--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...The Western 'God-image' is a…" description: "\"...The Western 'God-image' is a representation of the collective unconscious, an archetype of the psyche that undergoes a continual process of transfor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/carl-jung-274_archetype_the-western-god-image-is-a-representatio_1541057.jpg" --- # ...The Western 'God-image' is a representation of the… ![“...The Western 'God-image' is a representation of the collective unconscious, an archetype of the psyche that undergoes a continual process of transformation...The God image evolves through its relationship to humanity. Whoever knows God has an effect on 'him'. For the individual, knowing God, is…” quote by Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/carl-jung-274_archetype_the-western-god-image-is-a-representatio_1541057.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/carl-jung-274_archetype_the-western-god-image-is-a-representatio_1541057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/carl-jung-274_archetype_the-western-god-image-is-a-representatio_1541057.jpg) > “...The Western 'God-image' is a representation of the collective unconscious, an archetype of the psyche that undergoes a continual process of transformation...The God image evolves through its relationship to humanity. Whoever knows God has an effect on 'him'. For the individual, knowing God, is the process of recognizing and assimilating the pressured and paradoxical contents of the self, which come to consciousness- seek incarnation- within the ego.” [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The collective unconscious contains a God-image archetype that evolves with humanity, influencing personal and collective consciousness. **In simple terms:** A shared deep image of God changes as humanity changes. Key Takeaway Explore how cultural myths shape self‑understanding. Themes mythology psychology spirituality Mood analytical introspective Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - religious studies - creative writing Key Concepts archetype collective unconscious transformation Questions to Reflect On - How does this archetype appear in your life? - What does it reveal about societal values? A Different Perspective Interpretations of the God‑image vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archetype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Collective unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-unconscious/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Incarnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarnation/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Knowing god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-god/) [Paradoxical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [The starry vault of heaven is in truth the open book of cosmic projection, in which are reflected the mythologems, i.e., the archetypes. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-starry-vault-of-heaven-is-in-truth-the-open-book-of-cosmic/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“Truly, truly, the grace of God is never without any effect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/truly-truly-the-grace-of-god-is-never-without-any-effect/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For me Esoteric Hitlerism is being possessed by the archetypes of the collective unconscious which the Greeks used to call gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-serrano/for-me-esoteric-hitlerism-is-being-possessed-by-the-archetypes-of-the/) [Miguel Serrano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-serrano/) > [The God-image in man was not destroyed by the Fall but was only damaged and corrupted ('deformed'), and can be restored through God's grace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-god-image-in-man-was-not-destroyed-by-the-fall-but-was-only-2/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The great problems of life—sexuality, of course, among others—are always related to the primordial images of the collective unconscious. These images are really balancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-great-problems-of-life-sexuality-of-course-among-others-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The collective unconscious appears to consist of mythological motifs or primordial images, for which reason the myths of all nations are its real exponents.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-collective-unconscious-appears-to-consist-of-mythological-motifs/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The problem of synchronicity has puzzled me for a long time, ever since the middle twenties, when I was investigating the phenomena of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-problem-of-synchronicity-has-puzzled-me-for-a-long-time-ever/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The collective unconscious consists of the sum of the instincts and their correlates, the archetypes. Just as everybody possesses instincts, so he also possesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-collective-unconscious-consists-of-the-sum-of-the-instincts-and/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The world of gods and spirits is truly 'nothing but' the collective unconscious inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-world-of-gods-and-spirits-is-truly-nothing-but-the-collective/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The collective unconscious contains the whole spiritual heritage of mankind's evolution born anew in the brain structure of every individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-collective-unconscious-contains-the-whole-spiritual-heritage-of-2/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [In fact, the whole of mythology could be taken as a sort of projection of the collective unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/in-fact-the-whole-of-mythology-could-be-taken-as-a-sort-of-projection/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I cannot define for you what God is. I can only say that my work has proved empirically that the pattern of God exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-cannot-define-for-you-what-god-is-i-can-only-say-that-my-work-has/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The God-image in man was not destroyed by the Fall but was only damaged and corrupted (“deformed”), and can be restored through God's grace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-god-image-in-man-was-not-destroyed-by-the-fall-but-was-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [My goal is always to just do my best and hope that the people who find my music also find God in the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-daigle/my-goal-is-always-to-just-do-my-best-and-hope-that-the-people-who/) [Lauren