Understanding vernacular: Vastu Shastra and Carl Jung’s theories of psychology
Karani, Malini (2014) Understanding vernacular: Vastu Shastra and Carl Jung’s theories of psychology. ISVS e-journal, 3 (1). pp. 20-29.
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As an everyday practice of building, vernacular relies on numerous traditional practices and theories and ideas. Among them, Vastu Shastra stands as one of the most notable, influencing the vernacular of the Indian subcontinent significantly. At a glance,
Vastu Shastra and Carl Jung’s theories of psychology might not appear to share anything in common. On the one hand, Vastu Shastra is an ancient Indian theory of architecture that describes how dwelling spaces should be designed. On the other hand, Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded a system of psychology came to be known as ‘analytical psychology’1.
In this paper an attempt is made to examine the fundamental principles of Vastu Shastra and Carl Jung’s analytical psychology. It is based on the assumption that there exists a great deal of commonality between the two approaches, and a comparison between the two will offer new insights into the vernacular practices of those who practice Vastu in their building design and construction. As a preliminary investigation, it draws on the terminology that is common to both schools of thought.
Spiritual archetypes, astrology, yoga, mandala and symbols have been studied by Jung and all these aspects are related to ‘Vastu’- spiritual Indian architecture.
The paper concludes that Vastu and Carl Jung’s theories can be used to get a deeper understanding of architecture psychology. Mandala is a technique that is used by both, but the use of it is unique. While Vastu consultants use Mandala as an underlying
principle to design or evaluate the energies of built space, Carl Jung used it to understand the inner turmoil’s of the Self, his patience or his own Self. These methods could be used to understand the psychological impact that Vastu has on its users.
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