Jungian Café - Sister Death

Welcome!
This Jungian discussion group is intended as a small and personal space to foster deep thought and genuine connections among regulars.
While many groups in Berlin focus on making as many new connections as possible, this one offers a different kind of experience—emphasizing continuity and quality over quantity. Priority is given to returning members.

Event Description – Sister Death
This meeting will be limited to 6 participants.
The theme is Death — not in a grim way, but as a doorway to reflecting on the meaning it gives to Life. We’ll explore personal beliefs about the afterlife and the way death awareness and acceptance can shape our choices and values.

The title Sister Death comes from St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures (1225), in which he praised all elements of creation as his brothers and sisters—Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Fire, Sister Water. Near the end of his life, he added “Sister Bodily Death” to this list, greeting her not as an enemy but as a companion, a passage into something greater. This gentler, more peaceful view of death also resonates with Marie-Louise von Franz, whose lifelong work with dreams led her to believe that death is not the end, but a transformation into another state of being.

I’ll bring along a couple of quotes as conversation starters, but the focus will be on sharing and dialogue rather than a structured presentation. As MLvF once pointed out, “it won’t help you on your deathbed to think about what Jung thought about death.” What matters most is how each of us relates to it in our own experience.

For inspiration, you might enjoy MLvF's lecture on Archetypal Experiences Surrounding Death: 🔗 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRzl_O0rZdA&t=13s]

The artwork in the event image is Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin, which also inspired Sergei Rachmaninoff’s hauntingly beautiful symphonic poem of the same name:
🔗 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbbtmskCRUY]

The criteria is not the level of Jungian expertise, but the level of interest and how much participants resonate with the group’s concept.
Please check the status of your RSVP before attending. If the meeting is full and/or you’re moved to the waitlist/not going, we kindly ask that you wait for the next session—we’d love to have you join in the future!