Jung’s Prodromal Vision: Blood over Northern Lands

From The Red Book:

I saw a terrible flood that covered all the northern and low-lying lands between the North Sea and the Alps. It reached from England up to Russia, and from the coast of the North Sea right up to the Alps. I saw yellow waves, swimming rubble, and the death of countless thousands.

The vision lasted for two hours. It confused me and made me ill. I was not able to interpret it. Two weeks passed then the vision returned more violent than before, and an inner voice spoke. ‘Look at it, it is completely real, and it will come to pass. You cannot doubt this.’ I wrestled again for two hours with this vision but it held me fast. It left me exhausted and confused. And I thought my mind had gone crazy.


From then on the anxiety toward the terrible event that stood directly before us kept coming back. Once I also saw a sea of blood over the northern lands.

Jung was considerably relieved when he came to understand that he was dreaming not about his personal unconscious and personal life, but about the “spirit of the times” — what was happening within the culture.

These were “prodromal” dreams – dreams that foretell of illness before it is recognized. Usually the term is applied to personal dreams; in this situation, the dreams were about the illness and direction of the European culture….