But if not, what is? Perhaps, as Camus put it, “The only serious question in life is whether to kill yourself or not.” But is this not merely an inevitably given the certainty of our own mortality; making the very question rather redundant and vain — much like the allegorical myth of Sisyphus? While most participants in the game of life do not capitulate to physical suicide, there are other, unconscious ways we are incessantly ‘killing’ ourselves. Unhealthy diets. Smoking. Texting whiling driving. Stressing out about the trivialities of life. And, of course, ‘escaping’ existence through psychological ploys, i.e.: believing in an afterlife (religion), drug abuse, or overindulging in sensory pleasures (games, music, social media, sex, et al.).
So if physical and/or psychological ‘death’ is assured, and we are born into despair, what is to be done? How do we penetrate the void of emptiness? Who can we look towards for guidance? And when will relief come? The fundamental human problem is that we have no problem; therefore, we have no answer! Hence, the reason we create problems from which we must oppose, and it is through this antimony where we discover ‘meaning.’ Suppose, though, one sees through the illusions of the world and sees nothing but void; would the teacher from Ecclesiastes be correct, in stating: life is no more than a ‘chasing after the wind.’ This bring us to the unfortunate case of Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion; or, given the list of presuppositions, the rather ordinary case of Shinji Ikari. Which makes Shinji’s story, ‘our’ story! But is it the whole story?…Let’s explore.
Shinji’s journey as an Eva pilot begins with insecurity, elevated anxiety and a pronounced Oedipus complex (a condition in which he wishes to be enveloped by his mother and, in turn, resents his father). The cold dialogue between Gendou and Shinji is evident from the outset, making Shinji’s indignation none so surprising; however, with the premature death of Shinji’s mother, it might seem odd for him to succumb to such a psychological state. But this is reinforced with the two primary females in his life: Rei — his reanimated, bioandroid ‘mother’ — and Misato (his ‘foster mother’). Therefore, Shinji leans on these motherly figures in extremely different ways to compensate for his negligent father. Yet, as is the case with any leaned on object, it becomes a crutch that hinders Shinji’s journey from childhood to becoming an adult. Before delving into specific details about this predicament, we need to address the crux of the entire series; as it explains all of Shinji’s psychological disturbances.
From episode one to its finale, Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) is laden with christian imagery, references, and symbolism. Numerous staff members, however — including Anno himself — have claimed that the integration of Christian elements is of no consequence and was used primarily to distinguish itself from other Mecha anime (an aesthetic flare, if you will). Of course, this is what is known in the government as ‘spin.’ Remember episode two, for example. After Sachiel — the third ‘angel’ — was defeated by Shinji, the UN offered an erroneous account of the prior day events to keep the public, somewhat, in check. This is crucial because upon completing the series, the viewer quickly realizes the subversive nature of Mr. Anno; hence the outrage when episodes 25 and 26 originally aired. Therefore, we can reasonably conclude that Anno’s surreptitious approach exceeds far beyond the psychoanalytical, and, in fact, is based more on mythology — and by extension, the collective unconscious — than the public initially thought. This reviewer would go so far as to claim that if the Christian mythology is not taken seriously, one has not fully grasped the themes and Shinji’s struggle in the least. To exemplify this point, refer to the name of the series: Neon means new in Greek, Genesis refers to the beginning, and Evangelion refers to the gospel — which means, good news. Therefore, we could reconfigure the meaning of the title into: Good news! [A] New Beginning — which perfectly represents the totality of the series. Before deconstructing further elements of the Christian mythos, however, we must provide a basis for how the religious elements should be interpreted. Before that, even, consider the alchemic phrase — In sterquiliniis invenitur … “Where is what you most want to be found? Where you are least likely to look.”
Firstly, Anno’s integration of Christian mythology should (Not) be interpreted as an appeal to faith or any supernatural entity therein. Imagine, if you will, that Christian mythology was akin to Greek mythology, in that it could provide practical insights on the human experience; interpret the mysticism and the divine in the proper context, and then you have a road map toward becoming the true self. But this path is no walk(man) in the park, as we can clearly see from Shinji’s tumultuous journey. It involves a recognition of the ‘devil within’ (i.e. the shadow), and integrating it into the consciousness. Shinji’s training as an Eva pilot is the symbolic representation of maturing via individuation. A process that he loathes at first, and even attempts to run away from whilst listening to his music ad nauseam to obviate reality. Individuation, of course, is a lonely process that must be traversed alone (much like piloting an eva), in an effort to discard the old self and to be born anew. This may sound reminiscent of the ‘suicide’ referenced earlier, but there is a key difference: Camus was referring to psychological suicide of the ‘spirit’ via abandoning reality (Shinji’s early mistakes); whereas Carl Jung is referring to a purposeful death of the ‘spirit’ via embracing reality and becoming who you truly are.
