Melanie Starr Costello, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, historian, and Jungian analyst in private practice in Washington, D.C.
She earned a doctorate in the History and Literature of Religions from Northwestern University, and a Diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich where she currently serves as a training analyst.
A former assistant professor of history at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, she has taught and published on the topics of psychology and religion, medieval spirituality, and clinical practice. Her study of archetypal activity in the body, titled Imagination, Illness & Injury: Jungian Psychology & the Somatic Dimensions of Perception, was published by Routledge in 2006.
Dr. Costello served as director of education of the Jungian Analysts of Washington Association and has chaired their professional standards committee since 2002. She has been a trustee for both the Consortium for Psychoanalytic Research and the C.G. Jung Foundation of New York, and after 20 years on its faculty, serves as advisor to the board of the Jung Society of Washington, D.C.
Her current work centers on individuation as ecology – the ideological roots of alienation from nature in Western Society as shown in our environmental crises and in relation to aging. Her essay, “Conscious Aging as a Spiritual Path,” is included in the book, Jung & Aging: Possibilities & Potentials for the Second Half of Life, published by Spring Journal in 2014.
Dr. Costello’s writings on Saint Catherine of Siena prompted me to ask her to do an episode about mysticism as it pertains to the life and work of C.G. Jung. That, and more, are the subjects of our talk today.
This interview was recorded on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. It’s 01:07:27 long and 58 MB. You can listen to it right here in your browser or download it directly to your computer. This episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, TuneIn, Spotify, and iHeartRadio.
TOPICS
What is a mystic and what are mystical experiences ~ Saint Catherine of Siena ~ the accusation that Jung was a mystic ~ Jung’s mystical experiences ~ the mystical marriage ~ mystical death ~ the suspicion of the life of the body ~ the annihilation of the ego ~ the crown of thorns ~ the imitation of Christ ~ torture and suffering ~ depression and anxiety ~ what role the body plays in creating a state of conscious knowing ~ injury and illness preceding insight ~ tracking the body in analysis ~ the link between maturation of consciousness and our acceptance of natural cycles ~ the individuation process ~ Jung and Aging ~ the Jung Society of Washington
SHOW NOTES
Catherine of Siena & the Eschatology of Suffering by Melanie Starr Costello, Vox Benedictina: A Journal of Translations from Monastic Sources, Vol. 5 No. 1, January 1988 (Read free online)
The Mystical Death of Catherine of Siena: Eschatological Vision & Social Reform by Melanie Starr Costello, Mystics Quarterly, Vol. 13 No. 1, March 1987 (Read free online)
Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva Piazza della Minerva, Rome, Italy
Tomb of St. Catherine of Siena Under the main altar of the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Red Book: Liber Novus by C.G. Jung
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung
Mysterium Coniunctionis by C.G. Jung
Crown of Thorns by BTS Twitter thread
St. Catherine of Siena Depicted with a crown of thorns in a painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Imagination, Illness & Injury: Jungian Psychology & the Somatic Dimensions of Perception by Melanie Starr Costello, Ph.D.
Jung & Aging: Bringing to Life the Possibilities & Potentials for Vital Aging Full video of the panel discussion on Mar. 20, 2012 available on the Library of Congress website
Jung Society of Washington Washington, D.C.
Jungian Analysts of Washington Association D.C.-area analysts
The Red Book of Carl G. Jung: Its Origins & Influence Library of Congress exhibition
Online Video Courses Five different online video courses offered by the Jung Society of Washington, D.C. that you can start anytime; includes dream interpretation with James Hollis and keeping your own Red Book with Susan Tiberghien
NEW: Nov. 16, 2019 Blog post by Laura London on her visit to St. Catherine’s tomb in Rome
This episode is dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena.