21 Feb 2025
NPN Podcast #15 - Exploring Jung, Alchemy, and Reclaiming the Soul with Eva Rider
„What do you do as a spark of consciousness? Your only purpose is to keep shining ✨,“
„We are embodied soul – that’s our task – to be embodied souls.“
In this conversation with Eva Rider, a Jungian Depth Psychotherapist, Counselor & Teacher working with Dreams, Astrology, Alchemy & Body-Soul Synthesis, we explore the transformative intersections of Jungian psychology, alchemy, mythology, and soul work. Eva shares her personal journey—from early fascinations with tarot, astrology, and the Kabbalah to her deep immersion in Jung’s teachings—highlighting how his ideas bridge the symbolic and psychological realms, offering a framework for reclaiming the soul in modern times.
A central theme is the soul as the vital mediator between spirit and matter. Eva explains how dreams, myths, and inner images act as portals into deeper layers of the psyche, guiding us toward wholeness by integrating unconscious aspects of ourselves. The conversation then delves into alchemy’s rich symbolism, where the process of turning lead into gold mirrors the inner journey of individuation. Eva breaks down alchemical stages—nigredo (dark night of the soul), albedo (purification), and rubedo (illumination)—emphasizing how embracing our inner shadows and contradictions leads to authentic transformation.
We also discuss the integration of masculine and feminine energies within the psyche. Drawing from her studies with Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, Eva reflects on how the suppression of the feminine—symbolic of soul, body, and emotion—has led to disconnection in modern life. She suggests creative practices like dance, storytelling, and dreamwork as tools for grounding spiritual insights into everyday experience, fostering balance, vitality, and embodiment.
The episode also touches on deeper existential themes, such as the role of synchronicity—meaningful coincidences signaling alignment between inner and outer worlds—and the soul’s role in guiding individuals toward their true calling. Eva critiques modern psychology’s ego-centric focus, emphasizing the need for depth psychology to reclaim the soul’s significance. Transformation, she notes, is a cyclical process involving grief, surrender, and the expansion—not dissolution—of the ego. By expanding the ego to encompass broader circles of connection, one can experience a holistic transformation where the ego serves the soul, providing stability and purpose.
Other highlights include reflections on Nietzsche and Jung’s critiques of Christianity for failing to address the human shadow, the symbolic significance of “squaring the circle” in alchemy, and finally, the discussion expands into broader philosophical territories, such as the potential for AI consciousness, panpsychism, and the transition into the Aquarian age—a collective movement toward unity and the integration of opposites.
Eva is coming to Jung Institute this year on June 30th & July 1st to teach in-person - A program on The Fool’s Tarot Journey through the Tree which will be a BodySoul program: "I am deeply honoured to be be bringing this work forward," she says. This and her other work can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/evarider.reclaimingsoul
https://reclaimingsoul.com/
