The Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz is a 28 volume Magnum Opus from one of the leading minds in Jungian Psychology. Volume 6 heralds translations of material never before available in English. It explores the profound visions of two ground-breaking saints in the Catholic church, Saint Niklaus von Flue and Saint Perpetua.

Saint Niklaus von Flue, the patron saint of Switzerland, was held in the highest esteem by both CG Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz. Jung even declared him the Patron Saint of Psychotherapy, due to the Saint’s deep inward reflections and profound experiences. His visions reportedly began while still in his mother’s womb and continued until his death. One of his later visions was a terrifying image of the face of God. Von Franz saw Niklaus as the shadow brother of Christ and wrote of him as the alchemical Anthropos, a universal man. His visions were an evolution of Christian mysticism.

Saint Perpetua was a young Christian woman put to death in 203 AD in the Roman arena at the age of 22. Her profound visions occurred days before her death. Von Franz penetrates these images, suggesting they were revelations of a new, Christian God-image breaking through from the collective unconscious into the animus of young Perpetua.

Marie-Louise von Franz is at her very best as she unravels the mysteries held within the visions of these two saints.

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)

Part 1: The Visions of Niklaus von Flue

The Time of Niklaus von Flue

The Prenatal Faces and the Baptismal Vision

The Vision of the Tower

The Time of Depression and Temptation

The Vision of the Lily That Was Eaten by a Horse

The Liestal Vision

Retreat to the Ranft

The Vision of the Three Visitors

The Vision of the Singing Berserker

The Vision of the Fountain

The Vision of the Heavenly Quaternio

The Vision of the Terrifying Face of God

Part 2: The Passion of Perpetua - A Psychological Interpretation of Her Visions

Introduction

The Text

The Problem of the Orthodoxy of the Martyrs

The Life of St. Perpetua

The Visions of St. Perpetua

Interpretation of the First Vision

Interpretation of the Second and Third Visions

Interpretation of the Fourth Vision