Limericks about Jungian Depth Psychology

It seems that most people who try their hands at limericks prefer looking to the day’s top headlines, the latest social media memes, or the recesses of their most salacious fantasies to find inspiration. So maybe I’ve been going about it all wrong. It’s not that I’m categorically opposed to monitoring current events or pursuing the pleasure principle. I just find that Carl Jung gives me more to chew on.

In my long years of scribbling limericks on the backs of envelopes and liquor store receipts, I’ve dabbled in dirty drivel and political pillories. But eventually, I always circle back to Archetypal Psychology and the Collective Unconscious.

Nothing provides a richer source material for a series of limericks than Jungian Depth Psychology. The Collected Works touch on topics as worthwhile and diverse as the tripartite soul, the sublimation of the ego, the retrieval of the shadow, and God’s answer to Job. Certainly, these subjects deserve to be explored. And what better way than through limericks?

For deciphering dream signals, comparing religious attitudes, and examining the seat of the authentic Self, Dr. Jung always does me right. Whether we’re parsing out the interdependent elements of the personality or working our way through the esoteric stages of inner alchemy, Jungian psychology never fails to bring forward something meaningful. So I hope you have as much fun reading these limericks as I had writing them.

     Partial Eclipse of the Heart
     Spirit today is confined behind fences
     Overshadowed by science occluding our senses
               A matter of treason
               From overmuch reason
     Conforming to only the concrete consensus

     The Lost Language
     Clever ones always have answers it seems
     On how to build engines and fortify beams
               But the subtle reward
               Is often ignored
     I speak of the wisdom disguised in their dreams

     Self Actualization
     I once met a man who was less than a man
     So rattled by fear that he never began
               In need of approval
               And ego removal
     Let’s aim to do more with our selves if we can

     Question Everything
     Believe in your self, but beware what you know
     Just a fragment of doubt will allow you to grow
             Draw back the curtain
               On all that’s uncertain
     And open your mind to a dazzling show

     Come and get it
     The future is coming, approaching as planned
     Erasing the present like words in the sand
               But remember your dreams
               Resolve the extremes
     And the wisdom of life shall be at your command

     Faith is Strong
     We all worship something, some trope or idea
     Maybe you cling to the Creed of Nicaea
               Or do you prefer
               What is solid and sure
     And sleep without dreams on a bed from Ikea?

     The Shadow Knows
     A saboteur lingers outside in the cold
     But the curse that he carries is greater than gold
               It’s worse to deny it
               So why don’t you try it
     Invite him and welcome him into the fold

     Prima Materia
     Because the philosophers’ mysteries found me
     The cycles of nature began to astound me
               When something debased
               Returns from the waste
     The everyday alchemy circles around me

Further Reading

If you enjoyed these limericks about Jungian psychology, please consider sharing the post or subscribing to the blog. You might also want to check out some of these popular articles:

• Poetry about Melville and Jung
• 10 Honey-tongued Limericks about Shakespeare
• Profound Limericks about German Philosophy
• Limericks about Existentialism
• Knowledgeable Limericks about Kierkegaard
• Limericks about Psychology