use periods of change as opportunities to reflect.

Ask yourself what no longer fits your values, which expectations you continue to follow out of habit, and what you want to make space for in the future.

Symbolic rebirth does not promise that every painful experience will lead to a better outcome. It offers a way to reflect on change without assuming that losing an old identity means losing yourself.

Jungian psychology invites you to see personal transformation as more than replacing an old habit with a new one. Sometimes, you must reconsider the beliefs and roles that have shaped your sense of self.

If life feels unfamiliar right now, give yourself time to understand the change. You do not need to have every answer immediately. You can acknowledge what has ended while remaining open to what comes next.

Disclaimer: This article explores a Jungian psychological concept for spiritual reflection. It does not suggest that distress is always a sign of personal growth or that professional support is unnecessary.

Soumi Pyne is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with four years of work experience. She started her career as a digital journalist with HT after completing her master's in media and communication from NSHM Kolkata. She covers topics in astrology, manifesting, and tarot readings, and also interviews astrologers to share their stories. In 2022, she interviewed the young indigo pilot who had saved Indian students from Ukraine. She has also covered stories about the Dhoomimal Art Gallery and a few lifestyle stories. She is now a fervent reader of astrology, but before working full-time on the Astrology beat, she coordinated and published think tank stories in the HT insight section. Additionally, produced Live Mint and HT newsletters, during which she had the scope to publish news articles by HT's editor-in-chief, Sukumar Ranganathan. She puts in her best effort to make her readers justify the statement "Astrology is a pseudoscience". While she believes that Astrology is not intertwined with Science, she aims to help her readers understand that the human body can be influenced by planetary alignments, drawing on insights from Indian and USA astrologers. Outside her professional sphere, she enjoys a healthy lifestyle through yoga, journaling, meditation, running, and cooking gluten-free meals. She is an avid documentary enthusiast who loves watching BBC, Discovery, and other channels, with a focus on ancient history, space, art, and culture. Also, you'll often find her taking her pooch to new cafes and often taking short trips with her girls or her family to offbeat places.Read More