Paper’s Thesis
Jingchao Zeng and Nathan Fraikin argue that post-Jungian astrologers Liz Greene and Richard Tarnas expanded Jung’s idea of synchronicity into broad theories about the cosmos. In doing so, the authors contend, they moved beyond Jung’s more cautious treatment of synchronicity as a possible phenomenon to investigate through experience.
Quick Summary
Jung used synchronicity to describe a meaningful coincidence between an inner state and an external event, without claiming that one caused the other. His statistical experiment with married couples’ birth charts did not establish the astrological connection he sought. Zeng and Fraikin examine how Greene and Tarnas later developed different astrological interpretations of his idea. They propose looking more closely at the psychological experience of such coincidences instead of beginning with a sweeping explanation of how the universe works.
Consensus
This is a theoretical and historical analysis, not a new test of astrology or evidence of a scholarly consensus. The paper’s authors conclude that Jung’s birth-chart experiment did not verify synchronicity through natal astrology. Their proposed psychological approach remains an argument for further inquiry, not an established finding.
Link to Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-5922.70016
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