In 1910, Jung was reading about rituals of ancient Greek cults. He read about a vision that described the sun with a tube hanging from it, and the direction of the tube was determined by the direction of the wind. Jung knew it was highly unlikely that the patient had known about this ancient Greek cult and determined that it was the example of the collective unconscious. He found examples of the sun and wind like this in many other cultures.

Jung's Analysis years later

One day, a patient called to Jung and told him to half-close his eyes and look at the sun so he could be able to see a phallus hanging from it. He also shared that if he were to swing his head from side to side, the sun’s phallus would also swing back and forth. He shared that the sun’s swinging phallus is what caused the winds. Years later, Jung concluded that this patient’s hallucinations were a reflection of the contents of the unconscious mind.

Butler University

Jung understood the Psyche in a deeper way after studying psychotic patients in Burghölzi. He found that delusions and hallucinations were at least in a small way, meaningful to the patients. He also put blame on the doctors of the patients instead of the patients themselves because he saw the issue as a lack of others not understanding them rather than the patient’s disorderly state being the problem.

Jung's Study of "Psychotic Patients"

Olson, Matthew H., et al. An Introduction to Theories of Personality. 9th ed., Pearson, 2020. 

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