The Miraculous Birth
Born another way, and so not wholly of this world.
The Miraculous Birth: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
The hero is seldom born like others: of a virgin, from a rock, a tree, or his father’s head, after long barrenness, or to two mothers, one human and one divine. Jung followed the motif of the dual birth through Symbols of Transformation, reading it as the second, spiritual birth that makes the hero, and the divine child’s origin in the unconscious rather than in the ordinary course of things.
The Miraculous Birth: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
Athena from the head of Zeus, Dionysus from his thigh, Mithras from the rock, Moses given to the river, the births of the Buddha and of Christ.
From the Sources
Jung argues that the hero's birth is as a rule not that of an ordinary mortal but a rebirth, and so takes place under mysterious ceremonies; from this he derives the motive of the hero's two mothers.
“The answer to this question is: that the birth of the hero, as a rule, is not that of an ordinary mortal, but is a rebirth from the mother-spouse; hence it occurs under mysterious ceremonies. Therefore, in the very beginning, lies the motive of the two mothers of the hero.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part II, ch. VII, "The Dual Mother Rôle". Authorized translation, with introduction, by Beatrice M. Hinkle, M.D.; New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916. The text, read in part
In Luke, Mary asks how she can conceive, knowing no man, and the angel answers that the Holy Ghost will come upon her, so that the child born of her shall be called the Son of God.
“1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
The King James Version of the Bible, Luke 1:34-35. King James Version, Project Gutenberg eBook #10. The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Where to Read
- Symbols of Transformation, CW 5, “The Dual Mother”
- “The Psychology of the Child Archetype,” CW 9i
- Otto Rank, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero (1909)
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
Also among Death and Birth
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Miraculous Birth.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/miraculous-birth.
Nearby in the alphabet: Mercury: The quicksilver spirit, the elusive heart of the work. Metamorphosis: Changed into another form, and changed back. The Mirror: Reflection, and the truth one would rather not see. The Moon: The light of the night, waning and returning.