The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling Book

Plato and the Greeks called it 'daimon', the Romans 'genius', the Christians 'Guardian Angel' - and today we use terms such as 'heart', 'spirit' and 'soul'. For James Hillman it is the central and guiding force of his utterly unique and compelling 'acorn theory' which proposes that each life is formed by a particular image, an image that is the essence of that life and calls it to a destiny, just as the mighty oak's destiny is written in the tiny acorn.Highly accessible and imaginative, The Soul's Code offers a liberating vision of childhood troubles and an exciting approach to themes such as freedom, and, most of all, calling - that invisible mystery at the centre of every life that voices the fundamental question, 'What is in my heart that I must do, be and have? And why?'

This text explores themes such as fate and fatalism character and desire family influence and freedom and most of all calling - the mystery at the core of every life. It is a guide to discovering and fulfilling our potential in life relationships and work by following the code.

James Hillman, a former director of the Jung Institute who has written more than 20 books on behavior and psychology, delves into human development in The Soul's Code. Hillman encourages you to "grow down" into the earth, as an acorn does when it becomes a mighty oak tree. He argues that character and calling are the result of "the particularity you feel to be you" and knocks those who blame childhood difficulties for all their problems as adults. According to Hillman, "The current American identity as a victim is the flip side of the coin whose head brightly displays the opposite identity: the heroic self-made man, carving out destiny alone and with unflagging will." Hillman's theories seem disarmingly simple, but he backs them with a careful, well-practiced intellect.