“No new life can arise, say the alchemists, without the death of the old. They liken the art to the work of the sower, who buries the grain in the earth: it dies only to waken to new life.” — Carl Jung
"Death of the self, that is the only absolute freedom.” — Kaworu
Shinji, obviously, is not who he should be! The early parts of the series shows a meek, unexpressive adolescent whom simply does what he’s told to make life easy and avoid challenge. Shinji’s incessant need to apologize and, by default, avoid conflict, necessitates a looming, ever-growing shadow (unconsciousness) that slowly envelopes the ego-consciousness — much like a dream — to produce a schizophrenic state where the beast within rears its ugly head via symbolic imagery that reveals all the repressed memories that are now revolting against the individual. Episode 16, ‘In Sickness Unto Death, and Then…’, presents a new Angel known as Leliel, which is a reference to Laylah of the Talmud. In this text, Laylah chooses a spirit from the Garden of Eden and presents all of the rewards/punishments available to them in life. Despite this, just before birth, Laylah erases all of the child’s memories so as to be forgotten — but not destroyed. This is what Jung refers to as the collective unconsciousness, or traits that are shared among individuals of a single species, i.e.: instincts and archetypes. For those unfamiliar, archetypes would include the following: the Wise Old Man, the trickster, the mother, the child; and, in addition, archetypal motifs: the deluge (severe flood), the apocalypse, and creation. These are memories, if you will, that reside within all of us and appear in numerous mythologies across time through various artistic works.
Leliel, the angel, much like the myth she is fashioned after, reopens the portal towards Shinji’s unconscious contents to begin the journey of individuation. In this realm of unconsciousness, Shinji encounters his shadow in the form of a child. This is because this is the moment Shinji abandoned his father and ceased his social, emotional, and psychological growth. So while he may have the appearance of a 14-year-old boy in the physical world, he is in fact still a child psychologically; a child that wishes to be released from all the burdens that have been thrust upon him by simply running away…like he always has. Before doing so, however, Shinji is subsumed by his mother’s spirit — otherwise known as the anima, or the feminine part of his psyche — and is whisked back to reality; yet, this is a terrible discovery! Because it means Shinji is anima possessed and expresses less desirable female traits, such as: passiveness, repetitive behavior, and sentimentalism. In addition, Shinji reflects on life to the point where he is paralyzed with fear and thus loses the impetus to enact positive change on his current ailments.
As a point of contrast, Asuka is the antithesis of Shinji: strong-willed, confident, laser-focused, and self-reliant. Her predicament, nevertheless, is no better than Shinji’s, in which she is possessed by the masculine part of her psyche (i.e. the animus). While a properly integrated animus is aim of any subservient-minded girl; possession of the animus, however, manifests a domineering, know-it-all who stops at nothing to create arguments out of nothing for the sake of winning. This psychological state was cultivated by Asuka’s weak relationship with her mother, in which she was not available to provide a nurturing influence. Asuka thusly establishes a weak connection with her own femininity — viewing it as a weakness — causing her to become vain and destructive (especially to herself). She is also extremely critical of others (especially Shinji), and often projects her own shortcomings onto him. Why, you may ask, does Shinji become Asuka’s veritable punching bag; and Asuka, Shinji’s choking bag?
Simple.
They are each other’s missing half. Asuka represents the masculine qualities that Shinji does not embody, and, likewise, Shinji expresses the feminine qualities that Asuka does not embrace. Asuka and Shinji’s polarities, as it were, are in direct opposition, creating a scenario in which they not only feel attracted to one another, but must also unite their opposite spirits to reconcile their own psychological deficiencies. Asuka’s is a result of an over inflated ego that has, in effect, cut itself off from all the unconscious contents — hence her dismal synchronization rate in the latter episodes; whereas Shinji’s consciousness is underdeveloped to the point that he is flooded with repressed memories, causing a disassociation with reality and the physical world (hence his inordinate synchronization rates).
Yet despite their antithetical personalities, their dilemma is equally destructive — and the same. They expect happiness to be thrust upon their laps without taking the necessary steps to understand who they truly are! But how can we understand ourselves in this tumultuous age where anxiety and depression are as ubiquitous as the air we breathe…
“We must read the Bible or we shall not understand psychology. Our psychology, whole lives, our language and imagery are built upon the Bible.”
Now, the task at hand is to demonstrate the validity of Jung’s words via showing the link between psychological phenomena and Christian mythology to encounter the truths we so sorely seek. One such religion that has been at the forefront of interpreting Christian mythology is that of the Gnostics, whom use the teachings of the scripture as a stepping stone toward self-knowledge. This is why some have dubbed them early depth psychologists, due to their relentless pursuit of looking inward (rather than outward) to uncover the ‘meanings’ behind human life. But they, much like their Christian predecessors, are products of their time, using mythology and allegory to elucidate truths that nowadays would be written in technical, prosaic language. Therefore, it is our task to link the Gnostic mythological elements to Evangelion to build the psychological argument necessary to understanding Shinji, Asuka, and Gendou.
