Archeology- study of human behavior via material objects (artifacts), usually from past cultures

Archetype - reoccurring symbolic themes exist in all cultures and are unaffected by the boundaries of time and space. Archetypes are irrepressible, unconscious, pre-existing forms that seem to be part of the inherited structure of the psyche and can manifest themselves spontaneously anywhere, at any time (i.e., spirals, swatstikas, Triple Goddess, the Tree of Life, the serpent)

Atonement - derived from At Onement with God

Collective Unconscious - the shared archetypes, myths and dream symbols found globally in all cultures that Jung felt genetically linked all of humankind

Cosmology - the myth of how a particular culture and/or religion envisions the creation of the universe, earth, tribe and/or clan

Ethnologist- person who studies cultures as they are experienced and discussed with persons whose culture is to be understood (field work)

Esoteric - whispered truth - secrets told to a student by his/her teacher only for that person when they were ready to receive them.

Iconography - sacred image (i.e. the Cross, the Green Man)

Linguistics - the study of languages by which cultures are maintained and passed on to succeeding generations

Mandala - Jung described mandalas as "magic circles symbolic of the nuclear axiom of the human psyche whose essence we do not know." These symbols assisted Jung in helping his patients complete the individuation process of welding together the different elements of the psyche bringing an inner-feeling of wholeness and unity. He used the mandala for two reasons: to attain a direct experience with the inner center without societal influence, and to restore a lost sense of balance. The circular form of the mandala inherently provides a feeling for its viewers that "life has again found its meaning and order". Jung explains that the spheric mandala is the ultimate symbol of the completely balanced psyche, including the relationship between man and the whole of Nature. Within mandalas the orientation of the spiral axis symbolizes the permanent collective unconscious where the self retains its center even through spiritual highs and physical lows. Likewise, there are two opposing yet complementary sides of a mandala which are conservative in that they restore a previously existing order yet are creative in that they give expression and form to something that does not yet exist, something that is new and unique. Tibetan Buddhist and Celtic cultures create and meditate with mandalas.(The Essential Jung, Anthony Storr).

Matriarchal - societies where gender related issues including inheritance, counsul positions, property rights and marriage are passed down through a woman's side of a family (i.e. Hopis, Celts)

Mystics - A mystic is one who through contemplation, meditation, or self-surrender seeks union with the Godhead; and one who believes in the attainment of universal wisdom, cosmic consciousness, or spirtual transcendence (Nigel Drury). Mystics believe that compassion and love are life's fundamental principles and that the Divine exists within all living creatures. These beliefs promote a reverance for Nature and the natural order of the universe. Mystics also generally believe that reincarnation is a natural rather than supernatural phenomena.

Mysticism- Mysticism is a way of life that follows the paths of lovingkindness and compassion. It transcends religious dogma and includes the search for and awareness of cosmic truths, enlightenment and union with the Divine. Mysticism exists at the foundations of many of the world's religions and is the uniting link between them all.

Mystery Religions - all centered around a savior figure who died and was resurrected on or around December 21st (for the Winter Solstice) and involved secret initiatory rights and were adopted from all parts of the globe including Persia, Turkey, Egypt, and the Orient (i.e. Mithraism, Isis and Osiris, Christianity)

Mythology - cumulative result of interwoven effects of divinity, astrology, biology, geography, cosmology, and genetics that appear in story, symbol and dream forms cross-culturally

Numinous - term coined by Rudolf Otto - a dynamic agency or effect not caused by an arbitrary act of will but actually a force that seizes and controls a person who becomes victim rather than creator. Inexplicable mystical and holy experiences can be described as numinous.

Pantheon - all the gods in religious systems that are polytheistic

Pleroma - a void where there is nothing and everything and what exists within it is an eternal process appearing in time as a periodic sequence repeated many times in an irregular pattern (i.e. spirals)

Polytheistic - religious systems containing more than one god or goddess (or both) (i.e. Hinduisim has 999,000 gods and goddesses)

Religio - linking back to the universal unconscious - where the world "religion" comes from

Religion - Jung's definition of the roots of religion: a careful consideration and observation of certain dynamic factors, understood to be "powers", spirits, demons, gods, laws, ideas, ideals or whatever name man has found in his world powerful enough, dangerous, or helpful enough to be taken into consideration, or grand, beautiful, and meaningful enough to be devoutly adored and loved.

The Shadow - The shadow represents unknown attributes and qualities of the ego that can be either constructive or destructive depending upon whether or not they are recognized, or brought to light. Jung emphasized the importance of being aware of shadow material and incorporating it into conscious awareness, lest one project these attributes onto others. The shadow in dreams is often represented by dark figures of the same gender as the dreamer. According to Jung the human being deals with the reality of the Shadow in four ways: denial, projection, integration and/or transmutation (Wikipedia- Carl Jung).

Symbols - Jung defined them as such things that cannot be thought up but must now again come from the forgotten depths if they are to express the deepest insights of consciousness and the loftiest intuitions of the spirit, thus amalgamating the uniqueness of the present-day consciousness with the age-old past of humanity. For Jung, true symbols only appear when there is a need to express what thought cannot think or what is only divined or felt (The Essential Jung, Anthony Storr).

Synchronicity - linking, meaningful existence of coincidental outer and inner events that are not themselves causally connected (i.e., myths being created and told at the same time across the globe with the creators having no knowledge of one another or their culture)

Triple Goddess - Goddess represented as a young maiden, a birth-giving matron, and an old woman or crone who represents the life cycle of women. The Triple Goddess is associated with the three phases of the moon- waxing, full, and waning- as well as with the three worlds- heaven, earth, and the underworld. The Triple Goddess was found in Neolithic caves and structures and in Celtic religion and myth. She is the feminine side of the Christian Holy Trinity.

The Unconscious - as defined by Jung: "everything I know, but of which I am not at the moment thinking; everything of which I was once conscious but have now forgotten; everything perceived by my senses, but not noted by my conscious mind; everything which, involuntarily and without paying attention to, I feel, think, remember, want, and do; all the future things that are taking shape in me and will sometime come to consciousness; all this is the content..." (The Essential Jung, Anthony Storr, p. 425)

Unus Mundus - Jung coined this term and defined it as the unity of all things outside human categories which is beyond our separation of reality into physical and mental states

Zoomorphic - gods take on animal attributes

Resources for further study

Jungian Psychology

Jung and Mythology

Joseph Campbell

Mythology