Chapter I, Part I of Dionysus: Myth, Cult and Psychology (2013).
Consciousness is something that arises out of the unconscious, and this emergence is determined by archetypes, or more precisely, by the archetype as such. We do not know what the archetype as such is, but we do know that it manifests in at least two ways: as instinct and as archetypal image. One may wonder how these two become differentiated when viewed from a human perspective.
Instinct, by definition, is an inherited reaction to a specific stimulus. In lower life forms this reaction is not differentiated from the archetypal image, because the stimulus, in order to be perceived and recognized by the organism, requires an image against which it can be compared, so that the reaction occurs only in response to a particular stimulus. This image forms the basis of the archetypal images we encounter in dreams, fantasies, myths and religions.
If we compare psychic life across the spectrum from the simplest life forms to human beings, we can observe that image and instinct undergo a certain development and differentiation. While in lower life forms image and instinct remain bound together in an inseparable unity, in human beings these two manifestations of life become separated, and one of them is always in danger, depending on the attitude of consciousness, of being neglected or repressed.
For example, when an animal is threatened by another animal, it does not reflect upon fear; it simply runs away. It is an archetypal instinctive reaction in its unmodified form. There is no need for consciousness and reflection when instinctive action is required. With the emergence of consciousness, however, a certain interval appears between stimulus and reaction. As the reaction is processed by consciousness, it is delayed. From the standpoint of consciousness, the archetype appears split into an instinct that seeks immediate satisfaction and an archetypal image that serves as a counterbalance to immediate and unreflective instinctual gratification. Consciousness usually identifies with one of these tendencies.
On a more individual level, there are people who are, for example, intuitive and closely connected to archetypal images, while their relationship to instinct suffers. Conversely, there are people who are grounded, instinctive beings and have little sense of what archetypal images are. In the context of this problem, one can observe that the manifestation of the Self changes according to the individual and the attitude of consciousness. For some, the manifestation of the Self contains emotional tendencies associated with archetypal images; for others, it contains instinctive urges and accompanying emotions that need to enter consciousness and influence the life of the individual.
At its most basic level, the Dionysian experience belongs to the latter of these two possibilities. In this context, Dionysus represents the Self, a wholeness that contains consciousness, instinct and accompanying emotions in a meaningful relationship.
Other parts of this chapter can be found here: