LECTURE: "Archetypal Symbols in Fairytales: Introducing The Collected Works of Marie Von Franz" by Steven Buser, MD

"The Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz" is a 28 volume Magnum Opus from one of the

leading minds in Jungian Psychology. The first volume, "Archetypal Symbols in Fairytales: The

Profane and Magical Worlds", released on her 106 th birthday, January 4 th , 2021 and is to be

followed by 27 more volumes over the next 10 years. Volume 2 looks at the hero’s journey,

while Volume 3 explores the maiden’s quest. Steven Buser is one of two General Editor’s in The

Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz. Dr. Buser will take us through a history of the

project, an overview of von Franz’s life and work, as well as a deep dive into the first 2 volumes

of this foundational material.

Von Franz, one of the most renowned authorities on fairytales, presents a systematic and wide-

ranging approach. She amplifies a variety of fairytale motifs to show that the magical realm is

alien to the profane realm of ordinary daily life. She was one of analytical psychology’s most

original thinkers and here she presents a lucid, concise exploration of the archetypal symbols

found in fairytales. Fairytales, like myths, provide a cultural and societal backdrop that helps

the human imagination narrate the meaning of life’s events.

Steven Buser, MD trained in medicine at Duke University and served 12 years as a physician in the

U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the two-year Clinical Training Program at the C.G. Jung Institute of

Chicago and is the co-founder of the Asheville Jung Center. He has worked for over 30 years in

psychiatry with a focus on Jungian oriented psychotherapy. Dr. Buser currently works in the field of

addiction medicine and serves as Publisher of Chiron Publications. He along with fellow publisher

Leonard Cruz are the General Editors of The Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz, a 28 volume

series.

Marie-Louise von Franz

At the age of eighteen, while still in high school, Marie-Louise von Franz met Carl Jung at his Bolingen

Tower. She later described this as the most decisive encounter of her life. She entered analysis with him

months later, completed her doctorate in classical philology and began seeing her first analysands soon

after. She was wholeheartedly dedicated to the unconscious, both in her own life and that of her

analysands. She developed a far-reaching expertise in fairytales, alchemy, synchronicity and numbers.

She is estimated to have personally analyzed over 65,000 dreams. She was a prolific writer and a highly

sought-after teacher. Listening to von Franz lecture was a numinous experience. I thought God was

speaking. She seemed to know everything. In an amazing fashion and without a text, she ranged over

history West and East, mythology, philosophy, anthropology, and a host of other specialized areas. Never

in my training had I heard such far-reaching and profound reflections. (Murray Stein, PhD)