• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.92-128
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• 2024

This study examines Gijesa, a Korean tradition of memorial worship for departed ancestors, from the perspective of analytical psychology. To understand the psychological background of ancestral rites, a literature search was conducted to examine the basis for ancestral spirits, the objects of ancestral rites, the symbolic meaning of the customs and practice of Gijesa, and the contents of volume 3 of the book Jhuza-uryu about 'Ghosts and Ancestral Rituals'. Gijesa, the Korean ancestor worship, may appear as a complicated formal ritual, but it reveals a psychological phenomenon of individuation. Gijesa facilitates a conversation between descendants and ancestors, bridging the conscious and the unconscious, leading to a realization of totality. The creative aspect of spirit worship lies in the 'realization of the individuation process' in that it fosters a connection with the collective unconscious, the root of consciousness. When an individual develops into a new integrated personality, we could gain strength from the support of ancestors, the support of the unconscious. The relationship with the spirits of ancestors is essential because consciousness has an important relationship with its root, the collective unconscious, especially for those of us living in an era of chaos where the fundamental meaning of human existence is lost due to rationalism and materialism.