This study aims to explore the function of the Wise Old Man archetype, manifested as supernatural voices, in Attar Neyshaburi's Tadhkirat al-Awliya, and to elucidate the role of this archetype in the process of mystical individuation. The research seeks to answer how the manifestation of the supernatural voice facilitates stages of mystical transformation from the perspective of Carl Gustav Jung's analytical psychology. The present study employs a descriptive-analytical method with a qualitative content analysis approach. Data were collected by extracting narratives and sayings related to inner and supernatural calls from the text of Tadhkirat al-Awliya and were then analyzed based on the theoretical foundations of analytical psychology, particularly the role of archetypes in the collective unconscious.

The analyses reveal that the Wise Old Man archetype, embodied as supernatural voices, performs four main functions in the process of mystical journey: 1. Awakening and Sudden Redirection, where the supernatural voice serves to unveil the shadow and facilitate the transition from the false self to the authentic self; 2. Questioning and Self-Assessment, which prompts the mystic to confront elements of the personal unconscious and declare innate annihilation (fana); 3. Instructional and Initiatory Guidance, acting as a path-guide and removing the final layers of self-conceit; 4. Culmination of Individuation and Affirmation of Annihilation, where the supernatural voice reaches the stage of unison with the collective unconscious and stabilizes subsistence (baqa) after annihilation.This voice transforms progressively from an external teacher into an internal double and inner sage.

کلیدواژه‌ها / English