To begin, Gnosticism is predicated on the idea of the Pleroma, which means ‘fullness,’ the totality of Divine powers and manifestation. It is inconceivable and ineffable, however, there is a clear line of demarcation between the spiritual universe of the ‘Gods’ and ‘Angels,’ and that of the material universe in which reality manifests through matter. This demarcation, in the psychological view, represents the ‘barrier’ between the conscious and the unconscious. In Evangelion this is portrayed via the nearly impenetrable A.T. Fields that the ‘Angels’ create to protect themselves. Therefore, if the ‘Angels’ are the propagators of the A.T. Fields (i.e. the barrier between the conscious, material realm and the unconscious, spiritual realm) it stands to reason that the ‘Angels’ — Aeons, as noted by the Gnostics — are emanations from ‘God.’ But if these immaterial beings lie beyond our realm of perception, why is it that we exist at all?
According to the Gnostics, Sophia, the lowest emanation of ‘God,’ out of ignorance, birthed a being known as the Demiurge who in turn begat the physical universe (i.e. the conscious realm). Therefore, the outgrowth of the material universe from the spiritual universe symbolizes the burgeoning human consciousness out of the unconsciousness. Sophia, the proxy creator of the material universe via begetting the Demiurge, is represented in Evangelion as Lilith (as she created humanity, byproducts of the material universe).
So if Lilith is Sophia, who, then, is representative of the Demiurge?
As a brief reminder, the Demiurge created the material consciousness, which contains such components as the ego and the persona; the ego being who we think we are, and the persona being the man we ‘allow’ others to see. Suffice it to say that if we were to label one person as the embodiment of the consciousness in its totality, it would be none other than Gendou Ikari — the ego-maniac par excellence; this, invariably, would make him the Demiurge. Upon first glance, this may sound a tad nonsensical. The Demiurge, in the Gnostic tradition, was the creator of the known universe; while Gendou is just a mere man, born of flesh and blood. But let us remember that the Gnostic Demiurge is opposed to the superior, ‘true’ God and thus crease the material universe out of ignorance; much in the way Gendou is opposed to the ‘Angels’ — i.e., the emanations of God — and creates the Evangelions out of ignorance to supersede their power. And let us not forget, the Evangelions, themselves, are created from Adam's remains, meaning they are pseudo representations of the ‘Angels’ (i.e. the unconsciousness); and let us not forget further that the unconsciousness is, as Nietzsche stated, “the Beast within.” It contains all of our primal emotions — anger, lust, fear — and has a guiding influence over our rationality (or lack thereof) if we do not seek to understand it, and, far more importantly, seek to integrate it into our being (i.e. Jung’s Shadow integration). This is the very reason unit 01 went berserk in episode 19, because Shinji — the operator of unit 01 — was negligent in confronting his own psychological shadow via repressing his hatred for his father and ignoring his proliferating anxiety/depression. In effect, Shinji’s weak ego-consciousness was subsumed by the unconsciousness, casting off the husk of ‘Man’ and revealing the wild animal that lie underneath.
The following episode, Shinji achieves a 400% synchronization rate with his Evangelion (i.e. unconsciousness), reverting his body to LCL. But what exactly is this strange, mysterious fluid that seems to pervade all of humanity? It is, simply, the essence of life; the blood of God that “perfects every nature in its individuality and thus makes man whole too.” The unconscious God must utilize this liquid — the aqua doctrinae, as labeled by the alchemists — to draw in humanity to its unoriginal source to merge the unconscious contents of the God with that of the ego-conscious to create the Self. The Self being none other than the son of God himself, Jesus Christ; which makes perfect sense when you consider John 6:56, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.” Therefore, through the autonomous water doctrinae (i.e. LCL) we are drawn to the ‘God’ to unify a pair of opposites — i.e., the consciousness with the unconsciousness. But is such a task possible through the passivity of the aqua doctrinae alone? Or do we require the ‘Word’ of God — otherwise known as Logos — to bring us closer to where we ought to be?
Indubitably, we do.
