Eva Wertenschlag-Birkhäuser, M.A., is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Berne, Switzerland.

Born and raised in Basel, Eva studied history and German literature at the University of Basel, earning a master’s degree in 1975. The following year, she began training as a Jungian psychoanalyst at the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich where she earned her diploma in 1985 with the thesis, “The Dialogue between King Caled and the Alchemist Morienus: Love and Alchemy.” Her thesis advisors were Marie-Louise von Franz, Theo Abt, and Godi Isler.

Since then, Eva has been practicing as a Jungian psychoanalyst, and in 1994 became a member of the Board of the Research and Training Centre for Depth Psychology According to C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz in Zürich. She served as president from 2005 until earlier this year and remains active as a faculty member and training analyst.

Along with her brother Kaspar Birkhäuser, Ph.D., Eva co-founded the Birkhäuser-Oeri Foundation which preserves and catalogues the work of their late parents, artist and analysand Peter Birkhäuser (1911-1976) and Jungian psychoanalyst Sibylle Birkhäuser-Oeri (1914-1971). The Foundation possesses the comprehensive body of paintings, graphic art, and writings by the couple, as well as valuable personal records and revealing background material. Research and publication of the understanding of these unique documents remains ongoing, and their space in Basel is open to the public.

Together, Eva and Kaspar have published two books about their father’s work. Light From the Darkness: The Paintings of Peter Birkhäuser with Commentary by Marie-Louise von Franz was republished earlier this year by Daimon Verlag. This new bilingual edition includes additional paintings and 38 full-page color illustrations on art paper. And the comprehensive coffee table book, Der Rote Faden: Malerei und Grafik von Peter Birkhäuser (The Red Thread: Paintings and Graphics by Peter Birkhäuser), includes over 100 illustrations of Peter’s paintings, more than 50 published here for the first time, as well as historical documents and photos.

Eva’s in-depth book on the religious and healing dimensions of her father’s artwork, Windows on Eternity: The Paintings of Peter Birkhäuser – An Interpretation Based on Depth Psychology (which is now my favorite Jungian book of all-time), was published by Daimon Verlag in 2009. It includes two essays by Marie-Louise von Franz: “Peter Birkhäuser – A Modern Artist Who Strikes a New Path,” and “Funeral Address for Peter Birkhäuser.”

In addition to research and teaching on alchemy and art, Eva has investigated and lectured on the culture of the West African Dogon for many years. She recently published a book about the creation myth of the Dogon people where she explores their archaic vision of the creation and transformation of consciousness. Das Dritte Wort: Der Schöpfungsmythos der Dogon (The Third Word: The Dogon Creation Myth) was published in German in 2022. Her essay, “The Dogon: The Creation of Consciousness Through Agriculture,” was published in English in the book Cultural Understanding of Soils: The Importance of Cultural Diversity and of the Inner World by Springer in 2023.

This episode was recorded on Thursday, October 2, 2025. It’s 01:06:04 long and 63.6 MB. You can stream it right here inside your web browser (click the play button below) or watch the video edition on our YouTube channel.

SHOW NOTES

The Research and Training Center for Depth Psychology According to C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz Zürich, Switzerland

Documentary Film: Artist Peter Birkhäuser Featuring Eva and Kaspar Birkhäuser (full video with English subtitles available on YouTube)

Light from the Darkness: Paintings by Peter Birkhäuser Edited by Kaspar Birkhäuser and Eva Wertenschlag-Birkhäuser, Commentary by Marie-Louise von Franz (Daimon Verlag, 2025)

Aurora Consurgens: A Document Attributed to Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Opposites in Alchemy by Marie-Louise von Franz

Mother Figures in Fairy Tales: A Jungian Examination of the Mother Archetype and the Mother Complex as they Appear in Well-Known Fairy Tales Unabridged version, edited by Marie-Louise von Franz (Daimon Verlag, 2023)

Das Dritte Wort: Der Schöpfungsmythos der Dogon (The Third Word: The Dogon Creation Myth) by Eva Wertenschlag-Birkhäuser

Cultural Understanding of Soils: The Importance of Cultural Diversity and of the Inner World Includes Eva’s essay, “The Dogon: The Creation of Consciousness Through Agriculture”

The Dogon and Sirius Letter in The Observatory, Vol. 97, p. 26-28 (1977)

Conversations with Ogotemmeli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas by Marcel Griaule

Speaking of Jung, Ep. 149 Christophe Le Mouël, Ph.D. on Conversations with Marie-Louise von Franz on Synchronicity and Numbers: Insights and Amplifications

Number & Time: Reflections Leading Toward a Unification of Depth Psychology & Physics by Marie-Louise von Franz

Laura’s Twitter post on “The Outcast”

Psychology Club Zürich

Laura’s blog post on “The Observer” Dec. 1, 2015

Peter and Sibylle Birkhäuser-Oeri Foundation Official website

Laura’s Twitter post on “The Dream/Fight with the Praying Mantis”