Omens and Oracles: collective psychology

in the nuclear age

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We have plunged down a cataract of progress which sweeps us on

into the future with ever wilder violence

the farther it takes us from our roots.”

 

—Carl Jung

 

 

 

 

 

 

Omens and Oracles: collective psychology in the nuclear age is a look at political psychology with a decidedly Jungian twist. The symbolic meaning of the Jonestown massacre, the Cambodian genocide, Russian national character, and topics far and wide give the reader an opportunity to exercise their Jungian skills to become more familiar with the “shadow” as it relates to the modern mysteries and political realities of our times. 

 

Kroth uses depth psychology to develop a globally rooted psychoanalytic perspective through which he explores the psychological underpinnings of contemporary reality. By treating "real" occurrences as dreams arising from the collective unconscious, he derives clues to the significance of present and past events and identifies those that have served as accurate portents of the future. He presents studies of Jim Jones and the trickster archetype, the War of the Worlds panic, omens and portents expressed in the mass media, some implications of the Gorbachev revolution, Cambodia and the American shadow, and Israel's biblical duel with the Palestinians.

 

Reviews

 

“This book is an important and original contribution to psychohistorical scholarship. It makes a strong case for giving meaning predominance over cause. Focusing more on meaning should inevitably result in deepened psychohistorical understanding.”

 

                                      – Journal of Psychohistory

 

“The narrator is a raconteur and in being so becomes part of the narrative. In the present case, the accounts read like science fiction or TV episodes from Rod Sterling's `Twilight Zone.'”

 

                                       – Journal of Contemporary Psychology