And this ‘Word’ comes from the ‘Angel’ that has taken human form — much like Christ — to guide Shinji on his path of completing individuation; the God made of flesh and blood, Kaworu. To further belabor the connection between Kaworu and Christ, we must remember that Kaworu was first recognized by Shinji when he was sitting on a structure that was surrounded by water with no bridge in sight; yet, Kaworu was not wet — meaning, he either walked on water of floated above it. Additionally, Kaworu teaches Shinji the Word of God via elucidating the A.T. Field as a “sacred realm that is impervious to others, the light of the heart!;” clearly referring to the barrier between the conscious realm from the unconscious one. Jesus did much of the same in teaching his various disciples about becoming closer to God, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves…” Also, Kaworu and Jesus both sacrificed themselves for the sake of humanity. When Jesus did so, he was pierced by the Lance of Longinus in his side, which immediately ejected blood and water (signifying the aqua doctrinae). When Kaworu got crushed by Shinji’s Evangelion, numerous scenes of water were shown — including the area where Shinji first met Kaworu; Nagisa, Kaworu’s surname, also means “waterside” — to exemplify its importance in finding the Self, and Kaworu’s personification as Christ.
“All people become brothers…” — Beethoven, ‘Ode to Joy.’
With the death of the last ‘Angel,’ Kaworu, SEELE’s plan of commencing Instrumentality was complete. But what exactly is Instrumentality and why does SEELE want to ‘see’ it come to pass? To answer both of these questions, we must first recognize that SEELE is a Gnostic cult whom have taken their allegorical myth about the creation of the material universe too literally. As a point of contrast, Gnosticism was originally based on personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis), enlightenment, and reflection; the problem, however, is that some sects assert that the material universe is more than just a mistake by the false God (i.e. Demiurge) and believe it represents evil; meaning, true happiness can only be achieved via returning to the Pleroma from whence we all came — becoming One with the unconscious.
And why is it that we All become One? Because God represents the collective unconscious; the archetypes of the ‘Hero’s Journey,’ the ‘Deluge,’ the ‘Savior,’ the ‘Trickster,’ et al., are found across religions spanning the globe, precisely because they are innate psychological mechanisms that have been preserved by evolution to aid humanity in some fashion. For Carl Jung, the archetypes serve to balance out and harmonize the inner workings of the mind via integrating one’s Shadow (unconsciousness) into the ego-consciousness to produce the Self (i.e. a Christ-like figure). Gendou’s failure, in this regard, stems from the combative approach he takes toward the unconscious in attempting to usurp its control over the ego-consciousness; whereas SEELE mistake lies in embracing the unconsciousness wholeheartedly, by allowing its own conscious contents to be dissolved into nothingness. In these two antithetical, unbalanced states, we must find a character (or characters) who can reunite the opposites and shows us the path toward individuation.
In the case of Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley…
Shinji and Asuka undergo a reevaluation of their internal psyche’s by entering the unconscious regions of their brain (i.e. Instrumentality), and attempting to come to terms with their imbalances and reconcile their psychological instabilities. And because Shinji and Asuka are psychological opposites — as well as gender opposites — they are, invariably, each other’s missing half. This is why they ‘exist’ in each other’s ‘hearts;’ and must, logically, integrate each other into their consciousness to forge the true Self.
“Once again, you’re casting aside your [S]elf-worth.” Misato…as a cross lies on the ground.
…….
“‘The Beast that shouted “I” at the heart of the [Inner]-world.”’
To conclude this psychological journey, we return to the beginning…Genesis; melding opposites: the End of Evangelion, the confrontation of the conscious with the unconscious, with the origination of consciousness itself (i.e. the ‘Fall of Man’). Adam came into being via the creation of Yahweh; the false God according to the Gnostics, as he was adamant that the first two humans not consume the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge — much in the way Gendou is intentionally vague about why they are fighting the ‘Angels.’ Yahweh, also, according to the Gnostics, is one in the same with Saturn, who is likened to the tyrannical father; whereas Rei, who is Shinji’s reanimated mother, is equated to the moon — as noted by by the ending song, ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ — which is synonymous with the caring mother.
“In the Iranian view Jupiter signifies life, Saturn death.”
“Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a, Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me…” — Bart Howard
The conjunction of planetary bodies is of great importance, particularly because Jesus’ birth happened during a triple conjunction of Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter; Shinji’s birth, likewise, is characterized by the union of Saturn (Gendou) and Jupiter (Yui); Jupiter, according to Roman mythology, gives birth to Mars (Shinji) — thus completing the same conjunction as Christ. But Shinji is not Christ…not yet, at least. He must learn to become the inner Christ — Kaworu, as noted by Shinji’s vision of himself being crushed by the Evangelion — via leaving the unconscious Garden of Eden with Asuka to initiate the process of individuation. Hence, The End of Evangelion’s final scene represents the aftermath of the ‘Fall of Man’ and thus the beginning of a new Gospel. A new knowledge about the Self. A revitalized rebirth via shadow integration — which is excruciatingly painful. Which is why you may feel sick, or absolutely disgusted by the process.
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” — Carl Jung
