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Jung Zoom Study Group meeting June 2019: 'Amor Fati' - What does Jung mean by 'loving your fate'? 

“What we do not make conscious emerges later as fate.”

― Carl Jung

“My formula for human greatness is amor fati: that one wants to have nothing different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely to bear the necessary, still less to conceal it - all idealism is mendaciousness before the necessary - but to love it”. Friedrich Nietzsche


What shapes our destiny? How much of who we are is genetic? How much can we change our habits or programming? And why can some people do this and others not? 

I became very interested in this topic about 10 years ago when I gave a talk on the subject at the Brisbane Jung Society. I have returned to the subject several times and elaborated on my original ideas. It is now on my website as an article, 'Amor Fati' - What does Jung mean by 'love your fate'?

Let's take this up for discussion.


My suggestion is that you read it a couple of times - it's quite short and not too hard to read - and select three points or perspectives and prepare to talk about these. I'm curious about what you will choose, and if there will be particularly hot themes that everyone chooses.I look forward to this discussion. It remains one of my favourite topics.

1.5 or 2 hours?


Often our discussion gets really interesting at the 1.5 hour point, which is when we are due to finish. So I asked what you think of an extension to 2 hours. The responses I received said yes. My concern is that it makes your plans for dinner more difficult. Someone raised the question of cost. This contribution is already by donation (I suggest $25) but it is up to you - more or less is fine with me.

What does Jung mean when he says that what we do not make conscious emerges later as fate?

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