The Magician Within: Accessing the Shaman in the Male Psyche

by Robert L. Moore, Douglas Gillette

Exploring the spiritual side of the male psyche, the authors present their special program for assisting men in the move from boyhood to manhood. By the authors of The King Within. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Self Help, Mythology

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1993

About the author

Robert L. Moore (August 13, 1942 - June 18, 2016) was an American Jungian analyst and consultant in private practice in Chicago, Illinois. He was the Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality at the Chicago Theological Seminary; a training analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago; and director of research for the Institute for the Science of Psychoanalysis. Author and editor of numerous books in psychology and spirituality, he lectured internationally on his formulation of a Neo-Jungian paradigm for psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. He was working on Structural Psychoanalysis and Integrative Psychotherapy: A Neo-Jungian Paradigm at the time of his death.

Dr Robert Moore was an internationally recognized psychotherapist and consultant in private practice in Chicago. Although he worked with both men and women, and was considered one of the leading therapists specializing in psychotherapy with men because of his discovery of the Archetypal Dynamics of the Masculine Self (King, Warrior, Magician, Lover). He served as Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality at the Graduate Center of the Chicago Theological Seminary, and has served as a Training Analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He is Co-founder of the Chicago Center for Integrative Psychotherapy.

Reviews

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette explore the Magician archetype in the male psyche.

The Magician archetype represents mastery over the self and the environment, emphasizing the transformation from boyhood to manhood through spiritual and intellectual growth.

Moor and Gillette use the mythopoetic Jungian perspectives to discusses how modern men can reclaim the magician archetype to achieve a deeper understanding and fulfill their potential.

Contemporary examples of MAGICIAN/SHAMAN (in my humble opinion) include: Jimmy Page, Jimmy Hendrix, John Coltrane, Kanye West.

And Gandalf (of course).

Moor and Gillette posit that the immature magician archetype presents as:

THE DETACHED MANIPULATOR (in the ACTIVE form), and THE DENYING ONE (in the PASSIVE form).

Contemporary Magician - Active Shadow (manipulator) types include: Donald Trump.

And Little Finger (of course).

Contemporary Magician - Passive Shadow (denying/innocent) include: Bill Clinton.

Actually.

Both of those two could go in both categories (of course).

THE SHAMAN AND THE SACRED WOUND

Moor and Gillette discuss the SHAMAN archetype at GREAT LENGTH.

And it’s GREAT.

In Henri Ellenberger's (EPIC SERVE) The Discovery of the Unconscious, he refers to a psychological phenomenon wherein an individual's personal suffering or mental distress becomes a pivotal element in their psychological development and personal transformation.

Eenberger posits that the SAME thing that makes the SHAMAN a SHAMAN (The SACRED WOUND), is the SAME thing that makes the THERAPIST a THERAPIST. Or the AA SPONSOR an AA SPONSOR.

The SACRED WOUND of TRAUMA/ADDICTION that ENGENDERS SUFFERING when active, and SOULFUL INNER VISION in RECOVERY.

MUCH more to this book than stated here.

This thing is RICH.

I wish EVERYONE could have the immense pleasure and reward of reading this (and the other books in this series), particularly MEN, particularly MEN with a history of TRAUM/ADDICTION. And THERAPISTS of all stripes.

If you’re CURIOUS at all.

I URGE you to GIVE it a GANDER.

5/5 stars ⭐️

[Janne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourth of five book series, where Robert Moore focuses to the magician aspect of mature male psyche. Book serves as a kind of guidepost for contemporary men and women alike to discover the mature potentials and harness that potential for the whole of humanity (or for Earth Community as Robert Moore puts it).

Do not be limited by stereotypes, trust your own judgement. One of the potentials is to learn and discover deeper and wider, it is within you.

"Shamans seeks to heal himself first, before setting out to heal others."

I highly recommend the book series for lifetime study for anyone who is interested in personal development and wanting to develop mature psyche for their own and the sake of other people as well.

[Jinan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Central thesis revolves around the concept that within every man lies a dormant shamanic potential – what he terms "the magician within" – that, when properly accessed and developed, can lead to profound transformation, growth; personal and societal.

Drawing heavily from Jungian archetypes and cross-cultural practices, the author weaves together psychological insight with spiritual wisdom to create a compelling narrative about spiritual development. Readers by reading itself are guided through their mythologic neuroses into intoning their own.

[Mathijs Koenraadt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely worthless book. It is written by feminists from an anti-male, feminist perspective. The authors believe we are living in a patriarchy (we are not) and that patriarchies support only "immature" males (they do not). According to these authors, a "mature" male is one who does women's bidding, one who obeys society, one who supports the matriarchy. That is the definition of a slave, a servant, or a soldier who never questions his commands, but certainly not the worldview of a real man who is able to escape and overcome female rule. This book may be useful for the majority beta males out there, but it's absolutely useless for anyone trying to become a real man.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the 2nd Best book in the 5 book series only behind The King Within. It took me one day (only 7 hours) to complete this book. Very insightful to my mission as a reader, researcher, lifelong learner, and INFP Male.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not New Age psycho-babble. Robert Moore is a Jungian psychologist. I read this book in the early 1990s and liked it at the time, so I'll give it three stars.

[John Goldsworthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. If you’re a student of Jung’s work, this is indispensable.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the series years ago, no longer in the library unfortunately, I would read again.

[Stelios Papagrigoriou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, I suggest for everyone deeply interested on the topic to combine it with the lectures of professor Moore on YouTube.

[Marc Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Magician Within last within the KWML series. And it turned out to be one of my favorites. This is also my second time reading through it, and it hits much different than the first time, given where I am at in my own personal journey.

The book explores the archetype of the shaman, which is present in all cultures, and how it manifests in men. Moore and Gillette argue that the shaman is a necessary figure in any society, someone who can bridge the gap between the seen and unseen worlds.

They also believe that every man has the potential to become a shaman, if he can access that part of himself. The book goes into detail about how to do this, and includes exercises for readers to try.

I found the book to be eye-opening and incredibly helpful. It's helped me to understand myself and my own potential better. If you're interested in personal growth and masculine studies, I highly recommend this book.

[Christopherseelie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, but riddled with specious claims and generalizations. A fine argument for the reclaiming of ritual in the modern world.