Daigle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-daigle/) > [To seek God by rituals is to get the ritual and lose God in the process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/to-seek-god-by-rituals-is-to-get-the-ritual-and-lose-god-in-the/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) ## More by Carl Jung > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [ The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. Anything that a \[person\] postulates as being a greater totality than \[oneself\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-the-psychic-totality-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Like the sea itself, the unconscious yields an endless and self-replenishing abundance of creatures, a wealth beyond our fathoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/like-the-sea-itself-the-unconscious-yields-an-endless-and-self/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Synchronicity reveals the meaningful connections between the subjective and objective world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/synchronicity-reveals-the-meaningful-connections-between-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Instinct is like Nature herself - prodigiously conservative, and yet transcending her own historical conditions in her acts of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/instinct-is-like-nature-herself-prodigiously-conservative-and-yet/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Paul hardly ever allows the real Jesus of Nazareth to get a word in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/paul-hardly-ever-allows-the-real-jesus-of-nazareth-to-get-a-word-in/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“He would have lived countless times over the life of the individual, of the family, tribe and people, and he would possess the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/he-would-have-lived-countless-times-over-the-life-of-the-individual/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [People learn from who we are, rather than what we say, and to believe otherwise is a disease of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/people-learn-from-who-we-are-rather-than-what-we-say-and-to-believe/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Neurosis is an inner cleavage-the state of being at war with oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/neurosis-is-an-inner-cleavage-the-state-of-being-at-war-with-oneself/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/it-is-sad-but-unfortunately-true-that-man-learns-nothing-from-history/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Life is a luminous pause between two mysteries that are yet one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/life-is-a-luminous-pause-between-two-mysteries-that-are-yet-one/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Explore all 775 Carl Jung quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More Archetype quotes > [My characters are all kind of geek archetypes of people I've encountered at gaming and comic book conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/my-characters-are-all-kind-of-geek-archetypes-of-people-i-ve/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [Once my paintings are complete, the model no longer lives in the painting as themselves. I see something bigger, more symbolic - an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/once-my-paintings-are-complete-the-model-no-longer-lives-in-the/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/all-ages-before-ours-believed-in-gods-in-some-form-or-other-only-an/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Certain mystical philosophers have personified Destiny, and from this point of view each man's personal destiny is his archetype or "other self"--his "angel"--with whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-le-gai-eaton/certain-mystical-philosophers-have-personified-destiny-and-from-this/) [Charles le Gai Eaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-le-gai-eaton/) > [I think people have this stereotypical idea in their head of what a nerd is. People have said to me before, "You're not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/i-think-people-have-this-stereotypical-idea-in-their-head-of-what-a/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [Unconscious of your story, you are in its grasp; but with consciousness, an alchemical process begins: The solidity of the complex dissolves and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-zweig/unconscious-of-your-story-you-are-in-its-grasp-but-with-consciousness/) [Connie Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-zweig/) > [I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-the-reality-of-all-coyotes-the-archetype-the-epitome-you-are/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Once you become a celebrity, you are no longer a person, but an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennette-mccurdy/once-you-become-a-celebrity-you-are-no-longer-a-person-but-an/) [Jennette McCurdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennette-mccurdy/) > [Any legend, any creature, any symbol we ever stumble on, already exists in a vast cosmic reservoir where archetypes wait. Shapes looming outside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/any-legend-any-creature-any-symbol-we-ever-stumble-on-already-exists/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Man, whose organization is regarded as the highest, departs from the vertebrate archetype; and it is because the study of anatomy is usually commenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/man-whose-organization-is-regarded-as-the-highest-departs-from-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [There are many people making a difference. I mean, Dr. King never held an office. Gandhi never held an office. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/there-are-many-people-making-a-difference-i-mean-dr-king-never-held/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Women are not in control of their bodies; nature is. 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You are an infinitely complex human being with stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/you-are-far-more-than-your-personality-more-than-your-habits-more/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) [Browse all 167 Archetype quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...The Western 'God-image' is a representation of the collective unconscious, an archetype of the psyche that undergoes a continual process of transformation...The God image evolves through its relationship to humanity. Whoever knows God has an effect on 'him'. 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