“A child, as I have said, possesses a sense of completeness, but only before the initial emergence of his ego-consciousness. In the case of an adult, a sense of completeness is achieved through a union of the consciousness with the unconscious contents of the mind. Out of this union arises what Jung called "the transcendent function of the psyche," by which a man can achieve his highest goal: the full realization of the potential of his individual Self. Thus, what we call "symbols of transcendence" are the sym- bols that represent man's striving to attain this goal. They provide the means by which the contents of the unconscious can enter the conscious mind, and they also are themselves an active expression of those contents“.

Ancient Myths and Modern Man by JL Henderson, from MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS, C. JUNG